Politics and Money

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Too late for most to change their future. People have ignored the warning signs and recommendations for decades. Nothing new here.

America's Coming Retirement Crisis (June 28, 1998 )
http://www.concordcoalition.org/publications/facing-facts/1998/0629/americas-coming-retirement-crisis

Here are seven things Americans need to do now:



Increase their voluntary retirement savings. It's time for a return to the thrift ethic, once so strong in America.


Encourage leaders to mount the bully pulpit and spread the word. The government sets guidelines to tell us when we're overeating. Why not for when we're undersaving?


Consider enacting a system of mandatory personal savings or funded child endowments. This is especially important for low-earners-who are saving nothing today and will be hit hardest by benefit cuts tomorrow.


Acknowledge that the pursuit of good health must be balanced against available resources. An aging society will have to abandon the ideal of open-ended health care without regard to cost.


Prepare to assume more personal responsibility for the long-term care of elderly family members--and recognize that government cannot always pay the bills.


Move beyond the "three box" life cycle of work, retirement, and leisure. An aging society must throw off outmoded stereotypes and learn to take advantage of the productive capacity of the elderly.


Invest in the education and training of the young--not just because we love them, but because our fiscal future will depend on their productivity.