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All of this talk about "Producers" and "Takers"
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tumbleweed
Posted 11/10/2012 12:09 (#2689179)
Subject: All of this talk about "Producers" and "Takers"



Princeton, Indiana
I have been reading the thread below about 401(k)'s and such and I did a little digging on the numbers. After all of the post election talk in the Boiler Room about producers and takers I wonder how many people at the end of their lifetime can truthfully say they contributed more to our system than they "took". I think there are a lot of takers out there who may not be the stereotypical low income people that we immediately think about.

Read the thread about 401(k)'s and retirement savings. Here is the data on retirement savings. 54% of retirees have less than $25,000 in savings. In 2010, 75% of people nearing retirement age had less than $30,000 saved. 49% of middle class workers will be poor or nearly poor in retirement and living on a food budget of about $5.00/day and Social Security is currently covering about 40% of most retiree's income.

So why aren't people preparing for their golden years? Median household income is $50,100 but very little is being saved. Average student loan debt is $23,000. 46.7% of households carry credit card debt and of those that carry debt the total averages $15,328 per household. Consumer debt in the US now sits at $2.5 trillion.

Let's look at a pretty typical hard working somewhat average guy 42 years old in his second marriage, 4 kids here and there, good job grossing $60,000, paying child support, $1,300 mortgage payment, $600 in vehicle payments, $200/mo to keep the family supplied with new smart phones, $18,000 student loan from 20 yrs ago, $15,000 credit card balance and making payment on $30,000 worth of "toys" in the garage. Oldest kid is starting college soon and he has zero saved for retirement. When this person hits 62 and runs into some health problems will he be a "producer" or a "taker"?

Here is a quote I found while digging up some numbers:

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"I always made a lot of money. I always spent a lot of money. I've done whatever I wanted to do," says Paul Conlin, 53, a contractor in Liverpool, N.Y., who says he has less than $50,000 saved for retirement. "I live for the moment. When I want to do something, I do it."
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