Posted on 02/23/2018 6:58:53 AM PST by daniel1212
CORONA, Calif.Roberta Gordon never thought shed still be alive at age 76. She definitely didnt think shed still be working. But every Saturday, she goes down to the local grocery store and hands out samples, earning $50 a day, because she needs the money.
Im a working woman again, she told me, in the common room of the senior apartment complex where she now lives, here in Californias Inland Empire. Gordon has worked dozens of odd jobs throughout her lifeas a house cleaner, a home health aide, a telemarketer, a librarian, a fundraiserbut at many times in her life, she didnt have a steady job that paid into Social Security. She didnt receive a pension. And she definitely wasnt making enough to put aside money for retirement.
So now, at 76, she earns $915 a month through Social Security and through Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, a program for low-income seniors. Her rent, which she has had to cover solo since her roommate died in August, is $1,040 a month. Shes been taking on credit-card debt to cover the gap, and to pay for utilities, food, and other essentials. She often goes to a church food bank for supplies...
Today, about 12.4 percent of the population aged 65 or older is still in the workforce, up from 3 percent in 2000,... In 2014, older women received on average $4,500 less annually in Social Security benefits than men did....
In America in 2016, nearly half of all single homeless adults were aged 50 and older, compared to 11 percent in 1990....
Roberta Gordon, in Corona, was barely scraping by when I talked to her. A few months later, she was much more stable. Why? Shed gotten off a wait list and been accepted into the housing-voucher program known as Section 8
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
That seems like a low amount for Social Security. My MIL is 95. She never earned more than $22,000 a year up until retirement. She gets about $1,400 a month.
Of course, she also saved her first communion money. And she lives with us.
But it seems that this person just didn’t work a whole lot at any kind of a wage.
I meant, Oh, Good For You!
Your moral superiority is aw-inspiring!
BFL
Now its the opposite..................
Actually, the fast food industry used to be part time work for mothers while the children were in school and teenagers working part time for job experience and spending cash.
That all changed in the eighties when the economy picked up, mothers could go back to staying at home and their coffee klatsches and teens were either given money by parents or were told by their peers that fast food was for losers and the only acceptable jobs were in retail like clothing stores or record/ video stores and the like.
That's when employers were forced to look at the only source left with useful numbers, the Hispanics. And once that happened it was inevitable that they took over, because they then made it so uncomfortable for non Spanish speakers of any other race that they just didn't apply.
I know this because I ran fast food in a well to do California city until 98' so I saw the change from the inside , so to speak.
That may be the case in California, but the rest of the country didn’t have massive amount of Hispanics/Latinos at the time.....................
I use to see a very elderly woman get on our bus with 2 large garbage bags of bottles. The transit is probably subsidized or even free for her, so she is using the bus system to collect bottles to help with her income.
THAT is NOT how I want my retirement to be. Scary.
Preach it because I oppose Federal policy because of this. Monetary policy is geared to reward debtors and royally screw over seniors.
“THAT is NOT how I want my retirement to be. Scary.”
—
There was an elderly Asian lady near me who lived in a nice home with her son and family.
Collecting bottles and cans was just “her thing”.
Not all things are as they appear.
.
Could be right. Just thought it was very strange.
Not at all, I am dedicated to helping people and that is what I am doing now
And as an Ordained Minister I have made it more than just words, what about you?
If it came down to it I can have many people share their stories about how I helped them and changed their lives.
So much for your attitude, God is watching all the time and he knows who walks the walk.
No, maybe not, but I can tell you I had numerous Hispanic employees and their extended families (yes legal) move to other states like Tennessee to get away from the illegals and the bad influence on their children as well as the schools teaching in Spanish. You see they understood the importance and value of their children being fluent in English and immersing in the culture of America while retaining their own.
Yes, and or with Sect. 8 and Food Stamps and California State Supplemental Payment (SSP) and low utilities she has enough to get by and may be then some. Considering what the Atlantic left out then there might be more to this.
Every day; the Indianapolis Star prints a chart of the dead; listing their name, city, age.
I find quite a few every day; at least 20 5 or so; that have lived into their 90’s.
I circle them in red; leave the paper for another to read; with the question:
“Will there be enough money for YOU to live this long?”
Luckily; my retirement goes up at the COL rate; not at what some politicians think I should get.
It blows mine to think that politicians ENCOURAGE this type of belief!!
My mom and I collected bottles 65 years ago.
not 20 5
but
20%
And if you give your sins and life to the Lord Jesus (see tag) then you have a mission and purpose that never ends, making a positive difference in the lives of people for time and for eternity, as an instrument of His grace, thanks be to God.
Roberta Gordon never thought shed still be alive at age 76.I had a miniature dachshund who loved running around the living room.
she didnt have a steady job that paid into Social SecurityA lifetime of poor choices that sound like she had no
A few months later, she was much more stable. Why?Rather than get out of California for someplace
Shed gotten off a wait list and been accepted into
the housing-voucher program known as Section 8
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