People have varied idea of what is the biggest problem in America, today. I was recently asked this question in an interview for a medical program, so I thought I'd share my idea.
I feel that the biggest problem is that the baby-boomers are looking at retiring in the next ten years. It's just not going to work. Our society, right now, is in a place where the baby-boomers are our parents and getting to be grandparents. Certain things (such as education, medicines, etc.) have inflated far more quickly then the rest of the economy; of course, these are all things that the baby-boomers have had to pay for. Our parents are buying us cars, sending us to college, and are relying more and more on health care as they become older. The bottom line is that they simply won't have enough money to successfully retire. Personally, I don't think this is going to stop them from trying, though. This is going to take our economy down - we're going to have a majority of our population trying to survive, without the money to really do it. The baby-boomers are going to be "near homeless," that is that they will probably have enough to live comfortably, but all it's going to take is one big change (such as someone having an extended hospitalization, or the price of gas increasing) and they will have nothing.
Now, why is this? Personally, I have parents and grandparents who are always talking about how they'd pile into the "family station wagon" for the once-every-two-years vacation. That one station wagon was their only car. If the station wagon was being used, they walked. Now, my family owns four cars; that, alone as one of the steepest inflated products, is enough to be the difference... but it doesn't stop there. Now, we (meaning our generation, not myself) think nothing of buying a couple-hundred dollar plane ticket to spend a few days in Cancun for spring break. In fact, it's not uncommon for that Cancun-trip to be just one of three or four big trips in a year for some kids.
So what it comes down to is that, although it might look like there's enough money in a bank account to retire, there are going to be hidden dangers. We're at the point where we just expect things. The baby boomers are going to want to retire, see just-enough money in their accounts, and then retire..,. only to be greeted by some kind of financial upset. Disaster strikes, and we then have a huge burden placed on family members or in government programs such as Medicare.
It's going to be a huge problem. If people don't start talking about it, "it" is going to hit the fan. Just watch.
I was born in 1958 near the tail end of the baby boom. Us oldsters have a secret plan.
First you should realize that as a group, we have far more money then almost anybody else. Often we inherited a little from our parents. And the main reason most of us have more is that we have had more time to accumulate. Our houses have been like piggy banks and after 30 years of making payments many of us own them outright. Yeah .... there are some amoung us who did not plan ahead adequately but most of us will get by.
What will make everything bearable for us is that we have a plan. While most of us have quite a bit of wealth, we don't or won't have much in the way of income. That means that our taxes that we pay will be very low. The plan is to encourage you young people to join us in voting for more socialism. We are going to offer you compelling choices like Barrack Obama who will give us a heeping dose of socialism including free medical care that will help us stretch our wealth and enjoy our retirement on the golf course in sunny Florida.
Of course all this new socialism is not actually free and is in fact going to cost LOTS of money. That is going to mean HIGH taxes. Since us oldsters have very low incomes, this situation causes us little concern. While we will be the heaviest consumers of socialism in the form of social security and medical care, we will not be the ones paying for it. Isn't that great!
We are going to leave the paying part to the young people who will essentially be our tax slaves. And the real poetic beauty of this plan is that it is the young people that are the most enthusiastic about ushering in the new era of Barack Obama and socialism.
I don't know how to read this... I'm hoping its as sarcastic as it seems.
The style was sarcasm but the content was the truth as I perceive it.
To be honest, I wish I were as lucky as my parents to have bought a house 20 years ago when they were cheaper and they have both been able to hold a job since they were young. Our generation is going to be a lot worse off than the baby boomers.....
But you all, as a generational group, seem determined to vote for that which is going to make you worse off.
The good news about socialism is that it leads to a more just society without vast differences between the rich and the poor.. The bad news is that when you confiscate the fruits of the most productive people's labor, they quit bothering to produce. Everybody is equal but because nobody is bothering to produce more than the minimum, equal means poor. It has been proven over and over across the world but few are smart enough to learn because the siren call of socialism is just too seductive.
You'll all live in equally righteous poverty while you are taxed hard to pay for my Social Security and free socialized medical care. Fortunately for me, most of you won't figure this out until you have been in the workforce for a few years and finally realize that no matter how hard you work, you are not getting ahead. By the time you muster the will to fix the problem I'll be most of the way towards being old and/or dead.