I retired two and a half years ago. I am one of the fortunate ones who had an excellent pension plan. The spouse is still working, but looking toward retirement in the next few years. His pension plan is not as generous as mine. Since I have retired I have spent more time reading about retirement issues. I’ve read enough to make me nervous. There are a lot of horror stories about seniors who are reduced to eating cat food because their retirement income is not sufficient to pay for the ever increasing cost of living. I’ve done the math and my pension is adequate to maintain a reasonable lifestyle, but is my pension secure? As our government gets closer and closer to default, I worry about the security of my pension. Will my state government continue to keep the commitment they made to me when I started working over thirty years ago in public education?
I’ve watched a little of the coverage of the debt ceiling “negotiations” on television. If it wasn’t such a serious issue, it would be comical.
When my children were small I read to them every night before they went to bed. We read all the classic fairy tales and stories. As I watch the news I am reminded of Chicken Little who ran around warning people that the sky was falling. There are many people in Washington who have joined him in this chant. Then there is the Boy Who Cried Wolf who gave the warning so frequently that everyone stopped listening…and then the wolf showed up. As we wait for Congress to act, I don’t know which story I’m listening to. Is the sky falling? Is there really a wolf?
I’m too old for fairy tales. It is time for Congress to stop grandstanding and get to work to preserve our economy and our future…and my retirement!
Posts
