5 ms·

I wonder if this in any sense reflects the Gen-X cynicism I associate with the 1990s, the expectation that the system that bore up their parents would crumble b

I wonder if this in any sense reflects the Gen-X cynicism I associate with the 1990s, the expectation that the system that bore up their parents would crumble before their turn came. Had perhaps already crumbled. Were they right? Is this self-fulfilling prophecy?

98codes 8y ago
The news about the Social Security fund being insolvent right around when gen X was due to hit eligibility has quieted down in the last decade. I figure it's mostly because the media has largely forgotten gen X exists, instead focusing on the boomers and echo boomers, the millenials.
- cimmanom 8y ago
  But social security is solvent and is projected to be so for a while. It’s Medicare that isn’t.
  - joezydeco 8y ago
    Social Security is projected to be insolvent in 2035, exactly when Gen X begins to hit retirement age: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/social-security-is-headed-for-insolvency-by-2035-government-says.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/social-security-is-headed-fo...
  - 98codes 8y ago
    checks math Ok, so maybe it'll be ok for two years.
jvreagan 8y ago
As a Gen-Xer, I think that cynicism had its roots in both the 80s and 90s with the number of companies that left our parents out to dry with disappearing pensions and people doing the math to realize that Social Security was unsustainable and would be gone by the time we retire. And somehow our generation was expected to support all of society including the generation behind us. I would postulate the opposite - I would have thought because we believe that neither companies nor the guvmint would be there to support us, we would have fended for ourselves better (I know that's how I personally took it, and many/most of my friends). But you might be right... sounds like an attitude of "ef it, we're doomed" set in.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  Social Security will not be gone, and it is not unsustainable at a macro level. Currently configured, it will pay out ~75% of earned benefits once the trust fund is exhausted in 2034. Several small changes, in concert, remove any insolvency concerns. It keeps 22 million Americans out of poverty [1], and is very efficient in terms of admin costs vs distributed benefits. I posit it's cheaper to keep those benefits recipients out of poverty, versus paying for what happens if they aren't kept out of poverty. Healthcare? Universal healthcare (Medicare For All), allowing for shedding the current jigsaw of healthcare benefits across the country. Less admin overhead, more care providers. If you're a pension that committed to healthcare expenses (state & local government, and manufacturers), you should be ringing the Medicare For All bell the hardest, to get the necessary infrastructure in place before your shortfalls arrive. > I would postulate the opposite - I would have thought because we believe that neither companies nor the guvmint would be there to support us, we would have fended for ourselves better (I know that's how I personally took it, and many/most of my friends). But you might be right... sounds like an attitude of "ef it, we're doomed" set in. Most Americans don't have the discretionary income after mandatory expenses to save to "fend for themselves" due to forty years of wage stagnation. This is why so many must rely on government programs to survive. [2] [1] https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/social-security-lifts-more-americans-above-poverty-than-any-other-program https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/social-securit... (Social Security Lifts More Americans Above Poverty Than Any Other Program) [2] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us... (For most U.S. workers, real wages have barely budged in decades)
  - treis 8y ago
    >Social Security will not be gone, and it is not unsustainable. Currently configured, it will pay out ~75% of earned benefits once the trust fund is exhausted in 2034 The trust fund is the government loaning money to itself. Ultimately, it is an accounting fiction. Instead of tax payers having to shore up a SS shortfall they have to pay back T-Bills. Either way, there's about 3 trillion dollars missing that will need to be paid.

98codes 8y ago

The news about the Social Security fund being insolvent right around when gen X was due to hit eligibility has quieted down in the last decade. I figure it's mostly because the media has largely forgotten gen X exists, instead focusing on the boomers and echo boomers, the millenials.

cimmanom 8y ago
But social security is solvent and is projected to be so for a while. It’s Medicare that isn’t.
- joezydeco 8y ago
  Social Security is projected to be insolvent in 2035, exactly when Gen X begins to hit retirement age: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/social-security-is-headed-for-insolvency-by-2035-government-says.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/22/social-security-is-headed-fo...
- 98codes 8y ago
  checks math Ok, so maybe it'll be ok for two years.

jvreagan 8y ago

As a Gen-Xer, I think that cynicism had its roots in both the 80s and 90s with the number of companies that left our parents out to dry with disappearing pensions and people doing the math to realize that Social Security was unsustainable and would be gone by the time we retire. And somehow our generation was expected to support all of society including the generation behind us. I would postulate the opposite - I would have thought because we believe that neither companies nor the guvmint would be there to support us, we would have fended for ourselves better (I know that's how I personally took it, and many/most of my friends). But you might be right... sounds like an attitude of "ef it, we're doomed" set in.

toomuchtodo 8y ago
Social Security will not be gone, and it is not unsustainable at a macro level. Currently configured, it will pay out ~75% of earned benefits once the trust fund is exhausted in 2034. Several small changes, in concert, remove any insolvency concerns. It keeps 22 million Americans out of poverty [1], and is very efficient in terms of admin costs vs distributed benefits. I posit it's cheaper to keep those benefits recipients out of poverty, versus paying for what happens if they aren't kept out of poverty. Healthcare? Universal healthcare (Medicare For All), allowing for shedding the current jigsaw of healthcare benefits across the country. Less admin overhead, more care providers. If you're a pension that committed to healthcare expenses (state & local government, and manufacturers), you should be ringing the Medicare For All bell the hardest, to get the necessary infrastructure in place before your shortfalls arrive. > I would postulate the opposite - I would have thought because we believe that neither companies nor the guvmint would be there to support us, we would have fended for ourselves better (I know that's how I personally took it, and many/most of my friends). But you might be right... sounds like an attitude of "ef it, we're doomed" set in. Most Americans don't have the discretionary income after mandatory expenses to save to "fend for themselves" due to forty years of wage stagnation. This is why so many must rely on government programs to survive. [2] [1] https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/social-security-lifts-more-americans-above-poverty-than-any-other-program https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/social-securit... (Social Security Lifts More Americans Above Poverty Than Any Other Program) [2] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/08/07/for-most-us... (For most U.S. workers, real wages have barely budged in decades)
- treis 8y ago
  >Social Security will not be gone, and it is not unsustainable. Currently configured, it will pay out ~75% of earned benefits once the trust fund is exhausted in 2034 The trust fund is the government loaning money to itself. Ultimately, it is an accounting fiction. Instead of tax payers having to shore up a SS shortfall they have to pay back T-Bills. Either way, there's about 3 trillion dollars missing that will need to be paid.