[ 2021 ] Baby Boomer Retirements Causing Labor Shortage?

[joestein]

Well, looking back on when my mom had to fight for every dollar of aid that she could get to keep me and my ten siblings - ages one to fourteen - together in our mortgaged home and fed all the while that my dad was hospitalized and then could not work, I'm glad that people who had no clue what it was like to live in those circumstances weren't allowed to come and take away our telephone and the TV.

Actually, my mother was widowed - she had to work for the first time in her life to take care of her kids. But she did what she had to. Eventually she remarried and I came from the new marriage. However, we were fairly poor when I was very young. Though my dad did better once I became a teenager. Living in a tiny apartment with 4 kids and 1 bathroom and an incredibly tiny kitchen/eating area. I slept on a cot in the hallway until I was around 8 or 9. But we all got through and most of us are doing pretty well as adults.

My wife father walked out on her family when she was only 11 and her sister 8. He emptied out all the bank accounts and didn't pay any support. My MIL had a nervous breakdown and stopped eating. My wife started working weekends at the Aquaduct Flea Market. She was chopping onions all day for a food concession. She would come home with burning cuts after getting paid $20/day. However, they needed it. She eventually got some better jobs ending up at an AP dept of local business by the time she was 15. Got her sister a job there when she got old enough. Those jobs funded food and clothing they had. Most of their nutrition came from free school lunch and breakfast. They both turned out to be pretty successful.

I guess it would have been easier to be a victim.

 

[SueDonJ]

First the book compares only white because the author wanted to take race out of it. Towards the end of the book he discussed that these statistics are applicable to all races, but he didn't want racism to overshadow the points he was making.

Second - dismissing the amount of spending per student is ridiculous. That is the AMOUNT SPENT PER STUDENT. Even if some of it goes towards other aspects of their education, it is still over double. Plus there are tons of programs and outside aid that are made available. Mark Zuckerberg gave $100 million dollars to Newark for their educational system. You know how much of a difference it made. ZERO. It is not about money over a basic amount - it is about parents who are not involved in their children's education.

And that town is full of poor minorities and is on the top 10 most dangerous towns in America. Just because I state facts doesn't make me a racist. Even though that is what you are presuming.

No, I’m actually not presuming that about you. If I were I wouldn’t be in this discussion with you. I said “interesting” and meant exactly that, because it’s inherently ingrained for the majority of people of all races to presume that inner-city impoverished areas are in most cases minority populations.

And again I’m in agreement with you, in that a home life which allows for students to be nurtured is infinitely more valuable to students than whatever money can be thrown at them. But I think where we disagree is in the perception of impoverished people choosing for convenience to live a life that hampers nurturing. I just don’t believe that the overwhelming majority of impoverished people are not motivated to strive for a better life - I just think that there are far too many obstacles in their way. Some of those obstacles can be solved with money; others are harder to overcome because they require collective understanding and a major rethink of cultural divides.

 

[rickandcindy23]

The In-N-Out burger just opening on 136th and I-25 in Colorado is paying $20 per hour. I saw the sign and don't remember the EXACT amount, but I am close because I was thinking that my tech job back in 1997 I was making $12.72 an hour, and I was teaching computer classes at the time to Realtors, plus answering phones the rest of the time to offer tech support to the same Realtors. I realize there has been inflation, but so shocking to see the burger places offering up so much income to get people hired.

Our state really is experiencing issues with hiring for restaurants and even grocery stores. I remember when Safeway was a coveted job, a union position, great pay, and I just talked to a checker this morning who just got hired a week ago. He had no idea where anything was in the store (I asked for vinegar) and offered up that info.

One of my best friends had to sack groceries for four years before moving up to the bakery and was never offered a job as a checker. She would be so jealous that this kid got the job without any experience at all. She finally settled for the bakery and worked there at least 12 years and really liked the job. She used to call me when the day-old donuts were going to be wrapped up and reduced in price by 75%.

I cannot remember how long she stayed there and cannot ask her because she died years ago of pancreas issues, I suspect. She died of a massive stomachache. She was an alcoholic at the end of her life. She had so much sadness in her life. Some folks think they have a hard life, but unless you have lived her life, you cannot even imagine the pain. She drugged herself from alcohol to escape. Her skin was yellow the last time I viisted with her.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Actually, my mother was widowed - she had to work for the first time in her life to take care of her kids. But she did what she had to. Eventually she remarried and I came from the new marriage. However, we were fairly poor when I was very young. Though my dad did better once I became a teenager. Living in a tiny apartment with 4 kids and 1 bathroom and an incredibly tiny kitchen/eating area. I slept on a cot in the hallway until I was around 8 or 9. But we all got through and most of us are doing pretty well as adults.

My wife father walked out on her family when she was only 11 and her sister 8. He emptied out all the bank accounts and didn't pay any support. My MIL had a nervous breakdown and stopped eating. My wife started working weekends at the Aquaduct Flea Market. She was chopping onions all day for a food concession. She would come home with burning cuts after getting paid $20/day. However, they needed it. She eventually got some better jobs ending up at an AP dept of local business by the time she was 15. Got her sister a job there when she got old enough. Those jobs funded food and clothing they had. Most of their nutrition came from free school lunch and breakfast. They both turned out to be pretty successful.

I guess it would have been easier to be a victim.

I love your story. I don't want to go into mine in as much detail, but similar. My sisters and I shared a room, dorm style. My mom always wanted us to have our own beds. We slept in 30" beds (smaller than the 39" wide twins). We had one bathroom, too. My sisters and I were made fun of because we wore the same clothes about every third day. The youngest got the hand-me-downs. We ate a lot of pancake dinners, which I loved, but I didn't realize until I got older why in the world we ate pancakes a lot. And I also didn't understand why Dad would get upset when the milk went bad and didn't get used.

I loved going to my grandparents' farm to eat lots of meat and fresh vegetables. My grandpa would load our station wagon with frozen meat and canned vegetables to help sustain our diet. I was anemic every single time I went to the doctor.

My parents paid $13,000 for that house in 1963. The house would easily sell for $750,000 today, and that is crazy to think about but it's in North Denver, sitting there with the same square footage it always had. It's just in the right place. When my parents bought it, they looked at the suburbs and saw houses for much more money for less brick and more upkeep. Denver was cheap to live back in the day.

 

[joestein]

I love your story. I don't want to go into mine in as much detail, but similar. My sisters and I shared a room, dorm style. My mom always wanted us to have our own beds. We slept in 30" beds (smaller than the 39" wide twins). We had one bathroom, too. My sisters and I were made fun of because we wore the same clothes about every third day. The youngest got the hand-me-downs. We ate a lot of pancake dinners, which I loved, but I didn't realize until I got older why in the world we ate pancakes a lot. And I also didn't understand why Dad would get upset when the milk went bad and didn't get used.

I loved going to my grandparents' farm to eat lots of meat and fresh vegetables. My grandpa would load our station wagon with frozen meat and canned vegetables to help sustain our diet. I was anemic every single time I went to the doctor.

My parents paid $13,000 for that house in 1963. The house would easily sell for $750,000 today, and that is crazy to think about but it's in North Denver, sitting there with the same square footage it always had. It's just in the right place. When my parents bought it, they looked at the suburbs and saw houses for much more money for less brick and more upkeep. Denver was cheap to live back in the day.

Your comments about the clothing would hit home with my wife. She only had 1 or 2 pairs of jeans and never enough undies.

We are pretty well off and I still get upset when the milk turns bad and I have to throw it out. Or anything is wasted. It drives me crazy when my kids take 3 or 4 paper towels when 1 would suffice.

I am not obsessed about these things, but I try to be frugal.

Joe

 

[geekette]

The hippies were full of sh*t. They and the much of their generation are the ones who brought us this inequality, corporate mergers, mass layoffs on profitable businesses and many of financial problems of today. Their greed is never ending.

Please expand on this idea that hippies caused these problems and your assertion that they have never ending greed. Doesn’t track with me, but I admit to not being a human of sufficient age to know what was going on and never studied hippies at all. I wouldn’t mind a few nuggets to chew on.

 

[joestein]

Please expand on this idea that hippies caused these problems and your assertion that they have never ending greed. Doesn’t track with me, but I admit to not being a human of sufficient age to know what was going on and never studied hippies at all. I wouldn’t mind a few nuggets to chew on.

What I mean is that the former hippies (baby boomers) were the generation that destroyed this country. They peace and love, but what they really meant is that it is all about "me:". They turned into the greediest generation - many of them behind corporate mergers, mass layoffs, putting profit before people, killing unions, building up massive gov't debt and eliminating regulation. The previous generation had dealt with war, had some sense of patriotism. That generation had none.

Of course, I don't mean every individual, but in general the hippies/baby boomers have not been very good stewards of our country.

 

[geekette]

What I mean is that the former hippies (baby boomers) were the generation that destroyed this country. They peace and love, but what they really meant is that it is all about "me:". They turned into the greediest generation - many of them behind corporate mergers, mass layoffs, putting profit before people, killing unions, building up massive gov't debt and eliminating regulation. The previous generation had dealt with war, had some sense of patriotism. That generation had none.

Of course, I don't mean every individual, but in general the hippies/baby boomers have not been very good stewards of our country.

Ok, thanks, To me, not every boomer was a hippie and I guess I’d be surprised to find many former hippies on mahogany row. It would be interesting to know how many of the peace/love folks did go on to be the robber baron type. Money wasn’t their thing but perhaps living in a van down by the river for a few years changed that.

 

[CanuckTravlr]

What I mean is that the former hippies (baby boomers) were the generation that destroyed this country. They peace and love, but what they really meant is that it is all about "me:". They turned into the greediest generation - many of them behind corporate mergers, mass layoffs, putting profit before people, killing unions, building up massive gov't debt and eliminating regulation. The previous generation had dealt with war, had some sense of patriotism. That generation had none.

Of course, I don't mean every individual, but in general the hippies/baby boomers have not been very good stewards of our country.

While I am a Canadian, I am also an early baby boomer. While the US and Canada have always wandered down slightly different paths, let me first say that only a very small percentage of boomers were ever part of the "hippy culture". The rest of us were concerned about getting through school, getting a job and establishing a family, just like every generation before us or since us. Your comments IMO are a blatant example of stereotyping, your qualifier notwithstanding. Quite frankly, I find them offensive. If you want to look for something to blame, you need to go back and study history.

The traits you describe have existed for a very long time, particularly in the USA, even before the "robber barons" of the 19th century. In fact, most of the things you blame my US counterparts for were always in play. It has always been an ebb and flow of more vs. less regulation, gathering vs. sharing wealth, and so on, increasing debt vs increasing taxes, or vice versa. It was going on long before we got into positions of power. Even as we exit the workplace, it is still going on!

Most of the things you seem to want to blame us for are not really generational, they are much more the result of political ideology, which shifts back and forth over time and generations. In fact, as an outside observer, the beliefs you ascribe to my generation in the USA seem to reflect many of the espoused priorities of a particular US political party today. I can assure you that no generation, including my own, stands undivided and supportive of only one political party!

There seems to be a proclivity these days to play the "blame game". If you don't like the way things are, then you need to start looking for ways to ensure they change. Too often people complain, but then go on doing the same old things, or nothing, and wonder why they keep getting the same old results. Maybe everyone needs to spend a little less time complaining and a little more time finding ways to change things! Just my two cents!

 

[TravelTime]

We all have our own take on it. You seem concentrated on the $ amount of the insurance. Mine is on the decoupling. If someone has to pay the same amount for coverage, whether or not they are employed and will get tax credit if their income is lower, and they have to pay childcare if they work, there is less incentive to take a $7.50/hr service sector job.

I thought we were talking about boomers retiring early. So how is child care relevant to boomers, who are older and unlikely to have young children?

In terms of decoupling, I doubt that is the case. Like someone else said, ACA insurance is very expensive. I doubt that is a motivator to retire early. I really think that the $ amount of insurance makes a difference.

 

[Brett]

What I mean is that the former hippies (baby boomers) were the generation that destroyed this country. They peace and love, but what they really meant is that it is all about "me:". They turned into the greediest generation - many of them behind corporate mergers, mass layoffs, putting profit before people, killing unions, building up massive gov't debt and eliminating regulation. The previous generation had dealt with war, had some sense of patriotism. That generation had none.

Of course, I don't mean every individual, but in general the hippies/baby boomers have not been very good stewards of our country.

FYI I don't know how old you are but "boomers" are not former "hippies"

Sure, some people back in the 1960's wore T shirts with peace signs protesting the Vietnam war and Richard Nixon but to blame hippies or boomers for mass layoffs, "destroying the country" decline in unions and causing todays "financial problems" whatever that is . (stock market ?)


that's quite a stretch.

 

[dougp26364]

What I mean is that the former hippies (baby boomers) were the generation that destroyed this country. They peace and love, but what they really meant is that it is all about "me:". They turned into the greediest generation - many of them behind corporate mergers, mass layoffs, putting profit before people, killing unions, building up massive gov't debt and eliminating regulation. The previous generation had dealt with war, had some sense of patriotism. That generation had none.

Of course, I don't mean every individual, but in general the hippies/baby boomers have not been very good stewards of our country.

start getting your defense together now because when you hit “old age”, I can pretty much assure you some snot nosed whipper snapper will be blaming your generation for screwing up the world. The current generation blaming the former seems to be a tradition since the beginning of time. Of course this can be said in reverse. Playing the blame game is true sport among people.

I would suggest that you slept through history class or, your study of history was strictly recent history with a bent towards blame. I had a few professors like that when I went through school.

 

[geekette]

I thought we were talking about boomers retiring early. So how is child care relevant to boomers, who are older and unlikely to have young children?

In terms of decoupling, I doubt that is the case. Like someone else said, ACA insurance is very expensive. I doubt that is a motivator to retire early. I really think that the $ amount of insurance makes a difference.

The discussion is about labor shortage, so discussion stretches past just boomers.

I completely agree, decoupling is not helping anyone leave jobs. The $ amount is significantly higher without employer subsidy. It’s not the case that insurance is same cost with or without employer. I never paid even 100/mo with employer insurance. IMO, not otherwise possible.

 

[bogey21]

The hippies were full of sh*t. They and the much of their generation are the ones who brought us this inequality, corporate mergers, mass layoffs on profitable businesses and many of financial problems of today. Their greed is never ending.

I married one (my first wife). She went back to school, graduated and became a practicing psychiatrist...

George

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

What I mean is that the former hippies (baby boomers) were the generation that destroyed this country. They peace and love, but what they really meant is that it is all about "me:". They turned into the greediest generation - many of them behind corporate mergers, mass layoffs, putting profit before people, killing unions, building up massive gov't debt and eliminating regulation. The previous generation had dealt with war, had some sense of patriotism. That generation had none.

Of course, I don't mean every individual, but in general the hippies/baby boomers have not been very good stewards of our country.

And your generation wasn't subject to the draft, to be fed into a land war that couldn't be won, and then sneered at for that war. Maybe you should read about the Vietnam escalation, run by those previous generation "heroes", who fed the next generation in as "cannon fodder", before you voice your opinion. . .

 

[joestein]

Many of you make some very valid points.

1 - I am 51 YO - making me mid Gen X.

2 - We certainly didn't have to face the draft like baby boomers did. However, the earlier generation did it because they thought it was the right thing to do. Not for greed. Not like the whole gulf war after 9/11 - which was all about corporate profit. Plenty of soldiers lost their lives, were crippled or suffered terrible mental anguish; and for what? So Haliburton and other like it can fatten their bottom line.

3 - It is hard to disagree that the US has gone downhill during your stewardship. Deregulation led to massive profits in the 80s and 90s - which your generation primarily benefited from. But has critically hurt the US - mergers hurting mom & pop businesses, jobs leaving for other countries, etc. All in the name of some more profit. Corporate raiders, Wall St and CEOs. The heroes of the Baby Boomers - Hollywood even made tons of movies about it.

4 - Your generation can't seem to relinquish power - especially political. I would love to see a mandatory retirement from public life at 65.

5 - Gen X is the sandwich generation - trying its best to clean up your mess and taking care of you at the same time and lost in the process. Our main influence has been in computers, internet and futurist related businesses. People like Bezos or Musk.

I would like to say that I am not personally accusing any of you of the above. I think that it refers more to the people of your generation that rose to power. I think this discussion came from someone saying hippies were the ones who refused to sell out to the man. They became the man - and acted like everything that they had previously blamed the man for. They never had the ethics of the previous 'man'.

Joe

 

[am1]

4 - Your generation can't seem to relinquish power - especially political. I would love to see a mandatory retirement from public life at 65.

The people that could change that are the ones that it would be hurt by. Unless enough young people get in where their path could be opened up by it and at 65 they themselves would be happy to be done with politics as their pockets would be nicely lined.

 

[SueDonJ]

I married one (my first wife). She went back to school, graduated and became a practicing psychiatrist...

George

"I Married A Hippie"

There's a book in there somewhere, George.

 

[geekette]

mandatory retirement for public life at 65? Term limits exist at the ballot box, Don t want an old rep, dont vote for them. It could take until age 65 for someone that starts in city management to work their way up to fed office. I am against arbitrary barriers to people with experience and ideas. Throw your money and support behind young’uns if that’s who you want leading. And don’t be angry if you’re tossed from your career when you hit a birthday since you advocate that treatmentt for others. Ageism, blech

 

[Ralph Sir Edward]

Many of you make some very valid points.

1 - I am 51 YO - making me mid Gen X.

2 - We certainly didn't have to face the draft like baby boomers did. However, the earlier generation did it because they thought it was the right thing to do. Not for greed. Not like the whole gulf war after 9/11 - which was all about corporate profit. Plenty of soldiers lost their lives, were crippled or suffered terrible mental anguish; and for what? So Haliburton and other like it can fatten their bottom line.

3 - It is hard to disagree that the US has gone downhill during your stewardship. Deregulation led to massive profits in the 80s and 90s - which your generation primarily benefited from. But has critically hurt the US - mergers hurting mom & pop businesses, jobs leaving for other countries, etc. All in the name of some more profit. Corporate raiders, Wall St and CEOs. The heroes of the Baby Boomers - Hollywood even made tons of movies about it.

4 - Your generation can't seem to relinquish power - especially political. I would love to see a mandatory retirement from public life at 65.

5 - Gen X is the sandwich generation - trying its best to clean up your mess and taking care of you at the same time and lost in the process. Our main influence has been in computers, internet and futurist related businesses. People like Bezos or Musk.

I would like to say that I am not personally accusing any of you of the above. I think that it refers more to the people of your generation that rose to power. I think this discussion came from someone saying hippies were the ones who refused to sell out to the man. They became the man - and acted like everything that they had previously blamed the man for. They never had the ethics of the previous 'man'.

Joe

Joe, your generation didn't face:

The Great Depression. With 25%+ unemployment, and soup kitchens. (1930s)

WWII, with death overseas, and rationing back home. (1940s)

The Cold War, with Nuclear Armageddon as a constant companion. Duck and cover, anyone? Cuban Missile crisis? (1950s and early 60s)

The meat grinder of Vietnam, with no way to win, but lots of ways to die. And with the draft, it was "equal opportunity". (1965 to 1970's).

The great inflation (late 1960's to mid 1980's) - But gee, you're getting to see a rerun today. . .

It's real easy to say "it's somebody else's fault". The facts (ALL of them) don't show it.

Power mad Baby Boomers? Sure, some. But every generation has some. Bezos and Zuckenberg, for example, sure aren't Baby Boomers. To get a better feel for what I am saying, get a copy of The Fourth Turning by William Strauss and Neil Howe, and read it.

 

[travelhacker]

This thread got a bit off track. I'm a millennial and we're used to everyone blaming us for everything.

This thread started with an article about how Boomers retiring is why we are seeing a labor shortage. This is purely anecdotal, but I know probably 6 boomers that were planning on retiring in 2020 that decided to postpone their retirement. If they couldn't travel and didn't have to go into an office, what was the point of retiring? 3 of the 6 have retired, and 3 more will likely retire in the next 12 months.

I think we are seeing a disruption in the labor force simply because people put basically everything on hold for at least a year. I was planning on looking for a new job in 2020, but it sure didn't seem smart to ditch my ultra-safe job right in the middle of COVID.

We are seeing a lot of people retiring this year that were planning on retiring in the previous 18 months and it's all hitting in a more compressed schedule.

While I do think that Baby Boomers retiring may be having an effect on the labor shortage as a whole, I don't think it plays much of a factor in the most visible aspects of the labor shortage.

For example, none of the fast food restaurants near me offer indoor seating because they don't have the employees to keep it looking presentable. There are shortened hours everywhere. I don't even like eating out any more because the staff are so overwhelmed that it's just not an enjoyable experience.

 

[noreenkate]

not missing a thing. My monthly cost would be 800 last I checked. That’s another mortgage payment. I am oldest GenX, sibs are boomers. I am semi retired, no insurance.

Later gen X- fully retired with former employer health insurance.
Growing up my family were immigrant small business owners - lots of feast or famine, medical some years never dental or eyecare…

Soon as I was old enough (16) I filled for a civil service (union) job with benefit package semi guaranteed retirement package after 20 years. Took 5 years on a list to get hired…pay was a lot less than what my friends were making.

So much so that ex- husband encouraged me to quit 2 years in to stay home with the kids- was bringing home $320 a week with 75 mile commute each way and paying $350 for child care…but we had medical. Worked 17 years on midnights to keep child care costs out of the picture.

It sucked for quite a few years but I was under 45 and retired…

Have to say I feel sorry that the generations that followed didn’t have the same opportunities and still don’t as my former employer requires college now…IMO it’s just an added bill, can’t imagine how anyone with student loans survive.

 

[geekette]

Later gen X- fully retired with former employer health insurance.
Growing up my family were immigrant small business owners - lots of feast or famine, medical some years never dental or eyecare…

Soon as I was old enough (16) I filled for a civil service (union) job with benefit package semi guaranteed retirement package after 20 years. Took 5 years on a list to get hired…pay was a lot less than what my friends were making.

So much so that ex- husband encouraged me to quit 2 years in to stay home with the kids- was bringing home $320 a week with 75 mile commute each way and paying $350 for child care…but we had medical. Worked 17 years on midnights to keep child care costs out of the picture.

It sucked for quite a few years but I was under 45 and retired…

Have to say I feel sorry that the generations that followed didn’t have the same opportunities and still don’t as my former employer requires college now…IMO it’s just an added bill, can’t imagine how anyone with student loans survive.

Hard work story including persistence to get the job you wanted. Good on you, you totally deserve early retirement. You gained it the hard way.

I do think the idea that a college degree is required for jobs that don’t really need it is bunk. To me, it’s just more business flexing its muscle as the gr3at decider. One of the smartest guys I ever worked with never went to college. Last I kne, he was a VP at the software company he was an integral part of. Passing up people that don’t have a certain item on the resume is not necessarily going to result in getting the best people for the job, only in whittling the applicant population.

 

[Brett]

Many of you make some very valid points.

1 - I am 51 YO - making me mid Gen X.

2 - We certainly didn't have to face the draft like baby boomers did. However, the earlier generation did it because they thought it was the right thing to do. Not for greed. Not like the whole gulf war after 9/11 - which was all about corporate profit. Plenty of soldiers lost their lives, were crippled or suffered terrible mental anguish; and for what? So Haliburton and other like it can fatten their bottom line.

3 - It is hard to disagree that the US has gone downhill during your stewardship. Deregulation led to massive profits in the 80s and 90s - which your generation primarily benefited from. But has critically hurt the US - mergers hurting mom & pop businesses, jobs leaving for other countries, etc. All in the name of some more profit. Corporate raiders, Wall St and CEOs. The heroes of the Baby Boomers - Hollywood even made tons of movies about it.

4 - Your generation can't seem to relinquish power - especially political. I would love to see a mandatory retirement from public life at 65.

5 - Gen X is the sandwich generation - trying its best to clean up your mess and taking care of you at the same time and lost in the process. Our main influence has been in computers, internet and futurist related businesses. People like Bezos or Musk.

I would like to say that I am not personally accusing any of you of the above. I think that it refers more to the people of your generation that rose to power. I think this discussion came from someone saying hippies were the ones who refused to sell out to the man. They became the man - and acted like everything that they had previously blamed the man for. They never had the ethics of the previous 'man'.

Joe

Sorry, I would say it has not gone "downhill"

The current economic situation and living conditions in the US are better than it was during the 1960's
The "hippie" or boomer "heroes" are not Wall St corporate raiders.
China and Asia becoming capitalists led to US manufacturing jobs moving overseas

I think you're watching movies, listening to a TV entertainer or like another poster said, --- you have slept through history classes

 

[TravelTime]

In Northern California, in spite of high cost of living from expensive housing, high state taxes and overall high prices, the standard of living is quite high compared to the past. In the Bay Area where I lived for 25 years, it is an overall very wealthy place compared to pre-2000. I currently live about 2-3 hours from the Bay Area. Housing prices are a lot lower than the Bay Area (probably 1/4 of the cost). We have an overall high cost of living but a much higher standard of living than most places in the US.

I am an optimist when it comes to development so I always see the present and future as being better than the past. While there is extreme poverty in many parts of the US and overseas, it was worse in the past. I am a late millennial but I remember some parts of the economic issues of 1970s even though I was a child. By the 1980s+, I saw a lot of development and the economic situation of everyone I know has continuously been improving. I doubt anyone here on TUG is doing poorly. I think we are all blessed to afford travel and purchase timeshares.

My husband is in his early 50s and he does not want to retire even though he could because he enjoys his work and we like getting employer sponsored healthcare. It is better than anything we could get for our family on the open market. I need to estimate how much health insurance would be on the open market for 4 people. I am curious after this discussion.

The labor shortage seems like the perfect storm. Demand for jobs in down while supply of jobs is up. Salaries are up since companies really need employees. Given we work and do not need to, I wonder why all these lower to middle income people do not want to work. How will they save for a home or rent and their basic needs let alone fund retirement?