Dying in Debt...

According to a study by John Pottow, a law professor at the University of Michigan, older Americans face several grievous financial issues. People 55 years old and older make up more than 20 percent of all bankruptcies in the U.S., compared to only 12 percent in 2001. This is clearly a disturbing trend that shows how perilous our situation is.

Link to article:www.economyincrisis.org

Author:Sam Williford

Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license

What is the value of your life? If the system has become so dysfunctional that a person can no longer even look forward to having a relatively tidy state of affairs in the Fall or Winter of their life,then what exactly was the point of the all the sacrifice to begin with?

It's a sad world indeed when the elderly of society are faced with the horrific choice of either trying to jump back on the frantic hamster wheel of work in an attempt to just stay even,health permitting, or die broke and miserable.

Retirement benefits of all stripes are rapidly fading away,leaving the younger generations to wonder in shock as to what they will do when it's their turn to leave the workforce. There seems to be almost no point anymore in working hard if the view at the end of the tunnel is a nightmare. In this brave new Dystopia,the lucky few(Google,Facebook,etc...)who find great material wealth at a young age and are able to align themselves to and cozy up with the interests of government and the elite are the only ones who will really stand any chance of being able to actually enjoy their twilight years in comfort.

Additionally,I'm tagging on the following short video clip about a pensioner suicide to further drive home the point and to alert you to what is likely to become a growing trend. It's not pretty. While I know AJ is pretty sensationalist,just the fact that this video originated in the lamestream media should be cause for concern.

MSNBC's Brewer: People Are Taking Their Own Lives When Pensions Fail.

I lost my job over a decade ago due to corporate downsizing. I have been self-employed ever since and have never looked back. In my spare time, I make even more money on eBay as a hobby. I'm not particularily smart, probably pretty average in every respect. Maybe the one place I differ in is attitude. The government or system does not owe me a living. From my perspective, the system is not broke. I firmly believe there are more opportunities to earn money today than ever before. I'm not too far from "retirement age", but I have no intention of retiring. Can't afford to. This isn't a negative to me, just the way it is. I've been told not everyone has my "courage" to begin a business - but I don't have the courage to ever place my financial future into the hands of a company who may decide to downsize me again. All is good for those who chose to make it so. I do feel your pain though, I find myself drifting that way once in awhile.

I think the current mindset has developed from an over-dependence on a retirement myth that never should've been established to begin with. It goes hand-in-hand with the idea that pursuing a life of wealth and luxury is somehow the ultimate path to fulfillment and purpose.

People need to have the ability to think and live in a way that fits them best however the media and education system has brain-washed the masses to such a degree that it's become impossible for most to think 'outside the box'. However,even the notion of thinking 'outside the box' is misguided. The truth is that there is no box and never was one to begin with. Once people realize that there is no box,then they will truly be set free and be able to see the world and themselves as they truly are.

You sound like a person who realizes what I just said and I wish you the best.