At 08:36 AM Monday 1/5/2009, Bruce Bostwick wrote: >On Jan 4, 2009, at 9:13 PM, Dan M wrote: > > > And yet, you sing we're on the eve of destruction? > > > > Dan M. > >I guess part of my cynicism is frustration at having had to live in >the wake of the Boomers most of my life, and survive on the scraps >they missed, when it seems the only response to my getting closer to >actually joining the middle class
What do you consider as the criterion for "actually joining the middle class"? >and becoming financially stable is >the goalposts moving farther away just when I think I'm about to get >there. What specifically do you mean here? >The tail end of that curve is not a happy place, and when the >idea of having a financial cushion of savings and investments to >soften the blow when things flame out is sort of a cruel sadistic >taunt, the prospect of having the whole system collapse and render any >of my efforts moot seems like a final indignity Such things are always a possibility for just about anyone. Regardless of the economy, what would you do if frex you were injured or became ill and couldn't work, at least for the foreseeable future? Even if your medical problem is one that clearly qualified for disability, it is often a minimum of six months before you can start to qualify for disability, and it can take a couple of years or more to go through the process. Few people have enough to live on for that long (not to mention any medical bills not covered by insurance) without any outside help from family members, church or other charities, etc. > .. and it leaves me in >a rather cynical mood. I'd like to be more optimistic, but I'm at the >trailing edge of the herd and the wolves are a lot closer to me than >to some of the people with the "let them eat cake" attitudes about >cashing in a few stock options to pay the bills for a few years. It's >very much on my mind these days. . . . ronn! :) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
