When I was a kid, lo those many years ago, we lived in the same house with grandfather, aunt, uncle and my brother, parents and me. Seven in all. One bathroom.
The monster homes with many bathrooms can accommodate many more. We may be heading to this sort of outcome again. As energy costs rise, pensions shrink and jobs are very scarce. arthur From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ed Weick Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2011 9:20 AM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Subject: [Futurework] Saving for retirement? Pensions have had a lot of exposure in the media recently. On last night's CBC news economist Amanda Lang and another lady, an expert on pensions, were sitting at a table in a shopping mall advising anyone who cared to ask what they should do to provide for their retirement. It was a bit ironic because many of the people in the mall probably had nothing to retire from - like a job. What Lang and the pension guru told people was something like "Put away a fixed amount every month, even if it's only ten dollars, and let it build up." Hmm.... $10 a month is only $120 a year and only $3,600 in thirty years in current terms. Is that enough to retire on? Hardly. And even if one were putting away $100 a month, or $36,000 in thirty years, would that be enough? Probably only if one died in the thirty-first year. The pension problem got me thinking about an article in yesterday's Globe and Mail. It was called "Full House" and was about an increasing trend of multi-generational families living together. Its subtext said it all: "Kids in the basement, grandparents upstairs or in laneway homes out back..." I guess that would be OK if everybody in the family got along, but most families aren't like that. What if my mother-in-law moved in? Where would I go? Probably way down the basement behind the furnace. And besides, would there be enough earnings or pensions in the house to permit the family to make a go of it? One would hope so, but given current and probably continuing uncertainties in the job market, its an open question. Ed
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