Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 1:06:18 PM
In another “Phil Gramm is right” example, we have this:
TOM IN LONG BEACH, CALIF writes in to Dear Abby:
I am in my early 40s. Most of my good friends, whom I have known my whole life, have not given a second thought to our approaching "golden years."
And you are “good friends” with such irresponsible people?
No one is saving money for retirement, participating in any sort of plan or even thinking about how they will manage later in life.
This displays a breakdown in maturity and reasoning skills. There are some basic realities that these people are not addressing, such as: we will all continue to get older until we die; it generally becomes more difficult to work as we grow older; medical expenses tend to increase as we grow older.
They all have fun, interesting, low-paying jobs.
In many cases, they simply don’t want to deal with anything more difficult than that. It almost always takes hard work and planning and hard decisions and risking failure to make more money.
I worry that when my friends are senior citizens they will be destitute. They laugh off my worries.
They “laugh off” because it is their mechanism that allows them to avoid dwelling on thoughts of the inevitable. Either they purposely do not think about it, or are in denial in that they think they will always be able to work and will enjoy doing so, or they think that one of the following will happen:
1) They will win the lottery.
Not likely at al!
2) They will hit it big as an artist or inventor or writer or something like that with minimal effort.
Possible, but it takes a lot of hard work and if they are in their 40s, chances are that ship has passed.
3) A relative will die and leave them enough to give them a comfortable life for the rest of their days.
Not likely, especially when you consider taxes, inflation, and the money getting split.
4) They will find a rich man who will marry them and take care of them for the rest of their lives.
For a woman in her 40s, that is extremely unlikely. Such sugar daddies also attract 30 and 20-somethings, who are generally preferable to men enjoying their wealth. Plus such men can easily insulate their wealth and leave it to others upon their deaths.
5) Wishful thinking, like in The Secret, will bring them wealth.
God is not a cosmic bellhop.
6) Santa Claus, in the form of “the government”, will provide for all of their needs.
My parents are enjoying a modest but comfortable retirement which they worked for -- and planned for -- most of their lives.
Well guess what? Seen #6? That’s YOU and YOUR PARENTS who are going to be paying “the government” to take care of your friends and other people like them that you don’t even know. That’s right – people who have been responsible, have worked hard, have sacrificed, and have lived within their means and planned for the future are going to be paying for the housing, food, recreation, and health, and much more for those people… many of whom went to universities they couldn’t afford, have lived in homes they couldn’t afford, drove vehicles they couldn’t afford, took vacations they couldn’t afford, bought entertainment systems they couldn’t afford, and generally lived it up while you were working late. That’s the way socialism of the Democrat brand functions.
How can I inspire them to take action?
I’m not sure you can. They’ve chosen to ignore reality for so long and are probably set in their ways. They’ve hand many warnings, starting with parables that are taught to children. There are so many opportunities to increase your earning power, to research investments, and to save and make investments. I myself invest through no fewer than three investment vehicles straight out of my paycheck, before I even see the money, including a 401(k). After that, I invest in other ways through regular, automatic deductions straight from my checking account, including a Roth IRA. I own my home instead of renting.
There are also so many ways the average person can spend less in order to have more money to save and invest.
You could try asking them questions, like “Hey, my IRA is down a little, but it will come back. How is yours?” And when they say they don’t have one, ask, “Why not?”
However, they may be immune to reason. These are the kind of people Gramm was talking about, or at least should have been. They think they are owed a good living by “other people”. And if they do invest, they think they should just be able to throw money anywhere and see a huge return. These are the kind of people who grow bitter and angry and may even file what I would consider to be frivolous lawsuits as a surrogate for lottery winnings. These are the whiners.
It is getting worse in part because of rise in people who are raised without a father to explain money, the economy, budgeting, and investing. Yes, there are women who are smart in these areas, but they aren’t as common as the kind of woman who makes babies with a man who isn’t happily married to her and won’t be around much longer.
People should:
1) Plan ahead. Plans can change, but it is good to have a plan – what kind of lifestyle you want and how you will pay for it.
2) Get the education and training they need AND can afford.
3) Work as much as possible for the highest pay they can charge. While in school, this will likely mean part time.
4) Spend less than they earn, avoiding interest payments (credit card debt, financing) as much as possible.
5) Consult a financial planner.
6) After building up a liquid emergency fund that can sustain them for six months, save and invest regularly.
7) Vote for smaller government.
8) NOT marry someone who has been financially irresponsible (or even allow them to shack up with them).
9) NOT make babies out of wedlock.
10) Unmarried men in particular should avoid spending a lot of money on dates. If they hope to get married, any woman they’d want to marry will understand the wisdom of him spending less now in order to save for their future together. There is no problem with expecting a woman who earns income to pay for herself as one way of keeping costs down. Men who aren’t looking to get married but instead are dating only for sex should keep in mind that a woman has decided whether or not she is going to fornicate with him before he’s spent a dime. A few women may be swayed if he spends a bundle, but are they worth it when there are plenty of other women who don’t require the expense?
Don't rely on the government. SAVE FOR YOURSELF!