Save the country - FIRE

[Walt34]

If you're able to benefit from EarlyRetirement.org and FIRE you can give your job to someone else and help save the economy.http://nypost.com/2013/11/16/80-is-the-new-60-when-it-comes-to-retirement/

I did last July.

Of the 48 people at that one site 19 quit when things went south - ~40% pay cut, longer hours, and as I later learned fewer breaks (in violation of both federal and state labor laws). A nasty working environment now and I could see that one coming.

The poor bastids working there now are doing it because there aren't any alternatives around and most of them up to their eyeballs in debt.

So glad to be FIREd and LBYM!

 

[bld999]

Very true.

From Wikipedia:

"The ageing of Japan is thought to outweigh all other nations, as the country is purported to have the highest proportion of elderly citizens ...

In 1989, 11.6% of the population was 65 years or older, with projections that 25.6% of the population would be over 65 by 2030. As of February 2011, 23.1% of the population are 65 and over."​

The doubling of elderly workers roughly matches the doubling of their population percentage. So, what we can conclude is that not all people fully retire after 65, and this has always been true. However, as there are more elderly workers in public places, they become more visible.

I have seen many people in retirement age working in grocery stores doing less physically demanding jobs such as giving out samples, checking for outdated stocks, reshelving items, etc... I do not think it is so bad for people with good health to still be productive and earn some additional money to supplement their SS. Many of them seem to be in good spirits when they interact with shoppers. It beats staying glued to a slot machine in smoke-filled casinos, as I see it.

Japan's culture pushes back against immigration, which populations normally supply increasing numbers of young workers.

What Japan's Abenomics is missing: Immigrants - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blogTerm Sheet

 

[NW-Bound]

Japan suffers from xenophobia. I have read of foreigners living in Japan for decades and not being granted citizenship.

 

[Amethyst]

Plus, you can always sell more papers or gain more viewer- or surfer-time by saying bad things about Baby Boomers. There are so many of them, and they like to read about themselves; and besides, the media have trained everyone younger to resent them at every turn.

Amethyst

The article is from the NY Post, of course it is garbage. That thing is just about useful for lining the bottom of a birdcage.

 

[audreyh1]

Who wrote the article? The mayor of Toronto? Or the guy who came up with the new heart risk calculator?

LOL!

 

[cranberryjoe]

I'm sure my former employer replaced me with a dozen recent college grads from India, rather than two recent college grads in America or one experienced and highly productive person. Herding the offshore employees wastes more time and money, but it looks better on the balance sheet. The continued offshoring trend by my employer is one reason I was happy to leave when I did.

So regardless whether or not I continued to work, I was not preventing any young American from getting my job.