Social Security, an Uneducated View
Try as I do, I can't manage to give a rat's ass about the plan to save/destroy/privatize/sabotage Social Security. To me, it's a political abstraction with zero personal relevance.
Sure I pay into it every two weeks. But it's been forever since I expected to see a dime of that money again.
They already upped my retirement age to 67. That's longer than the average lifespan of men in my family. The way I see it, I'm simply subsidizing the current generation of aging baby-boomers so they can drive SUVs and buy computers to write endless Internet posts about Shrubbie McChimplerburton and the illegal quagmire in Iraq.
A few weeks ago, we had lunch with my parents. They railed about Bush's social security plan, in the best Michael Moore style. I changed the subject. So my mom told me about her good friend, a retired lady who is even more "progressive" than my parents, who had finally found the love of her life (I think my mom was the matchmaker). She went on to explain how they were living together, but they weren't going to get married, of course, because that would reduce the retirement benefits they collect.
Thanks, guys.
I've never worked for a company with a 401-K plan with matching contributions. When I was young, I rattled around from job to job, seeking experience in life. I worked on an assembly line, I worked in a warehouse, I worked as a meter reader for the electric company. I ran an observatory. I bummed around Europe. I freelanced for years. It was hand-to-mouth, but I lived. And I lived. I soaked it all up. But there's nothing in the bank for someday. I'll be working till I die, and I'll probably die at a desk. Social Security? Pie in the sky.
Sure I pay into it every two weeks. But it's been forever since I expected to see a dime of that money again.
They already upped my retirement age to 67. That's longer than the average lifespan of men in my family. The way I see it, I'm simply subsidizing the current generation of aging baby-boomers so they can drive SUVs and buy computers to write endless Internet posts about Shrubbie McChimplerburton and the illegal quagmire in Iraq.
A few weeks ago, we had lunch with my parents. They railed about Bush's social security plan, in the best Michael Moore style. I changed the subject. So my mom told me about her good friend, a retired lady who is even more "progressive" than my parents, who had finally found the love of her life (I think my mom was the matchmaker). She went on to explain how they were living together, but they weren't going to get married, of course, because that would reduce the retirement benefits they collect.
Thanks, guys.
I've never worked for a company with a 401-K plan with matching contributions. When I was young, I rattled around from job to job, seeking experience in life. I worked on an assembly line, I worked in a warehouse, I worked as a meter reader for the electric company. I ran an observatory. I bummed around Europe. I freelanced for years. It was hand-to-mouth, but I lived. And I lived. I soaked it all up. But there's nothing in the bank for someday. I'll be working till I die, and I'll probably die at a desk. Social Security? Pie in the sky.
