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Of course not. The system was never created to benefit you.
I thought as much
Every subsequent generation since Social Security was enacted pays more and receives less. There are 2.8 workers per Social Security beneficiary presently.
Ida May Fuller (the first social security recipient) worked for three years under the Social Security program. The accumulated taxes on her salary during those three years was a total of $24.75. Her initial monthly check was $22.54. During her lifetime she collected a total of $22,888.92 in Social Security benefits.
I'm not making this up. The agency itself admits to as much. That's right. She paid $24.75 into the system and received $22,888.92.
The worst thing is that anyone who dares question any aspect of Social Security is character-assassinated into being a demon who hates retirees and hard working Americans in general.
It may not, if you let the politicians continue to raid it, but it won't be the fault of the boomers. The problem is that the Social Security Trust Fund it was designed to be self funded but the government began to borrow against it to "balance" budgets, in return they gave SSTF I.O.U.'s in the form of treasury bonds. Now those bonds are owed to the SSTF and are a liability of the government and hence the national debt. Wouldn't the government just love to write them off? Especially since they owe in the trillions. My generation let them get away with it because we are pretty much guaranteed our money. Ponzi scheme? Not really, the fund works but relies on the trust between the people and the government to manage it. Get involved and fight for change or you really will get screwed.
Thanks for the info. Maybe in 40 years this website/thread will be archived somewhere and we'll see which posters were right.
Thanks for the info. Maybe in 40 years this website/thread will be archived somewhere and we'll see which posters were right.
It's not meant for information, it's a call to action. I can't help you, I can support you for a few more years, but I won't be around to suffer the consequences of inaction. Stop complaining and do something about it.
In the short run? Sure. In the long run? Not even. Dreary as it is, you'll at least eventually climb into lower or middle management working at Walmart. English teaching is a dead end as a career. I'm sure it's a lot of fun for a couple of years, but it's a path to nowhere. I say this as someone who was sorely tempted to do it out a desire for travel/adventure, but didn't feel I could afford to put off laying the foundation for a 'real' career in these times.
Every subsequent generation since Social Security was enacted pays more and receives less. There are 2.8 workers per Social Security beneficiary presently.
Ida May Fuller (the first social security recipient) worked for three years under the Social Security program. The accumulated taxes on her salary during those three years was a total of $24.75. Her initial monthly check was $22.54. During her lifetime she collected a total of $22,888.92 in Social Security benefits.
I'm not making this up. The agency itself admits to as much. That's right. She paid $24.75 into the system and received $22,888.92.
The worst thing is that anyone who dares question any aspect of Social Security is character-assassinated into being a demon who hates retirees and hard working Americans in general.
What she paid isn't really relevant. Social Security was never a savings account but a pay as you go system, today's workers pay for today's retirees.
You do have a point about the number of workers as well as the point made earlier about the retirement age not keeping up with life expectancy (I can hear the screaming now from you young guys if retirement for SS was 70 or 72, though. You guys are pissed off as it is because people who are 50 aren't retiring).
The fix is easy, uncap the earnings limit that's taxed.
As a note, the borrowing from the Trust Fund began during the Johnson Administration. Which generation was that again?
I know that Millenials are having a difficult time but they are not the only ones. I think they need to lower their expectations. Colleges sold them a bill of goods. When I first started college, I was in a field that had many, many jobs and by the time I graduated everything dried up so I had to take a job that made very little money and I had student loans with high interest rates. It has affected my entire career and life. I went back to school to get another major and then graduated in a recession to take another low paying job but I worked my way up to my position. I am in my 40s now and will probably never have children because I waited until I was somewhat financially stable. I work with millenials that make the same amount of money as I do. I have friends in their 40s that were in the same position. Many of them worked and still work weekends, 12 hour days, holidays, and even 2 or 3 jobs.
It is best to find meaning outside of your job. Jobs are temporary. Employers have no loyalty to employees. Promotions and raises are not solely given for performance or production or how much money you made or saved an organization. It isn't fair but that is the way it is. My advice to them is if they are really unhappy with their jobs then try to get a different job that helps them get the skills they want.
In the short run? Sure. In the long run? Not even. Dreary as it is, you'll at least eventually climb into lower or middle management working at Walmart. English teaching is a dead end as a career. I'm sure it's a lot of fun for a couple of years, but it's a path to nowhere. I say this as someone who was sorely tempted to do it out a desire for travel/adventure, but didn't feel I could afford to put off laying the foundation for a 'real' career in these times.
A 61-year-old friend of mine taught English in the Czech Republic for 10 years. Now, he's been underemployed (we met when we waited tables together, if that tells you anything) for years and can't wait to collect his $586 social security check next year so he can get subsidized senior housing.
Millenials are getting what they voted for ... an Obama economy.
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