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Shall We Fiddle While Social Security Burns?

© Deb Jones

There are a small number of universal truths, but I feel confident in saying that wanting to live out one's life in relative financial comfort is one of these truths. I don't know anyone who's ever said aloud, "I am going to squander all the money I make now so I can live from dumpster to dumpster when I'm seventy." On the other hand, I've known people (and admit to myself being one) who lived out the first half of that statement, giving little or no regard to their future.

It brings to mind the fable of the ant and the grasshopper--remember--the ant spent the summer months putting up stores of food for winter while the grasshopper lay back and laughed at the ant for doing so. Well, we all know what happened when winter set in, don't we? The grasshopper had to swallow his pride and go knocking at the door of his industrious friend who had so diligently prepared for the fallow season. Whether the ant receives him generously or slams the door in the foolish grasshopper's face is up to you. What's even more within my grasp and yours is whether we will be like the ant or the grasshopper.

Retirement planning used to be so easy, and in some ways, not necessary. Many people in our parents' generation went to work at one job for their whole lives and retired with a tidy nest egg from the company/union retirement plan. Then, not so many years ago, company retirement plans were no longer a sure thing, with companies going bankrupt and top management only worried about themselves.

In addition, the job market is not as it once was. Few people now stay at one position for their entire career. Downsizing forces people into new careers and new technology requires updated skills. Union strength hasn't been the same since the Reagan administration--for better or for worse. Life moves at the speed of wireless sound waves and so do employment opportunities.

So, if we can't count on retirement funds, we have two options available as I see it: We can save money ourselves for our golden years and/or count on social security to be there to provide the security it was designed to provide. Was Social Security designed to be the only money a person would receive upon retirement? No. Are there legitimate instances when Social Security in fact is the only monthly income that retired people receive? Probably more than we know.

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