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Rich CEOs Call For Raising Retirement Age To 70, Medicare & Social Security...
DaltheJigsaw
Mountain View Veteran
I knew this was coming, and I am not surprised. What is everyone's thoughts?
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that being said... there is a reason why most private companies got rid of benefits and pensions... it just costs way way too much to continue. You see them still in government simply because of the amount of money that governments take in and nobody holding government accountable.
The higher the age the more money saved.. but you can raise it to age 90 and it wont matter, our money will still be wasted down the tubes.
And if SS is pushed back to 70 years of age, what are all the laid-off older workers supposed to do between age 55, or whenever they get canned to make room for younger, cheaper workers, and age 70? How are they supposed to live, if there's no incentive provided for businesses to hire older workers? Nobody ever thinks this stuff through.
Cutting medicare isn't feasible either. Medicare is going to get cut simply by virtue of the fact that costs will be ever increasing, the pool of claimants will be growing as the Baby Boomers retire, but unless the tax basis increases, there will be a shrinking kitty from which to pay for everything, due to inflation. The best way to solve the problem is to stimulate the economy, get people back to work and paying taxes, so that everyone prospers, including the gov't.
ugh. Such a cop-out, these cutbacks. Just a scheme to let the wealthy keep more of the pie.
See if Paul Krugman has anything on youtube.
end rant.
But yeah I could be working or volunteering with more support FROM the employer rather than have me compete with mentally healthy.
I'm really good at 'boring' things because I can just do them for hours like a meditation.
If you look at employment opp'ties in the free weekly newspaper in your area (if there is one), or in a university newspaper, there will be listings by companies that send all the stuff to your house. I've heard that sometimes the material is kind of icky (porn, or something), but I don't know if that's true of all of 'em.
First, I believe we are a nation that exists "for the common good".
Second, what happened to those people that had the kind of retirement plans you are talking about when the stocks plummeted. Some lost more than half of their retirement savings. Social security really is nothing more than a common insurance pool.
Third, young people don't save when they are young. With SS, they are forced to save for their own good.
Here are a few links to get you started:
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/workfromhome/a/workathomejobs.htm
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2011/09/27/the-best-paying-work-at-home-jobs/
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/10-best-and-real-work-at-home-jobs-1.aspx
I won't say I hope for this, but it's definitely going to be "concerning," times ahead of us.
1. There is nothing in the constitution that talks about "common good" other then in protection of natural rights ie life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness(so long as this does not infringe on the same rights of others". )
2. diversification...when your eggs are not all in one basket you don't loose all your eggs. Also.. my god who can live on SS? everyone I know( parents, in-laws,neighbors) who collects SS has either continues to work or has other savings and pensions. It's more of a supplemental thing then a sole means of support.
3. I don't believe in forcing people to do anything "for their own good" because thats well.. force. People need to take responsibility for their own future and if they don't they reap the consequences.
in a way yes.. larger government and more control of us and force put upon us.. the worse off our lot becomes even if we think we are getting "help" like SS. I do see a better life for all people when there is less government and more freedom, but this view appears counter intuitive to many people's perceptions these days.
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I do realize what you are saying. Yes, it is great to have government, but at the same time, too much government/regulations is a bad ordeal. It is great to have smaller governments per a city, or a state. And correct, the regulations, policies, laws, rules and technology is playing a hefty control on many citizens. Things can surely change we can come out on top, but it might be too late, or perhaps this is only a beginning?
2.) Yes, of course. No argument there.
3.) Then we would have few roads, no public schools, little infrastructure, and...well, you get the point.
I really do suggest that you hop on over to Thailand and enjoy the third world. Oh wait...they have lots of governmental paid for infrastructure, government funded schools, and national health care in Thailand. Perhaps you'll be better off in Sri Lanka.
These CEOs are surrounded by employees and suckups every day, who are devoted to stroking the man's ego. He believes that he has some special intelligence or talent for knowing how to run things when many times the company is lucky to survive in spite of his crappy decisions. He's there because someone has to have the authority to make a decision in the end and sign the paper.
This same CEO, how many 67 or 69 year old people is his company currently employing or will hire if they show up with a resume? None, unless you count a few suits who spend their days shaking hands and playing golf with their business buddies. His HR department looks for ways to keep their employee young because that keeps their health care costs down. See, supplying old people with a living wage isn't his concern or job. It's making money. A good CEO is a sociopath. The rest of the world can starve far as he's concerned. Just don't screw with his million dollar bonus. And people actually listen to advice like this CEO is giving like it means anything.
From that I will bow out of this post. I should of learned my lesson from the shooting post not to get involved in disputation over silly topics other then dhamma, but when I see the whole mindset of " omg look at these evil rich CEOs" , especially on a Buddhist website.. My ego just has to post.
On a place like this forum( or a right wing forum or a left wing forum) where most hold the same views.. People are in danger of feeling that just because a lot of people agree with them they must be in the right. A danger I will thankfully never have to worry about here, keeps me on my toes and always analyzing my perception and intention.
Of course there will be disagreements about interpretations when it comes to these kinds of things, that's the nature of politics. Some, for example, would say that we should stick as close as possible to the Founders' original intentions (which itself is difficult since many disagreed themselves about such issues). I, on the other, think that we need to think well-beyond their original intent since that intent was so limited and set within a context that in many ways no longer applicable today. For example, the initial set up framed in the Constitution was almost exclusively designed for, and applied to, the interests of white, male property owners.
Personally, I agree with the idea that we each share some amount of personal responsibility for our own lives, and that we should be able to reap the fruits of our labour with as much freedom from state and capital as possible. I also agree that there's still a lot about Enlightenment-era ideas to be admired, as well as early American history. But I also think that, as a society, we have a collective responsibility to one another as well, that we should also work together in the spirit of social cooperation, helping each other along the way in support of the general welfare of all. I think Edward Bellamy summarizes this idea quite well in his 1887 novel, Looking Backward, with the passage: And it's this particular point of view that helps influence my own opinions and political leanings. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't respect the opinions and leanings of others, nor does it mean that I don't take the time to consider them against my own. So while you may not wish to engage with others about political issues because the majority may disagree with you and/or you feel the discussions to be counterproductive, just know that some of us also benefit from these kinds of exchanges. The way I see it, it's always good to hear opposing viewpoints and see things from different perspectives. These are important issues that affect everyone.
"I won't say I hope for this, but it's definitely going to be "concerning," times ahead of us." leonbasin
i would embrace a peaceful anarchy in which government doesnt exist except in ourselves striving for a pure consciousness and a world free of defilements. in a new world where only positive karma can be accumulated.
Some will point to obvious external factors. The environment. The ignored cost of digging up and burning all that fuel and dumping all that waste into the ecosystem is accumulating and now coming due. We simply don't know every detail of what global warming will do to our world, but we know it's not good. Certainly the huge fields of grain that we count on are going to be hit by massive drought. The seas are being raped for every bit of protein while we talk about "growing" meat in big tanks of slime. And who will control the food supply then? The big companies with the patents.
Perhaps it's the runaway disparity between the haves and have nots. In the great recession even now going on, the rich only get richer every year. A few people have now accumulated more wealth than most nations and a few companies control the resources needed by the entire world while more and more people slide into poverty. That is not healthy and in fact is a fatal disease for any society, but it's too late to reverse. If one nation tries to even slow it down, the ultrarich or multinational company just moves to a different nation.
So is this gloom and doom? I suppose your milage varies, but everything I see points to this is how civilizations eventually end. Every problem can be fixed or at least compensated for, but it won't be fixed. Why? Because people are stupid. They were stupid in the days of the Roman Empire, and I don't see them getting any smarter.