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Most Millennials Have an Unrealistic View of Their Retirement Prospects, Analysts Say (hsbc.com)

From a blog post on research firm HSBC: HSBC calls for millennials to wake up to living and working longer, as research finds only 1 in 10 expects to work past 65. Most millennials have an unrealistic view of their retirement prospects according to a new report from HSBC. The latest report in The Future of Retirement series, Shifting sands, finds that on average millennials expect to retire younger than other working age generations. Millennials expect to retire at 59, two years younger than the working age average of 61. The survey of over 18,000 people in 16 countries finds that only 10 percent of millennials expect to continue working after 65 -- even as their generation faces unprecedented financial pressures and state retirement ages continue to rise around the world. This is despite 59 percent of millennials agreeing they will live much longer and will need to support themselves for longer than previous generations.

350 of 557 comments (clear)

  1. Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I was thinking that I won't be able to retire the way things are.

    1. Re:Opposite by GameboyRMH · · Score: 2

      Ever see the reality show "Live Free or Die?"

      That's my retirement plan.

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Opposite by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I was thinking that I won't be able to retire the way things are.

      Nor I. But when I was 25 I thought I would retire at 55 (and actually all things remaining equal, my plan and habits would have enabled it). But all things do not remain equal. Unexpected, previously undesirable and sometimes unforeseeable things happen in life: wives, children, crashing economies, jobs constantly being shifted overseas, etc.

      I guess this aspect of millennial thinking isn't new or scary. As with all of us, life will grind away hopes and dreams, no action is required from us.

    3. Re:Opposite by Rosco+P.+Coltrane · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Exactly.

      I'm a gen X'er and I *know* I won't have a pension. Even if I retire, the government or the pension providers will default on me - either through inflation, or just because the damn pension providers will flatly announce they just don't have anything left in their coffers. I know this because they've already done it to my dad, who was born in the silent generation. So it's nothing new, but it sure won't get no better.

      So, I'm not putting any money in a system that'll shaft me and I'm not saving anything for old age - most likely I'll be working until I die anyway.

      What I do instead is, I enjoy as much free time now while I'm still young: I found me one of the last "old-style" jobs still available that lets me work 36 hrs/week with unreasonably great pay, in a heavily unionized old company that does business in a market that doesn't know the word recession.

      In other words, I've maximized my salary/work ratio and I do as little work as possible to enjoy life the the fullest while I'm still in a condition to enjoy it. Time enough when I'm old and decrepit to kill myself at work for a living.

      --
      "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
    4. Re:Opposite by GoJays · · Score: 1

      I was thinking the same thing. I feel I am an above average saver and have zero debt, yet I still think I won't have enough to retire comfortably at 65 at this rate. I can only imagine what those who are neck deep in debt must feel. Although, those who are that deep in debt probably don't think very much so it makes sense they feel they can retire at 59.

    5. Re:Opposite by kangsterizer · · Score: 1

      sounds about right, though im not a millenial even, and it still sound about right. work 7-8pm every day and some more on the weekend, til death, seems to be the norm atm.

    6. Re:Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'm a millennial and expect to retire at 55.

      I set my Roth contribution to 22% of my income, and my life expectancy should be about 20-30% less than the typical person since I developed stage 4 CKD at 31 years old, so it's only fair I think, and not related to Mr T at all.

      Captcha: catheter

    7. Re:Opposite by OakDragon · · Score: 3, Funny

      Me? Working until the day I die. And on the date of the funeral, will probably have to put in a half day.

    8. Re:Opposite by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

      At that age I figured I would retire around 65 and write a book...

    9. Re: Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      GenXer here too. Problem is that we get fired in our early 50's and then arent hired due to ageism.
      No quite "retirement" but functionally the same.

    10. Re:Opposite by butchersong · · Score: 4, Funny

      I plan on having several kids -like 6 or so. If I influence each of their malleable little minds just right for the first 18 yrs I'll be able to guilt em into providing me 15% of their monthly income. I might even luck out and one of them will actually land a cushy job giving me a nice bump in lifestyle.

    11. Re:Opposite by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

      When no one will hire you for a job thirty years from now, then it can only be called retirement, as in forced retirement.

      --
      There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
    12. Re:Opposite by ark1 · · Score: 1

      Most will be replaced by robots anyway.

    13. Re:Opposite by Quirkz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I hear you. Fresh out of college, I figured I was smart and impressive enough to find a way to retire by 50. Preferably by becoming a world-famous novelist in the next few years, or a dot-com millionaire by the turn of the millennium. Basis: nothing but wishful thinking, and the belief that I sure as hell couldn't keep doing this work crud five days a week for half a century. (Oh yeah, I can also distinctly remember telling my brother, "I really think I'm meant to win the lottery. I know the odds are against it, but it should happen to me.")

      By 35, married, dual income, no kids, I had a plan, based on actual, mathematical evidence (if with some optimistic assumptions) that I could retire at 60, with a paid-off house and a decent retirement fund.

      In my mid-forties with kids and a spouse that stays home, past one really terrible financial mistake with a house, plus several minor financial setbacks at work, I'm now looking at 65, more likely. I still have my doubts about the sanity or feasibility of doing this work crud five days a week for a few decades, but at least I've now worked almost half of the mandatory time, so there's that.

    14. Re:Opposite by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1
      Interesting. I wasn't even sure what the exact definition of 'Gen X' was, checked it: That's what I am, too. So's your attitude towards this subject, and your plan; are you me? Thought I was a total outlier; apparently, I'm not. Should I be happy or sad about that? Not sure. If you like racing bikes, we might be brothers separated at birth, LOL.

      Just'a good ol' boys
      Never meanin' no harm.
      Beats all you never saw
      Been in trouble with the law
      Since the day they was born

      Staightnin' the curves
      Flatnin the hills
      Someday the mountain might get 'em
      But the law never will

      Makin' their way
      The only way they know how
      That's just a little bit more
      Than the law will allow.

      Best of luck, friend. WIth the way things are going in this country as of this moment, that's what we're going to need lots and lots of.

    15. Re:Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Do not EVER marry someone who makes less money than you. Doesn't matter your gender. If you marry down, you will pay way more than you expect (or can afford) when the inevitable divorce occurs. Marriage has become little more than a money-stealing scam in the modern day...be the scammer or be gone.

      If your spouse stops working, divorce immediately. You will be on the hook for a heaping pile of cash otherwise.

      Do not EVER have kids. Yes, I know the human race needs kids in order to survive. Fine, if they are so important, the government can re-arrange things so that child-rearing is affordable. Until then, breeding is a road straight to poverty.

      It's cynical, I know. But it's a natural enough response to the reality we face. If you want to retire someday, then look inside for fulfillment and eschew sex and romance.

    16. Re:Opposite by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      I'm a millennial and expect to retire at 55.

      You're probably the exception. I have numerous friends who are millenials, A disturbing number of them have no savings, no significant assets (don't own their own house), have kids to provide for, and no plans for retirement other than assuming the government's grand Ponzi scheme will still be running in 20-30 years' time.

    17. Re:Opposite by Falos · · Score: 1

      '87, I don't know what language the words "vacation" and "retirement" are from. Probably a lavish one.

      Wait, I think I did see it in a foreign movie once. Some guy shouted a word that sounded like "retire" and everyone put theirs away.

      Okay, never mind, I do have a retirement. It's in a locked drawer with 12 rounds. I can reliably expect that to be there waiting for me at 65. Because I'm so entitled.

    18. Re:Opposite by n329619 · · Score: 1

      Meanwhile, the millennials are still trying to find a job.

      Retiring at X age? What is this fantasy?

    19. Re:Opposite by BeemanIT · · Score: 1

      I'm a millennial and I don't expect to retire either. I'm wondering where they get this information from.

    20. Re: Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Everybody dies. Not everybody lives.

    21. Re: Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Lol... when you put money in a retirement fund you can control how it should be invested.. If you just go with some generic that follows the stock-index you should get a payout around 5%-10% per year... That would cover any inflation..

      What they are probably talking about there is that you will make somewhere around 50-75k, but adjusted to inflation.

      With saving 18k per year and then calculating compound interest over 30 years it would be easy to make that into a $1-1.5M (as in 1-1.5M worth of today's money) by yourself....
      If you calculate 18k yearly with a 5% worth increase over 30 years you would end up with 1.1M when accounting for compound-interest.

      With a quite normal average investment rate of 8% (avg over 5 years in fairly safe investments) then calculate that 2-3% is for inflation and the result shows 5-6% in actual profit.
      If you go with some investments with a little bit more risk you could get that up to 10-15% in yearly (minus 2-3% to adjust for inflation).. It may drop for a year or two, but if you look long term (10+ years) it will pay off with high-risk investments.. (Ie if you need the money in a year or two don't do high-risk investments.)

      5% interest on 1.1M would be ~55k yearly in interests.. If you have paid your mortgage etc that should be quite ok to live on....... If your current country is too expensive you could move to a cheaper place... For people that live up north.. Just imaging spending 6 months per year in Thailand or some other warm and cheap country.

      If you calculate withdrawing 75k per year, and also adjust that you still get 5% interest on the invested money, from the 1.1M that would last you for almost ~28 years..
      Withdrawal of 70k/year would last about you 32 years..
      Withdrawal of 65k/year would last you almost 39 years..
      Withdrawal of 60k/year that would last you 51(!!!!) years..
      The above amounts are calculated as in the actual value of today's money..

    22. Re: Opposite by QuasiEvil · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Couldn't agree more, except I'd say don't get married ever. I married someone that I'd literally grown up with and we'd been dating for 8+ years. If ever I thought I knew and could trust someone it was her. Plus, she was a fellow engineer and made roughly the same, if not a bit more.

      She had a midlife crises, flipped out and we split. Even with a relatively amicable split, I still had to write her the $100k check on my thirtieth birthday because I kept the house. Nevermind it was largely my reserves that paid for it in the first place...

      That said, I made a couple very cool career and investment moves in my thirties and have recovered nicely. I'm now in my forties, financially comfy and on track to retire before I hit fifty. I have a girlfriend who has her own life, place, and income, and we're quite happy not placing each other's financial future at risk.

      Just don't get married. Ever. It's a racket and a scam and statistically, you're not going to come out a winner.

    23. Re:Opposite by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I'm a gen X'er and I *know* I won't have a pension.

      You do now. The thing about analysing a generation that by definition is still young and comparing them to a generation that by definition is older you're comparing Apples to compost.

      Most X'ers had equally over inflated hopes of early retirement and enjoying their golden years back when they were the millenial's age.

    24. Re: Opposite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      [bquote]How about they stop buying the latest trendy $250 shoes and put some money into an IRA, or a 401(k) like responsible people?[/bquote]

      I'm 38 and there are 23 year olds at my job whining about how my "generation" has it better than theirs... meanwhile these people drive sub-2 year old cars, live in nice apartments, have high end clothes, glasses, shoes, etc. Everyday is a new outfit for several of these people.

      I drive a 12 year old car that was 6 years old when I got it. I live in a dumpy apartment, and I wear the same pants and sneakers to work everyday.

      Then they have the nerve to bitch at an HR meeting that they can't afford to contribute to the 401k plan with the strong implication it is weak salaries vs "cost of living", not their own spending, that is the cause.

      When you try to have a conversation about it they accuse you of being a conservative asshole and start ranting about a small percentage of people who make far more--it's entitlement pure and simple, they see luxury and they expect that because they are working they are entitled to it, that is their version of "cost of living"; and if the CEO makes $500K/yr it's all coming from /their/ pockets personally.

      Yes I sound like an old fucker, but I don't care. I'm tired of feeling like shit because I put 25% in retirement at the expense of having a nice car and other stuff today, but I know I must. I'm tired of being afraid of the threat of new means-tests being invented to take away retirement benefits from people who bust their asses to save all their lives so that the future generations who didn't save can stay off the streets.

    25. Re:Opposite by jjw3579 · · Score: 2

      You must SAVE SAVE SAVE for retirement! Your money will GROW at the astounding rate of .01%! It's only possible to retire because of the time value of money you've invested NOW when you are young! Oh, no, wait, Wall Street messed up so we bailed them out but everything you have is gone.

    26. Re: Opposite by lukejmorrison · · Score: 1

      I agree

    27. Re: Opposite by Ayanami_R · · Score: 1

      Yeah, good luck with that, I am seeing the exact same thing you are. Thing is, it is scombination of both weak salaries and overspending IMO, they're double whammying themselves.

      Also, old people are less resistant to change.

      I'm done being old, but please stay on my lawn.

      --
      "Science is the power of man"
    28. Re:Opposite by fazig · · Score: 1

      Here in Germany most Millennials I know around the age of 30 do not expect to be able to retire at all. They expect old age retirement to be gone within the next 30 years.

      Often I have to ask myself if the Millennial generation in the USA is especially bad educated or perhaps if they've just become the punching bag for the majority of people. You know, an umbrella term for a group of people that consists of millions (billions if you consider the whole world) of people. But thanks to murky statistics you can conveniently blame every individual of that group for everything that's going wrong in your opinion, like immigrants.

    29. Re: Opposite by mu51c10rd · · Score: 1

      That's ok...I'm saving enough that worst case would have me working parttime as a Home Depot greeter to supplement the savings. I fully realize as a GenXer that I will not be working in technology when I'm in my 60s., 70s and beyond...therefore, I need to be financially secure enough by then to be able to be fine on a low wage, stress free job.

    30. Re:Opposite by AC5398 · · Score: 2

      I was the opposite. Fresh out of college, I ran the numbers and realized I wouldn't have or make enough to retire, but I knew it was important I try to put some savings aside. So I did.

      35, same results but bought a condo that appreciated nicely, and sold that a decade ago. Found the FIRE community via Garth Turner about 6 years ago, and have made significant inroads on saving for retirement.

      Now, I've run the numbers and the magic retirement age is 61. I just don't believe I'll live past 57.

    31. Re:Opposite by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      I'm on the edge of gen-x / millenial. My plan is to work until I die. The age of retirement will be a blip in history. Maybe we'll have some universal healthcare or UBI to let me get by...

    32. Re: Opposite by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Do you have kids, or is your life just waiting for retirement? I'm spending my money now, to give my family a nice life, and it ain't sub-2 year old cars. I just replaced a 1996 with a 2005. No retirement plans, just take each day as it comes.

    33. Re:Opposite by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Right on, live life today. I'm not saying don't worry about tomorrow, but it will get here either way. If it gets tough, I'll make it better or check out since my responsibilities will be fulfilled.
      Savers are suckers to be fleeced in today's economy.

    34. Re:Opposite by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      I hope to become a nutritious slurry when I become to old to work.

    35. Re:Opposite by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Invest. When you're young, you can take more risks. As you get older, index funds and bonds are more attractive.

      My investments tanked when Wall Street messed up. Now, they're back. If I'd been in risky investments, I'd have lost a lot of them, but I didn't have much invested in them. If I'd had to start drawing money from my stocks during the crash, it would have been unpleasant, but most companies will come back from bad times.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    36. Re: Opposite by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      We can share dentures to keep costs down.

    37. Re: Opposite by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 1

      You're obviously not Gen-X yourself because if you were you'd know that the name the person I was responding to was the name of a main character from the 80's show Dukes of Hazzard , and the song lyrics posted are from the theme song to that show, which I posted merely as an acknowledgement of the OP's name. Do try to keep up, AC.

    38. Re: Opposite by syswalla · · Score: 3

      For purely financial reasons, if you have a substantial career, are able to do well on your own, and children aren't in the mix, I understand your point of view. I never wanted kids and I waited until I was 50 to get married. Both of us had good jobs and had built up equity which we were able to combine to create a life that neither one of us would be able to afford separately. That said, it's the intangible emotional support I get from my wife and her family, as well as the knowledge that we can share financial resources without legal roadblocks or a tax penalty that make it a plus for us. Of course you have to marry the right person as well as uphold your end. That's the truly tricky part.

    39. Re:Opposite by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      Fresh out of college, I figured I was smart and impressive enough to find a way to retire by 50.

      Interesting. Fresh out of college, I wanted to never retire.

      I'm nearing 50 now, and I still don't.

      Work fewer hours at my job? Sure, some day, though I could do that now if I wanted to. But I've never liked the thought of giving up work, either in my profession or all the things I do avocationally. And even if I don't need the money (my wife and I have healthy retirement savings and other assets, and the sorts of jobs where we can find ad hoc income when we feel the urge), I can always find a use for it: charity, helping out family, seeing more of the world, trying out another hobby.

      There are plenty of things I like to do that aren't very productive, but labor is hugely important to my sense of self and my happiness. I like to make things, and I like getting compensated for some of it.

      Of course, many people don't feel that way, and that's fine. Plenty of folks put in their time being productive and then want some time off at the end of it. I have no beef with that. Some people seem to think that the only sane stance is to want to retire as soon as possible.

    40. Re:Opposite by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      That's pretty inefficient. Why make your own bespoke children when so many are already available on the mass market?

    41. Re:Opposite by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      "Retire" in my post above just meant "stop doing a day job full time." I'm entirely with you on keeping active and productive. I just want the flexibility to work on multiple projects in very diverse arenas, without nearly as much institutional red tape. Or to put it another way, "I'll be doing things primarily for interest instead of money, whereas I work now for the money first and interest second."

    42. Re: Opposite by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      That's not gruel.

    43. Re:Opposite by Gr8Apes · · Score: 1

      I was thinking that I won't be able to retire the way things are....Unexpected, previously undesirable and sometimes unforeseeable things happen in life: wives...

      I think I see your problem....

      --
      The cesspool just got a check and balance.
    44. Re: Opposite by mapkinase · · Score: 1

      That's us. Millenials will start getting basic income by the time they will be 40

      --
      I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
    45. Re:Opposite by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

      Don't expect the government to come to the rescue just because you failed to plan for the future.

      Of course. But to be frank, you can't even count on that nest egg being there, even if you scrimp and save. There are a ton of ways Wall Street, with the cooperation or active abettance of the US Treasury, can either seize that nest egg, or fritter it away via inflation. Just study the details of economic collapses (starting with Great Depression, particularly Germany, but also look at foreign economic collapses, whether its Argentina, Norway/Sweden, the Asian currency collapse in 1998) and recessions (stuff like the S&L collapse in the late 1980's).

      The last near-banking collapse in 2007-2008 should be quite instructive as well. After 75 years of no banking scares, the US/world economic systems nearly collapsed like an Argentinian bank. Basically, the US Treasury and Federal Reserve bailed out the banks by buying their toxic assets, and the 0% interest Fed lending window; the alleged 2009 infrastructure spending bill of under $800 billion dollars was a sham. The banking system didn't even go into near collapse by subprime mortgage loans, they were less than 5% of the entire loan market. It was the unregulated derivatives gambling posed in part by the subprime loans which threatened the entire system, and the short lending that suddenly wasn't there when Lehman was declared bankrupt. And look at who went to prison for the chicanery? Hell, that fucker Jamie Dimon still has a job after the London Whale fiasco lost $6.8 billion dollars. And now Trump and the banks want to reduce SEC regulation and oversight??? And now I'm supposed to "trust" Wall Street and the Fed Reserve ???

      Did you really require that last iPhone, TV, new car, gaming-system, vacation-trip, restaurant-visit, bar-visit or could you have skipped it or bought something cheaper that provided the same functionality and saved some $$ for the future?

      You see, you're part of the bullshit. A shitload of people don't even have the spare cash for recent model iPhone, or meal at a restaurant. I'm supposed to give up all alcohol for the next 40 years, because if I do that, and invest wisely, I am guaranteed that nest egg will even be there? Its not old people (unless they're poor) giving up cable TV service.

      And the young people that builds up debt for school for taking some obscure classes that will never result in any money..

      And really, all the 18 year olds, who never had to manage thousands of dollars in loans before, decided they're going to pursue an BS for an IT degree, and don't realize there won't be a job that will pay off the loans they accrued pursuing the degree, are the whole fault of the student loan debt slavery system???

      Millennials (don't listen to this pompous asshole who gets his information from print media), realize that your parent sold you a bullshit story that all you needed to do was work hard, get your college degree, buy a house, and set aside money for your retirement, and most likely you will have a relatively comfortable, worry free life. They were lucky enough to live in an era where if you were that careful and responsible, this would probably be the result. What they didn't tell you was that foreign labor markets and now technology would take away those blue collar jobs. They're not telling you now that technology moves so fast, they're going to take away ALL the blue collar jobs, along with the professional jobs, like doctor, lawyer, insurance adjuster, etc. (There will still be architecture jobs, but the available jobs will shrink to a bunch of rich overseas billionaires, and those jobs will go the educated natives (not of this country) that are closer to the construction jobs.)

      You do need to "save" money, pare down your discretionary spending, but you also have to realize that the rich people own all the banks, the media companies that tell you to invest your

      --
      There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
    46. Re:Opposite by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

      He doesn't know what you're talking about. Most grad students I know, that had to eat ramen noodles near daily to maintain housing and college tuition, that were able to eventually move to a more comfortable economic milleu, have more compassion and common sense than this asshole.

      --
      There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
    47. Re:Opposite by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 1

      I'm a gen X'er and I *know* I won't have a pension. Even if I retire, the government or the pension providers will default on me - either through inflation, or just because the damn pension providers will flatly announce they just don't have anything left in their coffers. I know this because they've already done it to my dad, who was born in the silent generation. So it's nothing new, but it sure won't get no better.

      So, I'm not putting any money in a system that'll shaft me and I'm not saving anything for old age - most likely I'll be working until I die anyway.

      Gen X'er here too. I figure that I'll probably end up working until I die, even though I have a decent amount of money set aside in my 401k account. I have over 20 years until I reach normal retirement age (67), but I have absolutely no faith that Socialist Insecurity will be around when I get that old. I'm saving for my wife's sake, so she'll have enough when I'm gone. She also has a pretty good amount set aside in her 401k.

      --
      Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    48. Re:Opposite by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, the government will install suicide booths soon. I saw it a documentary somewhere.

  2. Unrealistic for you, maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    They don't expect to live past 65, given the state of healthcare in this country.

    1. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by cayenne8 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      They don't expect to live past 65, given the state of healthcare in this country.

      Sheesh...quit whining.

      People lived well past 65 in years past with less healthcare and tech than we have today.

      Actually a LOT of health is up to the people themselves.

      Eat right...exercise regularly, don't smoke....and only do fun chemicals in moderation if you must, and you'll be well on your way to a long healthy life, barring any catastrophic happenings, like getting hit by a bus.

      THAT is actually what insurance is supposed to be, only for catastrophic, unexpected health occurrences. If you lived healthy, and if they would encourage HSA's and the like for the routine medical care you need...insurance for catastrophic events would be MUCH cheaper, and most all health care prices would go down. We used to have a system like that when I was a kid, insurance then was called "Major Medical", and it wasn't sky high. Insurance is for accidents, not routine maintenance. Its that way for your car, it should be that way for you too.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    2. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      They don't expect to live past 65, given the state of healthcare in this country.

      "The survey of over 18,000 people in 16 countries ..."

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    3. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Interesting

      While that's all well and good I don't think millennials would be broadly characterized as being personally responsible. That's not to say that they're all irresponsible idiots, but in many ways the rapid scientific and technological process made in the decades prior to their existence have made life much, much easier in the United States and other Western democracies. Life didn't present as much of a demand to be responsible and society didn't go out of its way to realize that we needed to instill those virtues artificially due to their growing absence, so we can hardly be surprised.

      I expect that we'll eventually see the pendulum swing the other way. Eventually this is going to start catching up to people and when enough of them start screaming bloody murder we'll collectively figure out what we should have been doing decades ago and start working towards it. Humanity tends not to make smart decisions at the highest levels, and looking back at history we only tend to do things better after having our previous and catastrophic actions blow up in our face so to speak. For example, the way we treated the Axis powers after WWII was markedly different from how Germany was treated after WWI, only because we came to realize that it was a terrible idea and would lead to future war. Now Germany and Japan are economic powerhouses that contribute greatly to the world economy because humanity realized that its better to build the defeated enemies back up instead of leaving hatred to fester.

      Healthcare is always going to be tricky though just because at the end of your life (assuming it doesn't abruptly end in such a way that makes medical intervention impossible) everyone is going to wind up ill, run-down, or broken in a way that requires a lot of resources to fix. Historically, people were just okay with that, but modern technology has made it a lot easier to prolong the life of people with conditions that would have left them dead before age 2 in any other time period, and so there's a societal demand to keep on living. Maybe science will figure out a way to make that so cheap that it's no longer a problem to provide it so freely, but right now it's not an easy problem.

      In the U.S. it's a particularly large one because as a country we've decided we want a huge military, whereas if we scaled that back we could provide better health coverage, even as unhealthy as we are as a population. But that ties back into the problem of responsibility and we have a society that doesn't view their health as their own concern, but rather someone else's responsibility to fix when it invariably fails. I'm sure a government system could be created to incentivize people to take better care of their own health, but I'm not sure the people would collectively vote for it. Humanity hasn't quite hit the necessary rock bottom in terms of what modernization does to health yet in order for us to go down the right path.

    4. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      The US Govt (at least on the Federal level) is mandated by the US Constitution to provide for defense...that is one of its few enumerated responsibilities and powers.

      I don't really think it is anywhere in the constitution for the government (at least on the federal level) to provide healthcare for the citizens, at least not without a constitutional amendment.

      I find it interesting you say that. Comments about providing for/promoting the "general Welfare" literally appears in the same sentence as "provide for the common defence" in the taxing and spending clause, and in the preamble of the Constitution.

    5. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Altus · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If "provide for the common defense" can be used to justify spending as much on the military as the next 10 countries combined then perhaps "promote the general Welfare" might be considered to include keeping the citizens of the country healthy.

      --

      "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

    6. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by peragrin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The problem is routine medical not subsidized is several hundred dollars a visit. Times a wife and two kids and you are talking about thousands annually.

      Women have been giving birth since the dawn of mankind. Yet now the average child birth costs $30,000.00

      Something where the doctors do little but monitor costs more than a car. Now I would rather have a doctor monitoring the situation as a lot can go wrong quickly, but that's a lot of money for just in case.

      Health care expenses are so far out of whack it isn't funny. The whole industry is out of whack and keeps pushing itself farther away.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    7. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Kjella · · Score: 1

      Insurance is for accidents, not routine maintenance. Its that way for your car, it should be that way for you too.

      Well that would be nice if we could simply swap parts and be back in factory condition. The reality of it is that many of us have or will get problems that sneak up on us like back problems, heart problems, eye problems, bad shoulder, bad hip, cancers and such that come gradually or relapse or are semi-chronic that you can't just trivially cure but do a lot of medication and preventative measures but ultimately you don't really control and the insurance company knows long in advance that you're a hot potato that probably will require expensive treatment in the future. Catastrophic insurance works great for a major trauma like a car crash. It works much less well when they more you'll depend on your insurance in the future, the more the insurance company will want to get rid of you.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    8. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Moheeheeko · · Score: 1

      This explains the results of that survey, because every millennial I know knows damn well social security is a pipe dream.

    9. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by darthsilun · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Ho hum, that old line of reasoning.

      Nobody is suggesting that the military go away. GP said "scaled ... back" Heck, before WWII we had a much smaller military. The Constitution doesn't require military spending to be 1%, 3% or 10% of GDP. Specifically it says "provide for the common defense." BTW, in the very same sentence it also says "promote the general welfare." So far we have interpreted "common defense" to mean "have a standing army." But you know what? Excluding WWI and WWII, up until WWII our military spending was < 1% of gross GDP[1]. Now it's over 3%, and Twitler wants to double it. Do we really need to double it? Opinions are nice, but objectivity is better.

      You're all hot to point out that the Constitution requires the government to provide for the common defense. But you seem to want to gloss right over the promote the general welfare part. Why is that, do you suppose?

      And if we the people want it, it seems to me that the government can solve the affordable health care problem. No Constitutional Amendment required/ We already do lots of other things under the banner of promoting the general welfare, e.g. seatbelt and airbags in cars, safe food, clean air and water, etc., etc. (and Science, bitches.)

      OTOH you know what isn't in the Constitution? There's nothing in it that guarantees that every business will succeed. While Conservitards everywhere are obsessing over the possibility that some theoretical welfare queens somewhere (that typically don't actually exist) are bilking the government for millions, Corporate Welfare Queens are getting tax breaks and using bookkeeping tricks to avoid paying taxes they owe on billions in income. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees. Oh, and those Corporate Welfare Queens are people too, thanks to Citizens United, so they can donate huge sums of money to the very same Congress Critters who give them those tax cuts, bookkeeping dodges, and "people" status. Something's fishy in Denmark if you ask me. (And hey, I'm a person too, I want that same 15% tax rate that Twitler wants to give them.)

      But yeah, keep whining about health care not being in the Constitution. The ACA didn't give health care to anyone. It required the freeloaders who weren't buying insurance and driving the rest of our rates up to be adults and finally buy insurance. Maybe you didn't like the subsidies that the poor got, is that what your gripe was? Let me ask you, do you call yourself a Christian? Ask yourself, would Jesus have helped the poor? Should he have helped the poor? Would he have wanted you to help the poor? Is there a reason you don't think the poor should get help with buying the insurance they need? And want to buy?

      [1] http://www.usgovernmentspendin...

    10. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by cayenne8 · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The problem is routine medical not subsidized is several hundred dollars a visit. Times a wife and two kids and you are talking about thousands annually.

      Hmm..really?

      I mean annual check up for family of 4..say at $200 each would be about $800. Now with kids if they get sick a couple times a year, add another $800 maybe....so, $1600 a year for routine health is too much to expect a family to save for?

      And..if we did what I was saying and go back to where insurance is only major medical, catastrophic insurance, people would be shopping around for Dr.s and not have middle men HMO's and the like....medicine was MUCH cheaper for routine care 30-40 years ago, even if you count for inflation. It is all the insurance covers everything and HMO's that drove the prices up.

      Right now, one of the things that is trending, is groups of doctors that cover full range of the human anatomy are banding together and selling shares in health club type thing...you pay x annually and you're covered for most of your health needs.

      If this type thing were allowed to grow, it might solve a LOT of the problems for routine care.

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    11. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Kevin108 · · Score: 1

      While that's all well and good I don't think millennials would be broadly characterized as being personally responsible.

      You are absolutely right. Google and select an article from your favorite source of spin, but sources agree that the 18-34 demographic is more likely to live with their parents than in any other living situation.

      --

      It's a perfect time for being wasted.
      A perfect time to watch the stars.
      - Burden Brothers, "Beautiful Night"
    12. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      In the U.S. it's a particularly large one because as a country we've decided we want a huge military, whereas if we scaled that back we could provide better health coverage, even as unhealthy as we are as a population.

      I whole heartedly agree with 99.99% of your post, but this part caught my eye.

      The US Govt (at least on the Federal level) is mandated by the US Constitution to provide for defense...that is one of its few enumerated responsibilities and powers.

      I don't really think it is anywhere in the constitution for the government (at least on the federal level) to provide healthcare for the citizens, at least not without a constitutional amendment.

      Well, there's this thing called the GENERAL WELFARE CLAUSE. Article I, section 8 of the U. S. Constitution grants Congress the power to "lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common defense and general Welfare of the United States." And opposition to that being used as wanted was pretty much put down in the 30's with Social Security. These days, the Commerce Clause has pretty much expanded to overshadow the General Welfare Clause. On top of that, funding for the Army, unlike the Navy, "but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years" which pretty much sums up their opinion of having a standing army at all. Still things change and they never probably foresaw a time when the federal government, in being able to declare the training standards of the militias would essentially make it 'join the Army'.

    13. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by XXongo · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're all hot to point out that the Constitution requires the government to provide for the common defense. But you seem to want to gloss right over the promote the general welfare part. Why is that, do you suppose?

      See my other post in this thread about the General Welfare clause. You have to take that as it was meant when written...it means more of the welfare of the UNION of the states, and the ability of the Feds to lay taxation for that purpose.

      No, it doesn't.

      Where the hell do you get these bullshit interpretations?

      The meaning of the "welfare" in 1787 meant health and prosperity. Of the people. You know, that "we the people" thing? People.

    14. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by lupinetine2896 · · Score: 2

      "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.— That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, "

      Declaration of Independence makes it pretty clear that life is a human right and that the feds are responsible for the health and happiness of the citizens. But then again, I'm sure there's a reason that it doesn't count as a founding document in some lines of thinking.

    15. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 1

      The US Govt (at least on the Federal level) is mandated by the US Constitution to provide for defense...that is one of its few enumerated responsibilities and powers.

      That's for *defense*. We send almost half our budget on defense, but maybe about 5% of our budget actually goes to defense. The remaining 45% is for buying expensive toys from defense contractors to assuage our tribal concerns that the country is undefended. Although we pay our soldiers burger-flipping wages (partly to justify not raising the minimum wage for actual burger flippers), the Pentagon is actually complaining about being overloaded with so much expensive equipment that they can't even keep all of it out of the rain. We aren't safe if our military can only end life on the planet- it should be capable of destroying three or four planets, and at least ten by 2030. That's not defense, it's a parasitic industry that gobbles up nearly half the budget. But people are so entranced by it- guys like Brian Williams who ejaculate when they see a couple dozen Tomahawks being fired- that's almost always a cheap political win. Every government that does nothing for its citizens (e.g. North Korea) resorts to military displays. It's an opiate for the masses.

      The Constitution was written when health care costs were not even a conceivable issue at all. For most of American history the Constitution has been considered a working document, designed to be amended as times change in ways that could not have been forseen. That was the 18th-20th century view of the Constitution, but it went out the window several decades ago. At this point, Americans have fetishized the U.S. Constitution like it's an appendix to the Bible, and they quote the Founding Fathers like they were apostles. When amending it is now considered sacrilege, it has completely lost its usefulness. You have the rights you have (and might have needed) up until this originalist attitude set in during the 80s. Now you will never be given any more Constitutional rights, no matter what changes in the near or distant future. Since health care only emerged as a serious problem in more recent decades, you'll never have a Constitutional right to free health care. But you can always kick a British soldier out of your house. That's fucked.

    16. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 3, Informative

      If "provide for the common defense" can be used to justify spending as much on the military as the next 10 countries combined then perhaps "promote the general Welfare" might be considered to include keeping the citizens of the country healthy.

      You're quoting the preamble, which simply explains why they wrote the Constitution. The actual powers of the federal government are vested in Article I, Section 8. Specifically, items 12, 13, and 14:

      12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

      13: To provide and maintain a Navy;

      14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

      There is no specific power granted for "promote the general welfare". Item 1 may come close, saying that "The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States", but the fact that the founders didn't start building hospitals means that they never meant it that way. It's something the states can do, much in the same way that states establish university systems.

    17. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by darthsilun · · Score: 4, Informative

      You have to take that as it was meant when written...it means more of the welfare of the UNION of the states

      SCOTUS doesn't agree with you, AFAICT
      See U.S. v Butler, 1936

      But it doesn't mean "welfare" in the same way that people in this century try to translate it.

      If by "welfare" you mean the (((Entitlement))) part of Social Security? No, I I'm not aware that anyone in this exchange is translating it that way. Excepting perhaps you?

    18. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by tburkhol · · Score: 2

      Most of people's health is determined by genetics, environment and luck.

      Most people's health is determined by genetics, environment, and age. Average healthcare spending by the over-65 crowd is 3x the under-65 crowd, and 20-25% of lifetime medical expenses are, on average, incurred during the last year of life.

      If you want to talk about the real healthcare scam, it's that Americans transition from private insurance to Medicare at just about the age where they start actually consuming healthcare services.

    19. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dywolf · · Score: 1

      im not sure we'll make it past the next 4....or 1.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    20. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dywolf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, that provide for general welfare, has to be taken in the meaning of the day, not as "welfare" as we think of it today. Basically general welfare as used in the constitution was defined as the overall state of wellbeing of the nation as a whole.

      Then so does "provide for the defense", which "in the meaning of the day" most certainly DID NOT mean the permanent standing military of the size and scope that we have today.

      Basically your argument is shit.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    21. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Cinnamon+Beige · · Score: 1

      You're assuming that he's also for a permanent standing military.

    22. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      the pursuit of Happiness.

      No...you missed that part "the pursuit of Happiness."....

      The Feds are not responsible for your happiness, but they are there to help the states and keep law and order to provide an environment where you can pursue your happiness, and basically stay out of your way while you do it. This is different than the oppressive king they were declaring independence from.....

      Also, the Declaration of Independence is not a governing document of the US Government. The US Constitution is, so, that's the one you need to be reading from....

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    23. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Now Germany and Japan are economic powerhouses that contribute greatly to the world economy because humanity realized that its better to build the defeated enemies back up instead of leaving hatred to fester.

      It was more to have a buffer against Stalin but the side effect was as you wrote.

    24. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by shess · · Score: 1

      At this point, Americans have fetishized the U.S. Constitution like it's an appendix to the Bible, and they quote the Founding Fathers like they were apostles. When amending it is now considered sacrilege, it has completely lost its usefulness.

      People who believe the bible is the literal truth are *exactly* the people you would expect to take a literalist interpretation of the US Constitution. This is just a reflection of the political currents in our country.

    25. Re: Unrealistic for you, maybe by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      Except the last time that money was used for defence was over 70 years ago.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    26. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      that provide for general welfare, has to be taken in the meaning of the day

      So the second amendment means you can have a musket, and nothing else?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    27. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Gussington · · Score: 1

      ....it means more of the welfare of the UNION of the states, and the ability of the Feds to lay taxation for that purpose.

      Um ok.. since you said so...

    28. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by SCVonSteroids · · Score: 1

      Humans! Not talking racooons; fucking humans!

      --
      I tend to rant.
    29. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Ihlosi · · Score: 1
      So the second amendment means you can have a musket, and nothing else?

      Of course you can have other things, like sabres. It says "arms" and not "firearms", right?

    30. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by johnwallace123 · · Score: 1

      Right now, one of the things that is trending, is groups of doctors that cover full range of the human anatomy are banding together and selling shares in health club type thing...you pay x annually and you're covered for most of your health needs.

      Huh, that's a novel idea! I'm so glad that someone came up with a great way of making things work in the 21st century!

      Since these "health club shares" are so exclusive, let's call the annual payment a "premium" because it's so awesome. Of course, we can't have someone who pays this "premium" going to the doctor too much, so we'll charge them a small amount every time they see the doctor. Let's call this a "cooperative payment" .. no, that's too long... "co-payment" is much better! Now, of course, this group of doctors is going to need a name. Because we're trying to keep everyone in good health, instead of calling this a "health club" because that sounds too much like a gym, let's call this a "good-health-keeping club"... no too long again... "health maintenance club" is much better. But wait, this group of doctors is so large, it's not really a "club", more like an "organization".

      You know what I just described? Freaking INSURANCE (specifically, an HMO)!! It's not new or novel! Now, here's what was happening pre-ACA:

      OK, now that we have our "club", we don't want anybody to actually USE our doctors and make us pay more than we're collecting annually, so we won't let anyone in who has ever had a heart attack, stroke, cancer, or currently has diabetes (type I or II, don't care), is overweight, has high cholesterol, is over 55 or smokes. Now, to make sure that we don't pay too much, we're only going to provide $50,000/year of coverage, after that, you're on your own, and we won't pay for more than $250,000 over your lifetime. Oh, and although we're a comprehensive network for all of your health care needs, we won't cover you for having a baby, get depressed, or need most specialty care. Also, since only half of our subscribers are women, we aren't going to make everyone pay for those icky women's exams, so we won't pay for those either. Basically, you can see your family doctor (make sure to pay your co-payment up front, please!) and then it's on the streets for you!

      Does that sound like an awesome way of going about things? Note that all of the above exclusions/limitations are REAL riders that I have PERSONALLY experiences with insurance pre-ACA.

      I love how someone can take an old idea, repackage it and then "this will save all of our problems!!"

    31. Re: Unrealistic for you, maybe by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 1

      "Health care expenses are so far out of whack it isn't funny. The whole industry is out of whack and keeps pushing itself farther away."

      This.

      My last Doc visit for " routine " blood work was $500. Was there all of 30 minutes.

      A pair of CT scans is $1600. The pulmo test will be $1500. The bronchoscopy test the want to do is $7000.

      NONE of this is emergency level stuff, yet the cost is already $10k. Insurance will knock it down, but it damn well better considering the monthly premiums I pay out.

      Money I could have put in retirement accounts but, instead, get to line the pockets of an out of control system.

      You're in for quite the shock if you are ever hospitalized.

      ALL of this crap became necessary when one day in my mid 40's I got a sore throat. A simple sore throat that lasted a few days.

      Dropped into my chest and apparently wreaked absolute havoc. Two years later, still fighting it. Zero warning, completely out of the blue.

      Moral: It doesn't matter how well you plan financially or otherwise, life finds a way to screw you over every time.

    32. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Whorhay · · Score: 2

      And the defense bit would have meant no standing army and a very limited navy, relying on militias for national defense.

    33. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      If this were the case, people would once again shop around for medicine and drs....like they did 40 years ago and prices would be lower.

      It would be nice if this was true, but it is not.
      citation: http://www.slate.com/articles/...

    34. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by wiggles · · Score: 1

      Article 5 of the Constitution provides for those kinds of things.

    35. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      In what way does "The Congress shall have Power To...provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States" not imply the power to promote the general welfare? The founders undoubtedly didn't see what was coming, but they explicitly made it possible. Courts do consider original intent, but not typically to override what's printed in black and white.

      You cite items 12, 13, and 14 of the appropriate section to show that Congress can maintain armies and a navy. They say nothing about an Air Force. The only way that can be Constitutionally justified is by the provision of the common Defense in item 1.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    36. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      I'm sure there's a reason that it doesn't count as a founding document in some lines of thinking.

      You mean the ones that prefer accuracy, perhaps?

      The Declaration of Independence may be a "founding document" (a subjective term that has no legal consequences), but it is not part of US federal law. I realize not everyone is familiar with the complexities of the US federal government, but this one is pretty easy to check.

      Also, of course, the passage you quoted says nothing about healthcare being an inalienable right, or a right of any sort.

      Personally, I am in favor of US healthcare reform. I'd be fine with a single-payer system (and I have pretty good healthcare under the current mess). But I don't think arguments from the authority of the Declaration of Independence offer any support for that position, because that document has no authority (aside from sentiment), and because founder-intentionalist arguments, while a staple of American jurisprudence, are rarely enlightening or productive.

    37. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      Basically your argument is shit.

      All intentionalist ("in the meaning of the day") arguments are shit. They're the refuge of lazy thinkers.

      The "founders" were not gods or paragons of wisdom and virtue, and naive intentionalism is a bogus interpretive strategy. (I'm not particularly persuaded by sophisticated intentionalism either, but that's between me and Walter Benn Michaels.)

    38. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      the fact that the founders didn't start building hospitals means that they never meant it that way

      Oh, that's just adorable. Go on, give us another one.

    39. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      If the founding fathers meant it they way you do, they would have implemented a national healthcare system, which they didn't.

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    40. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      Really? Then please point to anything that the founding fathers wrote pursuing national healthcare. Yeah, I didn't think so.

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    41. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      And which of the founding fathers pursued national healthcare in 1787? Doh! You're interpretation needs perspective.

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    42. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by dcw3 · · Score: 1

      Except the 38.5% of Americans that will get cancer in their lifetime.

      I bet that percentage would be much lower for those who "eat right...exercise regularly, don't smoke..."

      --
      Just another day in Paradise
    43. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

      In what way does "The Congress shall have Power To...provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States" not imply the power to promote the general welfare? The founders undoubtedly didn't see what was coming, but they explicitly made it possible. Courts do consider original intent, but not typically to override what's printed in black and white.

      Because "general welfare" is well-known to mean the actual general welfare of the country itself. It's not the welfare of individual people. This is much the same way your local police have a duty to generally keep the peace, but numerous court cases have established that they have no legal responsibility to any individual person.

      You cite items 12, 13, and 14 of the appropriate section to show that Congress can maintain armies and a navy. They say nothing about an Air Force. The only way that can be Constitutionally justified is by the provision of the common Defense in item 1.

      Ironically, the Army has more airplanes than the air force. But the US Air Force would be considered part of the armies that the US may maintain (note the plural).

    44. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

      Do you think we should not have an air force because there were no planes when the constitution was written?

      It's part of the "armies".

      Do you think cybersecurity needed to be enumerated explicitly?

      Cybersecurity isn't a federal issue beyond the general interstate or international commerce implications.

      If you think that the air force and nuclear arsenal are far less important because they were not envisioned in 1787, then perhaps you can consistently believe that modern healthcare should also be considered far less important.

      But that internal consistency would still not make you correct.

      Healthcare existed in the late 1700s, it wasn't invented in the last 100 years like airplanes and nuclear weapons. The fact that the founders never talked about providing healthcare means they didn't see it as part of something the federal government should do. And, it's actually not. The federal government has no authority to do anything with healthcare unless the Constitution is amended.

      You should read it sometime. It's really not as difficult as people such as yourself make it out to be.

    45. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by flghtmstr1 · · Score: 1

      The Declaration of Independence is not law and therefore has no relevance here. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.

    46. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by Altus · · Score: 1

      The welfare of the citizens IS the welfare of the country.

      But maybe you need a better connection. We devote more money to healthcare than any other developed nation and we have worse health outcomes, this is a drain on the GDP... for one spending extraordinary money on healthcare is not a good use of money that could go to any number of other economic pursuits and two, the people who remain sick or less than ideally healthy are not as productive as they could be.

      Fixing this problem would absolutely be in the interest of the general welfare of the state.

      --

      "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

    47. Re:Unrealistic for you, maybe by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      What is this country that has nothing to do with its citizens? If the citizens are better off, the country is better off. The police have no specific obligation to help any specific person in any specific situation, but their job is to protect people in general. As a particular individual, I'm safer because there are police out there that I help pay for, and because they do help individuals. The police will likely come if I need a police officer (as you point out, they don't have a specific obligation to come when I personally need them). If I'm robbed, the police will try to find and convict the individual that robbed me, and any trial will be about specific actions concerning specific people. It isn't possible for the police to do any general good without doing lots of specific goods.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  3. The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by sinij · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This view is unrealistic because it fails to account getting &*#@ed by boomers both with national debt, student debt, globalization suppressing wages, and lack of opportunities due to boomers working past retirement.

    1. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by stdarg · · Score: 1

      Don't forget, what jobs we can't export we want to import cheap labor for. Because we're so smart.

    2. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Millennials are doomed. They will never retire. Socialism Security and Medicare will both be long gone for them. Pensions at all level (private and public) will be a think of the past (almost there already, except for govmint workers). Automation will have destroyed their livelihoods. And the interest payments on the national debt will have long since forced an austerity program the likes of which would make the Greek blush. Either that or a default.

      And climate change, if it's real, will just be the cherry on top.

    3. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Altus · · Score: 2

      yeah but on the other hand by the time they reach 59 they probably wont be able to get a job anymore with the way the economy is going... thats a form of "retirement"

      --

      "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

    4. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      As a boomer, when i went to college, it was $180 a semester. Even adjusted for inflation that's a fraction of the cost today.

      Tuitions went up enormously when the law was changed to allow loans not forgiven by bankruptcy.

      Boomers are running about 10 years behind my age for every major landmark.

      That being said- save hard, don't pamper yourself with eating out and starbucks and you can still retire years earlier.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    5. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by msauve · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's the ready availability of grants and below market student loans which drove the above market increases in tuition. Unintended consequences and all that...

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    6. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Rockoon · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Thats not the cause... thats the symptom.

      In every place the government has encouraged loans, prices have bubbled drastically, for instance in both housing and education.

      The outcome of these things is predictable and indeed has been repeatedly predicted. The reasons that were given for not doing these "progressive" programs have literally come true, but the progressives didnt listen and still will not listen.

      --
      "His name was James Damore."
    7. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Altus · · Score: 1

      While your premise is correct your conclusion is not... What makes you think any of them will be able to find jobs when they hit 60 years old?

      --

      "In America, first you get the sugar, then you get the power, then you get the women..." -H. Simpson

    8. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      That's supposed to say "millennial are running about a decade behind".

      I was a late boomer- almost genx. I was similarly behind leading edge boomers. They were always in the job I wanted to be promoted too and they were going to be there until i was in my mid to late 50's.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    9. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      And the lack of bankruptcy means the banks would loan unreasonable amounts of money to 18 year olds who had no clue how much pain they were signing up for.

      If the bankruptcy was removed, loans would drop, and so would tuition.

      Grants are a factor but they were tiny amounts of money compared to student loans.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    10. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Osgeld · · Score: 1

      not that I agree with the op, but

      as if all you've received should be paid for by others.

      seemed to have worked for the previous generations, hence all the debt

    11. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by mesterha · · Score: 1

      Tuitions went up enormously when the law was changed to allow loans not forgiven by bankruptcy.

      This is somewhat controversial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      For state schools, the evidence points at decreased subsidizing by the federal and state government.

      --

      Chris Mesterharm
    12. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by monkeyxpress · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That being said- save hard, don't pamper yourself with eating out and starbucks and you can still retire years earlier.

      That's funny, because I have just spent the last few years learning how not to do that. I worked really hard (graduated at a young age), and just saved for about 10 years. I paid down debt and put my money into what I thought were safe investments, and pretty much did nothing fun for that time. I barely ate out, I had one beer a month on average, I had a $1500 car that I kept going by spending weekends fixing it.

      However, the one thing I didn't do was buy a house. So in that time, I saw people who took out what I thought were irresponsible mortgage becoming stupidly wealthy, while drawing down their newfound equity and living life to the full. Meanwhile the purchasing value of my savings has become a joke, rents and expenses went up (regardless of what the govt says inflation is) and I basically just try not to think about all the opportunity cost of squirrelling money for so many years.

      I keep enough to live off for about 2 years now, and just try to work my way through a list of life experiences. Part of me still really wants to save, but I beat that part back by reflecting on how much of life I missed out on because I was apparently 'doing all the right things'.

      Until the housing bubble sorts itself out, I think saving is a waste of time. You will lose it all anyway when govt needs to bail out all the people who took on too much debt (which is the other side of your savings). Until then, the best 'savings' a millennial can make right now is keeping their career in good order and skills sharp. It will get really tough when the next recession hits, but if you didn't have any money to lose, and can do something useful, history suggests you'll be able to muddle through to better times.

    13. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Name a generation that wasn't fucked in some way. Stop being so fucking spiteful just because someone might have had it a little better/different than you.

      Name a single generation that didn't have to worry about economics.

      God forbid after the worst war humans have ever seen there was relative peace and prosperity. Damn their parents for making kids after coming back from war. Damn those kids for daring to be born and having different life circumstances that molded their outlook, just like you.

      What the fuck is with the spite these days for prior generations? Your life isn't perfect? Big deal, no one has a perfect life.

      Student debt is correlated to higher availability to university education. Are you saying that college education shouldn't be available to everyone to reduce costs via supply restrictions? Just because there are different ideas to fund it doesn't mean it was for the sole purpose of fucking over a generation. Hell I am one of those fucked by student loans. Yet, I am not going to blame the boomers or any other generation for my life circumstances and choices. Because student loan debt is a choice.

      How does being spiteful help you get a job? Get a retirement? Get a house? Be fiscally responsible?.

      I am sure you have all the answers how to solve all the economic problems while able to convince everyone you have those answers. Name a generation that didn't have to try and solve these kind of problems.

      The stage is the same with different actors. Big fucking deal.

    14. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      College availability has increased. with increased demand with limited supply increases costs.

      What is the proper ratio for funding college education between the person getting the education and the government?

      If you subsidize college education with taxpayer money, then I as a taxpayer should have a say in what education I am willing to fund. If you want people to study w/e they want, then they must bear the burden of those costs because then it is no business of mine as a taxpayer.

    15. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Solandri · · Score: 4, Informative

      Tuitions went up enormously when the law was changed to allow loans not forgiven by bankruptcy.

      Here's a chart of historical tuitions (inflation-adjusted). The change in student loan bankruptcy law was in 2005.

      • From 1994-95 to 2004-05, the average tuition rose from $13,069 to $17,030. An increase of 30.3%, or an annual average of 2.68%.
      • From 2004-05 to 2014-15, the average tuition rose from $17,030 to $21,728. An increase ot 27.6%, or an annual average of 2.47%.
      • Even if you remove the transition years (2004-05 and 2005-06), the increase was 2.34% per year before 2005, 1.93% per year after 2005.

      So contrary to your claim, the rate at which tuitions were climbing actually slowed down after it was made virtually impossible to discharge student loan debt via bankruptcy.

      It was the widespread availability of loans and grants, starting way back after WWII with the GI Bill, which led to high tuitions. The schools simply sopped up that extra money by increasing their tuition. The change to bankruptcy law, while a cute theory, had nothing to do with it, according to numerical evidence.

    16. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by whitlocktj · · Score: 1

      It's everyone else's fault but mine.

    17. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1

      Ditto, almost every bit of advice from a boomer has been bad advice.

      Every year, houses increased more than 4x my annual savings, even when I packed away $80k/year in after-tax savings, it wasn't enough to make my downpayment more effective than if I bought 20 years ago.

      The lesson is the rules will change to suite the majority. The millennials will do fine.

    18. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by sinij · · Score: 1

      The proper ratio is free and adequate high school education that prepares for a non-specialized career. College is seen as mandatory for workforce only because school system fails to develop necessary skills.

      Universities now perform function traditionally carried out by schools - educating and preparing kids for a generic workforce participation.

    19. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by sinij · · Score: 1

      It sounds like you're part of the Entitlement Generation (the proper name).

      It sound like you are part of the Locust Generation. You clearly don't want to pick up a tab for all your wars, wasteful spending and failed "trickle down" and "globalization" politics, for failing to preserve social contract that was handed to you by Great Generation. I don't see any support whatsoever in your generation for reducing old-age entitlements to balance the books that your generation put into deep red - it is all "Keep government hands off my Medicare" and the likes. Your generation haven't met a war it didn't like, with especial affinity for middle eastern quagmires. Meanwhile you fail to recognize your blessings, where boomers actually had near-free education, sane housing costs, before-outsourcing abundance of jobs. When Trump talks about "Make America Great Again", he is talking to going back in time to before boomers like him *&*)ed it all up. Unfortunately, it is too late and isn't possible.

      The only consolation I have is that I expect things to get worse much sooner than you all die off. So you will partake in all this misery you created in your 80s.

    20. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by dywolf · · Score: 1

      incorrect.

      historical fact is the reverse.

      loans came about AFTER tuitions began rising, and in response to that.
      and they began rising because previously they were held low by colleges being funded primarily with taxes.
      but the tax funds went away in the tax cut mania of the 70s and 80s.

      basically, where college was largely publicly funded before, it was turned into a for profit industry via the student loan program after the tax funds went away.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    21. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by dywolf · · Score: 1

      last part is still incorrect.
      youve reverse the cause of effect.

      loans came about AFTER tuitions began rising, and in response to that.
      and they began rising because previously they were held low by colleges being funded primarily with taxes.
      but the tax funds went away in the tax cut mania of the 70s and 80s.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    22. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by msauve · · Score: 2

      If you paid for college, especially with student loans, it was a bad investment, because you didn't learn squat about history.

      The "boomer" gen was the one with a significant number who fought against wars, starting with Viet Nam. Not always successfully, but there's the military-industrial complex to put up with, and political reality. The draft was eliminated after Viet Nam; without later gens voluntarily signing up (mostly for the benefits), later wars wouldn't have been possible.

      "Sane housing costs?" You're making things up. Boomers (middle birth year = 1955) lived through and were buying first houses in the '80's, when mortgage rates were above 10%, approaching 20% at times, the highest rates in US history. Enjoy the current <5% rates, they're below long term historical averages. If you feel entitled to a costly McMansion, that's a choice, but interest rates are not.

      Outsourcing? FU. Things change. There have been many industries which have moved overseas in substantial amount over generations - autos, steel, consumer electronics, to name some big ones. The US response has been to create new industries to replace them. So, get going. Simply by taking personal responsibility, you can move on - no one owes anyone a job. If you're truly competent, you can compete with anyone, anywhere in the world. And if you can't find a job, create one - the most successful people got there through hard work, innovation, and entrepreneurship, not working for someone else. But if you feel entitled and are unwilling to give up $5 Starbucks coffees and put up with some hardship, that obviously won't work.

      Near-free education? It's absolutely free to the individual, and still is, now more than ever. Taxes pay for your learning the basics. Beyond that, it used involve going to a library, but now you can educate yourself by simply having an Internet connection.

      Those old age "entitlements?" They've already been paid for with years of payroll deductions for both SS and Medicare, it's a simple look at any paystub to understand that. No one I know expects to get back even what they've already paid in, and I've personally planned for 30 years with the expectation that it would be much less. That means skipping the $5 Starbucks, brown-bagging your lunch, and doing cheap vacations. And none of that is a hardship.

      The US still enjoys a top-tier standard of living, people from other countries want in. Stop whining like a spoiled brat and get to work, no one owes you anything.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    23. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by msauve · · Score: 1

      Thanks for (unintentionally, I'm sure) proving the GP's point. One merely has to adjust for inflation to see that. Inflation 1995-2005, 28.1%, so tuition rose 2.2% more than inflation. 2005-2015, inflation was 21.4%, so tuition rose 6.2% more than inflation.

      Your figures prove that real tuition costs increased at a greater rate after the change which no longer allowed bankruptcy, not the reverse as you claim.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    24. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by msauve · · Score: 1

      Never mind. I'll admit I neglected that you quoted inflation adjusted figures.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    25. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by dbIII · · Score: 1

      If you paid for college, especially with student loans, it was a bad investment, because you didn't learn squat about history.

      This is a tech oriented site. Most of us who went to University did not learn about history there and instead picked up what we know in our own time - so it's a pretty strange insult to use.

    26. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by sinij · · Score: 1

      The myth that old age entitlements paid for keeps coming back. Guess what, I am paying your old age benefits out of my pocket. Money you paid are long since spent by the government. Sure, it keeps pretending that it is on the books - but all of it is borrowed and spent.

    27. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Each generation is now getting fucked harder because we continue to gain more ability to fuck up the world they're going to live in. Not only do they have to navigate a more complex landscape, with more hazards, but they have to do it with less natural capital.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    28. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      That being said- save hard, don't pamper yourself with eating out and starbucks and you can still retire years earlier.

      Or, buy a nice car, go explore the world, and enjoy life while you still have knees.
      I hate the idea of a nasty life for a good retirement, right when you're unable to enjoy it.

      Mind you I also work in a country where I get holidays so I'm able to do that. Americans seem obsessed with working themselves to death before they even reach retirement age.

    29. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by msauve · · Score: 1

      Thank you for so perfectly proving my point, with your whiny, unapologetic "it's everybody's responsibility but mine" attitude.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    30. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by jjw3579 · · Score: 1

      It's cute that you think millennials pamper themselves with eating out and Starbucks. That's what Boomers do. Millennials have to work there because those are the only jobs hiring them.

    31. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by sinij · · Score: 1

      You are engaging in what is tax equivalent to dine and dash. Pay your goddamn bills, because it is YOUR responsibility that you are offloading on ME. This isn't my tab, I wasn't even in the restaurant when you ordered all the champagne, why do you expect me to pay for it?

    32. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      When you say "continue to gain more ability to fuck up the world" is an dumb way to say; technology marches on. Are you a Luddite? Do you think we should artificially limit the advancement of technology as to slow down this ability to fuck up the world? Or maybe just maybe, every generation faces different challenges and their ability to overcome those challenges is what defines that generation. Obviously, the "greatest generation" would have been much better off and more respected by bitching about how their parents created WW2 with the Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression. Bitching would surely solve their problems.

      Maybe I have it wrong and I should blame all my problems on boomers. That will surly solve my problems that are just too difficult to solve that no one ever had to deal with. -.- Get over yourself.

    33. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      When you say "continue to gain more ability to fuck up the world" is an dumb way to say; technology marches on.

      You do not get to say I said something in a dumb way while using incorrect punctuation, son.

      Are you a Luddite?

      Are you a fucking moron? I didn't say smash the machines. I commented on a fact.

      Do you think we should artificially limit the advancement of technology as to slow down this ability to fuck up the world?

      Did I say that?

      Or maybe just maybe, every generation faces different challenges and their ability to overcome those challenges is what defines that generation.

      Or maybe just maybe you're trying to discredit my comment by attacking straw men, because you're a stupid douchebag.

      Obviously, the "greatest generation" would have been much better off and more respected by bitching about how their parents created WW2 with the Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression.

      And then we dicked around and didn't bother to enter the war even after we knew the holocaust was occurring because we were still profiting from the murder of Jews and the bombing of Hitler's neighbors, to say nothing of actively selling war supplies to the axis. At the end of the war, America was not only sitting on a big pile of Nazi money, but it also had the advantage that everyone else had been bombed a whole bunch, but it hadn't. Suddenly America was in the best position in the industrial world, and it took advantage of it, exporting goods to everyone. Of course, the so-called "greatest generation" also paved the way for the trade agreements that resulted in moving all the production (and thus jobs) to China, exporting the pollution so that America could have gewgaws at the expense of the future.

      We all know that "make america great again" means "make america great for spoiled white people again".

      Maybe I have it wrong and I should blame all my problems on boomers.

      They didn't cause all the problems. They mostly did nothing to fix them, and profited from the sweat of the greatest generation and the took credit for it.

      Each generation has a legitimate gripe with the prior generation, which as a rule tries to retard progress for their own comfort. The baby boomers deserve more blame than most, though, as a group. Most of the time the people are no more responsible for what happens in their government than a tree is responsible for what happens deep in the forest. With only the most peripheral influence there, there is little ability to initiate change, at least on the part of the individual.

      I don't count our leaders as part of any generation. Wealthy people live in a whole different world.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    34. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      lol, good god you are a spiteful shit. did your son not get the participation trophy because his daddy was fightin the white capitalist supremacist patriarchy?

      We all know that "make america great again" means "make america great for spoiled white people again".

      you talk of strawmen then parade this bullshit. hurr hurr i am not racist because i hate the right race. hurr hurr segregation be bad except when we do it. hurr hurr white man need pay reparations. hurr. hurr. hurr.

      They mostly did nothing to fix them

      inaction of government in disagreement is a feature not a bug. convince people your solution is best instead of acting like a damn self righteous fool.

      The baby boomers deserve more blame than mos

      looking for blame on a huge demographic does nothing except make you look like a resentful asshole. the stage is the same with different actors. get over yourself.

      as far as ww2. you sound resentful and full of spite and full of hate. not goin to defend any of those actions save for the fact that ww2 ended americas tradition of isolation. for better or worse.

      Do me a favor. Cry a river, build a bridge, and get over it.

    35. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      lol, good god you are a spiteful shit.

      You're just shit.

      inaction of government in disagreement is a feature not a bug.

      Then why do we have a government? Why do you like wasting money?

      looking for blame on a huge demographic does nothing except make you look like a resentful asshole.

      They profited from the situation and now they are telling lies about how it's not their fault. It is their fault, and fuck those stupid fucking cucks who fellated the government right up to where we are today.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    36. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      It sounds like both of you failed to diversify investments. I started buying a very reasonable house in my mid twenties. That is a house which I could still afford to pay for if I had to flip burgers to get by. Retirement savings go into market indexed funds which are long term, multi decade investments. Day to day savings piles up in the bank/credit union accounts until such a point that some of it either gets moved to or spent on other investments.

      The crash in 2008 sucked but it was mostly damage on paper and worked its self out within a couple years. My house value took a hit in 2008 I'm sure but I didn't need to sell it and so just carried on as usual. When I refinanced the mortgage a few years later to lower the interest rate by a couple whole points the requisite appraisal showed a sizable increase in value from the purchase price.

    37. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      lol, it's the internet bro, i am entitled to be a nutty shit. at least not spiteful and full of hate that demonizes a demographic. you know, that thing that we found out was bad in the last century because it tends to get out of hand when people act on that demonetization and emotion.

      Then why do we have a government? Why do you like wasting money?

      We could have a king then disagreement isn't an issue but if you strive for a higher ideal, like democracy, then you have to compromise. Don't like wasting money but it is easier to compromise on things we agree on (like defense) than things we don't agree on (like college education funding). It's easier to spend money than to make money. If you have solution to government spending that is a compromise I would love to hear it.

      They profited from the situation

      So what?

      now they are telling lies about how it's not their fault.

      #notall. Even if true, how does that help anyone younger fix those issues? How does getting caught up in spite and hate get you a job or retirement?

      fuck those stupid fucking cucks who fellated the government right up to where we are today.

      LOL, yes, they are cucks for profiting from the times they were in as opposed to the person that hates the country and prior generations because their retirement outlook isn't as good. Holy first world problems batman. I think you need perspective in life.

    38. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      lol, it's the internet bro, i am entitled to be a nutty shit.

      I didn't say you weren't. Just don't expect anyone to think anything should happen to you other than scraping you off of their shoe.

      Even if true, how does that help anyone younger fix those issues?

      They are still here and still voting for things which will actually hurt them too.

      LOL, yes, they are cucks for profiting from the times they were in as opposed to the person that hates the country and prior generations because their retirement outlook isn't as good.

      They're hurting now too. Lots of them don't actually have a retirement outlook. The last few big bank scandals wiped those out. Now they're [barely] living in a shit hole. That's why they're cucks. Instead of supporting social programs upon which they depend, like say social security, they've been shitting on the whole idea of socialism as if it were stupid. Well, it ain't. It's what makes a society.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    39. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Same, when i joined the workforce it was all, "we used to get raises, bonuses, parties, etc..." Sometimes only afew years ago.

    40. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      The best advice is to keep yourself sharp and avoid entangling yourself in huge debts, whether those are monetary debts, healthcare debts (poor living), or psychological debts (over commitment to an employer, industry, or region).
      I have enough of a chain with family and friends.

    41. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      top kek, There's that authoritarian slant I was waiting for. Gas all those who disagree and the world will be a better place! Vote the way I want if you know whats good for you!

      They are still here and still voting for things which will actually hurt them too.

      So, gas them and then we can fix the problems? Or name a specific problem and propose a specific solution that people can agree on. You know, democracy in action instead of stomping on the face of those you don't like. #punchanazi works amirite

      hurting now too.

      lol, yes but it's still their fault because no one can agree on the problem or solution.

      Lots of them don't actually have a retirement outlook.

      you mean to tell met hat one reason why millennials have poorer job prospects is because a lot of retirements were lost during the recession and forced them to stay in the work force? Damn, what is your economic solution to boons and busts? I guess if we bitch some more and put a boot on their face it will solve our problems. Vote for socialism that I want or else!

      . Instead of supporting social programs upon which they depend, like say social security, they've been shitting on the whole idea of socialism as if it were stupid. Well, it ain't. It's what makes a society.

      Oh, I see. If only those fuckers just thought socialism was as good as I think it is the world would be a better place! Why don't those people vote the way I want. Don't they know what is good for 'em? Quite the authoritarian aren't you? Gas those who disagree amirite. I mean, there are no wrong tactics only wrong targets.

      lol... just lol.

    42. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      top kek, There's that authoritarian slant I was waiting for. Gas all those who disagree and the world will be a better place!

      Wow, you really skipped your meds today.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    43. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      sure thing. what ever makes you feel better. go ahead a preach the benefits of socialism and how you are going to force that on people that don't want it.

    44. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      And you have just rediscovered the classic fable, "The grasshopper and the ant".

      Your life experiences are most likely going to require that you work until the day you die.

      As for the rest..

      You are playing the odds in a situation where the odds are against you. You MAY be right. But I'd put the odds at under 10%. And the upside if you are right is that you live a better life now but suffer when you are old. But a lot of that better life, you won't remember when you are old. Regular luxury means that the luxury becomes unmemorable. If you are not going to remember it in 6 months, then it's a wasted luxury.

      Increasingly- many people who took your side of the bet are committing suicide as they reach old age.

      Saving hard, diversifying, owning your own *reasonable* sized (or even small) home is on the 90% side of the bet. Focusing on free activities with friends and family (games, dinner parties, etc.) and the occasional luxuries (I still took ski trips. i still ate out really nice once per quarter and I can still recall many of those meals).

      But it is harder for millennials and that can be discouraging. And they may not make it before automation sweeps in. But my daughter and her friends are doing okay so far and about 10 years in to paying off their houses and doing okay at balancing fun and responsibility/savings.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    45. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      And I've been paying into the system for the past 43 years, and if I don't get something out of Social Security I'm going to be pissed, along with tens of millions of other people with leisure time to lobby their representatives and who tend to vote. Whether Social Security was a good idea or not, whether it was set up properly or not, there are lots of moral and political reasons why it can't just be dropped.

      The fund was intended to lend out money at interest, because keeping it under some gigamattress is stupid. Lending it to the US Government isn't a problem (although I've heard the interest rate is low). The change in the fund from having more to less money to lend is going to be big, through.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    46. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      Fair point and I like data driven counter arguments.

      I thought it was due to bankruptcy changes but it may not be.

      It's still a fact that as a late boomer, we could afford to go to college on minimum wage without debt.
      And it was even easier for the early boomers.

      And we did go to brick and mortar schools and today the schools are marble and granite palaces.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    47. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      Sorry dude, but I game (pathfinder with one group, boardgames with two other groups) with millenials. I'm well aware of their vices. I speak from personal experience. Sample size is small (about 30) but the behavior is clear. They talk about getting their "free" starbucks using their affinity cards (which is something like buy 10 to get 1 free). And they often eat out because its "too hard" to shop and cook after work or they don't know how to cook. And they eat out at lunch instead of brownbagging it.

       

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    48. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      Or buy an affordable car (too many of my peers had $50,000 to $60,000 cars) and an affordable house (too many of my peers had houses that cost 2x to 3x what mine cost) and do a lot of fun cheap stuff with friends while taking a 2-3 weeks of nice vacations per year (but nothing too expensive too often). I took cruises, ski trips, and gaming trips.

      Americans seem obsessed with status spending. By saving hard, I retired at 51.

      Could I be screwed by social security being gutted? Sure. But that was where I drew the line you drew at a younger age.

      And yea- our vacations suck. And we really don't get anything in trade for terrible vacation time compared to the rest of the world.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    49. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Or buy an affordable car

      You're moving the goalposts. You said "Save-hard" I said "buy nice". At no point did I say make it unaffordable. You can definitely buy nice live in luxury and still be affordable.

      Frankly I'm not going to penny pinch for many years only to finally retire when my body is already totally screwed. A friend of mine berated me because he paid off his house faster than I did. Yeah you did, but you didn't even want to turn the heaters on to save costs while I spent winter nights in front of a wooden fireplace. Same thing with a car. He bought a $600 beater for his daily commute and then spent 5 years complaining about a bad back (likely from a car seat he couldn't set back far enough).

      A years of luxury doesn't trump a few years of extra work, especially when you like your work.

      Well actually it doesn't if you hate your job, but if you're saving for retirement because you hate your job you have bigger problems.

    50. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      sure thing. what ever makes you feel better. go ahead a preach the benefits of socialism and how you are going to force that on people that don't want it.

      Point to where I said that, son.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    51. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by penandpaper · · Score: 1

      "That's why they're cucks. Instead of supporting social programs upon which they depend, like say social security, they've been shitting on the whole idea of socialism as if it were stupid. Well, it ain't. It's what makes a society."

      don't beat me daddy. if those cucks oppose what makes society and you want society... what do you do with those barbarians that ruin your paradise society daddy? not literally said but implied daddy. What else is a simple minded fool like me to do when you say there are people that oppose 'what makes society' and I want society?

    52. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      I'm not intending to move the goal posts only to clarify.

      When you say "nice" car, I hear something more expensive than a honda accord or honda element. I hear $36k to $42k instead of $22k. If you meant buy a nice car from a company with a good maintenance record then we are in agreement.

      I could have pushed harder and gone with 2 year old used cars and saved more and still not been in junkers like you describe but i did not.

      It's not about penny pinching- now you are moving the goal posts.

      You are painting a picture of being an extreme spendthrift when that's not necessary. If you want to retire even earlier or if you want to retire at my age like those janitors with a million bucks- then sure. But my goal wasn't that extreme.

      While I don't "hate" my job- but when I was 30, I realized I got no status or enjoyment out of working like other people do. I've been retired 6 years now and I'm falling behind on doing the things I want to do. There are shows to watch, drawings to draw, songs to play, gardens to tend, walks to take, and places to see.

      I realized young that unlike many people I actually enjoyed my life outside of work and if I could just have the money, I felt no need to work. I recognize that some people need to work to feel happy. I'm not wired that way.

      Years of luxury DOES trump a few extra years of hard work. That's my entire point. From 20 to 30, I did that. The result was few good memories of the luxuries and a lot less money. It's trivial to waste $20,000 a year eating out, going to bars, etc. It costs money to work. You only get to save some of your income. A huge chunk goes to taxes as well. You save along the way or you work til you die or you commit suicide (as an increasing number of mid 60 year old people are doing).

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    53. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      When you said "save-hard" I heard penny pinching.

    54. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1

      I did buy one, but sold it a few years later for personal reasons. Didn't make a lot of money at it.

      I've saved over $400k, but houses where I'm renting are over $2M now.

      Real-estate is highly local, so the 2008 crash around here was 2 weeks long. Emergency measures kicked up prices at double-speed until 2015 and faster still in the past three years.

    55. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Dr.+Evil · · Score: 1

      Oh wait, I get what you mean, the stock market crash of 2008. The RE "crash" around here followed which people often cite as a buying opportunity, but it was 2 weeks long and only on paper.

      I was fully invested during and after the 2008 stock market crash. I invested my house proceeds at the top of the market and got slaughtered, but nobody in their right mind sells low. The markets did nothing for roughly 8 years, but there's a tiny, tiny uptick in my portfolio.

      In terms of the house, it sounds like you didn't take the boomer's advice to "buy what you can afford, save a good downpayment" or you were born a few years earlier than me. Congratulations.

    56. Re:The view fails to account getting &*#@ed by Whorhay · · Score: 1

      2005

      Not anywhere particularly nice, though I could have gone much much cheaper. My house was about quadruple the value of my annual salary at the time, though now even with it having gained value it's only about double my salary.

      Housing costs are pretty insane in a lot of popular localities. To avoid that I've deliberately stayed in an area with low costs of living but still has employment opportunities. The pay around here isn't as high as you might find elsewhere but the cost of living makes up for it. I could have actually bought a house for under $20k but the neighborhood is pretty sketchy over that way.

  4. I don't think they actually talked to any of them. by bistromath007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Millenials don't expect to work past 65 because they'd be surprised if they make it past 50 without committing suicide.

  5. Who did they talk to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I have never met someone below the age of 30 that thought they had a chance of retiring at all. The majority expects Social Security to be gone, they have never seen a job with a pension, and they just lived the prime of their lives through the economic recession shattering both 401k investments and realestate.

    Millenials are keenly aware of how screwed they are.

    1. Re:Who did they talk to? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The average person will see major recessions and a depression in their lifetime. My late father, who was born in the middle of the Great Depression and seen more than a few recessions, regarded the Great Recession as the Second Great Depression. I've been through the Dot Com Bust and the Great Recession, and I'm preparing for the Trump Recession that will happen in the next few years. This is not as bad as the 19th century where a depression took place every 25 years.

    2. Re:Who did they talk to? by aktw · · Score: 1

      Yep. The best we can really hope for is to outlast the Gen-X and Baby Boomers that have been fucking up the political process for so long, and *then* hopefully we'll be able to reverse the damage enough that our children have a chance at success.

    3. Re:Who did they talk to? by amiga3D · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I just retired at age 57. I bought my own home and even though I'm not rolling in dough I don't have to work to live. No house payment and if I make it to 62 I can expect around 2K more per month which will set me up pretty nice. I spent a lifetime working in avionics with a 60K yearly income at retirement. I still expect to work but no longer at a daily grind kind of pace. I look to do projects and temp work just to make play money. Not bad for a high school education.

    4. Re:Who did they talk to? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Trump Recession? Implying that the Great Recession isn't over.

      The Great Recession was over in 2009. We had eight years of an expanding economy and we're overdue for a recession. Since Trump won the election, it won't be called the Hillary Recession.

    5. Re:Who did they talk to? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You need to get yourself a better financial advisor.

    6. Re:Who did they talk to? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      More bullshit from people who read fake news, I suppose.

      I'll take fake news over imaginary news any time of the day.

    7. Re:Who did they talk to? by clodney · · Score: 2

      I have never met someone below the age of 30 that thought they had a chance of retiring at all. The majority expects Social Security to be gone..

      While the state of Social Security is not good, it is not nearly so dire as that. It is one of the most popular government programs around, and current projections are that in 203x when the trust funds are exhausted (and yes, the trust funds are nothing more than bonds that have to be paid by the Treasury, so in some senses don't really exist), ongoing payroll deductions at the current level would pay 71% of current benefits (inflation adjusted).

      So a haircut, not a death sentence. And the popularity of the program means that it is one of the least likely things to go away. Rising debt service is probably a greater threat to social security than anything else, crowding out all other spending.

      One thing I have never seen is very long term projections. When the bulk of the boomers die off I can imagine Social Security going back into the black.

      If you are a millennial, hope for something like a flu pandemic with mortality concentrated in the old - that would knock a bunch of boomers out of the Social Security pool and leave more money for you. .

    8. Re:Who did they talk to? by outlander · · Score: 1

      Umm, my stock portfolio grew a hell of a lot between 2009 and the present.....there has been economic expansion, but it's concentrated in some sectors (finance, tech, healthcare). leaving most others behind.

      --
      "Truth is what works" -- William James "It works!!" -- o-dark-AM comment
    9. Re:Who did they talk to? by outlander · · Score: 1

      ...and remove the current wage cap on SS and it'll be solvent indefinitely.
      This hasn't happened because there are congresscritters who would like to watch SS fail so they can privatize things for their financial donors.....

      --
      "Truth is what works" -- William James "It works!!" -- o-dark-AM comment
    10. Re:Who did they talk to? by whitlocktj · · Score: 2

      Yes, it ended in June of 2009. The reason that's hard to believe is because it took a lot longer after that to recover from what was lost, nevertheless, GDP, the standard by which a recession is typically defined, was no longer receding. And stocks were on the uphill climb. This took a lot longer to trickle down into every day life, but for sure, the recession was over.

    11. Re:Who did they talk to? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Crash the system when your color of politician is not in power so you can prove that they were as evil and wrong as we said!

      Orange is the new black?!

      Why work for a better world when you can have the righteous indignation of setting it on fire and blaming your enemies?

      As they say on the far right, "Burn, baby, burn!"

    12. Re:Who did they talk to? by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      Not too far behind you. I've saved my ass off my whole life and my home is nearly paid for. When it is I'll save some more and likely buy something somewhere cheaper and then GTFO. This wasn't luck, it was planning and it was saving and it was being satisfied with what I had instead of always trying to move up and up with my home. I hope it pays off and I'm happy to say I've at least enjoyed myself along the way as best I could. My biggest issue is knowing how much is "enough" and wondering when and if some jackass in the govt is going to decide to try and take what I've saved to pay for those who didn't

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
    13. Re:Who did they talk to? by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

      You retire on the backs of the young, who you have voted to screw. It's time to kill the old and drain their wealth.

    14. Re:Who did they talk to? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I have never met someone below the age of 30 that thought they had a chance of retiring at all.

      I take it you have a sample size of one. Even within a margin of error you should at least have met someone who thinks they have a chance of retiring. I'm going to call bullshit on your anecdote.

    15. Re:Who did they talk to? by misexistentialist · · Score: 1

      Government printing money will probably still catch up with you, saw it with my hard-working elderly relatives. The elites are able to borrow huge amounts of printed money to invest for profit so that their lifestyle and family wealth is guaranteed

    16. Re:Who did they talk to? by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Yeah why spend lifetime working to retire when you can kill someone and steal their stuff instead?

    17. Re:Who did they talk to? by SCVonSteroids · · Score: 1

      Not too bad at all. My hat off to you sir.

      --
      I tend to rant.
    18. Re:Who did they talk to? by Dripdry · · Score: 1

      It'll be the Trump Slump

      --
      -
    19. Re:Who did they talk to? by Dripdry · · Score: 1

      Why rationalize one' s selfish viewpoints without understanding that the culture under which one's gains were made have laid waste to most of the next generation?

      --
      -
    20. Re:Who did they talk to? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Do you realize how many generations have had that same idea? When I was eighteen, my generation was going to take power shortly and do things right. I'm not mentioning here what generation that is (you can probably tell from my posting history), because it really doesn't matter.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    21. Re:Who did they talk to? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Your biggest issue is probably a medical emergency being a lot more expensive than you're prepared for. Check where your investments are, also: those are usually subject to extreme bad luck. (I knew a guy who got out of Enron right after the crash, and stuck his money into another big business temporarily - Worldcon or something? - and it died before he decided what to do with it.)

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    22. Re:Who did they talk to? by n7ytd · · Score: 1

      I am a Gen-Xer at 49 and I don't expect to retire at all. I have had my retirement savings via a 401K decimated twice due to massive losses when the dot-com and housing bubbles burst. I was unemployed for a year in 2009 and had temporary jobs until 2012 when I finally got a permanent job. In those 5 years I have saved $400K by scrimping. I am dreading the day there is another recession and I see that money halved.

      If you're able to save $80k/year ($400k/5 years) and you are having trouble figuring out how to become a millionaire, it would be worth your time and money to seek out better financial advice.

    23. Re:Who did they talk to? by Gussington · · Score: 1

      Why rationalize one' s selfish viewpoints without understanding that the culture under which one's gains were made have laid waste to most of the next generation?

      Yeah yeah, whinge whinge, moan moan, we know it goes, the world owes me a living. We were young too once remember, so don't worry you'll grow out of it...

    24. Re:Who did they talk to? by hattig · · Score: 1

      Old people vote a lot more than younger people.

      And they'll vote for whoever props up the social security pension scheme.

      Hence in the UK - triple lock pensions (pension rises at the max of Average Earnings Growth, RPI, 2.5%). Now admittedly pensions in the UK were historically a bit crap, and there was some catching up to do, but it'll take a government with a massive lead in the polls at election time to risk not running on that policy (like this year).

      It's the old suckling on the hard work of the young, and they do it without any guilt.

  6. Save 30%, retire early by Moof123 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Seriously, the math is not hard. Live a simple life that concentrates on happiness instead of stuff, and make saving a healthy percentage of your income. You will be financially independent and have the option to retire well before 50.

    Or you can choose to save 10% or less, inflate your lifestyle at every raise and work until you are 70+. More likely you will get laid off in your 50's and have to "retire" badly when all you can find is low wage jobs.

    1. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Your simple plan is dependent on having above average salary, not getting sick and no close family member getting sick. Low salary forces you into simple life and you still wont save all that much. It is kinda hard when cheap rent in bad district eats all money you earn. It is hard to concentrate on happiness when you drive almost hour and half each day to get home after long hours.

      Math is easy, it is just that economy does not guarantee everyone well paid job you can easily save from.

    2. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Posting anonymously as there's a bit too much personal financial info in this post.

      I'm technically a millennial (though on the upper end of the age range). My net worth is slightly north of $1M, and I made roughly $1M gross in the past 2 years or so. About 40% of that went to taxes, and the large majority of it into assets - net worth nearly doubled in the last 3 years or so.

      If I maintain my current income levels, I need to work for another 5 years to have enough investable assets to get by in moderate comfort for the rest of my life. So if I'm truly lucky, I can retire at 40. This to me means no mortgage or debt and a post-tax income around $60,000 a year. To do this, I need to make $100k/year pre-tax. Assuming 50% fixed income and 50% capital gains, I would ballpark in that range with about $2.5M in assets at 4-5% annual growth.

      Not to mention your ability to stay retired is entirely dependent on the market behaving properly. If you're very careful, and have sufficient assets to weather the bad times, you should be ok. One can't retired on $1M in the bank anymore.

      And I make bank - literally close to 10x the average income in my area. The only way I retire on that schedule is by carefully managing my expenses - something I'm working very hard to do. I'm not sure what others are expecting, but saving enough money to retire early is hard.

    3. Re:Save 30%, retire early by ColdWetDog · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, it's hardly that simple. While you espouse a perfectly reasonable plan, there are lots of things that can get in your way. That job that concentrates on happiness (whatever that is) just laid you off. You run through your savings in 9 months looking for another job. Then your wife comes down with breast cancer.

      I see this stuff all of the time. It's not just American Hedonism that is going to screw the Millenials - it's hedonism, no safety net and an economy run by those nice people that brought you 2008. If you're of the Buddhist persuasion then you can sigh, work some more on your karma and hope next time you get reincarnated as a housefly. The rest of us just get depressed.

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    4. Re:Save 30%, retire early by jeff4747 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You forgot to include a few steps:

      -Be lucky enough to never face a serious health issue.
      -Be lucky enough to never be unemployed for an extended period of time due to forces beyond your control.
      -Have zero family or friends that failed the previous two steps. Or even better, zero family or friends.

    5. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Ah yes! Live like a pauper for 40 years so that way you can maybe live like a regular person when you're in your third act!

      The worst retirement savings plan in history. Screw all the clickbait financial articles trying to influence people to partake in this lifestyle of foregoing pretty much all extraneous material possessions in the sole pursuit of retirement savings. I especially feel bad for the kids of the wing nuts who are actually trying to execute this plan. I sure as hell would be pissed if I had to spend my childhood being labeled as the poor kid in school just so my off-the-rocker parents can live out their retirement plan that's been devised by a lunatic.

      "Hey billy! how was your summer vacation! My parents took me to disneyworld!"

      "Well ... my parents said we were over our biannual budget, so I spent my summer eating rice and beans and throwing rocks at passing cars ..."

    6. Re:Save 30%, retire early by MagicM · · Score: 1

      Work from 20 to 50, save 30%, and expect to live from 50 to 90 off those savings? I can do the math on my fingers to see that's not going to work.

      Even if someone saved 100% for 30 years, inflation will ensure they can't live off that for 40 years afterwards.

    7. Re:Save 30%, retire early by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      I put all my 401K into government securities 2 years before I retired just because I feared exactly that. I lost out badly on the Trump bump to the stock market but I seriously thought Hilliary would get elected. Still, better safe than sorry.

    8. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Zocalo · · Score: 1

      No, the math's not hard, but achieving it is getting tougher all the time. Save 30%? Starting when exactly, given that the generation in question is almost certainly going to be stuck with either low paying jobs or having to pay off student loan debts before they can even think about sorting out a place of their own? Maybe one of the fortunate few that gets a big break with a successful startup or has the connections/skills/talent to reach the upper levels of their chosen career can still pull it off, but the rest are basically screwed and will absolutely have to work longer to reach a point they can retire in comfort.

      Also, don't forget that pensions also take into account things like expected lifespans published in arcturial tables. Even if the retirement age and inflation adjusted pension pot remained constant, if your post-retirement life expectancy is eleven years instead of ten, you've got (more or less) 10% less to live on each month - adjust accordingly if medical science advances that to twelve or more years. Factor in the ever decreasing social security budgets, the rising age at whch you can qualify for it, and how poorly many pension funds are currently performing, and the prospects of early retirement seem much slimmer than for the previous few generations.

      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
    9. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Granted those happen- but buying too much house, eating out too much, buying too much car, traveling too much, buying clothing that's too nice, drinking after work, starbucks, and many other activities enjoyed by the young do not help.

      I lived on half I made and saved the rest from 1987 onwards. I retired 16 years early.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    10. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      you know, if you don't blow everything you make, then getting sick isn't a huge disaster. I just retired with a special needs kid at home at 55 after working for a living. It's not really that hard, if you can live without your $7 starbucks milkshake every morning. And yes, the stock market got gutted a few years before retiring, but that wasn't a major issue, as I don't pretend to be a day trader.

    11. Re:Save 30%, retire early by DalM · · Score: 3, Funny

      Better move it all back to those stocks. Wouldn't want to miss out on any more of those gains.

    12. Re:Save 30%, retire early by chispito · · Score: 1

      Work from 20 to 50, save 30%, and expect to live from 50 to 90 off those savings? I can do the math on my fingers to see that's not going to work.

      Even if someone saved 100% for 30 years, inflation will ensure they can't live off that for 40 years afterwards.

      I think by "save" he meant "invest."

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    13. Re:Save 30%, retire early by DogDude · · Score: 1

      Work from 20 to 50, save 30%, and expect to live from 50 to 90 off those savings? I can do the math on my fingers to see that's not going to work.

      You can't calculate compound interest on your fingers, is the problem.

      Even if someone saved 100% for 30 years, inflation will ensure they can't live off that for 40 years afterwards.

      I don't think that most people save by holding onto cash, as you're suggesting.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    14. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Malenx · · Score: 1

      The market has always rebounded. Betting against that is just foolish.

    15. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Pascoea · · Score: 2

      The only way I retire on that schedule is by carefully managing my expenses - something I'm working very hard to do. I'm not sure what others are expecting, but saving enough money to retire early is hard.

      I'm really not sure what you were getting at in your post. Basically what I gleaned from it is: I'm 35. I pull in around $1M/year. Math Math Math. I plan on retiring in 5 years. You can't retire on a million dollars any more. Saving money is hard.

      I don't mean to be a dick, but "carefully managing your expenses" is a little easier when making "literally close to 10x the average income" in my area. Not knocking what you've accomplished. You're either exceptionally smart, exceptionally lucky, mostly likely both. But saying "saving enough money to retire early is hard" when making a million dollars a year makes you come across as a prick.

    16. Re:Save 30%, retire early by liquid_schwartz · · Score: 2

      Plus the most important one - never get divorced as that is the most common setback people will face. My advice to my kids is to only marry someone who makes as much or more than you.

    17. Re:Save 30%, retire early by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Too late. I missed the wave. Inevitably what goes up has to come back down. When the bubble breaks I'll buy then.

    18. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Moof123 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Saving crap piles of money makes dealing with ALL of those issues much easier, they are not reasons to avoid savings. Money in the bank gives you options if you get sick, or family has a disaster. Living paycheck to paycheck makes minor medical or job problems an instant emergency. Not being able to keep your job because you get sick without large savings can be quickly ruinous.

      Becoming financially independent and retiring early gives you more time to cook healthy food and exercise more, not to mention huge reductions health destroying stress. Chances of major illnesses can be reduced greatly as a result.

      I've already been through a year long unemployment episode, and never want to be at the whim of an employer for my livelihood again.

    19. Re:Save 30%, retire early by slew · · Score: 2

      Plus the most important one - never get divorced as that is the most common setback people will face. My advice to my kids is to only marry someone who makes as much or more than you.

      If we apply these rules across the board, basically internet match services will only need 2 criteria: sexual orientation, and monthly salary. They would then only need match those that had equal salary (within some tolerance) and compatible sexual orientation.

      I had a similar discussion with a relative of mine the other day that insisted that her kids would need to "marry-up" or she would disown them. My response was how could that possibly work? Why wouldn't your future in-laws cut-off their kids for "marrying-down"? She was not happy with that response.

    20. Re:Save 30%, retire early by swb · · Score: 1

      Or even better, zero family or friends.

      You know, I think this might be key, especially the family thing.

      The 2 people I know who are in their 40s with paid-for houses, good investments (above and beyond 401k, etc) and lots of savings are REALLY cheap people. Relentless coupon clippers. Buy a huge cut of meat at Costco, cook a giant stew and eat it for every meal for a week. Vacation is staying home from work 5 days to paint the house. Can do everything short of an engine rebuild on their car (which they have owned outright for 7+ years). Only watch movies they buy used from the pawn shop. Clothes all bought at discount stores.

      And neither one has much of a social life and no spouse or girlfriend.

      I don't think living that way would be that hard, but getting other people to put up with it would be. I think women kind of generally look at spending behavior as a kind of signaling -- how well will you take care of me -- and if they see a guy who won't spend on himself, they figure no way, he won't take care of me or will be unpleasantly cheap.

      The only *families* I've ever run into that cheap are super religious, scrimping so mom doesn't work or some other kind of lifestyle goal. And I don't think they really are accumulating anything, they just don't have anything because of one income.

    21. Re:Save 30%, retire early by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      No. That is not true. The market has increased since its inception. It may have crashes and dips but the overall trend is always up.

    22. Re:Save 30%, retire early by guruevi · · Score: 1

      So you saved ~40-80k/year for 30 years to earn 40-80k for about 20 years. Accounting for inflation, that's a bad investment.

      --
      Custom electronics and digital signage for your business: www.evcircuits.com
    23. Re:Save 30%, retire early by BLKMGK · · Score: 1

      A key is to save early. I've had to demonstrate that with a compounding interest spreadsheet to more than one guy - including one who literally told me he wasn't saving because he had "plenty of time for that later"! :-O

      I was hit pretty hard during one of the crashes. I had been investing in individual stocks and more than one of those companies got CRUSHED. when they actually go out of business you lose it ALL lol. My current 401K is managed much much better and I've recovered but I sure wish I'd known then what I know now!

      --
      Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
    24. Re:Save 30%, retire early by virtig01 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Your simple plan is dependent on having above average salary, not getting sick and no close family member getting sick. Low salary forces you into simple life and you still wont save all that much. It is kinda hard when cheap rent in bad district eats all money you earn. It is hard to concentrate on happiness when you drive almost hour and half each day to get home after long hours.

      The plan you're criticizing depends upon saving a percentage of income. It doesn't require an above-average salary. If you save 10% of income, you're buying a year of spending every 9 years (assuming 0% inflation and 0% rate of return). If you save 25%, you're buying 1 year of spending every 3 years. Percentages don't care if you're bringing in $100k or $50k.

      Savings rate is the most important number. A lot of people chase the income number, not accounting for the cost of attaining that income. This includes commute time and stress, which translates into health cost.

      Most middle class people won't retire in their 50s not because it's impossible, but because their savings rate is out-of-whack. If you optimize for Problem A, don't expect a solution to Problem B.

    25. Re:Save 30%, retire early by jeff4747 · · Score: 2

      That sound is the point sailing over your head.

      Your advice requires having a lot of good luck so that you actually have the money to save.

    26. Re:Save 30%, retire early by SmilingBoy · · Score: 1

      In principle I agree with you, and I agree that you should not spend too much and make sure you save at least 30%; don't go into debt except for student loans and a house (and maybe for a cheap, used car at the very beginning of your work life). However, web sites like Mr Money Mustache often have a very optimistic view of the average return on investment (4-5% real). Yes, it is based on historical returns, but stocks are very high now, because interest rates are low and expected to stay low. This means that they might advocate retiring on significantly less than a million dollars. I think this is a risky proposition. Personally, I would expect real returns (i.e. after accounting for inflation) of at most 2% after tax. Assuming you have a house paid off, you can maybe get by with living expenses of $35,000 if you live in an average part of the country, and have a family of four. The math is then easy: You need $1.75 million in the bank to live off the return on capital. Say you work for 20 years, this means you need a net household income of $110,000, and a savings rate of 68%. If you can achieve that, fine. But make the calculation with a low rate of return as well, and ask yourself if you will be ok in this case as well.

    27. Re: Save 30%, retire early by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      A million is plenty, if someone is in a position to retire today. 25-30 years from now, when I'm targeting retirement, a million isn't going to cut it. Especially when SS disappears.

    28. Re:Save 30%, retire early by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      The plan you're criticizing depends upon saving a percentage of income. It doesn't require an above-average salary. If you save 10% of income, you're buying a year of spending every 9 years (assuming 0% inflation and 0% rate of return). If you save 25%, you're buying 1 year of spending every 3 years. Percentages don't care if you're bringing in $100k or $50k.

      And it gets a lot easier to increase your savings rate with a higher income. If you have $50K a year, and try to save 25%, you're living on $37.5K with most of the taxes of a $50K income. The marginal value of a dollar is considerably higher then than if you're doing it with $100K/year.

      It's also easier to weather bumps with the higher income. Unexpected expenses are easier to absorb, and are less likely to hurt your savings plan. In the US, you're a lot more likely to have good medical insurance at $100K than $50K, and that can be the difference between savings and bankruptcy.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    29. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      I developed the habit while working. :-)

      I enjoy slashdot. It's one of my many retirement activities.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    30. Re:Save 30%, retire early by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Granted those happen- but buying too much house, eating out too much, buying too much car, traveling too much, buying clothing that's too nice, drinking after work, starbucks, and many other activities enjoyed by the young do not help.

      People have been told to buy too much house for decades. The rest looks like it could be a reaction to increased stress and uncertainty. If you don't think you'll ever be able to retire, why not live it up now while you're reasonably healthy? The only reason why you'd save is that you think you'll benefit from it later.

      When I was a kid, the standard family had a mother, a father, and kids (and were white, of course), and the father worked and bought a house and the mother stayed home and did the housework, including the cooking. (There were exceptions, but approximately nobody not personally involved cared that much about them.) That doesn't work any more. Having a house, a usable car, and kids on one income is a lot harder than it used to be. Therefore, careful shopping and home cooking is not so much part of the daily routine as it is squeezed around other things.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    31. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      That's just luck. Mainly, you just want to save equivalent purchasing power. So by saving half my income until 51, I had enough to retire until 81 (assuming I can keep getting something close to inflation over the next 24 years). My expected mortality is 78. But, if I get "lucky", I have a paid for house (which I could downsize from to free up about $200k or reverse mortgage for an income stream) and I could reign in spending some so I should be in okay til I die. At least no eating pet food.

      In my case, so far my investments have covered or slightly exceeded inflation. I'm getting 5.38% thru 2022, for example. We'll, see what things are like then.

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    32. Re:Save 30%, retire early by liquid_schwartz · · Score: 1

      I recognize that it's silly, however I didn't create the conditions for this silliness - alimony and child support laws did. Before you get up in arms over 'not supporting your kids' bear in mind that by law support only needs to get paid to the woman. What she does with it is largely, or entirely in you're in CA, not their worry. So in essence kids often don't get the support anyway. I estimate on a good day my kids might see $.25 on the dollar.

    33. Re:Save 30%, retire early by slew · · Score: 1

      I recognize that it's silly, however I didn't create the conditions for this silliness - alimony and child support laws did. Before you get up in arms over 'not supporting your kids' bear in mind that by law support only needs to get paid to the woman. What she does with it is largely, or entirely in you're in CA, not their worry. So in essence kids often don't get the support anyway. I estimate on a good day my kids might see $.25 on the dollar.

      If you are concerned about your kids not getting support, why not seek full custody? I understand this isn't always feasible (and doesn't totally eliminate alimony), but you gotta do what you gotta do for your kids, right?

      OTOH, I realize the not every couple is cut-out for marriage, and probably someday the US will be more like some European countries where getting married is becoming less common (even with kids), but I for one will be sad when that day comes... I know a few couples that did it that way (mostly for marriage tax penalty reasons), but it seems to me that it really puts a big barrier in their relationship to continually have to sign contracts/agreements/documents to remind them of their status and shared responsibilities (kids, mortgage, insurance, etc) year after year. Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic that's gonna get screwed some day, but at least for now, I can enjoy the fiction of assuming most of my fellow men/women would share a general sense of equity and reasonableness. It's a world view that I'd hate to lose. I'd rather just get a prenup/postnup than be reminded year after year...

    34. Re:Save 30%, retire early by Maxo-Texas · · Score: 1

      Buying too much house is like betting large on two pair or even 3 of a kind.

      You may win. But you may lose.

      Buying less house is like only betting on a full house or even a straight flush.

      ---

      So you buy too much house- then you lose your job. Ruined.
      So you buy too much house- then you get sick. Ruined.
      So you buy too much house- then the housing market drops (as it does every recession)- and your pay is cut or taxes go up. Ruined or in a lot of pain.
      --
      The OLD game was to buy a house- let it appreciate and leverage up.
      Then they got more aggressive and said it was a "no lose" proposal and you should leverage to the max.
      --

      You MIGHT win. You might turn $30,000 into $270,000 in 5 years. But you may also be wiped out.

      ---

      So say you buy a more reasonable house.

      In the above cases, you make it thru without much pain (because it's easy to save up a couple years living expenses really quickly when your expenses are low).

      Your winnings are not as great (in my case $20,000 would have been about $150,000 if I'd flipped it but instead I stayed and it's $350,000 but that might have been 600,000 to 700,000 if I'd flipped it.).

      The case where you lose in both cases a major employer in the region leaves or ceases to exist- housing in the area becomes worthless- taxes remain high longer than you can stand- you go bankrupt and can't sell the house.

      In both cases, if you make it- the winning case compared to renting is very nice. Over 90% of investors ACTUAL return is 2-3% over 10, 20, and 30 years (forbes magazine). Rent goes up as fast as inflation but housing payments don't. At the start of a 30 year mortgage you are paying as much for a 3/2 house as a 2/2 rental. At the end of a 30 year mortage, you are often paying under half as much as renters are paying. In retirement, you are paying a quarter what renters are paying (for comparable properties- so in the too much house case, you'd also be renting "too much apartment/luxury condo".

      As you point out- everything changes.

      Nothing is certain. It's all a percentage game. Real estate only has value when people want to live on it.

      And to be honest, the limits to growth scenarios look to turn very, very nasty in 30 years. I'll be hoping I'm dead because a billion to two billion people could die and global wars over resources are likely.

      For example- we are using more chromium every year than we did from 1901 to 2000. We are on track to use all of it- with recycling considered and that's whats estimated to be in the entire planet- not just known resources. And that's true for almost every industrial metal outside of iron. And no chromium will mean no more stainless steel. Maybe we'll figure out a replacement for it. But we'll have to find a replacement for so many things so quickly that disruption is more likely. In the mean time- we aren't doing ANYTHING to mitigate the problem. So the likely case is that it will hit hard when it hits.

      Who knows-- maybe we can make new elements with fusion.

      Anyway... I guess I'm painting a little more of a "buy guns and ammo and join a group" scenario than a "should I have a star bucks or save for the future" scenario. But if it happens, it's going to suck. And if it doesn't happen -well better to own a house than be renting.

      I'm almost certainly dead by then (87 and my expected mortality is 78).

      --
      She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
    35. Re:Save 30%, retire early by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      but it seems to me that it really puts a big barrier in their relationship to continually have to sign contracts/agreements/documents to remind them of their status and shared responsibilities (kids, mortgage, insurance, etc) year after year.

      Those generally still require both signatures even when married. We both had to sign the paperwork to register our daughter for school. Mortgages require both to sign (assuming you're both on the loan). Home purchases require both signatures.

      Insurance does or does not depending on the policy, but whether or not it does require both signatures depends on what the policy is (you can add anyone to your car insurance without their signature. You have to get their signature to add yourself as a beneficiary to their life insurance).

      Being married generally does not let you put your spouse on the hook for something without their signature. The only big exception to this is you get to act on your spouse's behalf if they are incapacitated. But even then the government/company/whatever will often insist on waiting for your spouse to recover or die before proceeding.

    36. Re:Save 30%, retire early by DalM · · Score: 1

      Forever. Always. Indefinitely. Because that's how the nature always works -in never ending exponential growth curves.

    37. Re:Save 30%, retire early by mx+b · · Score: 1

      If you save 10% of income, you're buying a year of spending every 9 years (assuming 0% inflation and 0% rate of return).

      When is there 0% inflation or rate of return, ever? Do you know of a way to predict that over the say next 40 years that millennials have to work, because I sure don't. The problem with all this economics stuff is that we like to pretend that it follows scientific laws but there isn't a Newton's Laws of Economic Motion. It depends greatly on unpredictable technological and social factors. You can do everything "right" and bust, or you can do everything "wrong" and get lucky and be a millionaire. While I think this advice is a good starting point and encourage others to do it if possible, I strongly disagree that everything will be fine just because you do so. It's a crap shoot.

      Percentages don't care if you're bringing in $100k or $50k.

      Do percentages care if your income is minimum wage (about $15k annually)? Because when your rent, food, transportation (bus fare if not car), clothing, take up all of your salary and you live paycheck to paycheck (some relying on insanely expensive "payday loans" just to try to not default on payments), where is one supposed to get the 10-25% of one's salary to save? And even if that somehow happens, are you really suggesting that $15k/year will be a livable wage 30-40 years from now? It's not even a livable wage *now* in many cities.

      These sorts of discussions leave out the fact that large amounts of Americans will never be able to retire with even a bit dignity. (I'm not talking about luxurious life, just a roof, food, and healthcare as they get older without the need to continue working with illness). Many will need some level of assistance: food stamps, Medicare, Social Security, etc. Either business needs to start paying livable wages so that all can retire without government assistance, or they need to pay higher taxes so that assistance programs continue to exist -- either way, this problem comes largely from corporate greed, and none of us have a safe retirement until that is dealt with.

    38. Re:Save 30%, retire early by hattig · · Score: 1

      That's great if you can afford it.

      Even if you can, 30 years of work to retire at 50 means you have funds for 10 years of retirement, i.e., 60.

      Most people these days will be expecting to live to 80. So they'll still be working until 65 to enact your plan. Maybe 60 if they manage to get a mortgage in their lives where they work (this gets harder year on year due to lack of housing stock in areas of high employment, e.g., my £289k house in 2012 is now a £500k house), and then sell up and move to a shack in the country later on. Which is my plan, except something will probably screw it up.

    39. Re:Save 30%, retire early by hattig · · Score: 1

      Living frugally in many (not all, you need a vice, but let it be a cheap vice like a few beers a couple of times a week) areas is the best advice.

      But buying a bigger house is a good investment, if you rent out the spare rooms, and especially if you use combined purchasing power for food, etc. These days you will get a good rental income for the space used up. This is a good option in your 20s before you have a partner and children.

      Knowing the cheap and tasty meals is a must, but they're not difficult. Packed lunches for work (or late lunches on the reduced items in the supermarket) too.

      Luckily cars these days are pretty reliable, as I'm pretty damn useless when it comes to that. But I still have an 8 year old car (a recent upgrade from a 15 year old car).

      I have one subscription service for TV, Music, File Storage. Amazon Prime is pretty good if you can wait for movies.
      I game via Humble Bundle/GOG, on older hardware. The retro computer/console hobby is a bit of a luxury though.

      Don't scrimp where it matters. Buy cheap buy twice. Or worse, buy cheap, can't earn money because it broke.

    40. Re: Save 30%, retire early by hattig · · Score: 1

      So when your generation is getting older, and more likely to vote, they're going to vote for the candidate who wants to get rid of SS? Not a chance in hell.

      Most people on this site should be aiming to own a house by the time they retire, which can be leveraged by moving somewhere cheaper (and nicer, but crap for work), if they need to.

      $1m (in today's prices) for a 30 year retirement is $33k a year. With no housing cost. Never mind that it will appreciate at 2-4% in real terms, if you're lucky you can live off the interest in some years. Obviously the pot will decrease (and drastically so later on as you approach your grave and the interest is less each year and in real terms it's losing lots of value). The problem for many is getting to that $1m, even on a decent wage - some may get inheritances, but many won't. Most can't save $30k a year for the last 30 years of their career.

      The screwed generation is that which is priced out of buying houses, has stupidly massive student loan debts, and a job market threatening to automate itself over the course of their lifetime.

  7. Retirement is unreealistic, period by damn_registrars · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For the overwhelming majority of people in this country, retirement plans will be best summarized as "hope to die at work". Few people are making enough money beyond their needs to be able to save money towards retirement.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by avandesande · · Score: 1

      The .45 caliber retirement only costs a few cents

      --
      love is just extroverted narcissism
    2. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      Good luck using the round only in that way. I don't know that they are toxic enough to kill you on their own without a gun, which costs vastly more than just a few cents.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    3. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by djinn6 · · Score: 1

      What's wrong with dying at work? If I had the choice of having 10 years of freedom to just enjoy myself, I'd pick my 20's and 30's rather than my 60's and 70's. Sure, it might suck to be working as a very old person, but is it any worse than giving the company your youth? Plus we might have technological singularity or basic income by then.

    4. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by slinches · · Score: 1

      Few people are making enough money beyond their needs to be able to save money towards retirement.

      That's bullshit. Saving is a choice about whether you prioritize immediate wants or long term stability. People who choose the former later on lament that they couldn't earn enough to meet their "needs" that include brand new cars, annual vacations, and the biggest house they can make payments on in addition to the thousands each year they spend on entertainment (dining out, movies, games, TV, sports) and grown up toys (cell phones, bikes, ATVs etc). It's a way to pass off the blame for poor planning.

      The cost of basic needs (food, water, basic shelter) are a fraction of the median personal income (~$30,000/yr). Sure, making more makes it easier to save. That doesn't make choosing not to any less of a choice.

      --
      Knowledge Brings Fear
    5. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      The cost of basic needs (food, water, basic shelter) are a fraction of the median personal income (~$30,000/yr)

      First of all, the median personal income is below $30k for the country, and some places it is below that by quite a bit. The national median is closer to $28k per person. However there are many many different costs of living distributed throughout the country, and within any given community your own cost of living is influenced by who you live with, how far you travel to work, the transportation infrastructure, etc. There are plenty of places in this country where an individual cannot save money if they are living alone on $30k, in fact they are likely accumulating substantial debt at that wage - particularly once you deduct the taxes they pay on their income.

      You are also overlooking the fact that compound interest favors those who can save money at at earlier time in their lives. Few workers can save money towards retirement before their mid-late 30s any more, and at that point it is almost too late unless they plan to work until they are 80.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    6. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by slinches · · Score: 1

      My number for median income came from a different wikidpedia page: Personal_income_in_the_United_States. But $28k is close enough that the difference isn't really relevant.

      The bigger issue is that your response has a faulty underlying assumption that it's not possible to leave a higher cost of living area. I don't know of any high-cost cities that don't have a rural area within a few dozen miles. Even sprawling metropolitan areas like Los Angeles have them within ~60 miles from the city center and that's ignoring low cost areas within the city.

      And yes, compound interest favors saving when you're younger. That's a damn good reason to start saving as soon as you have income, not an excuse for delaying retirement. It's also something that people should consider when they decide whether to extend their education or join the workforce earlier. There's a lot of demand for skilled trades that don't require a post-graduate college degree.

      --
      Knowledge Brings Fear
    7. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      My number for median income came from a different wikidpedia page: Personal_income_in_the_United_States. But $28k is close enough that the difference isn't really relevant.

      A difference of $2k is huge in that realm of income; we're talking about roughly 8% of the total pre-tax income. You also have not addressed the fact that people in that income bracket tend to pay ~30-35% in taxes between federal and state, so if they are puling in $30k pre-tax they are closer to $20k after taxes. If they are spending $1k per month on housing that leaves them with less than $8k for everything else for the year.

      Even sprawling metropolitan areas like Los Angeles have them within ~60 miles from the city center and that's ignoring low cost areas within the city.

      A 60 mile commute is not reasonable for most people, especially those of limited income. If you are making $30k or less, the odds of you having reliable transportation that can do 120 miles / day is very low. On top of that most jobs that pay that little have little to no stability or worker support, so if the employee's car breaks down once on their way to work now they likely have a car needing repair and they are out of a job.

      And yes, compound interest favors saving when you're younger. That's a damn good reason to start saving as soon as you have income, not an excuse for delaying retirement.

      Again, you are making a huge sweeping assumption that people are pulling in enough money to be able to saving money when they are younger. Very few people are actually in that situation right out of college or high school, for the reasons I just laid out above.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    8. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by slinches · · Score: 1

      A 60 mile commute is not reasonable for most people, especially those of limited income. If you are making $30k or less, the odds of you having reliable transportation that can do 120 miles / day is very low. On top of that most jobs that pay that little have little to no stability or worker support, so if the employee's car breaks down once on their way to work now they likely have a car needing repair and they are out of a job.

      I didn't say anything about commuting. Find a trade in that area. It may pay less, but the cost of living can be low enough to provide an equal or better standard of living while still saving.

      Again, you are making a huge sweeping assumption that people are pulling in enough money to be able to saving money when they are younger. Very few people are actually in that situation right out of college or high school, for the reasons I just laid out above

      True, few young people are saving, but that isn't because situations beyond their control prevent them from doing so. It's because they have failed to account for savings when choosing what career path to take and where to live.

      This is some seriously basic stuff. If the jobs you can get in an area won't cover your minimum living expenses and savings simultaneously, then you need to change the equation. Either look for employment somewhere where you can live cheaper or learn a skill or trade that can command higher pay.

      I'm not saying that society makes it easy to save. There are all sorts of pressures to spend every dime you make and we aren't giving kids the tools they need in school (e.g. personal finance and home economics classes). That's something I'd like to see improvement on, but it's still not an excuse.

      --
      Knowledge Brings Fear
    9. Re:Retirement is unreealistic, period by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

      If the jobs you can get in an area won't cover your minimum living expenses and savings simultaneously, then you need to change the equation. Either look for employment somewhere where you can live cheaper or learn a skill or trade that can command higher pay.

      That is exactly why people move to the city. More jobs, better jobs, better pay. People living beyond the suburbs are being replaced by machines and other mechanisms that result in sub-livable wages at rates faster than those in the cities. At any location on this planet though there is a cost of living, and when people can't meet that, they have to make a decision. And if people are only meeting that cost of living, they aren't going to be able to save any money.

      This isn't about art history majors graduating college and wondering why they can't find jobs. There are plenty of people who pursued education and training in more marketable fields who then find there is still adequate competition for the path they prepared for that they aren't able to bring in enough money to put anything into retirement until they are at least into their mid-30s. It's also about the fact that "get up and move" isn't as straightforward as it sounds for many people. Even young people with zero dependents still need transportation to get to wherever they are going to move to, and if they are moving across national boundaries they need the proper documentation to do so.

      Have some people failed the economy for various crap choices of their own? Certainly. However an even larger number of people have been failed by the economy. Every day more people wake up and realize "holy shit, I'm in my 40s and I have zero dollars saved for retirement - my best hope is to die at work now". Many of these people never had a chance, in spite of what they were told in high school.

      --
      Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  8. X has unrealistic expectations about Y by imgod2u · · Score: 2, Insightful

    In other news, I hear a bunch of buggy makers expect to be able to pass their trade down to their grandson.

    Or coal miners expecting a boom in coal consumption.

    Or unskilled laborers expecting those pesky computers and robots to disappear someday.

    Or Americans expecting to work less, produce less but get paid more than the other 80% of humanity forever and ever.

    1. Re:X has unrealistic expectations about Y by bistromath007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That's a really unfair thing to say about American workers. We certainly produce less, but we work way more than most. We're the undisputed kings of wasting effort.

    2. Re:X has unrealistic expectations about Y by Waccoon · · Score: 1

      Or Americans expecting to work less, produce less but get paid more than the other 80% of humanity forever.

      Yeah, go ahead and say that to the face of somebody working 2 jobs, 60+ hours a week, and is still broke.

      I'm pretty sure that my rent and other basic costs are much higher than the rest of the world. Owning a car is pretty much a necessity in our society. We get nothing for our taxes but more potholes, and we have the gall to charge tax penalties for not buying insurance from private companies.

    3. Re:X has unrealistic expectations about Y by Vadim+Makarov · · Score: 1

      In other news, I hear a bunch of buggy makers expect to be able to pass their trade down to their grandson.

      That's a sound plan if you live among Mennonites or Amish. I live in Waterloo, ON, and the nearby supermarket has a horse shed in the parking lot. Last time I checked buggies cost more than the used car my family owns.

      --
      17779 eligible voters in a district, 17779 'vote' as one. This is Russia.
    4. Re:X has unrealistic expectations about Y by nnull · · Score: 1

      There is some truth to that. I'm one of the few businesses that is actually able to keep managers and maintenance personnel for longer than a damn year. I don't over work them and I seem to have no problem dealing with my competitors where on average I pay a lot more than they do their own. To many places I deal with is now a carousel of new workers.

      My neighbors business on the other hand, who thinks hiring low wage unskilled workers for minimum wage is giving him the competitive edge. They're over worked and work overtime everyday, even Saturday. Machines breaking down constantly, new work force every year, and no prospect of career advancement and the boss expects an illegal highschool drop out to have the knowledge level of a 20 year experienced engineer. Somehow I doubt they're being more productive than, say, a German worker doing the same thing for less hours and more pay (Where I get my ideas from).

      So I'm definitely in agreement, we produce less and produce a lot of waste of time, spending more hours for nothing, that is actually hurting us more than anything.

  9. i have enough money for the rest of my life by turkeydance · · Score: 3, Funny

    if i die before next week

  10. So they're only very slightly optomistic? by rhazz · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Millennials expect to retire at 59, two years younger than the working age average of 61

    So they're only slightly more optimistic than actual stats would play out? I bet that's par for the course for any generation when they were still 20 years out from retirement.

    1. Re:So they're only very slightly optomistic? by DalM · · Score: 1

      more like 30 years out.

    2. Re:So they're only very slightly optomistic? by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      They must have found an optimistic bunch of millennials. (or a delusional bunch of them) I'm 35 and on track for retirement, assuming at 62-ish years old, but that plan assumes there will be some semblance of social security. When that collapses in 20 years that's going to seriously screw up my plans.

      If you would have asked me 5 or 10 years ago, there's no way I would have said I planned on retiring before 60. But 10 years ago I barely had 6 month's pay saved up, 5 years ago wasn't much better...

    3. Re:So they're only very slightly optomistic? by rhazz · · Score: 1

      But I'm saving to full retirement at 50. Because you never know what cards you get dealt.

      I'm actually torn between working towards early retirement at age 53 (I expect to be dead by 70 based on family history), and taking more time off now to enjoy more of life today. With kids now I'm leaning toward the latter.

  11. jail / prison has better healthcare then the ER! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    jail / prison has better healthcare then the ER!

  12. Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Wall Street Journal had a recent article about people who are least concerned about outliving their retirement savings are most likely to be a financial risk. The days of retiring at 65 and dropping dead at 70, which was the reality when Social Security got set up in the 1930's, are long gone..

    https://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2017/02/17/the-people-least-concerned-about-outliving-their-savings-may-be-most-at-risk-financially/

    1. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by jeff4747 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The days of retiring at 65 and dropping dead at 70, which was the reality when Social Security got set up in the 1930's, are long gone..

      Actually, they dropped dead much earlier than that.

      Only 53.9% of men and 60.6% of women made it to 65. https://www.ssa.gov/history/li...

    2. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      thanks captain obvious.

      To make it even more obvious... most Americans only have $1,000 in retirement savings.

      http://www.marketwatch.com/story/most-americans-have-less-than-1000-in-savings-2015-10-06

    3. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by bidule · · Score: 2

      Actually, they dropped dead much earlier than that.

      Only 53.9% of men and 60.6% of women made it to 65. https://www.ssa.gov/history/li...

      Well duh, they dropped dead before reaching their 20s.

      Straight quote from your link: "Life expectancy at birth in 1930 was indeed only 58 for men and 62 for women, and the retirement age was 65. But life expectancy at birth in the early decades of the 20th century was low due mainly to high infant mortality, and someone who died as a child would never have worked and paid into Social Security. A more appropriate measure is probably life expectancy after attainment of adulthood."

      And then they show of all the 21 yo men alive in 1915, 54% of them reached 65 yo (in 1960). Those had 13 more years of life expentancy. So it's retire at 65, drop dead at 77 for that cohort.

      --
      ID: the nose did not occur naturally, how would we wear glasses otherwise? (apologies to Voltaire)
    4. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 1

      People tend to forget that Social Security wasn't originally a retirement plan. It was an insurance plan... "Insurance" was in the name. Insurance against what? Living past the average life expectancy for the time, which was ~65. It was never designed to be for "retirement" which didn't exist for most people back then; if you lived longer than was reasonable for people to plan for at the time, the government would help you out. It's no wonder the math no longer works today when people are expecting 20+ years of retirement from it.

    5. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

      Well duh, they dropped dead before reaching their 20s.

      Nope. Try looking at the last sentence in your post.

      And then they show of all the 21 yo men alive in 1915, 54% of them reached 65 yo (in 1960).

      So roughly half of the people who reached adulthood died before 65. That was my point.

    6. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by bidule · · Score: 1

      So roughly half of the people who reached adulthood died before 65. That was my point.

      Erm, right. Sorry for the confusion.

      --
      ID: the nose did not occur naturally, how would we wear glasses otherwise? (apologies to Voltaire)
    7. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by Retron · · Score: 1

      Well, my mum died at 48 and my dad died at 67, so it's all anecdotal. As my grandfathers both died at 62 I reckon I'll be doing well if I manage to last until 70!

      Just in case I do, though, I'm making sure I have adequate pension provision, both by paying in at work and by using a SIPP, which is a scheme whereby the Government tops up your contributions by 25%. Anything that's left in the SIPP when you die is free of inheritance tax.

    8. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by houghi · · Score: 1

      So of 100 people 50 people needed to be paid for 5 years. That is 250 People Years (PY)
      So each of those 100 had to pay 2.5PY in advance with the chance of getting it back.

      Now the average is 75-80. Let us take 75. That means 100 live 10 years. That is 1000PY. That means the cost has 4 folded. Double the time for double the people. And that is if all people still work till that point in time.

      So yes, it is much more expensive, The thing is that many people will say that is will be better if you pay for it yourself, but the thing is, most people do not know when they are going to die. So if you are unlucky and live to be 115, like my greataunt, you will not have enough and die a horrible death in poverty.

      The thing is that some people thought it was a great idea to see if it was possible to make these amounts larger and invested with them and lost. A pension should not be investment money. Investment money is money you can afford to loose.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    9. Re:Plan to succeed or plan to fail... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      It was never designed to be for "retirement" which didn't exist for most people back then;

      I wasn't around for the 1940s, but in the 1960s the expectation was that you'd work for most of your life at one place and you'd retire with a livable pension. There had to be enough people doing that for it to be the expectation.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  13. And HSBC is a honest broker here by voislav98 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The "research" comes from the bank that would like you to be more "responsible" with your money, like giving it to them. This is a bank that has paid billions of dollars in fines over the last five years for money laundering and interest rate rigging. The key statement form the report: "Despite the apparent ‘reality gap’ in Millennials’ retirement expectations, most (68%) have started saving for retirement, at an average age of 26. Millennials are also more likely than other generations to take investment risks to boost their retirement saving..."

    So it's not that the millennials are unrealistic, they are saving a plenty, it's that the Fed and other national banks are keeping the interest rates artificially low to boost asset prices and prop up failing mega-banks including HSBC. So please HSBC, tell me more about how I need to "save" more for the retirement so that the government can bail you and your ilk out again when you blow up the economy with asset bubbles.

    1. Re:And HSBC is a honest broker here by swell · · Score: 1

      My search for 'hsbc ripoff' resulted in 36,000 results. This is one of the nastiest financial institutions on earth. The Wiki will explain some of the controversies around this London/Hongkong monstrosity but there is no easy way to grasp the financial pain that they have inflicted on ordinary individuals. Avoid at all cost!

      --
      ...omphaloskepsis often...
    2. Re:And HSBC is a honest broker here by slashrio · · Score: 1

      If you want to save for retirement, I think the best option is gold. Physical gold.
      Prices don't rise much on a day-by-day basis, but every few decades there's a fairly huge jump.
      Fat chance that before you retire you'll experience such a jump in value. There's your gain.

      --
      "Trump!!", the new Godwin.
    3. Re:And HSBC is a honest broker here by Pascoea · · Score: 1

      I did a couple more, for shits and giggles:

      • "US Bank" gets 28,000 (without the quotes about 220,000, but that's not really fair)
      • "Wells Fargo" gets 78,700
      • "Chase bank" gets 24,900
      • "bank of america", 232,000
      • "citi bank", 435,000

      I realize googling "bank"+ripoff isn't really a fair judge of character, but was still a little fun. Seems BoA and Citi are the biggest assholes here...

    4. Re:And HSBC is a honest broker here by gravewax · · Score: 1

      except if you were lucky enough to be in on the huge surge post 2008 and got out before the subsequent crash gold really doesn't have a good return at all. e.g. current prices are only 3 times what they were 3 decades ago. That is only around 4% return per annum, for such a long term investment that is mediocre at best. Gold is considered the safe, low risk.low return option

    5. Re:And HSBC is a honest broker here by helga+the+viking · · Score: 1

      Its not that at all. If FED 'sets' interest it also sets a component of inflation in the economy. Business leverages/expands credit to operate, if the baseline interest is raised this follows through to increased cost to build things and increased cost of living so the net effect is zero. The problem is that there is not enough real value adding being done in capitalism. Eg: where work builds something that makes profit. The private sector looks for investment and ultimately government spending creates areas where profit is higher yield than other areas. Eg: Lucrative profit for companies in China is not just operating costs its government creating money by keystroke to grow the economy. Now look at the efficiency of the financial sector that is supposed to make retirement stable: "The job of finance is to provide capital to companies. We do it to the tune of $250 billion a year in IPO's and secondary offerings" "What else do we do? We encourage investors to trade about 32 trillion a year. So by the way i calculate it, 99% of what we do in the industry is people trading with one another, with a gain only to the middleman.It's a waste of resources" -john bogle. Public pensions where the aggregate savings expand M1 of the money supply, where people DONT Have to take risks with a financial system that does not invest in real production or innovation IS THE PROBLEM nothing to do with interest rates. Also here are facts about millenials savings. They cant save enough because they dont earn enough. NO matter how you partition the income one of the basic living expenses is going to be defficient. https://www.principal.com/abou... https://www.forbes.com/sites/m... Employment participation rate is worse in the USA after every recession: https://i0.wp.com/bilbo.econom... http://bilbo.economicoutlook.n... https://i2.wp.com/bilbo.econom... https://i1.wp.com/bilbo.econom... People are poorer/earn less/more part time work replacing full time work: http://bilbo.economicoutlook.n... Not JUST evident in the USA: https://i2.wp.com/bilbo.econom...

  14. Isn't it obvious? by imatter · · Score: 1

    Because robots.

  15. Re:jail / prison has better healthcare then the ER by ColdWetDog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    No, it doesn't. It's a popular meme around here but completely untrue. In jail, they will offer you some base level of care for serious problems but prison officials get to determine how serious it is and if it gets treated. Jail providers tend not to be on the right side of the bell curve, so even if you get to see the doc or midlevel, you may end wishing you hadn't.

    If you need to be treated for a psychiatric illness, your choice of medicine will be significantly limited since many of those drugs can make you feel good (and thus have a marketable value in jail and are heavily restricted. If you hurt, well, too fucking bad. You get a tylenol or, if you're very lucky a tylenol and an ibuprofen.

    The major downside of going to the ER for care is that the guy next to you might be strapped down to the gurney and being rather vocal about it. He's the one that got the bill from the last time he was in the ER.

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  16. Ob by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

    Is there anything they *do* have a realistic view about?

    Not designing UIs, that's for sure.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  17. We must beat the optimism out of them!!! by jeff4747 · · Score: 1

    Otherwise they might not be as accepting of their next 60 years of shit pay for shit jobs.

  18. Unrealistic expectations = any at all by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

    OTOH, since robots will have all the jobs, they won't have anything to retire from.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  19. Who wants to retire? by Baron_Yam · · Score: 1

    I'm in my 40s, so I've started thinking about it. You know what? I can't see myself retiring, and it's not about money.

    I just wouldn't know what to do with myself other than become a couch potato. I've already travelled the world as much as I care to (and have a bit more travelling to do to keep the spouse happy).

    I'm not rich enough to just do 'whatever', but have more than I need to get by. Unless I win the lottery so I can fiddle around on a large scale, I'll keep working just for something useful to do.

    What retirement looks like for me is slowing down, not stopping.

    1. Re:Who wants to retire? by DogDude · · Score: 1

      To me, retirement means not having to do anything I don't want to do. I'll work until I die, I'm sure, but I'll be doing stuff that I want to do, not stuff that I'm doing because I need the money.

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    2. Re:Who wants to retire? by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      Retirement for me isn't stopping doing things, but choosing to do things that I want on a much more frequent basis than now. Also, probably a greater variety (work on 3 separate things for 10-15 hours per week, rather than the same thing for 40). Finally, a more flexible schedule, including no commute, the ability to skip days without giving an excuse, and the ability to pick which hours I'm busy. I won't stop being productive in some fashion until I'm physically unable, but it won't be "work" in remotely the same way.

    3. Re:Who wants to retire? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I intend to keep doing things during retirement. What I want is less stress. I really like my job, but it requires a lot of time, a lot of energy, and there's pressure to get my work done in a timely fashion. I'm envisioning scheduling volunteer time (I've got a charity and role picked out), and working on stuff I feel like working on at my own speed.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  20. Re:I don't think they actually talked to any of th by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 1

    Millenials don't expect to work past 65 because they'd be surprised if they make it past 50 without committing suicide.

    I don't think Uber can employ *that* many people.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  21. Re-ti-re-ment? I do not know this word.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm no millennial -- I'm over 50 -- but it's just as well that I don't believe in 'retirement' as a Real Thing, because even if I'd've been able to earn enough money over the course of my life to actually save any money for this mythical alleged 'retirement' thing you all speak of, when everything blew up in 2007, it would have all been gone anyway.

    I don't even believe in 'retirement' as a Real Thing. Unless you're super-rich, what's it going to mean? Working your ass off your entire life, denying yourself the things you really want to do with your non-work hours, getting fat, stressed out, and physically unfit, so you can spend your so-called 'retirement' money on doctors, surgeries for the various diseases you've developed because you were too busy working your ass off to take proper care of yourself, and being too old, weak, and sick to actually do anything, other than sit around and wait for death to come and end your misery? Fuck that shit. I'll just keep working until I drop dead, and meanwhile doing the things I want to do, while I'm still strong and healthy enough to actually do them, and I'll die flat broke -- and who gives a damn if I do? Not married, no kids, nobody depending on me financially; why the hell shouldn't I do whatever I please? Even if some mythical alleged 'afterlife' exists, nobody running that show is going to care if I had money left in the bank or not.

    The rest of you? I almost feel sorry for you, if you're middle class white trash like me, and are actually falling for the 'retirement' meme. You're blindly putting away money that you probably won't live long enough to actually use, and meanwhile you're stacking up a hefty list of regrets for all the things you didn't do while you were young and healthy enough to actually do. You'll die with money in the bank that ungrateful offspring will scoop up and use for something stupid, and your final thoughts will likely be all the regrets for all the things you didn't do. How sad!

    Take my advice: Live while you can. Have some emergency cash in the bank if you can afford it? Sure. Makes sense. Save every dime you make? Hell, no! Plan on not having any regrets when your time coimes. You're only here once, and there's nothing afterwards.

    1. Re:Re-ti-re-ment? I do not know this word.. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      when everything blew up in 2007, it would have all been gone anyway.

      Assuming investments that aren't excessively risky, what would have happened is that your stock values sagged greatly and then recovered. It would have really sucked to have to get money out of your investments for a few years, but I don't see that I lost much of anything permanently with the crash.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  22. Jobs for 65 YOlds? by avandesande · · Score: 1

    I think not!

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
    1. Re:Jobs for 65 YOlds? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      Perhaps a future in packing boxes at Amazon. Except in 40 years robots will probably be doing that.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    2. Re:Jobs for 65 YOlds? by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      $9/hr for helpdesk??? fast food places are paying $10/HR near me.

  23. Makes sense by swillden · · Score: 1

    Millennials are starting to work later than previous generations, so they plan to make up for it by retiring earlier.

    --
    Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    1. Re:Makes sense by IMightB · · Score: 1

      So I can understand the sarcasm, and for some reason, you're post resonates with me. I started "working" when I was around 11 doing a paper route, before that my parent made me do "chores". you can no longer be a child with a paper route, not only do the papers want older more "reliable" people, but there are fewer papers these days. Once I was old enough, I got a job as a bagger at a grocery store, fast food, waiter, salesman, clerk, college, professional .. basically, with a few minor interruptions, I've been employed since 11 yo.

        I know kids these days, whose parents won't let them think about getting their first job until after college, nor do they seem to want to.

    2. Re:Makes sense by swillden · · Score: 1

      I know every generation thinks the young generation is lazy, etc., but there is real statistical evidence that the Millennial generation actually is starting to work much later. On a more anecdotal basis, I notice a very different approach to work in my kids (late teens, early 20s) and in their peers. My kids have always had to do chores and work around the house so I don't think that's the difference.

      They do things like decide they're unhappy with their current employer so they just walk out, without trying to fix the problem and without trying to find another job first. I have never in my life quit a job before finding another, and it wouldn't even occur to me to do so. If my job sucks, by all means I'll make a move, but not until I have something else lined up. That's just one example, but it's typical of their whole approach. I suppose in some ways it's good to be more focused on quality of life and less on income... but not until you're safely self-sufficient.

      It concerns me that I'm wandering into "get off my lawn!" territory here... but there really does seem to be a difference, a worrisome one.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  24. Millennials are kids by OneHundredAndTen · · Score: 1

    What kind of responses can you expect but kid's responses?

    1. Re:Millennials are kids by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Is that what you call people in their 30's these days?

    2. Re:Millennials are kids by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      These days, I consider anyone under 40 a kid.

      Get off my lawn!

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  25. I'm in my ate thirties by waspleg · · Score: 1

    and you've accurately described my world view.

  26. What's a "Retirement"? by Dangerous_Minds · · Score: 1

    As a millennial, I always assume that retirement is permanently out of reach myself. I can save all I want and it won't do me any good when a small jug of milk will cost $100 by the time I reach 65.

    --
    Daily read for tech news: Freezenet.ca
    1. Re:What's a "Retirement"? by slashrio · · Score: 1

      Save gold instead.

      --
      "Trump!!", the new Godwin.
  27. Question is what work will be like by ErichTheRed · · Score: 1

    Social security will most likely be around in some form, and may have to be expanded at some point to cover the realities that no one is saving on their own. I'm not worried about the baby boomers or the generation after -- they all have pensions and will most likely die off quicker than future generations will. Just think of how many people smoked in the 50s compared to today, or drank themselves into oblivion after work every night, or spent the late 60s on drugs. Overall, they will have more health problems and the temporary bump up in social security payments will be short.

    The problem becomes how to fund retirement of people who don't have pensions, haven't saved and will live much longer lives. I think at some point work as we know it will disappear for most people too, so we're in for a bad ride at least in the short term. I'm saving, mainly because I don't want to depend solely on social security as my only retirement income, but most younger people aren't because they can't. But, when almost everyone of average intelligence has no useful skill to sell employers, massive unemployment will be the bigger problem. That's where I think a universal income will have to come in. It would have to be something like social security disability, but not for a physical disability. I'm not sure how palatable that would be -- you'd basically be saying that half the population is mentally handicapped, but I think that's the reality we're headed towards. You're not going to take a truck driver, factory worker or customer service person and teach them software development or data science.

    1. Re:Question is what work will be like by slashrio · · Score: 1

      You're living in a dream world.
      The new Middle Ages are coming, peonage is the goal, and you think our 'benevolent overlords' will arrange social security for you?

      --
      "Trump!!", the new Godwin.
  28. Re:I don't think they actually talked to any of th by SCVonSteroids · · Score: 2

    Too soon man, too soon.

    --
    I tend to rant.
  29. Advice from a late gen boomer by OffTheLip · · Score: 2

    I hope I don't come off as sanctimonious since I once thought I would never be able to save enough to retire. I thought, knew actually, my parents generation had it much better with plenty of jobs and pensions for when they stopped working. I decided to do what I could fully expecting social security to be bankrupt when I needed it. I still am not sure how that will play out since I'm not collecting yet but I started saving earnestly some 30 years ago, weathered some tough market swings and still came out ahead. The stock market is really the only way to generate enough wealth to beat inflation unless you have an inheritance coming your way. There is plenty of useful, free advice to assist you on your journey. I recommend the Boglehead forum as a good place to start. As you close in on your retirement goal reduce risk and expect market volatility. So live below your means, save as much as you can, don't pay unnecessarily for financial advice and stay the course. Nobody knows the future. I mean this with great sincerity.

    1. Re:Advice from a late gen boomer by Sebby · · Score: 1

      Good advice, but I fear it won't work these days, given the people getting voted into politics these days (not talking only about the US).

      Wages will continue to be suppressed, until there's basically a revolution (the protests of the 2008 financial crisis was really nothing more than two kittens having a hissy fit, and looking absolutely adorable while doing it).

      --

      AC comments get piped to /dev/null
  30. Work until you're 75 by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    Then when a quarter of you die while on the job, we can send those benefits to cover the people who live longer than average.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  31. Why should retirement be any different? by frovingslosh · · Score: 1

    Most Millennials Have an Unrealistic View of Everything.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
    1. Re:Why should retirement be any different? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      This. I do almost two hundred tax returns a year on the side for extra money, and I don't think anyone under forty had a 1099-INT. In other words, they had no interest income. They're all blowing their money on nicer places to rent, nice cars, new iPhones, and new MacBooks. The 38 year-old I'm renting my basement to just spent $5,112.80 (with $464.80 sales tax here in WA) on a new MacBook with 2 TB SSD and AppleCare. He has over $30k worth of credit card debt already. He drives a three year-old 911 and has a Ducati motorcycle. It's just plain irresponsible.

    2. Re:Why should retirement be any different? by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      Strange. My son is investing 10 percent of his income in low-cost ETFs.

      Maybe you think Kent or Renton is the same as Seattle?

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    3. Re:Why should retirement be any different? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      That sounds less like irresponsibility and more like despair to me.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  32. Well by Dunbal · · Score: 1

    We've been living in an economic climate that actually punishes savers for almost a generation now. This is to be expected. I honestly don't care because I will be dead soon. But those robots had better get good at making stuff extremely cheaply because hungry people are the surest way to tear a civilization apart.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  33. They're just optimistic.... by Sebby · · Score: 1

    .... about getting stagnation of wages under control within their lifetime.

    --

    AC comments get piped to /dev/null
  34. Re:Alternate Headline by Dunbal · · Score: 1

    You're making the misguided assumption that votes yesterday were more effective than votes today. Don't blame an entire generation for the handiwork of a very few select individuals with actual power.

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  35. Most didn't by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Interesting

    unless they were very, very wealthy. Also, google the phrase "infant mortality" sometime while you're at it. Or spare a thought to the 45,000 people who die unnecessarily every year because they don't have access to health care. Health care that we could easily afford if but choose not to because freedom. The freedom to die sounds great when you're not the one doing the dying.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    1. Re:Most didn't by liquid_schwartz · · Score: 2

      unless they were very, very wealthy. Also, google the phrase "infant mortality" sometime while you're at it. Or spare a thought to the 45,000 people who die unnecessarily every year because they don't have access to health care. Health care that we could easily afford if but choose not to because freedom. The freedom to die sounds great when you're not the one doing the dying.

      At the end of the day you can have nice healthcare or mass immigration of poor people. You can't have both. Not unlike you can have low taxes or nice infrastructure but you can't have both. Both political parties are living in fantasyland and both can only see the flaws of the other. You can tell a true idiot by someone who spend all their time spouting that one is clearly superior to the other - since neither party really has a solid game plan. And since the moderates in both parties are marginalized don't expect any rational discussion in the near future sadly. I hope the reboot or secession down the road improves things because I don't see a way out of the current stalemate.

    2. Re:Most didn't by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      No, but I've got no problem shooting a fucking robber-baron in the face so as to give his victims back the money with which to pay the kind doctors for their services.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    3. Re:Most didn't by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      You can tell a true idiot by someone who spend all their time spouting that one is clearly superior to the other

      You can acknowledge that two sandwiches are both literally full of shit, and preferably neither should be eaten, without also denying that the HIV-infested steaming fresh human shit sandwich is clearly even worse than the dry cow pie sandwich, as bad as the latter may also be. In fact you could "tell a true idiot by someone" who'll vehemently swear that they're both equally bad.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
  36. work till death by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

    Throw in stupid notions like "tiny houses" which rob naive millennials of asset appreciation vehicle "home ownership" that generates American's greatest wealth; and you've got a guaranteed work till death prospect.

    1. Re:work till death by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      Its the land that appreciates, not the house. It's amazing how little you understand about housing (wrote the Century 21 software for years) and the house value and mortgage and interest rate cycles.

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    2. Re:work till death by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      I think that's what he was saying. I read him as implying that the Tiny House fad robs "naive millennials" of the appreciation of land that "generates America's greatest wealth", condemning them (at their own fault, I guess?) to work until death to service rent on the land they park on.

      Ignoring that stuff becoming harder to buy does not actually mean there is more value to be had (i.e. land price going up does not "generate wealth", it transfers it to whoever already has land from whoever doesn't), and that the Tiny House thing is a reaction to the difficulty of buying into the ridiculously overprices real estate market. Everyone would love to own land, but we can't, so owning a shelter that we have to park on someone else's rented land is the best alternative we can get. It's a symptom of the problem, not the cause.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    3. Re:work till death by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      However, a mortgage on a $50k tiny house means you can get a mortgage deduction, and use the tax refund to invest in an IRA or 401(k) with a full or partial match. Which is way better than paying rent, other than land rent. The options range from house and land held free, house and land held mortgaged, house held free and land leased or rented, house mortgaged and land leased or rented, to the worst version house and land rented.

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    4. Re:work till death by sdinfoserv · · Score: 2

      As someone who OWNS both houses and LAND - i can say you are WRONG. it's actually the combination. I have several hundred acres and a couple of houses. undeveloped land does not appreciate that much. It's the combination of a nice house - that is maintained - on desirable LAND(location, location, location) that appreciates.
      of course there are "boom" areas that prove the exception, but for the most part it's both.

    5. Re:work till death by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      The mortgage deduction is interest and taxes. few lenders will loan on "tiny houses". Interest deduction on a $50K loan is marginal and again, there's no real estate taxes to deduct. you would be far better to buy it and write off the deprecation - from a tax perspective, use it as a work location and write it off as depreciation using straight line over what ever period you believe it might have value - say 10 years.

    6. Re:work till death by sdinfoserv · · Score: 1

      and also, you're not the only one who's written software. I've designed and written entire accounting systems including fixed asset and deprecation.

    7. Re:work till death by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      The part that appreciates is the land, which includes the view. I've lived in large houses that were cheap - and still are - in places where land is cheap and is not increasing in value. Otherwise, people wouldn't buy teardowns - which they do in places with high land value.

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    8. Re:work till death by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

      Yes, if your family has the assets, it's far better to pay off the house entirely.

      But it's still better to own than to rent. And to own the land your house is on.

      If you move a lot, than it's much less important to own the land, due to fractional costs of ownership.

      --
      -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
    9. Re:work till death by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      For most people without houses, the standard deduction is the way to go. A really small house won't generate enough of a mortgage interest deduction to really affect taxes, since typically it won't push itemized deductions much above the standard deduction.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    10. Re:work till death by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Land in a developed area is more valuable than land in an undeveloped area anyway, no matter what (if anything) is erected on it.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  37. You can't save what you don't have by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    Check the median income in this country.

    You're blowing smoke. Just like those asshats who ran stories about the guy that paid off $100k of debt during the recession with clean livin' and neglected to mention his $120k/yr salary in a low cost part of the country.

    And why should I have to keep cutting my quality of life for yet another round of tax cuts for the God damned 1%?

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  38. "GenX will be the first gen to not do as well as t by slasher999 · · Score: 1

    The title is what I recall hearing on an NPR report back around 1990 and this sentiment was echoed for much of the early '90s. As it turns out many of us far exceeded what our parents accomplished financially. I see this as a similar reality check for Millennials. The reality is that it is tough to make a living and build a nest egg, but it can be done.

  39. Re: "GenX will be the first gen to not do as well by slasher999 · · Score: 1

    Title got cut:

    "GenX will be the first gen to not do as well as their parents."

  40. Fixed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Most Millennials Have an Unrealistic View of Everything

  41. Bull by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    Oh please. This is just more insurance and investing firm Fear and Uncertainty.

    Look, just save and invest - in stocks, forget bonds - 10 percent of your salary before taxes in the lowest cost retirement ETF or mutual fund. Low expense ratio like 0.07 percent S&P 500. Do that before any matches.

    You'll be golden.

    If you "can't save", just start with the amount for a full match or half match then increase by 1 percent total salary whenever you get a pay increase.

    It's not hard.

    They just want you to think you have to pay 1 percent in fees when you can spend 1/10th of that, for no better returns.

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  42. Life Expectancy [Re:Opposite] by XXongo · · Score: 1

    I've always thought the same.

    1) I won't live past 65 so who cares.

    You don't say how old you are now, but if you're age 40, your life expectancy is another 40 years, so you have 15 years unaccounted for. On the average

    Graph of (remaining) life expectancy: http://www.roperld.com/science...

  43. Demographics say different by XXongo · · Score: 2

    Most of us don't have that option - our companies are not going to keep us on until we die. We'll get downsized, outsourced, etc. at least once or twice and then not hired on anyplace else because of rampant age discrimination. After all, with more available workforce every year,

    Demographics say otherwise. The demographic data, in this case, are helping you (assuming you want to stay employed...)

    The reason for age discrimination is that employers can. That's because the baby boom generation means that there are an excess of population; you can afford to not hire the older ones, 'cause there's plenty of people looking for jobs. But the baby boom was last millennium.

    it isn't like there are going to be enough jobs to go around.

    That demographic bulge is over-- by the time millennials are ready to retire, there won't be that big bulge of population. We'll be in the population decline segment of the demographics. Too few people, not too many.

  44. In other words... by DivineKnight · · Score: 1

    In other words, you've been sold into slavery.

  45. HSBC is not a research firm by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

    HSBC is HongKong Shanghai Bank of Commerce. Headquartered in London, it is probably the sixth largest bank in the world by assets. This article is not originating from a policy think tank concerned about millennial wage earners saving enough for their retirement. This is a business that makes money by encouraging customers to leave cash not being spent on necessities with them. Its a lame, stupid marketing piece.

    Millennials should not be overly concerned about copying traditional habits used to build a retirement nest egg. They should be worried about whether they can have a lucrative career in a field they choose, since computerization is going to be wiping out all sorts of occupations, from trucking and taxis, warehouse stocking, to medical doctors, lawyers, and financial/insurance analysts. You can't be considering taking on a 30 year mortgage, if your profession could be wiped out after 20 years, and its stupid to be worrying about developing a 401K portfolio if you're still buried in (stupid) student loan debt for the next decade (ha ha).

    If millennials really want to plan for their long term future, thirty to forty years from now, they should consider whether they want to develop survivalist skills, or a firearm and ammo collection if they want to go out in a blaze of "glory". It doesn't seem productive to plan for a future based on assumptions that won't be true thirty years out.

    --
    There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
  46. Confused by godel_56 · · Score: 1

    And how do we reconcile this article about us all having to work past 65 with the other recent claims saying that 30-40% of us will be unemployed in the next few decades due to AI and robotics?

    1. Re:Confused by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

      Easy: we're fucked.

      It's a simple syllogism:
      - To survive we must work (because we can't afford to retire).
      - We can't work (because automation destroyed the jobs).
      - Therefore, we can't survive.

      --
      -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
      "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
  47. Long-term broad market net of inflation by raymorris · · Score: 1

    That's the overall long term average US stock market return net of inflation. As you might expect*, returns tend to be higher when inflation is higher, and lower when inflation is lower. Therefore the net-of-inflation return is actually fairly steady at 7%-8%.

    Obviously a late 2008 early 2009 time period causes people to worry, but we're talking about 30 years of saving followed by 30 years of withdrawals. That will surely include some good times and some bad times. 2008 AND 2002-2007, AND 2009-2017. In the last 20 years, the Dow has gone from 11,000 to 21,000. In the last 10 years, from 15,000 to 21,000.

    * Consider that bonds compete with stocks on price, aka discount, aka return. Obviously bonds must pay high rates when inflation is high. When bonds pay higher net rates, buyers go to bonds, and leave stocks cheap in terms of PE, increasing stock returns.

    1. Re:Long-term broad market net of inflation by mattmarlowe · · Score: 1

      Unless there is a drastic change, I think the era of 7-9% stock market average returns is over. The GDP of the USA has been declining on average over the last 40-50 years....2% growth used to be horrible, now it is just average.

      Even John Bogle who founded Vanguard is suggesting only 6% returns before inflation over the next 10 years....so perhaps 3-4% return after inflation - and that is for an ideal diversified portfolio.

      I've started to include more international stocks and real estate in my portfolio...but who knows how that will end up long term.

  48. An anecdote from an older millennial by Pfhorrest · · Score: 1

    Here's a brief log of my expectations over my adult(ish) life, as someone just barely young enough to count as a millennial (I turn 35 this year):

    20 years ago, I thought that I was going to easily be rich and famous when I grew up, because I was consistently and effortlessly outperforming all of my peers at school, and the world of course is intrinsically just so that kind of ability will surely be rewarded as I avail myself of the opportunities equally available to all, right?

    15 years ago, after falling flat on my face into poverty immediately upon adulthood and taking two years with almost zero guidance or support to figure out what the fuck I had to do to get my life back on track, I thought that maybe I could still salvage that dream after like, maybe a decade-ish of hard work? By my thirties maybe?

    10 years ago, after disappointingly little progress in that regard despite my best efforts (and continued astounding academic success meanwhile), I thought that maybe I would "settle" for a "normal" life in an "ordinary" house in the suburbs working some "boring" career my whole life and doing some kind of interesting life's work that was a mere shadow of my true potential in my spare time beside that.

    5 years ago, I thought that I would be lucky not to die in the street when I was old like it increasingly seemed my parents were going to do, it seeming just barely possibly to avoid that with a ridiculously enormous amount of effort and sacrifice and basically neglecting everything I ever dreamt of actually doing with my life just to, maybe, hopefully, reach the point I thought I would "settle" for, and previously thought was the normal condition of all moderately functional adults, in time to have a few years' breather before I died in which to maybe write some kind of memoirs about the things I once thought I was going to do with my life? please?

    Today, even after my life has turned around dramatically from that point, thanks to that enormous effort and ridiculous sacrifice and a heaping pile of the good fortune sorely missing from most of the decades prior, I'm still not sure if that's ever going to be possible. Have since learned that my current income is twice the median American's, and I've never really made much less than the median, which only makes the difficulties endured despite that seem even more depressing. Currently living in a tiny trailer on rented land so as to be able to save enough money that someday I can put enough of a down payment down that the interest on a mortgage won't be so high as to push the date I can start saving for something besides housing back past the time I'll probably die. Long-term girlfriend patiently waiting for me to be able to afford a larger trailer with enough room for the two of us to live together and so be able to get married, currently aiming for maybe some time around when we're 40? Then probably another decade of saving after that before we can put a big enough down payment on a real house, what amounts to about half the purchase price. We don't want kids anyway, but we basically don't have the option of them at this point, not without sacrificing all hope.

    That's all assuming that the past five years' miracle progress continues unabated, which is far, far from assured and I constantly expect any moment to lose absolutely everything and go back to zero again. But then, running the numbers sometimes, somehow, it seems like if all the trends over my lifetime continue at their average rates... somehow I might be able to retire in my mid-late 50s and live off investment income for the rest of my life after that? What the fuck? I don't believe it. But the math keeps telling me that. That most of life is hopeless and shit, and then around now it starts getting gradually better, and then suddenly in the moderately-near future everything is miraculously perfect forever. But I'll fucking believe it when I see it. I'm still assuming I'm going to die in the streets like my parents still look to be doing, and life can fucking prove me wrong if it can. Please. Please prove me wrong.

    --
    -Forrest Cameranesi, Geek of all Trades
    "I am Sam. Sam I am. I do not like trolls, flames, or spam."
    1. Re:An anecdote from an older millennial by llZENll · · Score: 1

      You drank the coolaide, you WANT as much income generating debt as possible. The reason: inflation nearly wipes out your interest rate, so your leveraging a massive loan and hoping for property appreciation, pick a house in a non inflated market and ride the wave...

      http://danielamerman.com/

    2. Re:An anecdote from an older millennial by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      What does academic success have to do with financial success? Nothing. If you are successful at academics you aren't likely taking any hard classes. It is easy to excel at academics if you are in Liberal Arts. Completely meaningless. "Effortless" indeed.

    3. Re:An anecdote from an older millennial by n329619 · · Score: 1

      well, this is hard to say, but I looked at your portfolio. You seems to be doing fine now, so perhaps you are still not satisfied? Heck, I believe someone else would have been satisfied being in your current position. As "most" art major graduates can barely get pass their minimum requirement to live. Forgot about retirement for them.

      First thing first, you graduated with degree. Congratulation, except like most degrees the paper is mostly worthless, so don't count them in after your first few jobs. How to know the degree's worthlessness? Try to think of one thing that you can reuse that came from the degree. None? It is worthless. You on the other hand can be better than that piece of paper.

      If you are still unsatisfied with your current incoming, then you need to upgrade your worth. That is making yourselves worthy in the eye of an employer or client.

      Here's a tip for the approach to upgrade your worth. You work on arts a lot. If you have an afternoon free time to make something that you can sell, what will you make? Can you convince a costumer to buy it? If you have a hard time finding one or selling it, it means you that's the area you need to improve. Not to mention, you still have areas that can be improved.

      Remember only you can alter your future. Only you can prove yourselves wrong. Do update your portfolio with everything you've improved over the years, and only leave items you feel still worthy of presenting you.

      Good luck

  49. Perspective of an old fart by ishmaelflood · · Score: 1

    I didn't read TFA or any of the comments, so this may be redundant. My perspective is that by the time you kids are retiring any government funding for old people will have vanished under shear weight of numbers, and lack of workers to pay for it. This isn't entirely disastrous as government funding for old people is supposed to be a safety net, whereas in Australia at least it is a big part of many people's retirement plans at the moment. Roughly speaking if you have less than half a million dollars in financial assets you'll get a state pension (your prime residence is not included in that). To make up for what you lose by having assets in excess of that you need about 1.5 million. So for the vast proportion of people at the moment quite simply finding a loose million in spare change isn't an option, so they de-asset one way or another (house improvements,caravan, boat and 4wd) and get the state pension.

    If we assume that 1.5 million is a reasonable target in 2017 (it is way low in my opinion but at least it's a peg in the ground), I'd point out that is roughly ten years pay, so compound interest is your friend, you aren't going to save that directly. But of all the investments I've made (or gambles as they should be known), buying a fairly nasty house in a fairly unloved inner city suburb actually turned out to return 8%, over 17 years, plus I had somewhere to live, saving me $6-10k/year. Of course there are costs in house ownership, and although it wasn't the plan, the gentrification of that suburb was pretty obvious in hindsight.. I also have a bunch of shares, and much of my stash was made during the GFC, when I had some sleepless nights after some brave decisions. Now I just sit on high dividend blue chips.

    I actually found an investment advisor useful as he knows his way around the tax system, BUT he made no recommendations to change my basic approach. If you are less than 50 you probably don't need to talk to one every year, I'd have thought 5 years was more like it. Worth shopping around, the big end of town charges like wounded bulls. The little guy working for an industry fund was cheap but useless.

    Mainly you need two things. A plan. And a job.

    Now if I put my tin foil hat on, all these self funded retirees are going to have a pot of money the government would like to get its hands on. My guess is that income tax will be extended up until you die, if they can't think of any other method, and there will be bigger attempts to get people out of using public services.

    1. Re:Perspective of an old fart by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      One reason Social Security etc. is counted on is that people pay for it. Currently, the Social Security fund gets about 15% of your salary, which would make a pretty good savings plan. I'd be willing to forego it if I were to get that money back, with interest and accounting for inflation.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  50. Re:Excellent assessment/bravo/agreed, 110% by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    they aren't making any more/there are NO "land factories"

    Oh please... Tell that to China Dubai Iceland...

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  51. I knew SSI was useless at 16 by Snotnose · · Score: 1

    I was 16 in 1974, when I got my first real job and learned about SSI. As a high school kid who smoked pot it was clear to me I wouldn't see a dime of my SSI money.

    I'm now 58 and unemployed for a few years (ever been over 50 and applied for a job? Good luck with that). I'm not gonna see a dime of my SSI money.

    All I ask is the 400k+ I "donated" to the fund back, that would let me retire just fine.

  52. The math simply doesn't work. by w3woody · · Score: 1

    The basic problem is this: we think that we can live half our adult lives (from 60 to 100) by saving 15% of our income (made from 20 to 60). We've been sold this as government policy--Social Security takes 15% of our income, and most government-run pension programs which replace Social Security takes the same. Most corporate pensions save a small fraction of that. And even folks like Dave Ramsay, who give advise on getting out of debt and saving for retirement uses 15% as his rule of thumb.

    If you expect to live longer than 7 years past retirement (which was, when most retirement programs put into place, the actuarial lifespan for most retirees), then you may wish to consider saving more money--either directly or indirectly.

    That's what my wife and I are doing--not because I expect to retire, but for the day when I am unable to work.

  53. DO NOT invest in gold. by w3woody · · Score: 1

    Dear God, don't invest in gold! If you look at the price of gold adjusted for inflation it's remained flat, flat, flat. Sure there have been spikes, but the two spikes we've seen so far have been based on speculative trading by people basically betting on the end of the world. And right now we're probably going to see a multi-decade long slide from gold's peak of nearly $1900/ounce down to perhaps a few hundred dollars an ounce.

    Now if you really think we are coming to the end of the world and we're about to see economic armageddon, with Mad-Max style gas wars just around the corner, may I suggest investing in cigarettes and alcohol instead, stored in vast storage containers? Seriously, that'd be a better bet than gold...

    1. Re:DO NOT invest in gold. by slashdot_commentator · · Score: 1

      Cigarettes are not good. They require a controlled environment, and will still deteriorate due to their organic components. What you'd be counting on is a legal crackdown on tobacco use, but then you're dealing in narcotics. In an actual collapse of civilization, tobacco would still exist; still be cultivatable, and luxury items would be produced after basic survival requirements were met.

      Distilled alcohol is a good idea, not stuff like beer. But learning beer making skills would give you a marketable skill in the TEOTWAWKI.

      But the smartest item to stockpile would be ammunition. Besides the need for self-defense, killing people for stuff you need to survive, it would also be a barter item that would not degrade over a century. Stock up on the 9mm parabellum, 5.56x45 NATO, and other rounds you may prefer.

      --
      There is no America. There is no democracy. There is only IBM and AT&T and DuPont, Dow, General Electric, and Exxon
    2. Re:DO NOT invest in gold. by deadwill69 · · Score: 1

      And that is now my retirement plan. I think I'll add aspirin to it also.

      I wish I hadn't used up all my points.

  54. if not, fake news by epine · · Score: 1

    on average millennials expect to retire younger than other working age generations.

    Did you mean:

    on average millennials expect to retire younger than other working age generations expected to retire when polled in the same way, at a comparable age and state of employment?

    If not, fake news.

  55. Gotta work for it by Chewbacon · · Score: 1

    Who wouldn't want early retirement? It can be done, if you work for it, but it's still not guaranteed, and stereotype millennials don't want to work for it. With the growing gig economy appealing to millennials, I'm interested how many of them are even saving for retirement.

    --
    Chewbacon
    The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.
  56. Longer life by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    This is despite 59 percent of millennials agreeing they will live much longer and will need to support themselves for longer than previous generations

    This is the "you live longer, you need to work longer" mantra.

    Indeed retirement systems need working people to support retired people (it can be the same person that works, saves, and retires in a capitalized system, or it can be the working paying for other retired people, in a socialized system).

    But the key point is not how much work time vs how much retired time we have. It is about how much wealth produced by work and how much wealth consumed by the retired. And since worker's productivity is much higher that ever, we could support early retired persons without longer work period.

    Of course, that assumes the wealth is not captured by some other agent...

  57. Most *people* don't have a realistic view. by Kazoo+the+Clown · · Score: 2

    The problem is, a "realistic view" is nearly impossible. You can't predict how long you are going to live, how much medical care you are going to need, and what might happen to social services such as Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid, and consequently, how much money is "enough."

    1. Re:Most *people* don't have a realistic view. by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      That's exactly my problem. I've saved, and I'm probably in better shape for retirement than the vast majority. But is it enough?

      I'll probably live to be over 100, partly because of family history, mostly because that's the worst case financially. I'll probably get whatever disease is most expensive, and the nation's leaders will bankrupt all the services. :(

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  58. Re: a few hundred by slashrio · · Score: 1

    Yes, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned gain, just savings.
    However, your claim that gold will go down to a few hundred dollars an ounce contradicts your observation that gold's value is flat.
    With a zero interest for money, continuous inflation and 'flat' (i.e.: a value compensating the inflation) gold value, it performs better than regular money.
    And nobody was mentioning the SHTF scenarios you're bringing up here, I think, but in that case I'd suggest to invest in bullets.

    --
    "Trump!!", the new Godwin.
  59. to old for retraining an disability? to old for pl by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    to old for retraining an disability? to old for the company health plans an disability?

    Will we see an under the table wink wink disability for people automated out of there jobs? say an trucker has truckers lung from the fumes or there bladder is messed up?

  60. That is dependent on things staying the same. by helga+the+viking · · Score: 1

    The reason a 'generation' eg: baby boomers 1945-1969 could retire earlier by aggregate is the cumulative savings or financial assets they were allowed to keep and accumulate. Over this period you had capitalism that was adding value, building stuff and investment reflected that. 17% of profit was financialised, the rest went to wages or expanding the core function of the business. Now 64% is financialised so growth is lower, economic output GAPS are wider, workforce participation is lower. FInancialisation becomes parasitic and slows growth at this level. Literally pigeonhole principle at work: train 100 pigeons to navigate their way to individual boxes. if there is only 80 boxes it guarantees 20 will miss out. Run this over many iterations and its simply a matter of fact that if there are always a shortage of boxes [jobs] there will be a larger distribution of non-finding boxes [non earning periods in a persons life] amongst the pigeons. [SOURCE FOR FINANCIALISATION] https://www.jacobinmag.com/201... Its mostly ideological not 'real resource constrained' that cumulative assets given to a generation SETS when they retire eg: Higher government spending ADDS to net financial assets claimed by the private sector. Larger compulsory retirement contributions keep workers working but also provides the choice to retire. Young people are not unrealistic they either ignorant of the issue entirely or understand to a certain extent the current system does not work and can be changed.

  61. Forced retirement seems reasonable by ET3D · · Score: 1

    I don't expect most people will be able to find work at age 60 thirty years from now.

  62. Yeah right by jjw3579 · · Score: 1

    Haha, Millenials.. ... your boomer and gen-x parents and grandparents sold you into slavery in the 80s to finance their BMW 3 series and in the 90s to buy a McMansion. Now you have to keep working until you die to pay for their old age care and keep up the charade that everything is endless 1950s post-war middle class prosperity.

  63. Retire? Ha! by p0larity · · Score: 1

    I have some small savings and RRSP, and the Canadian government MIGHT give me a tiny stipend to live on if they force me out of work at 65+.

    That said I don't think I could ever stop being creative and making things. I will always be looking for ways to make a living at it but it might be nice to not have that stress and simply make things I like.

    I might also be the exception to the rule. At 25 I never expected to be allowed to retire. Our social assistance had just been freshly gutted by Mike Harris and previous gaffes. We had been told in no uncertain terms that we would not be getting the same retirement deal as our parents.

    I think most of my generation prefers not to think about it. It's terrifying to think of not being allowed to work as a professional and make the same money, or not being able to, and having no safety net whatsoever.

    My sincere hope is that our government will have at least a little compassion for us.

  64. Your point about tuition isn't true by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    And I wish people would stop repeating it. It's one of those lies with just a little truth in it. Yes, tuition at private for profit Universities is affected by secured loan programs. That's not true for public Universities. The 538 blog has an excellent article on it but I'll save you the time and cut to the chase. We slashed federal subsidies to public Universities. That money had to be made up somewhere. College really is that expensive. We were hiding that expense to encourage a well educated population.

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  65. already there by sirv · · Score: 1

    i'am a millenial and already retired .

  66. as a millenial by knope · · Score: 1

    Fuck you! lol