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Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

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Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#201

Post by emodendroket »

charlieflowers wrote: post #6

> "As a result, millions of Americans are living too frugally" WTF, really? Reminds me of Edward Bernays [1], the "father of public relations", who set out to help Americans become materialistic (and succeeded!). If someone is enjoying their life without blowing all their money, that person is BETTER off. It's just corporations that want to suck the money away from them that need to "train them to spend." [1] https:/…

Well currently we live in an economic system that is predicated on domestic consumption of goods and services and experiences downturns when such spending tapers.

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#202

Post by msabalau »

astrodust wrote: post #189
imgabe wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just die when you're old? Maybe that sounds harsh, but being bedridden for 12 years doesn't sound like any idea of a good life to me. The old die to make way and free up resources for the young. That's the way it's supposed to work.

Someone's a fan of Logan's Run . Enjoy your manadatory execution when you're forty you old bastard.

As I recall, the age of execution in the film was thirty, in the original novel it was 21.

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#203

Post by eatbitseveryday »

incompatible wrote: post #162
curun1r wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can go to developing countries. The health care I received in Southeast Asia was quite good and the full cost was significantly less than just the co-pays on my plan in the US. Thailand has a retirement visa that allows for 6-month stays and you can live quite comfortably there for under $20k/yr.

That's an interesting visa, although the monthly income requirement of THB 65,000 would be beyond me.

65,000 THB = 1,885.17 USD

That is 37,760 USD / year. Too much?

edit: Whoops, should be 22,622.04 USD / year

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#204

Post by zanny »

maxerickson wrote: post #179
zanny wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It isn't just first past the post, either. * It is gerrymandered districts, setup over decades to guarantee seats go to one or the other party. The number of actually competitive elections is at historic lows every cycle. * Representation per person is at historic lows. The population rises, but the seats in state and federal houses doesn't change. Even in the best case scenario, Wyoming still has over 250k people pe…

The broad population that each Senator represents provides a good check on gerrymandering.

I use senators as an example, but it is hard to have representative democracy when you have no relationship with those you are meant to represent. I always bring up Dunbar's number[1] in the context of politics, because I have concluded that you can't have legitimate representation much beyond it. You can't care about your constituents legitimately as a limit of human psychology.

Without fail, every single state and federal representative today is representing on the orders of tens of thousands to millions of people per elected official. It is unreasonable to expect them to act in the will of their constituents when they have no way to know them as people and not figures. It is a fundamental fault I have always seen in democracy the world over, and think it is where the pressure from many people for direct democracy comes from, albeit misguided.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar%27s_number

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#205

Post by gozur88 »

curun1r wrote: post #148
incompatible wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most countries with decent healthcare are reluctant to accept retirees. They'll likely have to fund their own health insurance, at least. If you can gain citizenship of such a country, well in advance of retirement, it could be well worth it though.

You can go to developing countries. The health care I received in Southeast Asia was quite good and the full cost was significantly less than just the co-pays on my plan in the US. Thailand has a retirement visa that allows for 6-month stays and you can live quite comfortably there for under $20k/yr.

I'm sure care is adequate in many developing countries if you get the clap or get injured in a car accident. But I'm skeptical you're likely to get as good cardiac or oncology care.

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#206

Post by gozur88 »

ceejayoz wrote: post #166
neves wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not true. Retirees with generous pensions are a great opportunity for any country. They will bring money to your country without the need to produce anything. They won't consume a lot of public resources (no need of school or of police repression). They will reform a house, eat in your good restaurants, and enjoy all the services you can offer. A lot of countries hunt for wealthy retirees, like Portugal and Australia…

> They won't consume a lot of public resources If you ignore healthcare, nursing homes, etc., perhaps.

Those aren't public resources. That's why they typically only let you in if you're relatively wealthy.

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#208

Post by graedus »

nradov wrote: post #187

Interesting choice of words to frame the discussion. When it comes to cash, hoarding is no different than saving. But hoarding has a negative connotation and saving is positive.

Absolutely. Also hilarious to me when a bunch of economists start whining about "stingy consumers" when inflation numbers aren't ticking up as much as the central bank hoped for. Meanwhile over half of Americans don't have enough savings to cover a $500 emergency car repair[0], but apparently they need to stop being so stingy and get out spend more to help the economy.

[0] http://www.cbsnews.com/news/most-americans-cant-handle-a-500...

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#209

Post by parsnips »

dsmithatx wrote: post #61

My grandfather worked at Exxon Mobile for 60 years and retired around 1988 with a few million dollars in stock. I remember my dad saying he had about 3 Million in stock he purchased as his retirement plan. He built a house and bought a couple of nice cars living on about 100,000 a year. About 12 years ago he had a heart attack and stroke and was bed ridden. 12 years of doctor bills and hospice ate through almost ever…

Why did he not use his medicare policy? At 72 he would have been fully covered pre-Bush and would be covered in Medicare Part A & B post-Bush depending on the services.

Re: Rich Retirees Are Hoarding Cash Out of Fear

#210

Post by DashRattlesnake »

nwatson wrote: post #185
meddlepal wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Question... how did your back feel sleeping on a hammock for a year?

In hammocks from Brazil you sleep diagonal to the "axis" of the hammock and your body is almost rod-straight. Your back will feel just fine after a night sleeping like this.

> In hammocks from Brazil you sleep diagonal to the "axis" of the hammock and your body is almost rod-straight.

Can you find a pic demonstrating what you mean?

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