Scared Straight on Social Security
By CHM on Aug 1, 2007 in Featured, Financial Planning, Retirement, and Now!, Social Security
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Ok as promised, I’m going to use the fear card to ’scare you straight’ on the issue of social security… are you shaking yet?
‘Scared Straight’ was an Academy Award winning documentary, filmed in 1978 by Arnold Shapiro, that deals with taking troubled teens to Rahway State Prison and introducing them to prison ‘lifers’. The hardened prisoners scare the hell out of the kids, talking about the harsh realities of what happens on the inside. In the end, the kids realize they don’t want anything to do with life in jail… effectively scaring them straight.
Future of social security
Now I’m not looking to scare anyone like that. In fact, I really only used it to over-dramatize the point I’m trying to make. There is tremendous debate out there about the future of Social Security; will it run out in the next 40 years? Should a portion of it be privatized and controlled by the individual? If so, can the proceeds be invested in the US stock market? I really don’t have the answers to those questions, although I do have opinions. I will voice those opinions in a future post, but not right now.
Right now, I’m going to say it shouldn’t matter much what happens with Social Security. If you’re young and really worried about all this, then you’re looking at it this issue the wrong way. Why? Come on… I know you know exactly what I’m gonna say… because if you plan properly, you’ll view social security as a nice supplemental income stream, but nothing more than an added bonus, if its still around.
If you keep waiting, procrastinating and don’t pay much attention to your 401K investment choices or you decide not to open a Roth IRA, then you too can roll the dice on the future of social security. But to be fair, there are many elderly people that live comfortably on social security. To see how comfortably, I urge you to read some of their stories.
How do you think that hot cup of tea after dinner tastes with the re-used teabag?
Tags: Featured, Financial Planning Retirement and Now!, Social Security
kentuckyliz | Feb 5, 2008 | Reply
Wow, that is a very motivating article to read. Having to settle for Section 8 apartments in violent neighborhoods that are infested with mice? Eating spoiled and infested food from the food pantry?
No thanks!!!
Of course it’s all Bush’s fault, according to those old poor people posting on the AARP boards. Yeah right.