Comments on: Preparing for a Long Decline

By: almost there

almost there — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:16:26 +0000

#38 Kristine, Thanks. I checked it out of the library.

By: Mule Skinner

Mule Skinner — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:59:51 +0000

@Claudia wrote “The highest amount of SS you can get now, is about $1600 a month, can you live on that?” I currently get over $2000.

Could I live on it? Well, I have other income so I haven’t actually tried, but I think I could.

By: kristine

kristine — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:24:25 +0000

#36, I like Kunstler’s “The Long Emergency”.

Jonathon,
I agree about simplification. The closer your actions are to result, the happier you are. Many examples: working to pay for child care vs. staying home and doing it yourself. Growing food instead of working a lot to buy organic. As soon as my kids go to college, hubby and I are getting a small place in the woods, and trying to be as self sufficient as possible. It’s exciting to know that my every action will matter, and bureaucracy will be minimized in my life.

By: imelda

imelda — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:41:04 +0000

The real issue here is how all of you seem to think that America has the highest standard of living in the world. We don’t. According to the UN Human Development Index, we’re #13. Along a similar trend, our average life expectancy is pitiful. We’re number FORTY-NINE (49) in the rankings. Wake up, people. We don’t have it all that great.

You can thank our lack of universal health care and other “socialist evils” for that. :-)

By: almost there

almost there — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:22:36 +0000

Watch Michael Ruppert’s “Collapse”, or read his
“Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil”. Yes, we are in a decline. I have read studies that adjusting for inflation, 1973 was the year that the average worker earned the most for his income/spending power. If you believe the employment (un) statistics and the inflation statists the federal government puts out you are sorely mistaken.

By: gail

gail — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:19:15 +0000

Forget all the rhetoric about what “generation” you are from and whose fault it is for the state of affairs in our country. Healthcare premiums and outsourcing jobs to other countries are to blame for the mess we are all in.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:58:19 +0000

Well, I never was one of the baby boomers who made big money, so I wouldn’t know about that. As to 30 years of retirement, I’ll never be able to afford that.
I see so many of my friends children and at least one of my own, who never considered that it took 30 years of hard work before we had a house other than a dump -although, I’m sure there are still a lot who would think my current home is a dump, too–no stainless steel chef-grade appliances, granite countertops, 52″ flat panel tvs, etc.- but the Generation X expects all that right out of college. Gee, who do you think got us into the housing mess? All the 20 and 30 somethings, who thought they needed a McMansion and took out interest only loans!
If anyone thinks that anyone gets out of Social Security what they put in, they are delusional, I’ve got news for you, you will get out much more than you put in. That SS will not exist is a myth, check the facts, if nothing changed, it would last far beyond your years of collecting. In the 30′s when it started, the average person didn’t ever collect and there were a lot of workers for each retired person. That’s changed, so should Social Security, we ALL should pay in more and the retirement age needs to go up considerably. I won’t be retiring anytime soon, maybe when I’m 70, but I doubt it.
All those baby boomer entitlements, pensions, healthcare, give me a break! Show me the facts! The highest amount of SS you can get now, is about $1600 a month, can you live on that? Out of that you pay $300 for Medicare premiums, plus you have to have a Medicare supplement, the first baby boomers have just begun to collect SS, very few have other pensions.(I’ve worked with the elderly, so I KNOW the facts!) There may be some who get huge pensions, it won’t be me or anyone I know!
I tried to instill good values in my children, I’m sure I made mistakes, so will you with your own, I’ve never met a perfect person yet.
Instead of blaming a select group of people, why don’t you do something to fix the problem?
Gee, I’m just reading the rules as to constructive criticism and negativity. I always try to be positive, but sometimes it’s real hard, when confronted with so much negativity!
I so agree, let’s stop the generation warfare, working together is supposed to be the key to success is it not?

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:53:33 +0000

The boomers have also had lower adjusted salaries than other generations because there are so many of them. Large cohorts generally make less than they would have had they been born in a smaller cohort.

In terms of entitlements, it’s really the depression generation that is doing well– they paid in much less than they’re getting out. But hey, they had to live through the depression.

Let’s stop the generation warfare! Think of the children.

By: DiscoApu

DiscoApu — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:55:56 +0000

Claudia: The boomers have the biggest entitlements in existence. Pensons, Health Care costs, and SSN obligations are out of control. Yes you paid in, but the amount that you paid is like buying a hot dog and expecting a porterhouse steak. But thats ok, because the baby-boomer congressmen and senators you voted in were cool with passing all this debt to their kids.

But thanks for the nintendo and the NWA CD, it makes up for me having to work for less while I pay for your 30 years of retirement.

By: partgypsy

partgypsy — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:34:55 +0000

Claudia, you got it backwards. Kids never asked for soccer memberships, acid washed jeans, separate bedrooms, etc, but it is true that people get used to what they are given, and that is not necessarily a good thing. I’ve seen people use children as the latest accessory in how they are dressed and what they are given, but that is not coming from the children. It is coming from the parents. It is the parent’s responsibility to set limits, and if they don’t it’s the parent’s failing, not the children.
The well-off baby boomers I know, unfortunately, I don’t see sacrificing their lives (or even quality of living) for their children. Most prefer to be spend money on their homes or on vacations than spending time with their kids or watching their grandkids.
If you don’t agree, just look up some stats in both how fortunate baby boomers were regarding growth of economy during their earning years, and what they spent and are still spending money on.

By: MrzFitz

MrzFitz — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:41:57 +0000

@ Bill – great comments! and the other reader who commented on watching TV an average of 3 hours a day, so true. Obviously everyone is different. I’m sort of a news junkie but have to remind myself of the negative slant and fear they plant. You can see it in their last sentence before commercial breaks – they say something to grab your attention so you’ll be hooked to stay through the break. Then when they get to the real article it’s a watered down version of the hook they planted.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:40:34 +0000

Trent- Good idea about dumping the cell phone. We live in a rural area and do not always have coverage, so dumping the landline would be dumb. But then, my son lives in NYC and coverage can be iffy there too! Our landline long distance is less than 5 cents a minute on our landline (not much more for overseas calls, So nice to be able to call and hear without the scratchy up and down connectability of cells.
We have 2 pay-as-you-go phones that cost us just under a $100 a year. We rarely have to buy more minutes as there is always a double minute promotion when we buy the yearly coverage. Neither one feelss the need to have to talk to someone 24/7.

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:35:00 +0000

#13-I’m angry and I’m not holding back – I am so sick of immature brats like you blaming the baby boomers for all your ills! Your parents, the boomers worked hard to fulfill your every whim. Your parents probably sacrificed their own well-being (i.e. retirement savings) to buy you the perfect jeans, the video game consoles, and games you just had to have, too many toys, schlepped you around from school to soccer practice, etc. etc. The whole problem is that boomers tried to be such good parents and give their children what they didn’t have that they created a generation of spoiled rotten brats! Unfortunately, in trying to give you love, all brats like you learned was not to love back, but to think you had some special entitlement owed you by the world.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:58:53 +0000

We are all running faster (and working harder) just to stay in the same place. Our “currency” is worth less and our government keeps getting us further and further into debt. Cutting household and personal costs may get you through in the short term….
This is not a coincidence…it’s right on schedule…welcome to your NWO…

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:27:58 +0000

Trent, I think this is a great article. The issue that I see is that people in the US have come to expect their standard of living to continue increasing. While people live longer lives and have more things today than generations ago, I’m not convinced that people are actually happier. In other words, I suspect that the improved standard of living that we have today is more illusion than reality. However, people continue to pay more and more for this illusion of a better life. I’ve decided to take the opposite approach, and have been working to simplify my lifestyle. The more I do this, the happier I find I am.

By: deRuiter

deRuiter — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:43:02 +0000

“Heck we even pay extra to pay back a loan faster!” Not if you negotiate this clause out BEFORE you sign the paperwork. Also depends on terms of the loan. Bad loans have the interest ADDED to the principal up front to determine the total amount of the loan. NEVER AGREE TO THIS TYPE OF LOAN and never agree to a prepayment penalty clause. If you prepay your mortgage it will give you years and years of not having to make the payments so the money not being spent for the mortgage can be used for other things and you can live better.

By: David/yourfinances101

David/yourfinances101 — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:50:34 +0000

Great article–title sounds a little dreary.

I don’t think things will slow that much, regardless of how global the economy becomes.

By: JonFrance

JonFrance — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:05:10 +0000

Standard of living is not a zero-sum game; it’s not because China and India improve themselves that we (US or Europe) get poorer. The only thing that will determine whether the US improves or declines is what Americans do about it. If Americans stop innovating, don’t work, and allow their communities to fall apart, then America will decline. If people work hard, innovate, and try to make their communities better places, then it will improve.

By: CB

CB — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:45:39 +0000

Erratum: “made the decision”

And…I am told by immigrants from so-called “third-world” countries how much they miss the rich tapestry of human life and relationships that is missing here. Sure, one can buy a car and drive around on the freeway and one can buy a lot more trinkets from China.

I remember leaving my so-called great address (expensive rented shack in a desirable zip code) and going back to the little town where my mother’s family lived. It was much more engaging because of the human connections.

I could, however, at least walk or bike ride places I’d want to go (and run all of my errands) when I lived in the over-priced city.

By: CB

CB — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:39:09 +0000

If everyone has the U.S.’s standard of living (in terms of stuff), we’d need multiple planet Earths to provide it. I forget the number.

Actually, haven’t we been somewhat railroaded into living in “communities” that lack communal values and require a car to get to anywhere? I could bike, if the massive amount of cars were reduced. The fumes alone make me nauseous. Where I last lived where I could bike, the cost of a shack was about a million.

As for TV, I make the decision at age 13 to not watch it is there was anything else to do. As a result, I’ve seen little TV. We had cable for awhile, but it was the trashiest TV I’d ever seen. The news media is now consolidated and owned by five corporations. Whatever politician or war they are selling, I am not buying.