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I didn't see reference to stock markets, to corporations, to a democratic-elected republican form of government, nor to poor people living to a ripe old age on par with rich people.
I did see reference in the Bible to slavery; and to women marrying, becoming their husband's property, and going to live in her husband's father's home; and to lots of war.
So I'm not really sure the Bible stories are relevant to what folks encounter today.
I didn't see reference to a social security system,pensions or medicare in the bible either.
Right. Those things are making retirement a possibility for these few fortunate generations. I doubt that my children will have any of those. I'm just saying that our American idea of retirement is not the historical norm, it's an anomalous phenomenon of this time, soon to pass.
I didn't see reference to stock markets, to corporations, to a democratic-elected republican form of government, nor to poor people living to a ripe old age on par with rich people.
I did see reference in the Bible to slavery; and to women marrying, becoming their husband's property, and going to live in her husband's father's home; and to lots of war.
So I'm not really sure the Bible stories are relevant to what folks encounter today.
I apologize if my post was a distraction. It was only meant for perspective.
1/2 the country does not earn enough to even pay taxes after deductions and exemptions so they will never ever have money to save at any point in their lives so diluting the rest of the folks who are saving and preparing for retirement really waters down their results in all these statistics.
I apologize if my post was a distraction. It was only meant for perspective.
Perspective is important, but ancient historical perspective less so (really not much at all) as compared to current-day contextual perspective. Most people born today aren't adapted by their upbringing to manual farming, or manual herding of sheep, or living without electricity and running water. We are products of our time, not of some random point in past history. Moses would probably have a hard time getting a job, even as a rabbi, in the context of today's electronically-connected ministries. His upbringing simply didn't adapt him to serving any role requiring understanding today's human beings.
It's amazing how many people on "assistance" have nice cars, big screen TVs, Iphones, Ipads, fancy clothes (that they wear halfway down their ass) smoke, drink a six pack a day, etc. That's my definition of irresponsible spending.
Just how do you know their possessions and spending habits? Or do you just assume some of the people you see with these things are on assistance for whatever reason.
Please forgive this aside, but I went completly through the Bible (I'm a Christian) looking for just one mention of a person retiring and found none. Moses was in his eighties and still tending sheep when God called him for his real job in life. King David still went into battle after he was too old to fight and his soldiers told him to please go home before he got killed. The closest to a retirement story was about a man who had accumulated wealth and had food for many years stored away, and said to himself that he would just take his leisure. God spoke to him and said "Thou fool, thy soul will be required of thee this very night. For whom were you working all these years?" That doesn't speak well for the concept of retirement from a Biblical standpoint.
I don't mean to discourage those hoping for retirement, I hope to do so myself very soon. It's just that retirement is a rather modern idea that may exist for only a few fortunate generations.
Reality is we have never agreed on what being retired is. Isn't being 66 receiving SS without a job being retired even if you want to work? Does receiving SS even if still working qualify as partially retired?
Does receiving SS even if still working qualify as partially retired?
I'm 70, still with my employer of the past 22 years and drawing SS. I retired two years ago but my employer hasn't found out yet...
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