Category: Change

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Can Social Security Be Saved?

More than one-half of Millennials believe there will be no money in the Social Security system by the time they are ready to retire, according to a 2014 Pew Research report. “I don’t think anyone honestly expects to Collect a single penny they pay into social security. I think everyone acknowledges that it’s going to go bankrupt or kaput,” says Doug Coupland, author of “Generation X.”
 
What went wrong? Will Social Security go bankrupt?

A Brief History of Social Security

In 1935, few of the program’s creators could have anticipated the condition of the Social Security program today. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression with a quarter of its labor force – 15 million workers – idle, and those with jobs struggled to make ends meet as their hourly wages dropped more than 50% from 1929 to 1935. Families lost their homes, unable to pay the mortgage or rent. Older workers bore the brunt of the job losses, and few had the means to be self-supporting. One despairing Chicago resident in 1934 claimed, “A man over 40 might as well go out and shoot himself.”
 
Hundreds of banks failed, erasing years of savings of many Americans in a half-decade. People lived in shanty towns (“Hoovervilles”) or slept outside under “Hoover blankets” (discarded newspapers). Breadlines emerged in cities and towns to feed the hungry. Thousands of young American men hopped passing trains, sneaking into open boxcars in a desperate attempt to find work.
 
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), promising a New Deal, defeated former President Herbert Hoover in 1932 with more than 57% of the popular vote and 472 of 531 Electoral College votes. Three years later, FDR signed a bill that would “give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.”
 
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Should Euthanasia Be Legal?


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Harold and Patricia Tucker recently passed their 50th anniversary. There was no celebration.
 
Married a month after their high school graduation, Patricia worked as a secretary in a local law firm to help Harold attend law school. Harold went on to climb the corporate ladder, becoming the chief counsel of a major insurance company by age 44. Unable to get pregnant, they adopted two children: John and Elizabeth.
 
Disaster stuck when Harold was 58. After experiencing memory problems, speaking difficulties, and bouts of physical pain, doctors suggested a series of tests, culminating in a biopsy of the brain. He was diagnosed with Pick’s disease.
 
There is no known cure for Pick’s disease, which attacks the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. The symptoms include dementia, memory loss, and loss of motor control, typically leading to death within eight to ten years. Patients often spend their final days in an assisted living facility.
 
Pick’s disease intensified Harold’s constant pain. Relief only came from heavy drug usage and semi-consciousness.

The Dilemma of a Fatal Disease

Terminal conditions are devastating. Life turns upside down – even the values held for a lifetime can be questioned. Psychologists claim that no one copes with impending death in the same manner, although many go through a variation of Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
 
As Harold’s symptoms increased, he was forced to resign from his job, relying on Patricia for his day-to-day care. Every movement sent spasms of pain through his body, necessitating a daily regiment of opioid pills and patches. The side effects of the medication were almost as bad as the pain itself, with bouts of severe constipation, stomach aches, and drowsiness. The need for Patricia to handle his most intimate hygiene needs confirmed his helplessness.
 
Rather than spend his last days in pain, using up the savings intended for his wife and family, Harold determined that his life would end on his terms – not at the whim of some disease.
 
What actions would you take if diagnosed with a fatal, debilitating disease such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Alzheimer’s disease? Many believe that they would prefer to die on their terms, rather than endure the ravages of disease. Others accept continued life, despite the emotional and financial costs for their survivors.
 
Few realize that they do not have a choice if the situation arises, especially if they live in 45 of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, where assisted suicide is illegal. In the five remaining right-to-die states – California, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington – the right to control the circumstances of your death is strictly controlled.
 
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How We Can Create and Keep Manufacturing Jobs in America

manufacturing-factory-worker-918x516The loss of American jobs has become a potent political issue. Politicians promise to reverse the trend of offshoring and to restore American workers to their previous position as the premier workforce in the world. Many tout new reshoring initiatives, claiming that jobs will return as wage differentials shrink, the quality of foreign goods falls, and shipping costs increase. Others propose new punitive legislation with penalties for moving jobs to foreign countries while erecting trade barriers to ensure that domestic products can compete with lower-priced foreign goods.
 
Unfortunately, their promises are empty and fail to consider the underlying causes of offshoring, the probable consequences of trade barriers, or the increased pace of technology. In efforts to gain public favor, existing and wannabe office-holders vow to turn back the clock and return American manufacturing to its heyday in the 1950s. Simple, quick fixes for public consumption ignore the relentless expansion of globalization and the economic interdependence of world economies.
Manufacturing’s Role in the American Economy
 
According to the Center for American Progress, manufacturing is critical to the American economy, and its success or failure affects the economy as a whole, our national security, and the well-being of all Americans. In his book “Were You Born on the Wrong Continent?,” Thomas Geoghegan goes further, claiming without a strong industrial base, democracy dies.
 
According to Manufacturing.net, “Manufacturing was the primary reason for post-World War II growth of the middle class, and they are still inextricably linked today.” American manufacturing provided middle-class workers good paying jobs, and their factories were the main employers in American cities throughout the northeastern United States.
 
The area once referred to as the “Manufacturing Belt” or (“Factory Belt”) is now known as the “Rust Belt,” as job losses significantly impacted cities such as Detroit, Gary, Youngstown, Buffalo, and Toledo. Even companies whose names are synonymous with the towns and cities where they began (such as Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Kohler, Wisconsin) have offshored manufacturing jobs to the detriment of their communities. The collapse of the sector increased unemployment drastically in the forsaken communities, leading to urban decay, deteriorated services, and ghettos.
 
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The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

argumentIn the fall of 1992, I had the occasion to write my kids, nice, and nephew about the upcoming election. Four were voting for the first time. Like this coming election, there were three candidates—Republican George H.W. Bush, Democrat Bill Clinton, and Independent Ross Perot. Then, as now, feelings ran high. It is amazing, twenty-four years later, that the political environment has not improved; if anything, the division has widened. I can’t help remember Lincoln’s famous words in Springfield before the Civil War: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” It is time for all of us to take a step back, draw a deep breath, and remember those citizens who disagree with our opinions are not our enemies. All of us love America and want the best future for our children.

A Message to My Family—1992

This election Michael Shannon, Justin and August will vote for the first time in a Presidential race. With that in mind, I thought it might be interesting to see where our family fits in the political spectrum. With three generations, we form our own little cosmos. And, like the real world, there’s quite a bit of divergence. We have Bush fans, Clinton fans, and Perot fans. Depending upon the issue, we agree with each of the three contenders. I imagine our decision will boil down to the one we think best serves our interests.
 
The grandparents are rightly concerned about retirement factors—Social Security, Medicare, and taxes— while parents worry about the security of their jobs and income taxes. The youngest generation, not yet married with the responsibilities of parenthood, care about more esoteric issues such as the National Debt (They will be the ones who must pay the piper!), racial tensions, and the environment.
 
However, despite our disagreements and different priorities, we agree that the political process and the prevailing strategies to destroy one’s opponents doesn’t help voters understand the issues, the candidates’ positions, or even their records. It seems to me that something as important as the future direction of the country deserves better.
 
I’m particularly struck by the mean-spirited nature of the process. None of the candidates or their party show any toleration for opinions that differ from their own. And that attitude extends to the way we as citizens react to one another. Rather than listening to another’s viewpoint, i.e. stand in their shoes, or granting that their position might have some merit, we attack their intelligence, their morals, or their heritage. Political debates, like moral issues, generate heat with little light. Too many people see democracy as a chance to push other people around for their own benefit.
 
Given the problems facing the world and America coupled with our inability to agree on the most simple issues, I wonder what the future holds for our children and our children’s children. Most of all, I wonder, “What can I do about it?” I will vote this fall and I hope each of you will also. Whomever is selected as our President will have my prayers and support.