Give a Buck, Save a Boomer

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Yes Ben Stein's article is excellent but contains nothing new. Boomers knew retirement was going to happen right? Or were you all in deep denial and thought you'd be 25 the rest of your lives? Baby boomers lived through some of the most prosperous times in US history and the fact that a large portion of baby boomers have either inadequate or nonexistent savings is mind boggling. Perhaps the word for this is irresponsible.

Give you guys a buck? Hell no! I'm certain, however, that when the grim reality of boomer irresponsiblity dawns on your generation you will FORCE Xers and subsequent generations to bail boomers out through confiscatory taxation. Which will mean the younger generation will have fewer economic opportunities and an extremely difficult time saving for their own retirement. Thanks guys!

The dinosaurs had the astroid strike, the Romans had the Huns and Vandals, and America has the baby boomers.

Most of us didn't expect to be downsized when we finally got to the age when we were doing it right, either. Nor did we expect to watch our pension funds drained by corporate greed and a volatile market. We didn't expect tax cuts for the wealthiest 1% and crippling taxes for the rest of us. We didn't expect health care to cost close to $1000.00 a month for a family. Go know, as my grandmother used to say--from her sunny condo on the beach bought with her intact pension fund and healthy portfolio.

Jan,

True, disasters both personal and national do happen but they befall every generation and every person. Downsizing doesn't last forever, we all find another job. Taxes and stock markets go up and down and that is why you've got to diversify investments to shelter your portfolio from those swings and keep up disciplined savings habits. IRAs and Roths have been around a long, long time and it appears boomers haven't taken advantage of them.

Unlike a few boomers I do not expect or demand the younger generations take care of me when I'm old. It is my responsiblity to look after myself not theirs. They should have an opportunity to build a life for themselves. My major concern is boomers will demand massive expansions of the entitlement programs and suck all the money out of my pocket (and the pockets of generations to come) to pay for them. Why should we be screwed over by a generation of Americans that didn't take responsibility for their financial future for the majority of their lives?

Boomers will just have to keep on working till a later age, if you don't have money to retire, you just have to work...

Ben's article simplifies a very complex issue. Several things to consider, the most important being that retirement doesn't mean the same thing as it used to. Most people will stay healthier and more active for much longer into the second half of their life than previously.

Along with that, people are going to work longer - sometimes because they have to, but often because they want to. Speaking as an aging Boomer, I like working - it gives me meaning and enjoyment. I just finished a second master's degree and am already wondering about where life will take me in the next thirty years. Sitting on the porch watching life go by? Not hardly.

Don't worry, kids, we'll take care of ourselves just fine. After all, we raised you, didn't we?

BoomerBoy (www.boomerreflections.blogspot.com)

hey GenX--the same way our Social security contributions have benefitted the older generation, yours will benefit us--although not very much. While you're all so worried about being sucked dry by my generation, generations have always taken care of each other. Until the latter part of the 20th century--parents raised their kids and kids took care of their elderly parents. But now, in our selfish, disconnected world, it's pretty much everyone for himself. Believe me, I wouldn't presume to expect squat from my kids' generation. Maybe by caring so much about our kids' self-esteem and well-being, we forgot to teach 'em to give a shit.

Hey Jan,

What you say of Social Security is true, our taxes go to support those already retired and yes, GenXers are not numerous enough to support Babyboomers under current Social Security Administration compensation guidelines. But don't blame me or my generation for the fact that the government created an unsustainable pyramid scheme in the 1930s. The demographic bulge of Baby Boomers and its effect on Social Security had to have been apparent since the 1960s yet nothing was done since Social Security was a "sacred cow".

For years it has been apparent that Social Security was a very, very poor investment. It manages to screw over several different parties simulataneously. First it generally pays out more in benefits than people pay into the program and requires the younger generation to pay those already retired. Second, it does not pay interest on the sums contributed by the individual so it literally robs people of hundreds of thousands of dollars they would otherwise have earned had they put it in savings bonds. Third, individuals do not own the bonds the Social Security administration buys with your FICA taxes. Therefore you cannot transfer that wealth to your loved ones when you die. The bottom line of all this is that our government has been ripping us off for years and the Social Security "trust fund" is simply a backdoor way for Uncle Sam to spend like a college girl with daddy's credit card.

Boomers appear to pride themselves on their moral superiority but I haven't heard many become "outraged" over this grossly unjust system. There is a significant moral question here that boomers appear to have conveniently overlooked. The current system taxes the young and poor and transfers that wealth to those who have had an entire lifetime to build assets. Is that really just?

As for your comment about my generation not giving a shit...well I don't believe being compassionate means writing a blank check so boomers can live in a foam padded world and never face the consequences of their financial decisions. I'd rather get the system corrected so the next generation will get to enjoy the same opportunities I enjoyed. I'd also like to leave the following generation assets rather than liabilities when I check out of this world.

Jan,

One thing that I boomers should take into consideration is our generation did not elect the government that wasted the social security funds. During the gas crunch boomers were not outraged when car companies figured that attaching a truck frame to a car body would get them around emissions quotas. I bet you remember the first 4 wheel drive Jeep station wagon. Maybe the boomers could sell one of there SUV's and use that money for retirement. Also may of the boomers are set for retirement and still want to get their check. I know the argument is that we paid in so we should get it back, but what about generations to follow.

I think what bothers me (a total Gen X'er) the most about this whole issue is the sense of unlimmited entitlement that the Boomers have....it makes me kind of queasy to read about the theories of Social Security doing broke before anyone in my generation will be able to receive the money WE poured into it. And while the Boomers will always vote en masse to keep their precious benefits down to the last penny, it won't make much of a difference when the Gen X'ers refuse to change your diapers.

I think what bothers me (a total Gen X'er) the most about this whole issue is the sense of unlimmited entitlement that the Boomers have....it makes me kind of queasy to read about the theories of Social Security doing broke before anyone in my generation will be able to receive the money WE poured into it. And while the Boomers will always vote en masse to keep their precious benefits down to the last penny, it won't make much of a difference when the Gen X'ers refuse to change their diapers.

I think what bothers me (a total Gen X'er) the most about this whole issue is the sense of unlimmited entitlement that the Boomers have....it makes me kind of queasy to read about the theories of Social Security going broke before anyone in my generation will be able to receive the money WE poured into it. And while the Boomers will always vote en masse to keep their precious benefits down to the last penny, it won't make much of a difference when the Gen X'ers refuse to change their diapers.

Just to point out Jan, our payments were never meant to benefit your generation; your own benefits were to be paid back to you. Once again you over look the fact that the people your generation elected squandered the funds. Take responsibility and say, yes we elected them and we will take the fall for them, don't pass the buck. I will say you are right about kids should take care of there parents, that is the way it should be. But what generation had the means to put their parents in nursing homes. The baby boomers did that is who. I bet your child remembers visiting grandpa in the nursing home that smelled funny. I worked in a nursing home when I was 18 and the generation I saw residing there was the greatest generation. I did however see plenty of babyboomers on the holidays visiting. Shame on you. Where do think your kids learned to be selfish. And don't say you cared so much about your kid's self-esteem; the baby boomers are the ones who were never there for the kids. Of course you and your generation never want to take credit for your mistakes. At least when we were called slackers, we said yes we are slackers.

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