A Bowl of Tulips

Kindness is hardest to do when it is unappreciated, but that is when it is most needed.

I came across a free retirement calculator which became a very good tool. I wasn't prepared for the twenty different options and a series of questions too advanced for a morning looksey.  It turned into a somber moment to look forward twenty or thirty years to what the needs might be.  It dawned on me, the day is almost here when income will end and whatever is saved is what will have to last.  Likely the transition will be more abrupt than with our parents, who had the luxury of choosing a date and excitedly marking it off the calendar. This reality is where talented, educated young people have difficulty finding jobs, and new jobs are not being created. We may not have the luxury of going out on top.

But today is not that day! I worked with the calculator and entered all the info from retirement programs, savings and retirement income that I knew, and felt we've done a decent job saving so we should be okay. What came up was a pretty frightening graph that estimates how much *other* income will be needed to augment retirement and social security to maintain a modest standard of living. By age 80: $80K a year.

The Gods Must be Crazy!  Makes me contemplate this idea of living off the land and being as self sufficient as possible as more of a necessity than an elective choice. And you better believe the hot topic will be about post-workforce income and what we are going to do about that.

All this retirement talk definitely condensed the issues down to the meat and potato topics for the Presidential election next month. I'm looking at them only in terms of ~ National might; citizen protections from government/business corruption; strong social programs; healthcare reform; and financial strength.

We need someone at the helm with a moderate cooperative spirit and strong ethical principles to break through the partisanship.  This year my vote goes not to the lovely bowl of tulips draped with a matching bow, but to whomever will look after my best interests and get the job done.