Greenspan puts baby boomers on notice: Save more

[Bozita]

Front page, above the fold op-ed, swing state

http://www.freep.com/money/business/tompor28e_20040828.htm


SUSAN TOMPOR: Greenspan puts baby boomers on notice: Save more


Social Security, Medicare are just too iffy

August 28, 2004


BY SUSAN TOMPOR
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST



We can only hope that everyone takes good old Uncle Alan's words on retirement to heart. It's time to listen up, march into the human resources department on Monday and start putting another $20 or $40 a week aside for retirement. Really.


Sure, saving more in your 401(k) won't solve the country's pending mess. But it's something workers can do, long before Washington squarely faces its troubles.


And saving more is something we should do. Listen to Uncle Alan.


On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that Social Security and Medicare are facing more financial pressures and the United States might be promising more than it can deliver as baby boomers head for retirement.


"As a nation, we owe it to our retirees to promise only the benefits that can be delivered," Greenspan said in remarks at a central bank conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

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[MichiganVote]

1. Sure. Save more. With what? Bunch of GD crooks

[papau]

8. Alternative is age 70 "normal retirement" after 2050, because tax on rich

is not going to happen.

Greenspan is just into truth telling!

No matter how much is saved in the future - the no tax increase on the rich means the age 70 change will begin as soon as we finish the Reagan Law's transition of Social Security normal retirement age from 1985's age 65 to the law's new age 67 (we are at 65 and 10 months for some of my friends at this point - it is age 66 for folks born in 1943)

[rfkrocks]

2. Gee didn't we laugh at Gore's "lock box"

wasn't that a hoot- in the USA it so much more fun laughing at policies than thinking about them-we get to spend for unnecessary wars and cut taxes and laugh about the consequences-well the joke is on the public-who needs health insurance or social security discussions-it not as fun as insulting Kerry's war record-what a sad country

[zbdent]

3. Hmm, "save more". Well, people usually save what amounts of money

they have in banks.

Hmmm, last time the Repukes were in charge for more than two years, the banks crashed. (In fact, under Reagan, a lot of "Savings" and Loans went under - enough were "bailed out" by Reagan).

Hmmm, "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it".

Hmmm, "save more" - how? Putting the money in banks? What other option do the other 98 percent really have that they can "trust"?

Hmmm . . .

[farmbo]

4. He's the A**hole who gave Bush political cover to loot the SS Trust...

...Fund through tax cuts for the rich.

Now he blames the world for bankrupting Social Security!?

This guy's got a lot of nerve.

[Vitruvius]

11. Yup. Greenspan first headed up the 1983 Social Security Commission that

increased the Boomers' SS taxes to (a) rescue Social Security, (b) pay for the boomers' retirement as well, and (c) put SS on a sound financial footing for at least the next 75 years.

Then Greenspan supported the Reagan tax cuts for the rich -- which squandered $1 trillion dollars out of the Social Security Trust Fund.

Then -- when Bu$h II came in, Greenspan supported the Bu$h tax cuts for the rich -- which looted another $6 trillion dollars out of the Social Security Trust fund.

And now Greenspan is telling us to eat Alpo in our old age. Because Social Security won't have enough money -- not after $7 trillion plus (including interest) that Reagan, Bu$h and Greenspan looted out of the system.

The Greenspan Social Security tax increases were a scam from the beginning; a way of looting the rest of us so the rich wouldn't have to pay taxes like the rest of us. Because taxes are for little people -- like us.

Vitruvius

P.S: If I could, I would sentence Greenspan to poverty; i.e. to semi-starvation and no medical care. Like he's sentencing the rest of us to poverty in our old age.

But the rich -- like Greenspan -- are above the law and beyond any consequences. They're absolutely protected -- which is why they are so vicious; they know they can do anything they want to us and never have to face a consequence.

[NC_Nurse]

5. Save more?

Yeah, right...with this fabulously high salary and all the bills I've got to pay!

Has he paid any attention to the reports of how much debt most people are in these days? Save more my a**!:eyes:

[question everything]

7. Not to mention that many baby boomers are now too old

to start serious savings now, when many lost their jobs, or have to settle for lower paying jobs; not to mention how our previous savings lost their values during the stock market crash during the Bush's years.

[Vitruvius]

13. And save more with the high Social Security (FICA) taxes we're ALREADY

paying? Greenspan & co bleeds us dry with the highest FICA taxes in history, then loots the Social Security Trust Fund so they -- the rich -- don't have to pay taxes like the rest of us. Then they preach to us about how WE should save more.

Greenspan is a typical "free lunch Rethugnican", preaching at us about how WE should save more -- on top of paying for an endless free lunch for the rich. Out of our FICA.

[jimshoes]

6. Is there a legal way a person can opt out of

Social Security? I mean quit having it deducted from your check. It seems to me that everything that goes into that fund is immediately stolen by the crooks in Washington and replaced with a worthless IOU. I'd rather just keep it myself. What's the point in putting money in a system that is nothing more than a political cookie jar with every crook in Washington stealing from it?

[sventvkg]

9. Well Boomers, don't play the victim here...When this agenda was allowed

to take place you all should have known what was coming. I mean, it sucks but even I predicted most of what has transpired in the last 4 years and I'm 33...My generation sucks..We Don't vote..but you guys do, are old and are the largest generation ever....I would say we all let this happen but it's worse for you all because you all let it happen to yourselves.....Now, what do you do about it? Maybe you'll all get pissed enough to silience the fanatical right, put aside differences, kick 90% of ALL politicians out of Govt(both good for nothing Dem and Repug) via your right to vote, elect some people who really want to help, and fix this fucking country...If that doesn't happen, I dont' feel sorry for any of you....Many will die on the job at WalMart, and still many others will be out on the street....If you boomers can get this going...I AM WILL YOU ALL AND SO ARE MY INFORMED AND CONCERNED GEN X'RS...But, If we don't see you serious about taking care of yourselves, how the hell can you expect us to give a shit about you? We'll just wait until it's our turn....This is the Real world....What do you want to do Boomers?

[Vitruvius]

12. Remember this -- we Boomers are paying social security for

your generations' parents. A little politeness would be in order.

[SharonAnn]

14. We are paying for OUR generation's parents AND for ourselves

We're the first generation in history to actually pay extra Social Security moey for ourselves in additio to paying for our parents.

We're also the first generation to be so stupid we thought we could have tax cuts and Social Security too!

[Nay]

10. Gosh, just last week leading economists were saying that if

people actually tried to save more money, the economy would really tank. So, what to do? Save money in a bank for our future but have the economy tank and dump us out of our jobs, or keep spending everything we earn and have nothing when we retire? Good heavens. What a choice.

A better idea: get rid of the idiots who are bankrupting the country and stealing everything that isn't nailed down. Mr. Greenspan, I think THAT'S what we should do to save ourselves.