Bringing America Down to Everyone Else’s Level

I saw in the paper today that Social Security is expected to go belly up three years sooner than previously expected.  Medicare will last about the same as previously calculated, even though there were cuts of two percent in benefits.  Why?  More boomers are retiring early due to the economy.  In discussing the reasons for this decrease in Social Security’s durability, the one thing nobody is mentioning is the payroll tax cut!  Why not?  Did everybody think you could just cut income, keep on spending, and NOT HAVE THE MONEY RUN OUT SOONER?!?  Remember, the “payroll tax cut” is a cut in Social Security income (F.I.C.A.).
There used to be some common sense in public discussions of issues, but, of course, THINGS HAVE CHANGED.  The Democrats and Republicans continually fight over where to cut taxes, and where to spend the money we don’t have, while ignoring consequences that we’ll have to deal with, but they may be out of office before then, so why worry?  I’m worried.
          As William Falk noted in the recent issue of The Week, private pensions began disappearing more than 30 years ago, and being replaced by 401(k) plans.  However, the average savings by Baby Boomers is only $78,000.  That’s far less than one would need, even with a pension!  And most of these are people without pensions.
Whether you support Obama or not-so-compassionate Republicans, one things is certain if we go on this way: Benefits will be cut; taxes have been cut; the deficit will balloon; and the United States will go bust like Greece.  And I don’t think Germany will bail us out.  China to the rescue!
          Here’s what I think will happen to us socially:  Three-quarters of baby boomers will be unable to afford their homes.  Their kids, already squeezed into undersized places, will be hard pressed to find a bedroom for mom and dad, justifying it by taking mom and dad’s Social Security check for room and board, and asking them to watch the kids to save on day care.  Three, even four generations will share quarters, pooling dwindling resources to provide a home for the family, as everyone scrambles to get whatever work they can so they can eat.  Forget vacations.  Forget college tuition.  Look for college loan defaults, and a further downward spiral of home values.
Some of this sound familiar?  My parents lived through it - it was called the Great Depression.
          What can you do about it?  First, urge your elected representatives to repeal the payroll tax cut, and compromise on adjustments to Social Security for the good of the country.  If small changes are made now, disaster can be avoided later.
          Second, save more money for retirement!  Even if the politicians insist on pandering to stupidity and shortsightedness, and your neighbor insists on being stupid, there is absolutely no reason, or excuse, for you being stupid.  Plan now!  Urge everyone you know to do the same.  The Republicans would let you go down the drain.  The Democrats would spend us all into the same drain.  But having money set aside will keep you from going down that drain with them.
Back in the eighties we were the “Shining City on the Hill”, and a majority of the world wanted what we have.  I said then to bring them up to a fraction of what we have would bring us down to a fraction of what we have.  We’re still headed there - in a handbasket.

Another Passover

      Another Passover come and gone.  I used to have the energy for this.  Things have changed.
      For those unfamiliar with the requirements of a kosher home on Passover, here's what occurs.  We have completely separate dishes, pots, pans, flatware, baking dishes just for Passover use.  We bring them out of storage a few days before Passover, clean the kitchen thoroughly, carefully packing away the year-round stuff, so nothing that has touched leavening can touch the Passover stuff, and store it.  Then we put the Passover stuff in the kitchen, so that Passover cooking and baking can be done.  We clean as much of the house as we can in the time allotted, especially the common areas of the house. At the end of the eight days we repeat the process in reverse.
      Why?  It's based on the Torah, through 3,000 years of rabbinic interpretation and understandings, and rulings encompassing changes in technology.  After all, self-cleaning ovens were uncommon not many decades ago.  Some things are far easier than great-grandma had with her coal stove.  Thank heaven.
      Still, while turning the house upside down once a year has its benefits, it takes a considerable amount of energy, which I find in decreasing availability every year.  I now use younger legs to carry the boxes up and down the stairs whenever available.
      Also, while my daughter and son-in-law worked during the intermediate days to get the house they just bought ready to move into, we had our two grandsons all week.  I loved it, but it makes me wonder how we raised three kids ourselves.  Answer:  It was over twenty years ago.  Memory plays tricks with us.  We thought it was hard then.  What was hard was emotionally dealing with things for the first time, whereas what's hard now is physically it gets more difficult, but it's now the twenty-somethingth time.  Every little thing is no longer a crisis.  Every last-minute emergency is no big deal - indeed, it's expected.
      That's the best part of getting older - knowing we've been through the wars, so to speak.  We've dealt with this before, and if we just keep going a bit longer, we'll deal with it again.  And we did!  And we still managed to find the energy to enjoy ourselves.  And it took less time to get back to normal than before.  There is a certain satisfaction to that, and knowing that some things that change, change for the better.
      Next year in my daughter's house!

Passover - a Busy Time

      I don't feel very curmudgeonly this time of year - too busy even to post.  When you keep kosher, getting ready keeps you hopping.  For those who don't know what's involved, we clean, remove the year-round dishes, pots, etc. from the kitchen, store it out of sight, bring up the Passover set, clean the cabinets, clean and install the Passover set, and clear the house of any "chametz" - leavening - to prepare for the season of our freedom.
      What does that mean, the season of our freedom?  Some 3,400 years ago, our ancestors were brought out from slavery by God's strong hand - but is simply being brought out enough?  The actions of our ancestors in the wilderness proves it's not.  They were "at liberty", but were still controlled by their own fears and passions, conditioned by their slavery.  I've had those who don't understand the limits placed on us by our religious beliefs tell me I'm a slave to those limits.  But without limits placed on our behavior, are we not slaves to our passions?  Who are we, and what are we?  What do we do with that liberty?  Even the Founding Fathers of this great country spoke of liberty, not freedom.  Once we had liberty, each person had the opportunity to choose what to do with it.
      Our sages teach without the constraints on us placed there by God, without a purpose, we are at liberty, but not truly free.  A person's mind can be free, even if he is not at liberty, but when we choose what we do with our liberty, and we choose well, we are truly free.
      May in this season we all choose well what we do with our liberty, so that we may be truly free.