Living poor, voting rich. - These folks are supposed to be voting our way. Let's not lose them in '06 & '08.
The 2-24-05 Los Angles Times reports the following:
The number of employd U.S. working 75 years old and older grew from 669,000 in 1994 to just under one million last year, a number expected to increase as the large baby boom generation ages, and for many of those older seniors, work is not a choice but a necessity.
Whether outliving retirement savings or facing lower-than-expected investment returns, this population is finding that Social Security isn't enough to cover their bills. Even before the current debate over Social Security's future, many Americans seemed doubtful they could retire without working at least part time.
The number of employd U.S. working 75 years old and older grew from 669,000 in 1994 to just under one million last year, a number expected to increase as the large baby boom generation ages, and for many of those older seniors, work is not a choice but a necessity.
Whether outliving retirement savings or facing lower-than-expected investment returns, this population is finding that Social Security isn't enough to cover their bills. Even before the current debate over Social Security's future, many Americans seemed doubtful they could retire without working at least part time.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 6:20 AM
1 Comments:
With the recent surge of backlash against Social Security privatization and the Republicans' (failed) attack on AARP, we shouldn't have it all that tough to get these folks to vote for Dems.
The question then becomes: what can we do to make sure that folks can actually retire instead of working part-time?
If we can find some way to answer that one, then their votes are a shoo-in.
Some people have suggested allowing people to invest money into something akin to the Thrift Savings Accounts available to federal government employees. These accounts have averaged a 12% gain over the last decade (or so) and seem like a viable option that should be explored.
Other than that, I'm fresh out of ideas...
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