Very unsurprising -- I read an article today about problems in the public sector regarding employees:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40874710/ns/business-the_new_york_times/

Local goverments, on every level, have been failing to fund pension funds for their employees. 

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The fact of the matter is, retirement accounts, pensions, etc. -- they don't work.  They give us the false expectation that we can somehow set aside today ALL that we might need in the future -- far, far in the future. 

The fact is this: the efforts of those who are working TODAY sustain the lives of EVERYONE LIVING TODAY.   

The workers support themselves and their children.  They also support the disabled, those who are unable to work for whatever the reason.   Today's workers support the retired -- even those who have fat retirement accounts.  And the workers support the wealthy -- those who play more than they work.  Or who only play --  like children -- because they have people in their lives who are wealthy enough to support them. 

Back a couple of generations, this was obvious -- the elderly tended to live with younger family members who worked hard and supported themselves, their children, and the older members of their family who were unable to fully support themselves. 

Money is merely a symbolic representation of value placed upon people's time and upon goods and services.  Can time be hoarded?  What use is it to hoard a service?  Can I somehow get lots of cell phone service this month and use it 50 years from now?  Can goods be hoarded?  Somewhat.  But not effectively.  Food spoils -- sure, it will last days, weeks, months, even a few years.  But most won't last 40 or 50 years.  A home will last a long time -- but what good is a home without upkeep and maintenance?  I may own my home, and not have to make a payment on a mortgage, but there are still taxes, there are still repairs. 

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But, you may say, when I am old, I will have worked my entire life.  I deserve a break.  I deserve to be able to not work so hard, and yet still maintain my lifestyle. 

A good point.  Perhaps. 

A better point -- when you are old, and cannot work as hard, it is fair that you be maintained at a level that those who are working have for themselves.  That is fair to both the retired person and the worker.

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Side note:
There is such inequality in our society.  The majority of those who work receive such a small percentave of the value generated by their "work effort".  The small wealth shared among the workers then has to support them, their children, their pensions and retirement accounts...is it any wonder that we are feeling the pinch?  That governments are scrambling? 

Remember the era of Robin Hood? 

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The workers support those who do not work (or those do not work enough to generate self-sufficiency plus a surplus):

• Children


• Disabled


• Elderly

We need to abolish the idea that the taxes a worker pays today are a direct link to the benefits he/she will receive in the future (or that a spouse or child will receive on behalf of that worker.)  The facts are this: the taxes a wage-earner pays today help support all people in the society who are not able to

• (1) perform enough labor to support oneself financially, or


• (2) have someone in their life who can provide the financial support

Then we could see social support services for what they truly are -- simply a means for a society to take care of its own.  We all put in as we can -- and when (for whatever the reason) -- despite our efforts we are not able to provide for ourselves and "our own", society reaches in and helps out.  The rest of the time, a portion of our efforts are going to help others.  It is a give and take.  None of us are completely independent.  But neither should we be wholly dependent. 

Today's society should never make strict promises to today's workers that tomorrow's workers have to keep.  The only fair promise is that when today's workers are no longer capable of working enough to support themselves, that the surplus of tomorrow's workers will be used to sustain them.  How can we possibly make a promise of the dollars that will be received in retirement or the exact standard of living?  We do not know what the future will bring -- we should simply face tomorrow as an entire society, taking care of all of its parts, rather than as a fractured society, with only some sections running well. 

And if there is no surplus?  Well, at that point we have a problem.  For any society that generates less resources for life than it has inhabitants has become insolvent.  However, that is a problem that can only be addressed by the total sum of members of the society facing such a challenge.