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He may very well be right about teacher in prestigious New England communities, but government employment is often the most highly sought after and best employment in communities where the private sector is depressed.
Where I am, the minimum salary for any K-12 teacher wet behind the ears coming out of college in $41,000 annually. I have a good friend who was making $34k as a software developer with an MS in CS and three years experience in 2013. I was making $21k on the help desk with a bachelor's in economics and around six IT certifications at the time.
Even in poor areas like here in Tennessee, public sector jobs have minimum salary floors. Private sector jobs go as low as the market will bear.
I'm honestly surprised how short shrift this type of situation gets and the lack of understanding on this board, but given the fact that most people here are from prestigious areas and affluent, I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the general lack of understanding of the life that poor people like me in the middle of nowhere live.
Actually I do get this. Two of my kids work for quasi governmental agencies, and they have advanced degrees. They aren't being paid big bucks, but they are being paid reliably and they have advancement opportunities. They are also working in their fields of study.
One of the things I have despaired of is how their futures are less promising than their parents. And it makes me mad at myself that I did not maximize my earnings potential.
One of the two lives in a booming urban area, with relatively few high paying jobs. The other lives in a much smaller city, where, thankfully, COL is much less than in a large city.
When members of a certain party were loudly exclaiming that government does not create jobs, I was asking myself, What? Of course government creates jobs. Millions of them.
Why is nobody talking about it? Because, honestly, a large percentage of people, particularly in America, have zero empathy and operate under a deluded world view where "everyone gets what they deserve in life." It's an outgrowth of misguided Puritan work ethic and ideals and is often used by people to look past how luck has played a huge role in their own lives. Many people hate that fact that if things had gone slightly differently in their lives in a way they could not control they'd be dead or dirt poor despite their skills and work ethic. So, they fabricate a story, often backed by creative religious interpretation, that allows them to believe that their success in life is purely based on their own merits. The natural corollary to this is that those who are poor or unsuccessful must have done something to deserve that fate.
The technical term of this delusion is the Just World Fallacy, and it is heavily used to disparage and condemn the unemployed and poor in general, particularly by a certain political party. It's a small step to using it to also condemn the impoverished elderly.
There is nothing like a real world example - my own son.
He's went to college and grad school - social services (psych). He's not overly ambitious...wants to "live life" as opposed to the rat race.
He met a woman - and got married...late, as mentioned in the OP. They were about 30. Now they have a child. This will be the ONLY child they have...well, an accident is possible ,but....
OK - so, they live in Pittsburgh and she has a professional job with the school system. I don't count her money, but my guess is that a decent pension and lifetime health care are in the bag. He works some social work, some freelancing in the creative arts - so they make a decent living.
They bought their first house for $115K. We helped with the DP. Since that time, they have bought 2 additional properties to rent out.
So - there is your millennials or X's or whatever you want to call them. 33 years old now and they will be MORE than fine because they don't want a McMansion. They don't want to go to $150 dinners and drinks. They don't want to fly first class or wear expensive jewelry. Oh, and dad will likely leave them a bundle also.
See? - nothing to worry about. These posts make up fake scenarios that do not apply to normal people.
Have news for you, the crisis of "poor retirees" is not in the future, but already arrived.
Here in NYC have written often you can see on any given night middle aged to elderly digging through trash bags put out by supermarkets/shops. Many of these persons are *NOT* homeless, but living on SS and perhaps a pension and whatever else they have in terms of savings/assets.
Wrote also about a television news program that interviews "poor" seniors including a couple living in a Florida retirement community. IIRC the spot dealt with hunger and how many of these seniors would qualify for food stamps, but they are too proud and or don't want to apply for various reasons. They also don't want to "burden" their children or grandchildren by asking for financial assistance. So they basically go hungry, dumpster dive or whatever.
Again to all outward appearances these persons are not "poor". They have a roof over their heads (some very nice), along with savings, pension and or SS; it is just that when all is said and done there is a huge deficient remaining each month after housing, medical and other costs are paid.
They don't always recruit from top schools, I'm thinking of HYP kind. My kid got interviews from Jane Street, only kids from Harvard and MIT get interview from there, not easy I mean. She also got scholarships to visit them in NYC for 3 days.
Decent public schools with good grades are reasonable chances. They know that lots of smart kids don't have wealthy parents.
Jane Street isn't Goldman Sachs. Go look on Glassdoor. They pay their entry level traders chump change by Wall Street standards. Enormous turnover since only a few make it.
There is nothing like a real world example - my own son.
He's went to college and grad school - social services (psych). He's not overly ambitious...wants to "live life" as opposed to the rat race.
He met a woman - and got married...late, as mentioned in the OP. They were about 30. Now they have a child. This will be the ONLY child they have...well, an accident is possible ,but....
OK - so, they live in Pittsburgh and she has a professional job with the school system. I don't count her money, but my guess is that a decent pension and lifetime health care are in the bag. He works some social work, some freelancing in the creative arts - so they make a decent living.
They bought their first house for $115K. We helped with the DP. Since that time, they have bought 2 additional properties to rent out.
So - there is your millennials or X's or whatever you want to call them. 33 years old now and they will be MORE than fine because they don't want a McMansion. They don't want to go to $150 dinners and drinks. They don't want to fly first class or wear expensive jewelry. Oh, and dad will likely leave them a bundle also.
See? - nothing to worry about. These posts make up fake scenarios that do not apply to normal people.
Exactly. Save and reduce your cost of living and if you aren't already a decent, halfway intelligent person, well, then yes, you are probably not going to do too well. But that was true in generations past, also.
There is nothing like a real world example - my own son.
He's went to college and grad school - social services (psych). He's not overly ambitious...wants to "live life" as opposed to the rat race.
He met a woman - and got married...late, as mentioned in the OP. They were about 30. Now they have a child. This will be the ONLY child they have...well, an accident is possible ,but....
OK - so, they live in Pittsburgh and she has a professional job with the school system. I don't count her money, but my guess is that a decent pension and lifetime health care are in the bag. He works some social work, some freelancing in the creative arts - so they make a decent living.
They bought their first house for $115K. We helped with the DP. Since that time, they have bought 2 additional properties to rent out.
So - there is your millennials or X's or whatever you want to call them. 33 years old now and they will be MORE than fine because they don't want a McMansion. They don't want to go to $150 dinners and drinks. They don't want to fly first class or wear expensive jewelry. Oh, and dad will likely leave them a bundle also.
See? - nothing to worry about. These posts make up fake scenarios that do not apply to normal people.
Good for your son...but it is a bit of hyperbole to say that as long as they avoid $150 dinners, first class flights, and fine jewelry they'll be fine! I guess I've been cutting back waaaaaay too far considering I rarely have $50 dinners, have never flown first (or even business class) and when I had my MOTHER'S fine jewelry appraised found out I'd only get $10k for it so I may as well keep it.
There is nothing like a real world example - my own son.
He's went to college and grad school - social services (psych). He's not overly ambitious...wants to "live life" as opposed to the rat race.
He met a woman - and got married...late, as mentioned in the OP. They were about 30. Now they have a child. This will be the ONLY child they have...well, an accident is possible ,but....
OK - so, they live in Pittsburgh and she has a professional job with the school system. I don't count her money, but my guess is that a decent pension and lifetime health care are in the bag. He works some social work, some freelancing in the creative arts - so they make a decent living.
They bought their first house for $115K. We helped with the DP. Since that time, they have bought 2 additional properties to rent out.
So - there is your millennials or X's or whatever you want to call them. 33 years old now and they will be MORE than fine because they don't want a McMansion. They don't want to go to $150 dinners and drinks. They don't want to fly first class or wear expensive jewelry. Oh, and dad will likely leave them a bundle also.
See? - nothing to worry about. These posts make up fake scenarios that do not apply to normal people.
I wouldn't call these posts "fake scenarios" that do not apply to "normal people."
Many of my friends are not doing well financially. I live in a poor area where many people are financially strapped. I know a lot of folks in that $10-$15/hr range who really do try and work hard. Maybe they aren't as intelligent as most of us on here, maybe they didn't make good decisions right out of high school that would put them on the "fast track," maybe they're doing what they've always known because it's comfortable and they don't know any better, maybe they just weren't lucky.
My high school crush is 31 and has an eleven year old with a guy she married right after high school. He cheats on her, leaves, and a year or two later is diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. Financially devastating. She survived and is fine now, but has been behind the eight ball the entire time trying to provide for her son and her various health challenges.
I'm sure she doesn't make much working at Kroger and probably shouldn't have gotten married/had a kid so quickly, but it's life. She's really done nothing wrong in the grand scheme of things. I don't see how she's going to be able to care for herself in her old age. Her scenario is sad, but is "normal" and repeated millions of times across the country.
With that said, yes, maybe expectations are set too high. I know a handful of people who are living an "alternate lifestyle" of some fashion, who have minimal financial requirements and are minimal spenders, and prefer "something else" over a mainstream lifestyle. People like this will probably be fine no matter what happens.
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