Permanent temps: What your life as an ‘elderly migrant’ worker will be like when you can’t ret

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This story first appeared at AlterNet.

In a must-read article in the current issue of Harper’s magazine, journalist Jessica Bruder, adjunct professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, adds a new phrase to America’s vocabulary: “Elderly migrant worker.” She documents a growing trend of older Americans for whom the reality of unaffordable housing and scarcity of work has driven them from their homes and onto the road in search of seasonal and temporary employment across the country. Packed into RVs, detached from their communities, these “Okies” of the Great Recession put in time at Amazon warehouses, farms and amusement parks, popping free over-the-counter pain reliever to mask the agony of strained muscles and sore backs. And when they can’t hold up any longer? The RV sometimes becomes a coffin.

The aging of Americans and the economic realities pose some serious problems for the country.

Since the financial crisis ripped the security out from under millions of people, the bulk of our politicians, including President Obama, actually tried to reduce, rather than increase, Social Security. The absence of pensions, along with the inadequacy of 401(k)s, skyrocketing healthcare and job insecurity and unemployment, are sending more and more people scrambling to figure out a way to keep body and soul together. Even grandparents are joining the ranks of those for whom life has become a game of Survivor. In an email interview, I asked Bruder about this alarming trend and what it means for the country, now and in the future.

If you are reaching retirement age....how do you see your future.

Can you trust your employer maintain your retirement fund. Many of my friends once retired had to go back to work.
Are your savings adequate to pull you thru a crisis.

It's a brave new world for the working poor....

a reply to: olaru12

We have nothing for retirement as many don't, if we are think SS it won't cover the cost of living if it exists at that time. owning your own business as the economy fails is tough now days. It is the young people I worry about they finish college with hundreds of thousand to pay in loans.

a reply to: Char-Lee


The right wing seem oblivious the the plight of the working poor; pity they may one day join them!




theeconomiccollapseblog.com...

I'm not really surprised at the lack of response. I know it's a very uncomfortable topic.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: Char-Lee


The right wing seem oblivious the the plight of the working poor; pity they may one day join them!




theeconomiccollapseblog.com...

I'm not really surprised at the lack of response. I know it's a very uncomfortable topic.

You came out in a past thread of yours and admitted you, "liked to poke the bear".

And by your own admission in this one, it is all the fault of the right wing?

Well, there's your problem. When Both parties are taking advantage of the people in favor of the Corporations and banks, it is pretty difficult to have an honest and fruitful discussion, when the precedent has already been set to be a biased bashing thread against one head of the two headed monster.

However, to stay on topic, it is disgusting that Bankers and Corporations have taken over our government, in such a way that our job situation has been decimated to a point where it has turned into a service based economy. Until we bring back our manufacturing base, low wage jobs will be all that we have!

The bankers, have already decimated retirement funds. Pay attention, to Wall Street now and they are doing just fabulous! All the talk from this current administration to stop the bankers has done absolutely nothing! As a matter of fact, Obama is having one hell of fund raiser with the Wall Street bankers he stands on his soap box and speaks out against!

I guess that is why are country is doomed for failure. Two many people believe that politicians have our best interest in mind, when it is quite apparent that neither side of the coin is interested in honestly representing the people who elected them.

a reply to: seeker1963

So we need to reform campaign financing? That sounds simple enough, simply place a strong limit and restriction on the amount of money a candidate can campaign with.

Raise federal revenue to prevent cuts to social security, especially the retirement payments; mostly by increasing capital gains taxes progressively, while cutting military spending.

As I see it, Obama is a politician first and foremost, realpolitik lacks ideological purity and even consistency. Court the bankers to get campaign money, democrat and republican congresspeople follow these same sort of guidelines, they usually won't vote for something if they feel that it's unlikely to pass, or doesn't go far enough because they know that it would mark them as a target the next election cycle (bankers won't give you campeign funds if you attempt to legislate against their interests)

originally posted by: NonsensicalUserName
a reply to: seeker1963

So we need to reform campaign financing?

Raise federal revenue to prevent cuts to social security, especially the retirement payments; mostly by increasing capital gains taxes progressively, while cutting military spending.

As I see it, Obama is a politician first and foremost, realpolitik lacks ideological purity and even consistency. Court the bankers to get campaign money, democrat and republican congresspeople follow these same sort of guidelines.

BINGO!

As long as they are prostitutes to the money changers, where do any of them have time to represent those that elected them?

Corporations are NOT people either!

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know I agreed with you. I don't want to take this off topic!

a reply to: seeker1963

And by your own admission in this one, it is all the fault of the right wing?

That's not what I said at all. I said the right doesn't care as evidenced by their wanting to cut food stamps and other social programs that help the working poor. Do you deny that!

nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com...

I'm placing the blame on the Corporate Oligarchy ala neocons that Obama is a part of. Pay taxes, fight the wars and stfu style of thinking.


as usual the topic gets ignored in favor of the lame right vs lib debate and finger pointing BS.

What is your retirement going to be like???

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: seeker1963

And by your own admission in this one, it is all the fault of the right wing?

That's not what I said at all. I said the right doesn't care as evidenced by their wanting to cut food stamps and other social programs that help the working poor. Do you deny that!

nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com...

If you believe in the two party system and that what they say in their "performance" to the people? Then yes, the right pretends to not care!

My problem with this train of thought though is that every Republican in office could disappear tomorrow, (kinda like the show "Leftovers" and I would bet my life on it that not one damn thing would change! We would still see the Corporations and Banks running the government! Nothing will change in this world other than the United States of America will end with a whimper.

Why?

Simply because they have the money to buy the government "THEY" want! The only thing we the people are valuable for is our votes and what little we have left to pay in taxes!

The polar opposite has proven one thing to me in my years of foolishly believing in why one party perhaps may be better than the other, and that is the dividing the people into groups based upon skin color, religion, sexuality, and class amongst the many other "Sub groups" does nothing more than create a diversion in which we argue whom is better, while they wine and dine like Kings amongst men.

Sorry, but it is pretty simple to realize when one is being lied to! I quite frankly refuse to believe in a system as corrupt and so off kilter as the one we currently stuck with.

But if you want to believe in how the two party system is currently advantageous, go right ahead, you have that right! I am just tired of it, when it seems quite obvious neither party cares anymore.

EDIT:

What is my retirement going to be like?

Let's just say I won't live to see it. There won't be any retirement even if I do suffer long enough to still be here.

The only thing I am currently fighting for is a better life for my daughter!

a reply to: seeker1963

Kudos to you Seeker. Many of us will never see retirement. This generation, unless partially well off will never live to see those golden years we were taught to look forward to.

I fall in to a category where they upped the retirement age to 71 or 72 if I recall correctly. Now what is the average lifespan??

Exactly.

Not long ago many of us were told not to expect SS to still be there. What really pisses you off is that they still take it while telling you that. If it's not going to be there then maybe you should get your criminal hands out of my damn back pocket and let me worry about where I need to put that money. But no... they still need to take it to pay out those requiring SS right now.

The worlds biggest Ponzi scheme. And instead of being jailed like Madoff... they are celebrated and given pensions and paid vacations.

My husband and I will never see retirement.

originally posted by: Kangaruex4Ewe
a reply to: seeker1963

Kudos to you Seeker. Many of us will never see retirement. This generation, unless partially well off will never live to see those golden years we were taught to look forward to.

I fall in to a category where they upped the retirement age to 71 or 72 if I recall correctly. Now what is the average lifespan??

Exactly.

Not long ago many of us were told not to expect SS to still be there. What really pisses you off is that they still take it while telling you that. If it's not going to be there then maybe you should get your criminal hands out of my damn back pocket and let me worry about where I need to put that money. But no... they still need to take it to pay out those requiring SS right now.

The worlds biggest Ponzi scheme. And instead of being jailed like Madoff... they are celebrated and given pensions and paid vacations.

My husband and I will never see retirement.

I failed to mention, and thank you for reminding me!

How much money has been borrowed from the Social Security Trust fund and why doesn't anyone from EITHER party EVER mention the IOU's that are shuffling around in the bottom of it?

All we hear is how the Dem's want to save it and the Republicans want to get rid of it!

Is it just me or isn't it convenient how none of the liars will stand up and tell the truth to the people that they Stole the money out of it?

I was retired but forced to re enter the workforce after the crash of 07. Best thing that ever happened to me.

Learned a completely new skill set and used my background and education to reinvent myself in the entertainment industry. Now proud Union SAG/AFTRA actor, screenwriter, filmmaker. Blessed and livin the dream!!

My concern is for the folks that don't have the energy or drive to start over. My TWA flight attendant exGF is now teaching school at 72 after losing her retirement. Good thing she had a marketable degree. Most people don't and are at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

We are facing a "retirement" crisis...If you have any resources; better use them wisely!!

moneymorning.com...

originally posted by: seeker1963

originally posted by: Kangaruex4Ewe
a reply to: seeker1963

Kudos to you Seeker. Many of us will never see retirement. This generation, unless partially well off will never live to see those golden years we were taught to look forward to.

I fall in to a category where they upped the retirement age to 71 or 72 if I recall correctly. Now what is the average lifespan??

Exactly.

Not long ago many of us were told not to expect SS to still be there. What really pisses you off is that they still take it while telling you that. If it's not going to be there then maybe you should get your criminal hands out of my damn back pocket and let me worry about where I need to put that money. But no... they still need to take it to pay out those requiring SS right now.

The worlds biggest Ponzi scheme. And instead of being jailed like Madoff... they are celebrated and given pensions and paid vacations.

My husband and I will never see retirement.

I failed to mention, and thank you for reminding me!

How much money has been borrowed from the Social Security Trust fund and why doesn't anyone from EITHER party EVER mention the IOU's that are shuffling around in the bottom of it?

All we hear is how the Dem's want to save it and the Republicans want to get rid of it!

Is it just me or isn't it convenient how none of the liars will stand up and tell the truth to the people that they Stole the money out of it?

I suppose nobody will ever have to take the blame as long as they can keep the pyramid going. By the time they find it's too much bother, everyone initially responsible will already be dead or retired to some place like Cancun. If it wasn't my money they were playing with, I would say that's a pretty damned good plan.

I count on getting the money I paid into SS about as much as I count on Ft. Knox still holding gold...

originally posted by: olaru12
I was retired but forced to re enter the workforce after the crash of 07. Best thing that ever happened to me.

Learned a completely new skill set and used my background and education to reinvent myself in the entertainment industry. Now proud Union SAG/AFTRA actor, screenwriter, filmmaker. Blessed and livin the dream!!

My concern is for the folks that don't have the energy or drive to start over. My TWA flight attendant exGF is now teaching school at 72 after losing her retirement. Good thing she had a marketable degree. Most people don't and are at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

We are facing a "retirement" crisis...If you have any resources; better use them wisely!!

moneymorning.com...

You were/are fortunate!

Which opens a whole new can of worms, the cost of education! They are actually admitting that it is the piece of paper (degree) that opens the job market for people and not the skills learned while in college.

My father worked in a steel mill until at the age of 62 his body was so busted up he was forced into an early retirement. Because of his age, he couldn't say it was work related. Then AFTER he took his early retirement, the company went belly up and he ended up with less yet because the company got off through the courts on paying the full pensions they were responsible for.