All of you young people out there had better wake up, and begin keeping an eye on us old codgers. We are running away with the farm, and you seem to be totally unaware of it. This came to my attention recently while waiting in line at the post office. It was a long line, and those ahead of me seemed to be wanting to solve world peace, or at least take care of climate change with the clerks who were patiently handling what seemed to be insurmountable problems.
About three people back, a woman my age began to lecture the line at large, a line which consisted mostly of working people trying to get the post office errand done on their lunch hour. She was complaining that her Social Security check for the year had not had the increase she was expecting. After getting over being startled by someone who was willing to harangue a waiting line, I watched while the younger people around her nodded their heads in sympathy. Did they not realize that they would shortly be returning to work so that they could fill up the Social Security coffers for this indignant lady in line, while they themselves may come to find that same coffer empty when they reached retirement age?
That lady, as do I, also gets to go to the movies at half price during the week when the young families who could use that privilege are at work or school. She receives Medicare, a social welfare program run by the government, which generously covers her medical expenses. How many in that line have health care coverage of the depth and accessibility of hers? She might also get discounts at restaurants, airlines, hotels, and who knows where else.
Before I hear the cry from my fellow seniors, ‘But I paid into the system’ we need to think about the following. Depending on a multiplicity of factors, statistically, the average age at which a current senior reaches the break-even point on what they paid into Social Security is somewhere between 75 and 80 years of age. The average life expectancy here in the United States is about 79. At that point some seniors have already dug into your pockets or are soon to do so. Any of us seniors living beyond that are reaping benefits from the deductions our children and grandchildren are paying for a benefit those same family members might never see.
We seniors need to appreciate more what our fellow Americans are doing for us. As for you younger people -----keep an eye on us.
