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Post by femalebusiness on Jun 30, 2019 21:48:59 GMT
Because everything in this country has been privatized, schools, prisons, war. These private companies are making a ton of money. Because a government babysitter would be a better plan? Umm no. Who do you think government gets its money from? Yes, government controlled and operated would be far better. Private companies have one goal, profit at any and all expense of the poor and disenfranchised. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jun 30, 2019 21:56:36 GMT
That is a ridiculous statement. I should go into debt so that those who work in those jobs still have a job? Vacation spots will survive. I hear people who complain about the cost of their children's education talk about buying $100 eye cream or facials and designer handbags. It is about realistic choices. Life is not fair. Everyone does not get a trophy whether they win or lose. If your parents screwed you I am sorry that happened but it is not up to me to pay for that. Having said that, education costs are way, way too much but so are a lot of other things. ETA I am assuming your parents paid for your sister's education. If that is not true excuse the assumption. I assume that the sister's education was paid with grants and scholarships because she was a single parent. |
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MsKnit
Pearl Clutcher
RefuPea #1406
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Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Jun 30, 2019 22:00:22 GMT
No I don't think Congress should erase or forgive student loan debt. When you take out a loan you should pay it back-all of it. When DS went to college he spent the first 2 years at community college-it was much cheaper and we knew he'd get a wonderful education of the first 2 years-the basics. He then transferred all of his credits to an in state University that has the degree program he was looking for (film and video), had a great reputation and was very reasonable in cost. Would he have preferred to go to a California school for film? Absolutely. But it wasn't in our budget and we and my ex had planned to pay for his college education without loans if we could. By DS going to the in state school we were able to do that. It all turned out in the end. DS has a great job editing commercials now and he loves it. Is it his dream job? No, he'd rather be editing film. But he's young and he's just starting in his career. The best part is he doesn't have any student loans. Had he gone to an out of state school he would have. His in state school was around $10,000 a year, so it was 20,000 for the last 2 years. And much less than that for the first 2 years. This. So much this. All through life one must make decisions. It's a good idea to start new students with the understanding that this is what we can afford, which will benefit you down the road by eliminating or severely reducing student debt. It's completely idiotic to expect to have huge amounts of debt just to say one went to some elite school. If one makes the choice to go into debt, one must pay the debt back. It should be a basic principle of life. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2019 22:02:13 GMT
Good try, but she's referring to people who have been retired for many years and living into their 90s. She said boomers more than once. Who by definition were born from 1946 and did absolutely nothing to defend us from Germany. You’re welcome. I agree with her. And so would my parents. My parents are boomers. My father is 75 and still works his full time accountancy job because he loves it and he’s not ready to retire - even though he could have by his superannuation and Australian retirement age, 10 years earlier. My mother is 70 and works 4 days a week for the same reason. They are the exception rather than the rule among their friends though. Most of them felt entitled to retire as soon as they could. then your parents are holding onto jobs that recent college grads could fill to pay off their own loans. |
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Post by femalebusiness on Jun 30, 2019 22:03:28 GMT
That is a ridiculous statement. I should go into debt so that those who work in those jobs still have a job? Vacation spots will survive. I hear people who complain about the cost of their children's education talk about buying $100 eye cream or facials and designer handbags. It is about realistic choices. Life is not fair. Everyone does not get a trophy whether they win or lose. If your parents screwed you I am sorry that happened but it is not up to me to pay for that. Having said that, education costs are way, way too much but so are a lot of other things. ETA I am assuming your parents paid for your sister's education. If that is not true excuse the assumption. I assume that the sister's education was paid with grants and scholarships because she was a single parent. If that is true it is unfair. But life is not fair unfortunately. I am not for handing anyone anything. If she got grants and her education paid for she should have been required to give back in some way. I don't like rewarding people for bad choices. I do however think we should help those who struggle through no fault of their own. |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
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Post by sassyangel on Jun 30, 2019 22:05:29 GMT
She said boomers more than once. Who by definition were born from 1946 and did absolutely nothing to defend us from Germany. You’re welcome. I agree with her. And so would my parents. My parents are boomers. My father is 75 and still works his full time accountancy job because he loves it and he’s not ready to retire - even though he could have by his superannuation and Australian retirement age, 10 years earlier. My mother is 70 and works 4 days a week for the same reason. They are the exception rather than the rule among their friends though. Most of them felt entitled to retire as soon as they could. then your parents are holding onto jobs that recent college grads could fill to pay off their own loans. No, they’re not. There is no way a recent college accounting grad grad could do the job it’s taken my father years of extra education and experience to get to. This the reality now, with people living longer - retiring at 65 isn’t sustainable. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jun 30, 2019 22:06:15 GMT
Because a government babysitter would be a better plan? Umm no. Who do you think government gets its money from? It works in Australia. I really thought the HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) system worked pretty well when I used it. You get an interest free loan from the government (repayments are tied to inflation) and you start paying it back once you earn 45,000 a year approx, in weekly payments starting at $9, that work on a sliding scale. The more you earn, the more you pay back.  It’s not perfect, but it does make college more affordable. And more reasonable to repay, every cent you pay reduces your loan. And not just for one group of people. It’s eligibility wasn’t tied to my middle class parents income. This is fantastic. I wish Americans could stop the stupid socialism scream and take a serious look at how other countries do things. I think we have such a superiority complex that we can't even entertain the notion that other countries might do something different that yields far better results. |
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Post by femalebusiness on Jun 30, 2019 22:06:21 GMT
She said boomers more than once. Who by definition were born from 1946 and did absolutely nothing to defend us from Germany. You’re welcome. I agree with her. And so would my parents. My parents are boomers. My father is 75 and still works his full time accountancy job because he loves it and he’s not ready to retire - even though he could have by his superannuation and Australian retirement age, 10 years earlier. My mother is 70 and works 4 days a week for the same reason. They are the exception rather than the rule among their friends though. Most of them felt entitled to retire as soon as they could. then your parents are holding onto jobs that recent college grads could fill to pay off their own loans. Horse shit! |
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,682
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Jun 30, 2019 22:09:30 GMT
That is a ridiculous statement. I should go into debt so that those who work in those jobs still have a job? Vacation spots will survive. I hear people who complain about the cost of their children's education talk about buying $100 eye cream or facials and designer handbags. It is about realistic choices. Life is not fair. Everyone does not get a trophy whether they win or lose. If your parents screwed you I am sorry that happened but it is not up to me to pay for that. Having said that, education costs are way, way too much but so are a lot of other things. ETA I am assuming your parents paid for your sister's education. If that is not true excuse the assumption. I assume that the sister's education was paid with grants and scholarships because she was a single parent. Yes, that is exactly the case. Because as soon as she popped out a kid she no longer had to claim my parents' income, only hers (which she had none) so she qualified for 'need based' aid which she did not have to pay back. |
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Post by Merge on Jun 30, 2019 22:53:52 GMT
then your parents are holding onto jobs that recent college grads could fill to pay off their own loans. No, they’re not. There is no way a recent college accounting grad grad could do the job it’s taken my father years of extra education and experience to get to. This the reality now, with people living longer - retiring at 65 isn’t sustainable. This, exactly. When the SS retirement age was set at 65, the average life expectancy for men was something like only 58. It was never expected that most people would live to see retirement. Now we've created a culture that says we're all entitled to 20-30 years of vacation at the end of our lives, and you're right, it's not sustainable. But as long as one of the largest and most consistent voting blocs is those receiving social security, there's little hope of change. DH and I, like most GenX-ers we know, are thinking more in terms of a second act than full retirement. We have lots of friends in their 60s with no thought of retirement - but they do move into positions that allow them more flexibility and job satisfaction than a regular 9-5 job. And no, they're not taking jobs from younger workers. Most do consulting type work that relies on the benefit of their years of experience, or they work in non-profits that pay less than most new college grads with families and mortgages would want to work for. One couple are entrepreneurs and have started a new business. |
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
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Post by sassyangel on Jun 30, 2019 23:05:47 GMT
It works in Australia. I really thought the HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) system worked pretty well when I used it. You get an interest free loan from the government (repayments are tied to inflation) and you start paying it back once you earn 45,000 a year approx, in weekly payments starting at $9, that work on a sliding scale. The more you earn, the more you pay back. It’s not perfect, but it does make college more affordable. And more reasonable to repay, every cent you pay reduces your loan. And not just for one group of people. It’s eligibility wasn’t tied to my middle class parents income. This is fantastic. I wish Americans could stop the stupid socialism scream and take a serious look at how other countries do things. I think we have such a superiority complex that we can't even entertain the notion that other countries might do something different that yields far better results. It’s not perfect, but I do think overall it’s more fair, and manageable repayment wise. It does help that college tuition to start with is not crazy like here. Although we don’t have as a many universities, especially not an Ivy league caliber type system that is pretty entrenched here, that doesn’t seem to have disadvantaged us as a country. If you think about it, it’s not even really a socialistic principle, because it has to still be repaid. More like a government having a stake in the education of its future taxpayers, which to me seems smart.  ETA - You can also get HECS for TAFE - the Australian equivalent of trade school and community college, it’s not just for university. So a lot more people are eligible. |
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Post by jeremysgirl on Jun 30, 2019 23:28:25 GMT
The generation that's getting the economic shaft right now is gen X. We are often still paying off our own college loans (because we were the first generation to be more educated than our parents and make less money) and gearing up to pay our children's college expenses as well. While we continue to pay social security for parents who were better off than we were (they were the last pension generation) and staying in the workforce taking jobs from us, not the entry level positions.
My dad didn't even have a high school diploma and the last twenty years of his job made more money than I currently do with a master's degree.
My office is being drained right now and in the next three years with retirements. Of people in their *early* 60s who are collecting under the old pension system. When did it change? In 1998. When us gen X entered the workforce. We will be there indefinitely saving under 401k systems that won't allow us to live off of our savings for 20-25 years.
Did boomers work hard? I'm sure they did. My parents did. Did they work harder than us to entitle them to benefits we will never know? I'm not willing to say they are. I am hopeful the more of us that become in charge, the more we can solve some of the problems before we make it even worse for our children. Because cost of goods, education and it's funding, retirement benefits, healthcare benefits, housing prices, and wage disparity are all factors.
In my real life, and I'll leave my comment to that, the baby boomers have not a single clue about how actually fortunate they were and what their kids are facing. And at least from my perspective, many of them don't seem to care. They pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, so can we, right?
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by AnotherPea on Jun 30, 2019 23:51:57 GMT
absolutely not. I personally know hundreds of students that chose to go into deep debt for college because they did not want to attend universities within driving distance of their home. They wanted the "college experience" of living in dorms and being out of parental sight.
I know hundreds of students that chose to attend local community colleges, stay at home and work part-time, then transfer to a 4 year university, saving thousands of dollars. I know many students that chose to enter the military and then attend college.
Loans are not a requirement for many (most?) of those attending college.
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lizacreates
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by lizacreates on Jul 1, 2019 1:02:49 GMT
I’m a bit taken aback by the boomer bashing that’s going on here.
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2019 2:00:40 GMT
I’m a bit taken aback by the boomer bashing that’s going on here. I'm sorry you feel bashed. Gen X feels financially crushed, and the way the boomers tend to vote (and the way some of them comment here) shows me they feel that as long as they've got theirs, the rest of us can just go to hell. (But oh, make sure you keep working so those SS checks keep showing up for them thirty years after they retired.) ETA: not for you specifically, because I know you understand how social security works, but for anyone who's laboring under the delusion that they're just getting back what they paid in, this article breaks down the financial reality for you. So I'm paying roughly 6% of each check to the generation older than me - money I could be saving for my own retirement or putting toward my kids' college. And that's fine. I'm happy to do it because, frankly, I can afford it. But show a little gratitude. Don't then sit there and tell me, oh, community college is good enough for your kid, or she should go into a trade despite showing zero aptitude for the trades, while simultaneously holding your hand out for my money. |
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2019 2:07:50 GMT
absolutely not. I personally know hundreds of students that chose to go into deep debt for college because they did not want to attend universities within driving distance of their home. They wanted the "college experience" of living in dorms and being out of parental sight. I know hundreds of students that chose to attend local community colleges, stay at home and work part-time, then transfer to a 4 year university, saving thousands of dollars. I know many students that chose to enter the military and then attend college. Loans are not a requirement for many (most?) of those attending college. I'm curious. How is it that you personally know several hundred students well enough to know where they went to college and how they paid for it? |
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
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Post by AnotherPea on Jul 1, 2019 2:14:19 GMT
absolutely not. I personally know hundreds of students that chose to go into deep debt for college because they did not want to attend universities within driving distance of their home. They wanted the "college experience" of living in dorms and being out of parental sight. I know hundreds of students that chose to attend local community colleges, stay at home and work part-time, then transfer to a 4 year university, saving thousands of dollars. I know many students that chose to enter the military and then attend college. Loans are not a requirement for many (most?) of those attending college. I'm curious. How is it that you personally know several hundred students well enough to know where they went to college and how they paid for it? I work in a large public high school. |
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cycworker
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by cycworker on Jul 1, 2019 2:17:59 GMT
Surprisingly, I would’ve voted no were it not
For the option of ‘with strings attached.’
Conditions for me:
-Must have a decent average and a good attendance record at school.
-Must commit to working even if it’s not your field of choice.
-should be based on financial need; Spielberg’s kids don’t need free university
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2019 2:19:16 GMT
I'm curious. How is it that you personally know several hundred students well enough to know where they went to college and how they paid for it? I work in a large public high school. And you're ... the college counselor? A teacher? What? My oldest just graduated and I can't think of any teacher who would know the exact choices and financial details of every student who graduates or even most of them. |
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by AnotherPea on Jul 1, 2019 2:35:39 GMT
I work in a large public high school. And you're ... the college counselor? A teacher? What? My oldest just graduated and I can't think of any teacher who would know the exact choices and financial details of every student who graduates or even most of them. Ok, and? Because you can’t think of it, it must not be true? In your quest to paint me a liar, make sure you quote me correctly. I never said I knew about all or even most of the students’ choices. |
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Deleted
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Jun 15, 2024 13:22:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 2:35:45 GMT
Hi there. Baby boomer here. A retired one at that. “Now we've created a culture that says we're all entitled to 20-30 years of vacation at the end of our lives, and you're right, it's not sustainable. But as long as one of the largest and most consistent voting blocs is those receiving social security, there's little hope of change””My dad didn’t even have a high school diploma and the last twenty years on his job made more money than I currently do with a masters degree”- Baby boomers should retire because they are taking jobs away from younger people
- Baby boomers shouldn’t feel they are entitled to 20-30 years vacation at the end of their lives.
- It’s a bad thing if a person without a high school diploma makes more money then someone with a masters degree.
- Baby Boomers have not a single clue about how actually fortunate they are and they just don’t understand how hard it is for their kids and their kids kids.
That about cover it? - Social Security was only meant to be a supplement to other retirement funds. If one thinks it was meant to be more than that, then they have bigger issues then what someone should do when they retire.
2. When a person decides to retire and what they chose to do when they retire and when they decide to collect Social Security really is no business of anyone except that person and their family members. That is the beauty of choice. If they chose to start a second career or count the grains of sand at at the beach, that is their choice. So but out. 3. If someone has a problem because someone without a high school diploma makes more money than someone with a master’s degree that has more to do with choices made by the individuals with the master’s degree. 4. The idea that baby boomers don’t have a clue is ridiculous. There aren’t any of my fellow boomers that are in my little group who are oblivious to how tough it can be for family members coming up behind us and have stepped in when needed to help out. This whole thing about student debt has nothing to do with Baby Boomers but about choices made and honoring the commitments made from those choices. |
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2019 2:43:38 GMT
Hi there. Baby boomer here. A retired one at that. “Now we've created a culture that says we're all entitled to 20-30 years of vacation at the end of our lives, and you're right, it's not sustainable. But as long as one of the largest and most consistent voting blocs is those receiving social security, there's little hope of change””My dad didn’t even have a high school diploma and the last twenty years on his job made more money than I currently do with a masters degree”- Baby boomers should retire because they are taking jobs away from younger people
- Baby boomers shouldn’t feel they are entitled to 20-30 years vacation at the end of their lives.
- It’s a bad thing if a person without a high school diploma makes more money then someone with a masters degree.
- Baby Boomers have not a single clue about how actually fortunate they are and they just don’t understand how hard it is for their kids and their kids kids.
That about cover it? - Social Security was only meant to be a supplement to other retirement funds. If one thinks it was meant to be more than that, then they have bigger issues then what someone should do when they retire.
2. When a person decides to retire and what they chose to do when they retire and when they decide to collect Social Security really is no business of anyone except that person and their family members. That is the beauty of choice. If they chose to start a second career or count the grains of sand at at the beach, that is their choice. So but out. 3. If someone has a problem because someone without a high school diploma makes more money than someone with a master’s degree that has more to do with choices made by the individuals with the master’s degree. 4. The idea that baby boomers don’t have a clue is ridiculous. There aren’t any of my fellow boomers that are in my little group who are oblivious to how tough it can be for family members coming up behind us and have stepped in when needed to help out. This whole thing about student debt has nothing to do with Baby Boomers but about choices made and honoring the commitments made from those choices. I see. So younger generations have to suffer the consequence of their choices, but boomers are entitled to keep receiving SS checks long after they run through their own contributions because they *chose* to retire at 65. I'll butt out of that choice as soon as you stop putting your hand out for my money. Trust me, no one in my generation is foolish enough to think that SS is going to be the sum total of our retirement, or even a major portion of it. We'll be lucky to get anything at all. All our SS money is going to the boomers. You're welcome. And some of the comments made here show me that many boomers don't have a clue. ETA: I'm sure you have more to tell me, but I'm out of this thread. I'm going to go back to keeping my head down and paying for your retirement, my own retirement AND my kids' college, because that's what my generation does. We don't have any other choice. We have no pensions, we'll have no SS, no one paid for our college and the cost of our kids' college is well beyond the reach of "working your way through." So. Enjoy your retirement. |
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2019 2:46:37 GMT
And you're ... the college counselor? A teacher? What? My oldest just graduated and I can't think of any teacher who would know the exact choices and financial details of every student who graduates or even most of them. Ok, and? Because you can’t think of it, it must not be true? In your quest to paint me a liar, make sure you quote me correctly. I never said I knew about all or even most of the students’ choices. No, I'm just pretty sure you're a liar in this case.  |
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
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Post by AnotherPea on Jul 1, 2019 3:01:10 GMT
Ok, and? Because you can’t think of it, it must not be true? In your quest to paint me a liar, make sure you quote me correctly. I never said I knew about all or even most of the students’ choices. No, I'm just pretty sure you're a liar in this case. You really do have such a limited world view. If something doesn’t match your personal experience or opinions you dig in deep and go on attack. You seem to think that the loudest or meanest wins the argument. In my case, I’m not arguing. I don’t really care if you take my experience at face value. I should have known you were lying when you stated you were curious how I knew that many students - but I took the bait and answered. No biggie. I hope you find peace with how our government handles college debt. |
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Deleted
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Jun 15, 2024 13:22:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 3:09:24 GMT
No, I'm just pretty sure you're a liar in this case.  You really do have such a limited world view. If something doesn’t match your personal experience or opinions you dig in deep and go on attack. You seem to think that the loudest or meanest wins the argument. In my case, I’m not arguing. I don’t really care if you take my experience at face value. I should have known you were lying when you stated you were curious how I knew that many students - but I took the bait and answered. No biggie. I hope you find peace with how our government handles college debt. I think there are those who are not yet retirement age that makes assumptions about aging. It will take personal experience to find out how their body is going to betray them around that age where continued working won't be a choice. Just like puberty, pregnancy, and the onset of menopause changes things, so does hitting the middle of the 6th decade. We have been expanding people's lives but only at the end. The prolonging isn't happening to the middle age of the body that would allow people to continue to actively work. Ads make it look like 60 and 70s are still active years like you are 40s. But you just cannot keep working like you did. Thinking slows, reactions slow, fatigue sets in, changes to technology becomes impossible to keep up with so keeping a job you've had a lot of years isn't feasible any more. Retraining isn't feasible. Ready or not, like it or not, biology still plays a part in what humans can do during their 6th, 7th and beyond decades. Has nothing to do with feeling "entitled" |
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jul 1, 2019 3:32:12 GMT
No, they’re not. There is no way a recent college accounting grad grad could do the job it’s taken my father years of extra education and experience to get to. This the reality now, with people living longer - retiring at 65 isn’t sustainable. This, exactly. When the SS retirement age was set at 65, the average life expectancy for men was something like only 58. It was never expected that most people would live to see retirement. Now we've created a culture that says we're all entitled to 20-30 years of vacation at the end of our lives, and you're right, it's not sustainable. But as long as one of the largest and most consistent voting blocs is those receiving social security, there's little hope of change. DH and I, like most GenX-ers we know, are thinking more in terms of a second act than full retirement. We have lots of friends in their 60s with no thought of retirement - but they do move into positions that allow them more flexibility and job satisfaction than a regular 9-5 job. And no, they're not taking jobs from younger workers. Most do consulting type work that relies on the benefit of their years of experience, or they work in non-profits that pay less than most new college grads with families and mortgages would want to work for. One couple are entrepreneurs and have started a new business. Those people in their 60's are Boomers. I'm the first year of Gen X and I turned 54 this year. As much as I hear people on this board bitch about "privilege" the statement that Gen X will just gently retire into consulting or non-profits to keep themselves from being bored for 30 years and not suck up all the SS (that they paid into all their working life) after retirement is about the most elitist bullshit I've heard to date. Not all Gen X have a degree or experience to "consult" when it's time to retire. Some of them worked back breaking jobs and maybe would like to enjoy retirement not toiling at a shit job to save SS for the younger generation. They paid into SS all their working life and deserve a chance to benefit. |
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 1, 2019 3:55:16 GMT
I'm curious. How is it that you personally know several hundred students well enough to know where they went to college and how they paid for it? I work in a large public high school. Are you aware of the current costs of college? Seems that you are a little out of touch with that. |
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Deleted
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Jun 15, 2024 13:22:15 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 4:36:55 GMT
ETA: I'm sure you have more to tell me, but I'm out of this thread. I'm going to go back to keeping my head down and paying for your retirement, my own retirement AND my kids' college, because that's what my generation does. We don't have any other choic Cry me a fucking river. You made your choices. You and your husband both have master's degrees. You have a home. You plan for your children to attend college and have the means to support that in one way or another. You can stop being the martyr any time now. |
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lizacreates
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Post by lizacreates on Jul 1, 2019 4:38:49 GMT
I’m a bit taken aback by the boomer bashing that’s going on here. I'm sorry you feel bashed. Gen X feels financially crushed, and the way the boomers tend to vote (and the way some of them comment here) shows me they feel that as long as they've got theirs, the rest of us can just go to hell. (But oh, make sure you keep working so those SS checks keep showing up for them thirty years after they retired.) ETA: not for you specifically, because I know you understand how social security works, but for anyone who's laboring under the delusion that they're just getting back what they paid in, this article breaks down the financial reality for you. So I'm paying roughly 6% of each check to the generation older than me - money I could be saving for my own retirement or putting toward my kids' college. And that's fine. I'm happy to do it because, frankly, I can afford it. But show a little gratitude. Don't then sit there and tell me, oh, community college is good enough for your kid, or she should go into a trade despite showing zero aptitude for the trades, while simultaneously holding your hand out for my money. Well, I’m not really sure what to say. I suppose I should just get used to it because we boomers have been blamed for almost everything – from tanking the economy to creating wars. I’m trying to determine from this thread if it’s just frustration that’s fueling this disdain for my generation or if we’re being held directly responsible for the crushing burden of educational debt. If it’s the latter, it dovetails perfectly with an accusatory book that called people like me sociopaths because apparently, we created every single problem ailing the planet in the present. Of course boomers know how crushing student debt is. My generation raised children, educated them, paid off educational debts just as you’re doing. I know how much more difficult it is for the younger generation when it comes to funding college, buying homes, maintaining a middle class standard of living, etc. The parents who raised your generation are not blind. But I don’t understand what Social Security has to do with the problem of crushing student loans, and how it even factors into a solution. We retirees are not gaming the Social Security system by having the temerity to live longer. We worked and contributed to that system for decades (I worked for over fifty years which was fairly common, and I owned a business for most of that time, paying business and employment taxes on top of personal income tax). We also saved and invested, some of us very aggressively, because we knew SS is not meant to sustain us. When your time to draw comes, do you really think it would be fair for your children’s generation to be blaming you for their crushing debts because they were paying into your SS? If you have the good fortune to live longer, do you really think it would be fair for your children’s generation to blame you? I don’t even understand your comment about voting. Boomers are 44% D or D-leaning and 44% R or R-leaning per Pew. Is it your preference that we vote for more Republicans who want nothing more than to do away with SS so you don’t have to contribute to it anymore OR we vote for more Democrats who will protect SS which you believe burdens you more? The best I can do is to donate and support candidates who I believe can legislate the help overburdened young people need. What I will not do is apologize for having the nerve to receive SS checks and live longer. |
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Post by Merge on Jul 1, 2019 11:10:26 GMT
lizacreates, I’m not saying you should apologize. My issue is with the hypocrisy of the older generation, many apparently unaware of the steep cost of college now, making comments that student debt relief is inappropriate and students and their families should just suck up the burden or not go to college. All while simultaneously enjoying the benefits of SS payments far beyond what they themselves contributed. My comments about one generation feeling “entitled” to SS were an apparently poor attempt to point out the hypocrisy of comments about the laziness and entitlement of the generation that now needs debt relief. I don’t think it’s right that one generation benefits from what are essentially government handouts, for legitimate need, while demonizing others who also have legitimate need and wish to also benefit. I don’t think retirees are any more or less deserving of our help and consideration than the younger generation. That’s all. ETA: how people identify politically and how they vote can be very different. Boomers in 2016 voted for Trump by a large margin. Will more younger voters come out and vote for candidates who want to bring down the cost of college in 2020? Remains to be seen. My daughter’s generation is going to make up 10% of the voting age population by 2020, and they’re mad as hell.
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