Comment *NEED* to retire sooner and create jobRe:Bank them (Score 1) 333
In terms of power dynamics in politics, we are likely to see geritocracy in the US as our population ages. We *need* to increase the retirement age and reduce the amount of spending on pensions. How is this going to happen when the majority of the population is old and is willing to express their displeasure in the voting booth?
We *need* to do things smarter, differently, better and not be insane!
Totally agree with your first paragraph, as we have seen since 1980, those with money, will always act in their own self interest to the detriment of the rest of society. Yes they control the money, thanks to Citizens United vs FEC they control politics via their aggressive political contributions and yes they most certainly can control who does and who does not get money. What you would expect when 10% have 90% of the wealth in this country.
And lets not get started with the pollution created by those 10%, google Coal Ash in Detriot, Duke Industires in NC and the Nuclear Power industry...hint if you have to re-cask every 50 - 100 years, no way in heck is it ever going to be cheaper.
As weather control scientist have always warned us, 'there will be winners and their will be losers', this thought actually applies to all industries. And those industries have no incentive to police themselves, therefore lack of funding for government agencies that do police them, can only hurt the majority of any population. Oh could I go one, but enough, as many refuse to admit how all these factors are inter-related. Quantitative Methods baby, its all inter-related, you are cheated when they convince you that somehow these many things are not related.
I have to take issue with your last paragraph, quoted above, not with the first statement, we see that today in politics...so the first sentence I agree with you.
Rather I take issue with the next sentence. Current retirement age is already too high, specifically to reduce the likelihood that one collects on their retirement. Think outside the box, if the 10% can prevent you from collecting on your promised/guarranteed retirement long enough, they will find a way to rob you of it...or better yet, let you die off so that they can get at it later once you are gone. Of course if you control your retirement yourself, that is smart and prevents this.
Now don't get me wrong, the idea of retiring on a 'fixed' income is insane. All one has to do is look around and see that it is not working, never has, never will work. To assume that your outcome will be different is insane. Thus you need an income stream, no matter what.
Instead of increasing retirement age, how about teaching kids how to invest correctly, 'sanely' and 'carefully'...just google Jim Cramer and you can learn.
Teach your kids how to be self sufficient, which means capable of generating their own power (electricity and fuel) and maintaining food (aqua-ponics) self sufficiency, so that what meager wealth they are able to save via investments will not be eroded by the 10% via their control over everything, especially food.
A swamp weed, like a cotton-tail type of plant can be grown and processed by an individual at lower than $1.27 per gallon, just need a diseal engine! I know a guy doing it, so yes it can be done!
Solor and wind generated electricity to power an electric vehicle, does not need power from the grid. Just don't attempt to patent anything or sell anything as others have been prevented, just do it. How many of the over 3000 'secretized' energy patents might make one self sufficient? If 10% of them work...
The idea of pushing the retirement age, yet higher, is insane. This is what politicians have been doing since before the 1980s, and its not working. In fact 'austerity' will not work either, except for the 10%, you can not save yourself to profitability. You have to 'grow' to succeed. Grow from a fundamentally sound value base and you have the best of all worlds.
Its sad that in American history, it took regressive taxes to force companies to create decent paying jobs that grew the middle class, pre-President-Reagan.
If lowering taxed created jobs with livable wages, we would have the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the world. I am glad that profits from stocks are taxed at less than 15% were wages are taxed at 36%. Personally I don't think that income derived from my wages that have already been taxed should be taxed again and again and again anyway, but that ship has sailed.
I suggest you think outside the box, enabling people to control their retirement/investments so that they can retire in 10 - 15 years, means that a 20 year old in college can retire at a young enough age, 35, to actually reach self-actualization through other endeavors. Perhaps one or more of those endeavors will create a small business, the only true job creators.
I first experienced age discrimination, though you would not be able to prove it, at 45, thus a retirement age of 35, avoids that mess as well. Pushing the retirement age higher, when so many over 50 have trouble finding jobs today is just more of the same insanity.
To summarize, I believe allowing people to make their money in the shortest period of time possible, allowing them to retire, enabling them to pursue their passion(s), whatever they are. Will spur growth and make society stronger. Guess my wine glass is half full, not half empty.
Those that focus on the same factors that have decimated the middle class and reduced salaries are insane, as they want to do the same thing and expect a different result. It has not and will not, the first step is realizing that you have a problem.
Retire earlier, not later, than see who comes up with what! We have lived your example for over 50 years, retire later, don't you think its time to admit that it does not work, it will not work and try something a bit sanier?
Of course it would help if the young and old were valued more also...that is yet another conversation.
I might sound liberal to some, that would be their mistake, more a rational capitalist. Both Conservatives and Liberals go to extremes, neither of which have worked, therefore will never work. The rest of us, approx 75% of the population need to take back control of the government, discontinue these insane not working policies and make things better...oh wait, that would not be what the 10% want either...the idea that we would be self sufficient, out of their control so that we would have the time and economic viability to stick up our heads, prevent them from getting cut off, and actively engaging politics to make everything better for the rest of us...duh moment.
In case you are unaware, 9% of population are truly conservative and 19% are truly liberal, the rest of us, the great majority, fall in the 75% - 80% that are kept like mushrooms, as the 10% want us to be. Google it and laugh like I did...after you are done laughing, think outside the box and start quietly working behind the scenes to stop the insanity that is the Tea Party, Libertarians, Democrats and Republicans...they don't want to Unite us, they just want to keep us mistakenly thinking we are separate from each other so that we do not see what they really are doing to us behind our backs. WAKE UP, for the sake of yourself and your own family. For your descendants.