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How do you know people didn't complain? Were you there?
With an unemployment rate of 20% during the Great Depression, people worked 2nd and 3rd jobs? Really?
A lot of people actually didn't "get up every day and keep going," since the suicide rate increased by 50% during the Great Depression. Maybe they didn't complain, they just killed themselves. Nah, let's be realistic, people have been complaining for all of human history. Of course, the whiners didn't make compelling human interest stories so their pity parties are lost to time.
Please tell us more about how in the olden days people walked up hill both ways to work their 6 jobs and never complained about anything, about how righteous, moral, and hardworking everyone was. "Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." -George Orwell. It's a trite story older than time of revisionist history viewed through rose-tinted glasses.
They didn't like government intrusion in their lives?
FDR created the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) in May 1933. The act provided for $500 million in grants to state governments "to aid in meeting the costs of furnishing relief and work relief and in relieving the hardship and suffering caused by unemployment in the form of money, service,
materials, and/or commodities to provide the necessities of life to persons in need as
a result of the present emergency, and/or to their dependents, whether resident,
transient, or homeless."
Welfare, as a percentage of state spending, increased from 2.2% to 19%, while total spending increased 2.5x (more if you factor in deflation).
The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was formed in 1933 as part of the First New Deal. It set minimum prices, wages, and competitive conditions in industries, strengthened unions, and limited farm production in order to raise prices. Most businesses supported it and the public boycotted those that didn't. The Second New Deal added social security and the Works Progress Administration. FDR was so popular he was elected to three terms.
That generation strongly favored big government. They were about a mile to the left of today's society.
Furthermore, you do realize that 8 million people in America have 2+ jobs, nearly 1/3 of the workforce is looking for a second job? That the age group most likely hold 2+ jobs is 20-24?
Yep, I know people who were kids during the depression. One that I know was born in 1927 and was a small kid during the depression, others I knew have passed. Bottom line I never heard a bad word about Roosevelt. The one reveres Roosevelt as did most of his age group. As you said THREE times elected.
As for having 2 or 3 jobs during the depression, well I highly doubt that being that if you had 1 you were lucky. And related to the same point, the people who "lived" during the depression and worked through it are long dead. Their children, the guys I knew, and still know, are barely still here. My great-grandmother was adult age during the depression. She passed away at the age of 89 in 1995. I was a senior in H.S. when she passed and never picked her brain concerning the depression. I could talk to her daughter, my grandmother, who's still kicking at 85 but I already talked to people who were children during the depression.
Anyway as tough as it might have been I don't feel all that sorry for them for the simple reason that they got through it and thrived. My great-grandmother ended up retiring to Avalon N.J., and that was where we vacationed on the weekend along with all other family members who took turns visiting her. She ended up living quite well but not rich. Why, well her and the rest of the cohort who were not killed in WWII or Korea also lived through the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's (when the middle class heyday or halcyon days were ending) and even the 1980's. I know and heard plenty of people talk who were born in the late 20' to late 30's and let me assure you they don't need your sympathy. I'm talking guys with high school diploma's who worked in 1 or 2 careers tops who got full pensions, (not 401 K's), full medical (from the company not .gov) and earned such good salaries that they had significant savings on top of this. I used to dabble in insurance and belong to a fraternal organization and A.O.H. so know of what I speak. No historically speaking that age group lived better than any generation before or since outside of the privileged rich or aristocracy. The only ones who will compare and will see similar fruits for their labor but still not close to as good are the "early" boomers. Those who had good to decent jobs, even with only a H.S. diploma, are doing well and will do well. Everyone from here forward, unless you can squeeze into the top 10-25% of jobs, (25 may be pushing it and 20 may be also) will only wonder about the lifestyle the old middle class lived.
So for those who keep pontificating about the depression generation and "greatest generation" (WWII generation: they're not the same, the depression (adults) generation were their parents) the important thing to remember is they had a future: post-war 40's, 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. I don't feel comfortable at all saying the same about today's kids, 20's, 30's and early to mid 40 something people.
This subject has been debated ad infinitum, but yes, the Baby Boomers will get a big chunk of the blame for whatever happens in the near-term, and the reasons are simple:
-the average age of a US House member is 56
-the average age of a US Senate member is 63
-the President is 51
-most Fortune 500 CEOs are Baby Boomers
Basically, Baby Boomers are holding the reins of power almost across the board. So, yes, they will take the blame if things go sour, or if they fail to improve. With power comes certain expectations, and if you can't live up to them, you tend to be remembered poorly. Simple as that.
That sounds ok ...
But there are thousands who have had the same in lifestyle
and before they knew what hit them they lost it all
there job, house, cars and were divorced
Look at those who lost it all in the past 4 to 5 years and they had it made too and lost it all.
There are no real guarantees in this life ! ! !
.
With the markets at in some cases all time highs and in other cases at 5-6 year highs how did they lose it all. Was it in their house? What about all those who put new money to work in the last 3 1/2 years how did they lose it all. What I had lost at one point I have gotten back plus some and new money put to work has been awesome. And I retired January 1, 2008. Were there some scary times you better lbelieve it but if at this point if I were to be saying woe is me I lost it all that would be correct with a big I. As far as my kids go we fed them their future and they are doing well and appreciate it.
I got this e-mail and many just like it. I saved it for such a time as this. Here is you answer.
Our SS "Benefit"
We paid for OUR Social Security Check - Right?
Then why is the "Government saying it's a "Benefit"? ____________________________________________
The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a
"Federal Benefit Payment."
This isn't a benefit - its earned income!
Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers
did too.
It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.
If you averaged $30K per year over your working life,that's close
to $180,000 invested in Social Security.
If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social
security ($375/month, including both your and your employer's
contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly,
after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved!
This is your personal investment.
Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318
per year, or $3,277 per month.
That's almost three times more than today's average Social Security
benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security
Administration (Google it - it's a fact).
And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if
you retire at age 65)!
I can only imagine how much better most average-income people could live
in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk
interest-earning accounts.
Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger
Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever did.
They took our money and used it elsewhere. They "forgot" that it was OUR
money they were taking.
They didn't have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to
them.
And they didn't pay interest on the debt they assumed.
And recently, they've told us that the money won't support us for very
much longer.
But is it our fault they misused our investments?
And now, to add insult to injury, they're calling it a "benefit," as if we
never worked to earn every penny of it.
Just because they "borrowed" the money, doesn't mean that our investments
were a charity!
Let's take a stand.
We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare.
Demand that our legislators bring some sense into our government -
Find a way to keep Social Security and Medicare going, for the sake of
that 92% of our population who need it.
It's best to think of Social Security and Medicare withholdings as taxes that went to finance current expenditures. Social Security is in better shape than Medicare, but let's be clear - you were not making an investment with your payments. You were not paying into a pool of money to be reserved for future use. You were paying for current expenditures.
Sorry. But that's how it is. A question like:
Quote:
We paid for OUR Social Security Check - Right?
merits a simple answer:
Quote:
Nope.
Because if you had, this wouldn't even be a question. The money would be sitting in there waiting for you. But if it isn't, that means you didn't pay into the future. You paid into the present, and that present became the past, and now it's gone.
Social security was suppose to be "reserved" though, at least in a sense, but it wasn't.....and that is part of the problem. The government can't put its money in a big pool, but it can run surpluses and it did for a short while after social security taxes were increased and after Clinton increased other taxes. But people (e.g., boomer voters) didn't like the surpluses because that meant they were paying more taxes than they had to to meet current needs. So as Bush turned surpluses into deficits...the boomers effectively spent their retirement money.
The boomers spent their retirement funds and now they want younger generations to pick up the bill...
Medicare is a greater disasters because the boomers decided to poison their bodies with junk for decades, the US now is 70% overweight and once again the younger generations are suppose to pay for their mistake.
If the boomers get their way, its going to destroy the nation.
The government is now referring to our Social Security checks as a
“Federal Benefit Payment.” This isn’t a benefit – its earned income
Not only did we all contribute to Social Security but our employers did too.
It totaled 15% of our income before taxes.
If you averaged $30K per year over your working life, that's close to
$180,000 invested in Social Security.
If you calculate the future value of your monthly investment in social
security ($375/month, including both your and your employer’s contributions) at a meager 1% interest rate compounded monthly, after 40 years of working you'd have more than $1.3+ million dollars saved! This is your personal investment.
Upon retirement, if you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $39,318 per year, or $3,277 per month. That’s almost three times more than today’s average Social Security
benefit of $1,230 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (Google it - it’s a fact).
And your retirement fund would last more than 33 years (until you're 98 if you retire at age 65)! I can only imagine how much better most average-income people could live in retirement if our government had just invested our money in low-risk interest-earning accounts.
Instead, the folks in Washington pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff ever did.
They took our money and used it elsewhere. They “forgot” that it was OUR money they were taking. They didn’t have a referendum to ask us if we wanted to lend the money to them.
And they didn’t pay interest on the debt they assumed. And recently, they’ve told us that the money won’t support us for very much longer. But is it our fault they misused our investments?
And now, to add insult to injury, they’re calling it a “benefit,” as if we never worked to earn every penny of it. Just because they “borrowed” the money, doesn't mean that our investments were a charity!
We have earned our right to Social Security and Medicare.
It's best to think of Social Security and Medicare withholdings as taxes that went to finance current expenditures. Social Security is in better shape than Medicare, but let's be clear - you were not making an investment with your payments. You were not paying into a pool of money to be reserved for future use. You were paying for current expenditures.
Sorry. But that's how it is. A question like:
merits a simple answer:
Because if you had, this wouldn't even be a question. The money would be sitting in there waiting for you. But if it isn't, that means you didn't pay into the future. You paid into the present, and that present became the past, and now it's gone.
Then I guess we did a better job of taking care of our parents than this generation is at taking care of us. We also paid off a war debt, etc., etc., etc. And we were paying into a pool until some of the presidents decided to dip into the till. You can check back and see which ones did this. I think everybody that is a baby boomer has been robbed by the government.
We more than paid for our parents. I think the real problem is all the abortions have caused the population to be too low for this generation to pay its way the way we did.
What is the saying? You can be sure your sins will find you out. I guess nobody thought all those murdered babies would some day have an affect on our economy.
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Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it." -George Orwell. It's a trite story older than time of revisionist history viewed through rose-tinted glasses.
