Retired Seniors Living Sweet

[Guest]

The USA Today reports that the best nations for retirees are (in order): Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Germant, Canada, Netherlands, Iceland, Japan, USA, and UK.

The article from today's paper says:

"In Switzerland, by law, each worker's retirement fund must consist of contributions from a state-run pension plan, in addition to the pension from employers and tax-free personal savings similar to IRA accounts.

This combination of funds means that when workers retire, they receive a relatively high percentage of their former salary through the pension plan."

Interesting, isn't it that these places that provide most for retirees are the "socialist" countries?

[Guest]

The USA Today reports that the best nations for retirees are (in order): Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Germant, Canada, Netherlands, Iceland, Japan, USA, and UK.

The article from today's paper says:

"In Switzerland, by law, each worker's retirement fund must consist of contributions from a state-run pension plan, in addition to the pension from employers and tax-free personal savings similar to IRA accounts.

This combination of funds means that when workers retire, they receive a relatively high percentage of their former salary through the pension plan."

Interesting, isn't it that these places that provide most for retirees are the "socialist" countries?

Yep, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I traveled overseas and lived in several countries. Maybe reading something in an article glosses over several important issues on what retirement costs over there. Germany is especially interesting since I have an acquaintance that still isn't retired because he hasn't reached the minimum age requirement. Oh, and by the way, have you checked out the amount of taxes they pay out of their paycheck? Last I checked, which was admittedly a couple years ago, a German paid somewhere around 55% of his pay in taxes and an average Swede pays at least 30% more in taxes than we do.

Of course, there are a lot of needy folks in America that would just as soon allow the nanny government to take full control of their wages and supply them with they food, clothes, housing and transportation.

Americans are pretty ignorant of preparation for the future. Most like to live for today and let the gov worry about supporting them later.

Granted, if we had our money from Social Security invested properly, we would all be living high off the hog right now. If they would have allowed me to invest my own money instead of borrowing it, then I would be living much better than I am now.

But, beware of the socialist that brags about how much the government is doing for them. A lot of nothing is still nothing. I suggest that before anyone compare our country with other countries, they go live in some other countries and observe how socialism works.

The grass is always greener on the other side.

[Guest]

I have heard many times, "If I did not have to have my money put into Social Security and could have invested it myself, I would be very rich."

What percentage of Americans would have taken 7 percent from eacg paycheck and actually done that instead of spending all their paycheck - even if there was no safety net of Social Security at all?

We would have lots more people living in refrigerator boxes under bridges if there was no Social Security.

[Guest]

I have heard many times, "If I did not have to have my money put into Social Security and could have invested it myself, I would be very rich."

What percentage of Americans would have taken 7 percent from eacg paycheck and actually done that instead of spending all their paycheck - even if there was no safety net of Social Security at all?

We would have lots more people living in refrigerator boxes under bridges if there was no Social Security.

Do not know if this is the same poster who harps on this over and over.

If so, you always leap to the far end of any discussion, and do not even try to understand.

Nobody ever said, on this forum, nor anywhere I ever heard of to abolish social security.

YET, you take this extreme view every time.

The only proposal I am aware of was a proposal to allow personal investment of a small portion of earned social security benefits, never all of it, and never to abolish. It was mocked, at the time and the proposal never saw the light of day.

Where, may I ask, have you ever heard a discussion about the doing away of social security ?

[Guest]

The USA Today reports that the best nations for retirees are (in order): Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Germant, Canada, Netherlands, Iceland, Japan, USA, and UK.

The article from today's paper says:

"In Switzerland, by law, each worker's retirement fund must consist of contributions from a state-run pension plan, in addition to the pension from employers and tax-free personal savings similar to IRA accounts.

This combination of funds means that when workers retire, they receive a relatively high percentage of their former salary through the pension plan."

Interesting, isn't it that these places that provide most for retirees are the "socialist" countries?

Yes, it is "interesting" Having been to your top five I will tell you that they are great, but they could NEVER replace the USA ever.

I also can tell you that they have immigration quotas, and if you hurry up, you may be able to get in.

If you like socialism, and I assure that theses
Countries are NOT socialist as you think.

True socialism has never worked anywhere, and is considered through history as a failed experiment.

[Guest]

Yes, it is "interesting" Having been to your top five I will tell you that they are great, but they could NEVER replace the USA ever.

I also can tell you that they have immigration quotas, and if you hurry up, you may be able to get in.

If you like socialism, and I assure that theses
Countries are NOT socialist as you think.

True socialism has never worked anywhere, and is considered through history as a failed experiment.

:thumbup:

[Guest]

I have heard many times, "If I did not have to have my money put into Social Security and could have invested it myself, I would be very rich."

What percentage of Americans would have taken 7 percent from eacg paycheck and actually done that instead of spending all their paycheck - even if there was no safety net of Social Security at all?

We would have lots more people living in refrigerator boxes under bridges if there was no Social Security.

So, where would you get all that money to live high on the hog like Germany, Sweden, etc?

Ever heard of the Federal Thrift Savings Plan? Google it and look at how well the funds have done.

For those that don't know it, the TSP is part of a gov retirement system where you are allowed to invest so much of your salary into a selection of funds. AND they have done very good. I think the only year that they did not do well, was 2008. So, the following year they did great again. If you were able to take half of your SS tax and chose your own fund, you would do very well by the time you retired. Trouble is that congress doesn't want you taking your money and tying it up somewhere that they can't use it. And in case you think that when the stock market tanks, you will lose all your money, thing about this. If EVERYONE is investing in the stock market, bonds, gov CDs, etc. the economy is going to be pretty stable. Of course, I am no expert so I am just guessing at that part.

Basically, the federal gov could/could allow contributions to SS to invested in the fund of the contributor's choice, within the selections available. Similar to the TSP or even using the TSP. The TSP has a great record, so why not?

[Guest]

Did anybody besides me notice that the first 7 countries on that list have cold climates. Wrong! I'll stay where I'm at.

[Guest]

and most have no idea of the cost of living in the so called socialist countries.

I would think most loyal American citizens would not trade anyplace else for the good old USA. (please note I said most).

There are not too many, if any, of the modern world non US countries that I have not been to visit...for extended periods. And while many are nice, some very nice, they do not compare to what we have here in America.

I used to be ALWAYS glad to get back in the USA.

[Guest]

and most have no idea of the cost of living in the so called socialist countries.

I would think most loyal American citizens would not trade anyplace else for the good old USA. (please note I said most).

There are not too many, if any, of the modern world non US countries that I have not been to visit...for extended periods. And while many are nice, some very nice, they do not compare to what we have here in America.

I used to be ALWAYS glad to get back in the USA.

Same here. I was always glad to return home.

[Guest]

It is difficult for me, as well as disheartening, to hear Villages residents on here advocating socialism.

Only three reasons that I can think of for that......

1. They are trolls who simply want to stir the pot.

2. They are uneducated totally and have lived in a cave so as to not be aware of the many socialist societies throughout history that have not just failed, but totally collapsed. That would be ALL of them by the way.

3. They are Democrats who are convinced that they MUST be a democrat and MUST vote democrat, and they see the direction of that party and the speed in which they are going there. They are simply trying to catch up and will gather in the inevitable because they are simply democrats for life, no matter what.

[Guest]

It is difficult for me, as well as disheartening, to hear Villages residents on here advocating socialism.

Only three reasons that I can think of for that......

1. They are trolls who simply want to stir the pot.

2. They are uneducated totally and have lived in a cave so as to not be aware of the many socialist societies throughout history that have not just failed, but totally collapsed. That would be ALL of them by the way.

3. They are Democrats who are convinced that they MUST be a democrat and MUST vote democrat, and they see the direction of that party and the speed in which they are going there. They are simply trying to catch up and will gather in the inevitable because they are simply democrats for life, no matter what.

:agree:

[Guest]

It is difficult for me, as well as disheartening, to hear Villages residents on here advocating socialism.

Only three reasons that I can think of for that......

1. They are trolls who simply want to stir the pot.

2. They are uneducated totally and have lived in a cave so as to not be aware of the many socialist societies throughout history that have not just failed, but totally collapsed. That would be ALL of them by the way.

3. They are Democrats who are convinced that they MUST be a democrat and MUST vote democrat, and they see the direction of that party and the speed in which they are going there. They are simply trying to catch up and will gather in the inevitable because they are simply democrats for life, no matter what.

Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, and Germany seem to be doing pretty good.

[Guest]

Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, and Germany seem to be doing pretty good.

Relative to WHAT ?

Make your case, anyone can simply come on here and type jug gibberish. I am not doing your homework for you. Make your case and if it is good...have a great trip

[Guest]

NORWAY

"Norway's energy boom is tailing off years ahead of expectations, exposing an economy unprepared for life after oil and threatening the long-term viability of the world's most generous welfare model."

"High spending within the sector has pushed up wages and other costs to unsustainable levels, not just for the oil and gas industry but for all sectors, and that is now acting as a drag on further energy investment. Norwegian firms outside oil have struggled to pick up the slack in what has been, for at least a decade, almost a single-track economy."

End of oil boom threatens Norway's welfare model | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/08/us-norway-economy-insight-idUSBREA4703Z20140508)


SWITZERLAND

"And so the Swiss have arrived at an arrangement for the care of
the poor which, first of all, has to meet the requirement of aiding
them in such a manner that they are temporarily helped--yet not
encouraged to become dependent on government aid. Second, aid
has to be tied to a policy of encouraging the poor to help themselves
as much as possible, and to move them out of poverty as rapidly as
possible, if not in that generation, then at least in the next.

The Swiss have established a far-ranging and expanding program of compulsory social insurance that imposes on each worker and his
employer a compulsory shared-risk program to provide for both the
expected and unexpected financial needs of most other workers.
This primarily self-sustained (with a minor government contribution)
insurance program provides the worker with old-age retirement,
disability and sickness insurance, survivors' insurance, accident
insurance, and unemployment compensation. Unlike the social
insurance policies of many other industrialized nations, however,
these programs are designed so that the beneficiary cannot control
the outcome. Unemployment compensation is given only if the person
is validly out of work and readily available for employment as it
opens up. Disability is strictly defined in such a way that it has not,
as it has in many other nations, become an alternative to work."



http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080708_1986828welfareanddependencyinswitzerlandr alphsegalman.pdf

[Guest]

It is interesting that our liberal friends are always wanting more central government and less state involvement.

Then they come on here and use Sweden and Denmark as examples of how this should work.

They are all wet and as always, misinformed. Fact is....

"Which leads me to my basic point. Yes, it’s absolutely true that Sweden and Denmark have both high taxes and large welfare states: they also work very well as countries. The reason they do is that underneath the high tax and large welfare states they’re economically free, even classically liberal economies. Further, that their tax and spending is local meaning that it is done efficiently and with the consent of the local populace.

That is, the Nordic social democracies might indeed be what many American liberals see as the desirable society: they just happen to be places which do everything in entirely the opposite manner to which most American liberals argue things should be done."

See....."The big tax on incomes is imposed by the municipalities in Sweden and by the communes in Denmark, those latter being groupings of as few as 10,000 citizens. These local taxes are high: 25-35% of incomes. But this is, as you will note, entirely the opposite of the US system. US taxes are low at the local level, usually just property taxes and perhaps a local sales tax. Taxes are higher at the State level but are rarely above 6 or 7% of income and perhaps the same again in sales taxes. The big tax gatherer is the Federal Government.

Forbes Welcome (http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/08/20/paul-krugman-and-the-socialist-hellhole-that-is-sweden/)

Grass is always greener if you do not read

[Guest]

You can always tell when a liberal speaks that he/she has never lived outside of the U.S.A. and that they are recipients of someone else's labor. Now I can see why liberals were against earlier wars when we fought socialism. They consider it a war against their ideology.

[Guest]

norway, switzerland, canada, sweden, and germany seem to be doing pretty good.

when are you moving?

[Guest]

I met a guy who lived here and works for the Golf Admin. he told me he was from Denmark. I asked why he left. He said he was fed up with being taxed so heavily and being left with little.

I do agree that many Americans just do not financial prepare for retirement. so their complaints about socials security deductions are illogical. I have never had a problem with social security as such. I do have a problem in the manner our government representative mismanage this fund and allow it to be abused with so many fraud claims especially in disability. If the pols could keep their hands off our money it would be a useful safety net to many people for many years to come.

Those on this thread who desire socialism apparently forget or ignore the problems the federal government and individual states are having with entitlement programs that are eating up budgets faster than they can create them. Add to that federal public union medical and retirement benefits and the fed and states are drowning in red ink.

Why because unlike Denmark, Sweden, etc Americans try to take out more than their counterparts. We have all read those stories where between fed and state handouts people are walking away with $50,000 to $80,000 annually. As Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said the problem with socialism is pretty soon you run out of other people's money" .

America's debt today is unsustainable and I for one am sick of people throwing themselves a party, while I am not invited, but I end up paying for it.

If as a retired senior I am living sweet its because from at age 14 my wife and I planned our lives and how we were to achieve our goals. Halfway along the way my business career tumbled and we started all over again but we weathered the storm made intelligent decisions and recovered most of what we lost. Our story is many people's story who live here. We did the responsible and intelligent things. We did not ask for a hand out. We believed in self sufficiency ,sacrifice and careful planning.

So to those of you who live in this wonderful community pat yourself on the back, thank God for his giving you the strength you needed to provide for your family and yourself because you deserve every bit of it

[Guest]

I met a guy who lived here and works for the Golf Admin. he told me he was from Denmark. I asked why he left. He said he was fed up with being taxed so heavily and being left with little.

I do agree that many Americans just do not financial prepare for retirement. so their complaints about socials security deductions are illogical. I have never had a problem with social security as such. I do have a problem in the manner our government representative mismanage this fund and allow it to be abused with so many fraud claims especially in disability. If the pols could keep their hands off our money it would be a useful safety net to many people for many years to come.

Those on this thread who desire socialism apparently forget or ignore the problems the federal government and individual states are having with entitlement programs that are eating up budgets faster than they can create them. Add to that federal public union medical and retirement benefits and the fed and states are drowning in red ink.

Why because unlike Denmark, Sweden, etc Americans try to take out more than their counterparts. We have all read those stories where between fed and state handouts people are walking away with $50,000 to $80,000 annually. As Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said the problem with socialism is pretty soon you run out of other people's money" .

America's debt today is unsustainable and I for one am sick of people throwing themselves a party, while I am not invited, but I end up paying for it.

If as a retired senior I am living sweet its because from at age 14 my wife and I planned our lives and how we were to achieve our goals. Halfway along the way my business career tumbled and we started all over again but we weathered the storm made intelligent decisions and recovered most of what we lost. Our story is many people's story who live here. We did the responsible and intelligent things. We did not ask for a hand out. We believed in self sufficiency ,sacrifice and careful planning.

So to those of you who live in this wonderful community pat yourself on the back, thank God for his giving you the strength you needed to provide for your family and yourself because you deserve every bit of it

Amen brother! Very well said. Funny how those that work the hardest, expect very little from the gov., and those that contribute the least believe the gov owes them the most.

[Guest]

Amen brother! Very well said. Funny how those that work the hardest, expect very little from the gov., and those that contribute the least believe the gov owes them the most.

NAiled it!:thumbup:

[Guest]

I met a guy who lived here and works for the Golf Admin. he told me he was from Denmark. I asked why he left. He said he was fed up with being taxed so heavily and being left with little.

I do agree that many Americans just do not financial prepare for retirement. so their complaints about socials security deductions are illogical. I have never had a problem with social security as such. I do have a problem in the manner our government representative mismanage this fund and allow it to be abused with so many fraud claims especially in disability. If the pols could keep their hands off our money it would be a useful safety net to many people for many years to come.

Those on this thread who desire socialism apparently forget or ignore the problems the federal government and individual states are having with entitlement programs that are eating up budgets faster than they can create them. Add to that federal public union medical and retirement benefits and the fed and states are drowning in red ink.

Why because unlike Denmark, Sweden, etc Americans try to take out more than their counterparts. We have all read those stories where between fed and state handouts people are walking away with $50,000 to $80,000 annually. As Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said the problem with socialism is pretty soon you run out of other people's money" .

America's debt today is unsustainable and I for one am sick of people throwing themselves a party, while I am not invited, but I end up paying for it.

If as a retired senior I am living sweet its because from at age 14 my wife and I planned our lives and how we were to achieve our goals. Halfway along the way my business career tumbled and we started all over again but we weathered the storm made intelligent decisions and recovered most of what we lost. Our story is many people's story who live here. We did the responsible and intelligent things. We did not ask for a hand out. We believed in self sufficiency ,sacrifice and careful planning.

So to those of you who live in this wonderful community pat yourself on the back, thank God for his giving you the strength you needed to provide for your family and yourself because you deserve every bit of it

:bigbow:

[Guest]

As someone said earlier in this thread, it is absolutely SHOCKING that someone actually craves socialism.

Do they not read history ? Do they not study and read anything ?

[Guest]

As someone said earlier in this thread, it is absolutely SHOCKING that someone actually craves socialism.

Do they not read history ? Do they not study and read anything ?

They don't care. They feel entitled to share in the fruits of your labor.

[Guest]

They don't care. They feel entitled to share in the fruits of your labor.

:thumbup: