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07-18-2007, 12:37 PM
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#21
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Khan
%^& him and the horse he rode in on.
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And everyone that LOOKS like him! or the horse!
To be fair, a whole lot of people live a life thats simply a string of distractions. Work is a major distraction. Take it away...better have some other ones for replacements.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
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07-18-2007, 12:45 PM
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#22
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 5,267
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I've met people who love to work and retired only when health required it, in their 70's+, and that's fine, more power to them. What bothers me is how many people on either side of this choice seem to feel the other side is full of people needing medical attention.
A Wiccan golden rule I like - "And it harm none, do what ye will.".
...but I suspect this is just more re-hashed fluff written up to make a deadline and fill white space.
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07-18-2007, 01:38 PM
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#23
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,894
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Free thinkers and independent people are dangerous for society... It is in society's best interest for people to think that there is no life beyond work, so that they'll keep working, producing goods, creating wealth, and paying taxes while keeping their mounth shut. It is always easier to control people who depend on a paycheck for their survival...
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07-18-2007, 03:31 PM
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#24
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 52andout
If you want to stay busy and connected you can.
When I first left work I joined a local garden club and volunteered at a soup kitchen. Took a pottery class and am still throwing pots for fun. The people I am in contact with are so nice and really wonderful people. Fitness, reading all those books you never got around to, traveling in the off season, expanding your flower or vegetable garden, getting around to all the craft projects or home repairs you never had time to do, they are all waiting for you. ..............The funny thing was my old coworkers kept calling me to meet for lunch as they were concerned about me. I didn't have time to meet with them and they just couldn't get it.
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I joined a local garden club several months before I retired, just to meet some new folks who had similar interests as me. They're a great bunch of people, and we have a lot of fun together. I expanded our gardens this year (and will expand more next year) and added in some more veggies.
It's nice now also that I have time to catch up on my reading...books & magazines both. I'll grab a magazine and a mug of iced tea, and go out and sit in the garden and read the thing cover to cover. I also have my old hobbies to devote more time to....if I can ever find the time!
My former co-w*rkers think I sit around all day and never leave the house, because they hardly ever see me. I try explaining to them that they hardly ever see me, because I'm always busy doing something or off on another trip. They, too, just don't get it!
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07-18-2007, 03:46 PM
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#25
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,474
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Once I retire, I'd suffer a lot of privation before going back to work. I am doing what I can right now to make sure I can manage in my old age, but once I retire I will not work any more!!!
Getting a part time, non-strenuous job may not be an easy option to pursue. There are going to be 340986762309487 or more seniors applying for each part time "Welcome to Wal-Mart" or "Will you have fries with that order, Sir?" job, and such jobs are going to be hard to impossible to find due to competition from other seniors who haven't adequately prepared for their retirements.
At least, that is my prediction. It's worth every cent you paid for it.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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07-18-2007, 03:53 PM
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#26
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cattusbabe
I have time to spend with my elderly parents.
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Growing up my both of my folks worked days, and I was in school, but then I also had a lot of stuff going on in the evenings, so we didn't get a lot of time to spend together. When they retired 20 years ago this past May, I was still working (some of it 'swing-shift'), and I had even more stuff going on in my free time. So I still didn't get to spend much time with them.
I didn't get to spend much time at all my with my Dad before he passed away in '98. My Mom hit 80 this year, and now that I'm retired, we get to spend a lot of quality time together. She has all sorts of things going on all the time, and I do too, but we also have a lot of time in between to hang out. It's nice to have this time!!!
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07-18-2007, 05:34 PM
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#27
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,487
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I don't need w*ork for the social aspect of it...rather that is the root of most of the problems and difficulties that many of us face with the dreaded "w" word....I believe anyway.
On the other hand, I will work...in my garden, at the soup kitchen, around the house. I've always had an interest in real estate, so I may dabble in that. Work it is, but if I go there it will be because I WANT to not because I need to....more of a hobby I guess, but work nonetheless. By the way, who said driving a big RV to the next destination isn't work...
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07-18-2007, 06:47 PM
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#28
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Gone but not forgotten
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 6,924
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Goonie
Growing up my both of my folks worked days, and I was in school, but then I also had a lot of stuff going on in the evenings, so we didn't get a lot of time to spend together. When they retired 20 years ago this past May, I was still working (some of it 'swing-shift'), and I had even more stuff going on in my free time. So I still didn't get to spend much time with them.
I didn't get to spend much time at all my with my Dad before he passed away in '98. My Mom hit 80 this year, and now that I'm retired, we get to spend a lot of quality time together. She has all sorts of things going on all the time, and I do too, but we also have a lot of time in between to hang out. It's nice to have this time!!!
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Time.
Days and years and barrels and acrefeet and savannas and oceans of time.
The greatest treasure of all.
__________________
"Knowin' no one nowhere's gonna miss us when we're gone..."
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07-18-2007, 07:05 PM
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#29
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 858
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I don't think there will be enough jobs in America to support all the old farts that plan on "working until they drop". There is going to be a gaint surplus of labor, which will pressure salaries to go even lower. This is going to be brutal.
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07-18-2007, 09:14 PM
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#30
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,894
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The funny thing is that people always assume that they will have the option to work until they die. You know there are reasons why most people in America retire "early" (that is before they qualify for full SS benefits). Americans retire on average at age 62 according to studies I have read. Is it because they are all so rich they can afford it? Nope. It's because they have no choice. That's right, they either can't continue working because of their poor health, or because they can't find a job. People who have not saved enough for retirement take comfort in the idea that, if they have to, they can always get a job to complement SS. That's a flawed assumption.
Quote:
I don't think there will be enough jobs in America to support all the old farts that plan on "working until they drop". There is going to be a gaint surplus of labor, which will pressure salaries to go even lower. This is going to be brutal.
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I somewhat disagree with that. I would say that it depends what kind of jobs you are talking about. I do believe that as the boomers age, we will face labor shortages in a number of areas while others, as you pointed out, will face surpluses.
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07-18-2007, 09:41 PM
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#31
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: North-Central Illinois
Posts: 3,228
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Khan
Time.
Days and years and barrels and acrefeet and savannas and oceans of time.
The greatest treasure of all.
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Oh, YEAH!!! It is the greatest treasure! I followed my map to where "X" marked the spot......and I found that treasure! Those endless days of play and enjoyment!!! This is the life!!!
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07-18-2007, 09:51 PM
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#32
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 4,455
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dmpi
I don't think there will be enough jobs in America to support all the old farts that plan on "working until they drop". There is going to be a gaint surplus of labor, which will pressure salaries to go even lower. This is going to be brutal.
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Thank you for those kind words about the elders.
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07-19-2007, 09:38 AM
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#33
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Dryer sheet aficionado
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 49
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bots2019
"Those who say 'I'll never work again' are making a major, major mistake. Because they're going to find themselves adrift, away from a community purpose and a sense."
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Please, oh please let me experience finding myself adrift...
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07-19-2007, 09:54 AM
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#34
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 7,968
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One thing I discovered in 13 years of ER - be prepared to run if someone mentions 'free' T shirt.
Used to get them for giving blood(or coffee mug as a change of pace). Now they sucker you in for about anything - building playgrounds, judging science fairs, volunteer teaching math, science, hospital volunteers, adopt a road, etc, etc.
Never, never volunteer - don't hang around with retired engineers - wear Jimmy Buffett shirts and tell em you're allergic to T's.
Of course - you 'will' get sucked in periodically - comes with the territory.
Never admit you volunteered and tell everybody - those do nothing Corona beer ads are your favorite.
heh heh heh
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07-19-2007, 10:07 AM
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#35
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 858
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spanky
Thank you for those kind words about the elders.
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I can talk that way because I'm a old fart myself.
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07-19-2007, 01:13 PM
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#36
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 157
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Sayeth Friedrich Nietzsche:
"There exists above the "productive man" a yet higher species."
There are so many ways to be productive outside of the workforce. I count ourselves so lucky to be out of that workaday world and able to fill our time as we choose. It's a sad commentary on peoples' lack of creativity or self-actualization for them to ask how I could possibly fill my time or interest if I am not working/i.e. employed.
__________________
The best things in life aren't THINGS!
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07-19-2007, 03:48 PM
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#37
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2retire
Getting a part time, non-strenuous job may not be an easy option to pursue. There are going to be 340986762309487 or more seniors applying for each part time "Welcome to Wal-Mart" or "Will you have fries with that order, Sir?" job, and such jobs are going to be hard to impossible to find due to competition from other seniors who haven't adequately prepared for their retirements.
At least, that is my prediction. It's worth every cent you paid for it.
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Great viewpoint, W2R. Its curious that the media doesn't stress that. After my mon retired she tried to go back to a previous career in selling ladies' dresses; there were no openings. Here comes another Depression Era comment: when jobs were so scare, those who had them were very polite to customers.
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07-19-2007, 08:13 PM
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#38
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 213
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One more thing. I read these articles and listen to people's comments about working at wally world or some other low paying job. Think about it. I was close to suicidal when I was making $35/hr putting up with the bull. Do you think you would be any better off working with people who can only get minimum wage jobs and putting up with corporate bull for $7.15/hr? I don't think so. Who in their right mind thinks being a greeter or making fries for under $10/hr has any romance or intrigue.
Now if you have a hobby that turns into some money making that is different, or say a love of nature and get some work in a state park for instance, but I think the romantic notion that a low paying job means that it will be OK is all off. I put up with several extra years of bull just to avoid that kind of job.
Yesterday we were driving in a city. I saw a guy who was sitting in a chair near the gate of a parking lot in case someone drove in. Two or three hours of that and I would be going gaaagaaagaaa and drooling.
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07-19-2007, 09:14 PM
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#39
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
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There'll always be some "About Schmidt" people.
But heres a riddle. If all the products are produced at bare bones prices in china, and all the service jobs are manned by seniors working for cut-rate wages, perhaps we oughta be looking at some Treasury Deflation Protected Securities...
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
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07-20-2007, 02:13 AM
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#40
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 5,072
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FIREdreamer
The funny thing is that people always assume that they will have the option to work until they die. You know there are reasons why most people in America retire "early" (that is before they qualify for full SS benefits). Americans retire on average at age 62 according to studies I have read. Is it because they are all so rich they can afford it? Nope. It's because they have no choice. That's right, they either can't continue working because of their poor health, or because they can't find a job. People who have not saved enough for retirement take comfort in the idea that, if they have to, they can always get a job to complement SS. That's a flawed assumption.
I somewhat disagree with that. I would say that it depends what kind of jobs you are talking about. I do believe that as the boomers age, we will face labor shortages in a number of areas while others, as you pointed out, will face surpluses.
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Yup! Unfortunately, American Business is becoming more and more heartless. The benevolent corporations of Post WWII are no longer that way. World economic conditions have changed. The increased competition has caused (or justified the behavior) Execs to strip away wages, benefits, and often the job itself. At the same time they grab all they can for themselves. Let's face it life is unfair! The sad truth is that you are only one step away from losing your job. And this often occurs in ways that have nothing to do with anything you did. Outsourcing is the American way now days. You cannot work hard enough or fast enough to be less expensive than someone that earns 1/6 or 1/10 of what you earn. Throw on top of that, no pension costs and no/low health care costs to the company...
I also agree that there will be an eventual labor shortage. Unfortunately, by the time that happens, most people will be too old to work for the reasons you cited. Right now... we are at what is considered full employment (marco economics). If you are an older worker, you had better have a skill that is in high immediate demand. Otherwise, all else equal, the company will choose the younger worker. In many cases your wisdom (via age) does not trump (the perception of) younger, smarter, faster. Not to mention that as you age it is likely that your boss will be biased and just "relate/bond" better with younger employees that are closer to their age.
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