Posted on 04/02/2007 2:11:49 PM PDT by qam1
Few political topics induce boredom more quickly than Social Security reform. There's a reason few candidates make the issue a centerpiece of their campaigns -- it's one notch below sorghum subsidies on the Al Gore Dullness Scale.
Despite this, Christopher Buckley has managed to craft a thoroughly entertaining book on the subject. Granted, he did so by creating both a character who advocates mass suicide as a response to the increasing burden Baby Boomers are placing on the economy, and an America in which riotous youngsters set about destroying golf courses as a way of showing displeasure with their elders. It may not be the most realistic scenario, but as far as modest proposals go, Mr. Buckley's is a doozy.
"Boomsday's" America is crippled by stagflation, caused in no small part by entitlement programs for our senior citizens who, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, are living far longer than ever before. Into this morass swoops the young Cass Devine, an Ayn Rand-reading member of Generation Whatever who uses the tools she grew up with (and the tricks she picked up in the field of public relations) to fight the mounting indignities being heaped upon her age cohort.
Following the passage of a 30 percent payroll tax "augmentation," Cass fires up her computer and takes to the blogosphere, rallying readers of her Web site, CASSANDRA, to take "actions against gated communities known to harbor early-retiring Boomers."
Riots break out in Florida, Cass is thrown in federal prison, and voila, the story is in motion....
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
Question. OK, when do we become Soylent Green?
I've liked several of Chris Buckley's books. I'll have to look for this in the library!
This would foreclose those options for the influx of illegal aliens who would then be forced to change their own turd world countries rather than invade ours.
The destruction of golf courses by Bolivarian youths was one of the first events to occur in the beginning of Hugo’s “campaign of land reforms”.
I foresee younger family members duking it out over inheritance, more than Social Security. Or exploiting, neglecting, or abusing elderly parents.
Sense of entitlement + lack of morality = very scary times.
Sounds like a rip-off of “Wild In The Streets” from the late 60’s. Prolly makes as much sense too.
“Funny. But the “baby boomers” aren’t the problem. Didn’t the spend the last 40 years paying into SS? Where’s their money? It’s a friggen sham.”
I want every last dime that I had confiscated during my working years and then some.
If we can spend billions of Taxpayer dollars providing health,Eduacation and legal aid to criminal alians and their off spring we can care for American citizens who busted their butts for this country.
I don’t want to here about Sociol Security cuts untill I see Congressional Retirement and Health Benefits Slashed.
Maybe then Congress will get serious about illegal Immigration.
My husband and I just recently retired...between the two of us, we paid into SS for over 70years...he paid in over 45 years, I paid in for 25 years, taking 20years off to raise a family..
So yeah, I would like every dime back, that was taken from us when we were working...
Right after the hubby retired, I was on a FR thread, and discussing with someone else about traveling around the US in our RV, now that we were retired...we were going to have so much free time, now that our schedules were no longer regulated by our jobs...our time was our own...all we had to do, was have our pension checks, our SS checks, and our annuity checks sent direct deposit to one central account, and from there we could draw out our money whenever we needed it...
Someone, obviously much younger, was outraged that I would enjoy myself RVing around the country at her personal expense...after all, her social security contributions, were paying for me to live my retirement as I chose, and she did not like that...thought if I was a good American, according to her standards, I should send back my SS check...when I asked her, what about the 70+ number of years I and the hubby had paid into SS, this otherwise very vocal poster, shut up and ran away...
So the question does remain...what about the money that I and the hubby paid in for over 70+ years..much of that time, one or the other of us was working two jobs, or pulling down lots of overtime...we worked dang hard, too hard to have some know-nothing tell me I should feel guilty for RVing around the country, while she, poor dear, was having to pay for my RV gas money, directly out of her own pocket...
Good on you!!
I get my first SS check later this month (good Lord willin’ ‘n’ if the river don’t rise) and I’d still rather have the $100K in my ‘account’ with a nominal 3% compounded interest for that 40+ year loan I was forced to give the government.
No silly, you paid for Family planning clinics, endowments for art (or porn--6 in one hand....), a whole butt load of buildings and bridges with Robert Byrd's name on them, and my personal favorite, $450 Million on two bridges in Alaska that goes to an Island populated by 50 people.
My generation has to pay for your social security...except that...there are more baby boomers than there are of us. So somebody is ganna get screwed and I'm guessing it's not ganna be the baby boomers since they hold office.
FWIW, I’m 52 and don’t ever plan to retire. I love working, and my jobs. Another ten years firefighting and running my photography business, then slide out of firefighting and do photography full time. Life’s to good to retire.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-10.pdf
Well my hubby retired from the military, and then retired from the post office...neither job, is something he could or would want to continue in..
However, he does plan to indulge himself in the one hobby that he has neglected for way too long, by working so hard...he loves to paint, and already has all his supplies in hand, ready to be artistic again...he really is a fine artist, he hopes fine enough to be able to say he could sell some stuff...
I can understand why many people wish to continue working, even tho eligible for retirement...we have chosen differently...to us, driving the backroads in our RV, stopping along the way, meeting new and interesting people along the way, setting up beside a creek, cooking our dinner out of doors, painting the easel, all this is for us, the way in which we chose to spend our retirement...
I guess decades and decades ago, people did not really consider what they might do in retirement, because they were not sure of living that long...fortunately today, with folks living longer and longer, and being more healthy while living longer, we have many more choices...some chose to continue working way past retirement age, some chose to retired before retirement age, if they can afford it, and others just retired at the normal retirement time...
But I am glad we are retired...especially since my husband just went through successful surgery for malignant melanoma in January...he saw his own mortality flit before his eyes, and realized how grateful he was that he was no longer in the daily grind, so that he could spend the years he had left, doing what he wanted...
Everyone has different plans for their ‘older’ years, and thats great...
All I want is to get out of the system. The government can keep all that I’ve put into the system from when I started working until now (about 20 years), as long as they agree to never charge me ss again, and I promise never to collect.
I’ve been blessed, in that with a few exceptions, I’ve loved every job I ever had. I don’t think I’ve ever actually worked a day in my life.
Now that is wonderful...so few people actually love the job that they have...they work, because, well they have to...bills need to be paid, kids need to be clothed and fed and educated, we all need to pay the doc, houses need to be bought...so unfortunately for many, their jobs are not something that they love....they are just necessary for living ones life...
When someone actually loves what they do, that is just really special...I wonder what a poll on this would show...
I worked in nursing homes for years, and met some really fascinating very old people, whose minds were still intact, and could tell me all about their lives...some worked almost right up until the time they moved into the nursing home, because they so loved their jobs...one old man, an obstetrician, was still delivering babies, for just a few years before he came to the nursing home...he just loved the babies and bringing them into the world..he was a rare fellow indeed...another old man, was still practicing law, until quite old, and was still participating in trials, up until he had a stroke which greatly debilitated him, both mentally and physically...
When I would greet him in the morning, most times he already had his suit and tie on, and had his briefcase in his hand, and mistakenly thought I was his secretary, come to drive him to court...it was sad to see him that way, yet I did realize that the law and going to court was something that he had done all of his working life, it was something he loved, so it was natural that he would carry that with him, right into the nursing home...
I have taken care of doctors, lawyers, high powered businessmen, architects, professors, politicians, farmers, ranchers, one judge, one concert pianist and one Barnum and Bailey circus clown...they all loved their jobs, and older age, never caused them to want to retire...
But then there the clerks in the stores, bus drivers, postal carriers, bank tellers, and on and on, who tho they excel at their jobs, and work fine and necessary jobs, are nevertheless, not enthralled with their jobs, and do look forward to the day, when they wont have to work anymore..
Myself?...I loved working in nursing homes, expressly because I met some of the most fascinating people I may have never met otherwise...but nursing home work, is hard and grueling work, and I was quite glad to retire...
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