As a true Baby Boomer I want to know what the Democrats are offering to me. After all my focus, like every other Boomer, is changing.
Do I have enough money to retire? Do I have enough money to pay for my funeral? Go on vacation?
The good news: We're all living a lot longer.
The not-so-good news: The pension infrastructure and government entitlements were not designed to support so many people living so long. And then there's credit card debt, which he calls "an addiction of the generation."
"Our parents grew up, if you didn't have it, you didn't spend it," says Dychtwald. A third of all boomers, however, "haven't saved a thing."
There are days, he confesses, when he feels more like Don Quixote than Paul Revere.
Ken Dychtwald
Baby Boomers Get All the Answers and Live It Up at the Boomers Show in Las Vegas
Monday March 5, 5:09 am ET
LAS VEGAS, March 5 PRNewswire -- Baby Boomers -- born between 1946 and 1964 -- educated, self-indulgent and young at heart, are rewriting the rules of aging.
To enhance value to their life's journey, the ultimate event for Boomers, the Boomers Show(TM) -- How to be Healthier, Wealthier, Wiser ... and Live it Up! www.boomersshow.com is being produced, attracting thousands of Boomers to Las Vegas this coming October.
"Boomers control the world's assets with $2 trillion in annual spending power. Boomers are the news media's hot topic. They're starting second careers, putting kids through college, caring for their parents, and buying for their grandchildren. Now, that they're redefining retirement, it's boomers who want to travel, spend money and enjoy life like never before,"
It's the Boomers time of life. Because of the generation's enormous numbers and spending power, companies selling financial planning, luxury goods, cosmetic makeovers, sexual potency, products for grandchildren, and breakthrough technologies promising recaptured youth, are experiencing record profits.
It is all about the spending, not the saving. So now what, who will keep me in the manner to which I have become acustomed? Generation ME?
A new book tackles the 18-to-35-year-old generation's problems--those they face and those they create. Twenge's book is comprehensive and scholarly, filled with statistics and thoughtful observations about the group she's dubbed Generation Me. These young people were raised with the idea of self-esteem being more important than achievement, which has caused them to place the self above all else. Such beliefs also have created a generation of young people who believe every dream is attainable but who aren't prepared to deal with discovering it isn't so. Twenge notes that today's young parents are especially lenient with their children and reluctant to discipline them, suggesting that perhaps the next generation will be even worse off. Twenge believes Generation Me would benefit from a heavy dose of realism. Accessible and a must-read for the generation they address. -- Kristine Huntley
How will a group of workers who see themselves as more important than acheivement ever reach the salary levels needed to support he Baby Boomers?
Can we depend on the Government?
According to a government survey, few among that generation born between 1946 and 1964 plan to start collecting those benefits right away. A Treasury Department and Federal Reserve poll found that 16% of unretired boomers plan to start collecting Social Security as soon as they are eligible. That's less than half the number among current retirees, according to an Associated Press report.
That may, in part, stem from the fact that the first wave of boomers want to stick around their jobs longer than previous retirees. They also will not reach full retirement age and become eligible to receive their full Social Security benefits until they turn 66 years old. For younger boomers, full retirement age gradually creeps up until reaching 67 years old for those born in 1960 and later.
For any baby boomers who plan to start collecting Social Security when they turn 62 years old next year, they can expect to get 75% of the amount of their full retirement benefits. That's a permanent reduction in the monthly check, reflecting the fact that they would be collecting their money over a longer time span than retirees who wait until they reach their full retirement age.
Hmm seems we need to rethink this strategy.
I would say my house is my retirement, but who will buy it? At the price I need to support me?
Workforce Housing/Moderately Priced Dwelling Units Issue: There is a heightened concern in Anne Arundel County over the lack of affordable
housing for young families, middle and low income earners, and first time home buyers, all of whom constitute a significant part of our County’s workforce.
This dearth of affordable housing has been brought about by controlled growth policies, adequate public facilities and impact fees laws adopted by the County over the past decade, down zoning initiatives pursued by no growth citizen advocates and other restrictive zoning laws, the virtual elimination of waivers for residential projects and spiraling land costs caused by economic market forces.
In addition, County government has made it difficult for residential developers and large property owners to subdivide land into smaller building parcels where affordable housing units may be accommodated.
Because the demand for residential building lots greatly exceeds the supply, prices have increased at a much greater rate than inflation. Restrictions imposed upon new residential development have curtailed the availability of building lots, thereby impacting builder
profitability through the loss of volume oriented pricing. As such, residential developers have turned more to constructing larger more profitable houses on irreplaceable building lots.
The resulting increase in the prices of new home development also has inflated the prices of the secondary housing market and the rental housing market.
In summary, it has become increasingly difficult for young families, first time home buyers, and middle and low income earners to find affordable housing in Anne Arundel County. This lack of affordable housing will soon impact the labor pool from which local businesses derive their skilled and unskilled workforce.
The lack of affordably priced housing has given rise to a movement among some local
officials to seek a regulatory solution to reverse a trend created by restrictive land-use
policies and market forces. Such solutions being considered include adopting legislation mandating that builders of most residential housing make a portion of the housing units available at below-market rate sale prices or rental rates.
Such legislation, if adopted, would be Anne Arundel County’s first mandatory inclusionary zoning law on the books. Similar laws exist in other jurisdictions around the nation, including Montgomery County in our own State of Maryland.
Seems if I dont' save and take care of myself, I may not have the most comfortable retirement