Forget about a Pension; Work till you die: Many middle-class Americans plan to work until they die
Au contrare, dear ANOMOS (peace to you!): most of them don't PLAN to do that... they're just FORCED to... because:
The former number form of "wealth" in this country... one's home... is no longer "worth" what it used to be. Houses are not longer able to be paid off BY retirement (many can't even afford a home until they are in their 30's-40's, so a 15-, 25-, even 30-year mortgage is a thing of the past; true, they EXIST... but paid off?? Not so much...). In addition, whatever equity folks USED to have in their homes... has been spent on new cars, vacations, second homes, business start ups... college (for the kids)... or adding to/fixing UP the home... so that most don't even have that anymore. And...
Social Security benefits are only a fraction of one's pay, so that, in order to stay in one's home... in A home (outside of one that is subsidized)... one MUST keep working.
Unless they're a trust baby... or have some kind of a pension or annuity. Most of us don't.
What has caused this? One thing: all of us not only trying to keep up with... but surpass... the "Joneses." In living that life, most have made it easy for folks like China, Dubai, the UAR... whatever FOREIGN investors... to come in and buy up whatever they can. Specifically and most particularly... real estate.
See, it's a "crime" in this country to live within one's means, dear one. Or to LOOK like one doesn't "have." One MUST... LOOK... as if they "have"... regardless of whether they do or don't... no matter WHAT.
Otherwise, they're considered (by our society) as lazy, good for nothing... worthless. Even criminal, perhaps. It's only those who APPEAR to "have"... who are "above suspicion." That's why we have so much WHITE COLLAR crime... which costs us WAY more than any of the blue collar stuff goin' on. Remember, it was crimes committed by our banks... and WALL Street... that brought this country to its knees:
http://www.aljazeera.com/business/2013/ ... 59842.htmlhttp://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/ ... 4B20131023http://www.cnbc.com/id/26638883http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/bus ... f/3178169/etc.
Not the drug cartels...
Peace.
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
Shellamar