Shocking Picture of What Life Will Look Like When You Can't Afford to Retire

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/economy/shocking-picture-what-life-will-look-when-you-cant-afford-retire




Since the financial crisis ripped the security out from under millions of people, the bulk of our politicians, including President Obama, actually tried to reduce, rather than increase, Social Security. The absence of pensions, along with the inadequacy of 401(k)s, skyrocketing healthcare and job insecurity and unemployment, are sending more and more people scrambling to figure out a way to keep body and soul together. Even grandparents are joining the ranks of those for whom life has become a game of Survivor. In an email interview, I asked Bruder about this alarming trend and what it means for the country, now and in the future.

Lynn Parramore: In your recent article in Harper’s, you describe a trend of downwardly mobile elderly folks traveling the country in RVs in search of temporary and seasonal work. How many people are we talking about? How fast has this trend been emerging?

Jessica Bruder: Though no one keeps an official tally of how many older Americans are doing this kind of work, their ranks appear to be growing rapidly in the wake of the housing bust and market crashes.

Amazon first hired a handful of migrant full-time RVers in 2008 through a program the company later named “CamperForce.” As of 2014, it had expanded to employ some 2,000 workers, according to a recruiter I met in Quartzsite, Arizona. The American Crystal Sugar Company taps the same labor pool each fall to staff its annual sugar beet harvest, and their recruitment numbers are up, too. This year, they’re hoping to recruit 600 " workampers," up from 450 the year before.

LP: What’s the gender breakdown among these traveling workers? What kinds of work are men and women doing?

JB: I was impressed by how many older, single women I met among the working nomads, from a tarot reader living in a former convict labor van she’d transformed into a roving gypsy boudoir, to an ex-medical technician who managed to fit her whole life—along with a Shih-Tzu, a lovebird and a loquacious African Grey parrot—into a 10.5-foot Carson Kalispell sport trailer.

The gender breakdown was roughly even. Employers don’t discriminate when doling out hard or dirty work, whether it’s scrubbing campsite toilets or walking 15 miles a day on a concrete warehouse floor to pack Amazon’s holiday orders.

LP: Amazon’s ads for CamperForce Associates sound so upbeat about the opportunities for older workers: recruiting “flexible and enthusiastic RV’ers with a positive, can-do attitude to join us in our warehouses,” with an emphasis on “fun” stuff like prizes and “community activities.”

What’s the reality of the actual work experience, based on your investigation?

JB: The ads are surreal. They sound like an invitation to summer camp, and not just the ones for Amazon jobs. “Feel like a kid again!” and “Hey workamper, it’s time for fun!” are a couple slogans used by recruiters for Adventureland, a theme park in Altoona, Iowa where migrant workers run the rides, games and concessions for $7.25 to $7.50 an hour. Recruitment materials for the beet harvest, with 12-hour overnight shifts in subzero temperatures, refer to the work as “an unBEETable experience!”

[LuvNewcastle]

1. Save all you can now, because you might be busting your ass

picking beets and living in a camper when you're 65. Jesus, what is the world coming to? It's just not right for someone to have to work until they drop dead.

[bulloney]

6. I have a neighbor who's retired and he lives a pretty good life.

He and his wife have children who live all over the country and they visit them regularly. He worked for unionized factories that made picture tubes and automobile parts. Yet, he only spews RW talking points and his TV is always running Faux Snooze. I once asked him if he thinks he would have the nice union pensions that enable him to live the quality of life he has if Republican policies had prevailed during his working years. He said it would have made no difference.

[heaven05]

11. that is an example of most of the problem

with the RW voting base, if they have they could care less about those that don't have and IF they happen to not have they blame it on the democrats, immigrants and lazy selfish 'minorities'. Can't win with these people.

[rpannier]

13. He must think Eisenhower or Nixon is still President

He obviously doesn't realize it's the 21st century

[Smarmie Doofus]

17. You'd think he'd be worried AT LEAST for his own kids.

And grandkids.


People are strange. In many cases, stupid.


In others.... just disgusting.

[rurallib]

20. people are selfish, selfish, selfish

[Arugula Latte]

35. I don't get that at all.

I know the kids of the 1 percent will be fine and get all the cushy stock options and golden parachutes and giant bonuses. Most everybody else's kids, including the Republican base's, will be out there scratching to get by, getting crap minimum-wage or barely better jobs, having no savings, having no retirement, being in debt for decades due to student loans, etc. etc.

[BaggersRDumb]

51. Your neighbor is a stupid fucking moron, as I assume you know

Amazing how stupid these motherfuckers are and they piss me off to no end.

No, dumbshit, without liberal politicians and policies and unions you would likely be homeless.

Dumb fuck

[Laelth]

92. Truth. n/t

-Laelth

[Heather MC]

28. my retirement plan is to live in a camper or boat.

I want something Tax Free that I truely own. I will never really own my Condo, But I can pay cash for a camper or boat and live free, Get some solar panels and a composting toilet and I am Off grid. My only expense will be food, gas, and Maintainance

[navarth]

32. You could do a lot worse than that.

Exemplary thinking.

[SheilaT]

60. And you don't want to pay taxes.

I keep on hearing the mantra against paying taxes from retirees or near-retirees, and I find it incredibly disturbing. And don't give me the "I don't have kids in public school anymore" thing, because we all depend on having good public schools so that we will have the educated generation to help take care of us later on.

[Heather MC]

64. My point was...

I don't feel like I would ever own my condo, because I will always owe monthly fees and taxes. Trust me I pay tons in taxes every year, but once I retire I would like to keep as much money in a jar under my bed as possible.

Sue me I hate paying taxes, I hate paying mortgage, I hate owing anyone money, but I always pay my debts. It would be nice to have a future that was as debt free as possible.

[sarcasmo]

61. I found a nice 24 footer, perfect for a solo traveler.

I have been researching solar panels and the RV. Very affordable way of living, much cheaper than a house and cheaper than an apartment. The solar videos on Youtube are a great way to research what set up you want to use.

[Warpy]

52. Most people are lucky to get out of debt these days

Saving is just another pipe dream unless they're willing to go to the extremes I did.

I had to go to those extremes because I couldn't get health insurance.

Back in the nineteenth century when they did work people until they dropped dead, at least cannabis, tincture of opium, and cocaine preparations were legal and over the counter. Now they want us to wring every drop of misery out of a Dickensian existence. I guess we are supposed to pray the pain away.

Assholes.

[Laelth]

93. Well said. n/t

-Laelth

[Laelth]

2. k&r for the truth, however depressing it may be. n/t

-Laelth

[Helen Borg]

3. Livin la vida loca! :(

[Brigid]

88. Living la vida pobre, you mean.

[Helen Borg]

91. Yep.

[Trillo]

4. It's nice to read a job or career article

that doesn't mention going to school to get retrained.

I'm not sure if this is sarcasm.

[Enthusiast]

5. If we leave it up to Paul Ryan and his ilk the elderly won't even have Social Security to rely on.

[cui bono]

42. It's not just Republicans and Libertarians that got us into the mess.

It's not so much about which party as about the fact that most elected officials are working for the corporations and not the people.

We need to stop thinking that Dems are wonderful. I see in your sig that you have that idea as well. That's exactly why we're in this mess, because too many Dems go along with it.

[Enthusiast]

43. There are some decent Democrats. Few wonderful ones. And no decent Republicans.

I recognize why we cannot accept Hillary Clinton as the Democratic Party nomination for president.

We should be united in our opposition to Hillary. Or we will end up with more years of Third Way right wing anti-labor, pro free trade bullshit.

[RiverLover]

74. Bingo!

This. The core problem. Both sides are purchased by Big Money, it's the way the system is set up. Until we scrap private campaign donations & lobby influence, it's only going to get worse. Each side has their talking points, and we like the lefty ones, but once in office, they all represent the money that they whored themselves for.

USA = USC United States of Corporations

[MisterP]

47. 'cause if we don't GOTV for the Dem Catfood Commission we'll face the GOP Catfood Commission!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouseland

[Enthusiast]

48. I will read that later. Bookmarked.

[MisterP]

50. it's a very good analogy--and it gave Canada its third party without proportional representation!

(though the BC NDP's not really worth it anymore)

[Enthusiast]

57. That is excellent, MisterP. Thanks.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

53. Tommy Douglas was voted Greatest Canadian of all time.

He brought universal health care to Canada. There's a cartoon of Mouseland on Youtube.

Introduced by his grandson, Kiefer Sutherland:

[In_The_Wind]

7. Getting old isn't easy.

[RebelOne]

62. Yes, I have been saying lately that getting old sucks.

Your eyes go, your hair thins, your teeth go and your body sags. I am lucky that my hearing is still good.

[ReRe]

8. K&R for EXPOSURE

Well, little by little, we are having to wake up from our "American Dream,"

into a daydream of "Corporate Nightmare."

[heaven05]

9. good old

american capitalism at it's best............ How so very sad. Well if the rethugs, with the help of Third Way and 'bluedog' dinos, take my social security and put it in the stock market and postal pensions somehow get cut, I'm with them, me and my furry friends are FUCKED.

[KG]

10. could be me...

[JackInGreen]

12. If these corperate tools have their way

we'll be a semi-techincal fuedal society, the workforce composed predominantly of nomadic serfs trying to find the next job to fill their belly and gas tank.
Yeah....I think this is going to end up getting really nasty before it gets any better.

[glinda]

78. Isn't ND like that already?

[7962]

14. And a LOT of 40-50 somethings are counting on an inheritance for THEIR retirement.

I know some of them. They dont know for sure how much mom & dad have, but they're counting on that lump when the folks die to fund their own retirement. They live it up now, saving very little. I live in an area where a lot of the residents work for the military in a civilian capacity. Wages are public knowledge. Wages are pretty good, but when you look at how some of these folks are living, you wonder what they're gonna do when they retire. And their govt pension will be a pretty good one, but many are living in 300K houses and this is an area where you can live fairly comfortable making 35-45k a yr.

[woo me with science]

22. +100000 Meanwhile, the corporate looting and restructuring of the economy

has skyrocketed the number of current elderly who are forced to use reverse mortgages, annuity liquidation, sale of assets just to meet growing expenses. So what these parents hoped to leave their children is being hollowed out and transferred upward to the One Percent right now.

[navarth]

33. That inheritance will go to elder care. They shouldn't plan on inheriting.

Unless they're pretty well-off, count on all the parent's money to be spoken for. This, of course, assumes the kids are quality people and take care of their parents properly. That money is gone, baby, gone.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

45. Agreed. For most, assets will go to elder care, until it is gone.

Then the elder moves to a lower cost facility and at that point Medicaid kicks in.

Inheritance is typically only occurs in the case of a sudden death w/o health issues for someone still living assistance-free in their own home, which are few.

[kelly1mm]

82. Or for those that took the time to put their assets in a family trust WELL before needing any

elder care. That is what many middle-class/upper middle class do around here.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

68. Exactly

In fact I had to spend a bit of my own money on my mom's care in her final years.

[glinda]

79. true true...I have been dealing with this

for 2.5 years now with my parents...one now deceased and the other now terminal. I am very aware that Corporations and Government eyeball how much money they have and dive for dollars. They all dive for dollars knowing that they want to suck it dry. They do not care about middle class or lower class having any money for their children let alone even a few personal possessions.

[kelly1mm]

83. Although too late for you unfortunately, this can be avoided by seting up family trusts.

They are not JUST for rich folks now-a-days.

[ancianita]

44. I see this, too. They might join their millennial kids and be satisfied with lower living standards.

I see this near where I live in Florida. Maybe half will be nomadic and half will pass on inherited property as each generation works enough to pay property taxes and get by.

?1387071553

[7962]

58. hey, some of the units in that pic are worth a few 100K!

Its amazing what some of these sell for. My good friend is a finance man for one of the largest Coachman dealers and he's shown me some that go for 400k. I dont get it.

[glinda]

80. Good point!

[malaise]

15. What a mess

Rec

[woo me with science]

23. What a looting. nt

[kairos12]

16. New book about this should be titled--"The Gramps of Wrath"

[Abouttime]

18. I've caught flak here before

But I still think the only hope for the safety net known as social security is means testing.
The fact that so few have so much, wealth, IRAs etc and the majority of us have no accumulated wealth to retire on will lead to unrest in the future unless something drastic is done.

[russspeakeasy]

21. + 1 and Welcome....

[bbgrunt]

25. that would be a sad mistake. Soc sec would then

be treated as just another welfare program. Since the 1 percenters are so few in number, eliminating them from soc sec benefits would do very little in saving the program.

It would be much better to lift the cap on soc sec contributions to increase the fund.

[JEB]

26. Correct.

[Hoyt]

37. Agree, cap should be lifted. But government projections indicates that solves only part of problem.

And, that is at current benefit levels.

And, I don't think there is any way -- with the current or forseeable Congressional makeup -- to pass what amounts to roughly a 15 percentage point increase in taxes for those earning over the current cap (15% on the amount above the current cap).

[salib]

65. What GOVT projections?

[Hoyt]

70. You could look it up yourself, but just for you --

http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/index.html
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/solvency/provisions/index.html
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/solvency/
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/solvency/provisions_tr2010/payrolltax.html


The only way to make it work long-term is to essentially eliminate the cap and tell those who get hit with the extra 12% tax, "you pay more, but you don't get any more in benefits." Not gonna happen, and if it does, we are back to means testing.

[salib]

71. According to those links, it is solvent beyond 2080

That is as good as one can plan for, I think. Don't you?

E.g., from your links, "Beginning in 2011, make all earnings subject to the payroll tax (but retain the current-law taxable maximum for benefit calculations" has indefinite longevity and even "Beginning in 2011, make all earnings subject to the payroll tax and credit them for benefit purposes" has longevity beyond the charts (beyond 2080).

You dismiss this by saying "Not gonna happen". So, it will not work because it will never happen.

Pleas do not insult us, saying it won't work, when the very references you cite (condescendingly telling me that "You could look it up yourself, but just for you&quot do not agree with your flat statement that it will not work.

[Hoyt]

73. Isn't going to pass, and as posters aboce say, it's not a good idea to means test.

No forseeable Congress will pass that big a tax increase. And if the do, there are other needs beyond social security. I could sure use a boost to benefits, but it isn't going to happen except, possibly, for some on lower end of benefits scale. And we still have to elect more Democrats for that.

[JackInGreen]

85. The correct response

in a nutshell, and thanks.

[ballyhoo]

29. That would end Social Security--And spur riots like

you have never seen before.

[jeff47]

31. Really, really dumb idea.

First, you turn it into a "welfare" program. We destroyed welfare in the 1990s. We've slashed every means-tested program to the point that they no longer come anywhere close to doing their job. You make Social Security means-tested, and you get the same result.

Second, means testing saves very little money. In your mind, means testing means not paying Social Security to the extremely wealthy. There's very few of them. So you don't save much.

And there's even fewer when they retire and stop receiving income from their job. The only way to make means-testing save significant money is to make the threshold very low....making problem number 1 happen much faster.

Want a simple fix? Change social security taxes to affect the same amount of income they did back when it was "reformed" in the 80s. Not only would Social Security be solvent forever, but we could dramatically increase the payments.

[daredtowork]

38. If you want to check out what happens to welfare programs

Please check out my petition:

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/work-while-on-welfare?source=c.em&r_by=11132229

Once you are on welfare, there is no more political will to preserve your ability to survive. Even progressive enclaves are mostly apathetic. When I brought my petition here, it took a few days to get the 15ish more sigs I needed just to bring a petition to my political representatives. Can you imagine what the response had been if I had actually been trying to get people to do stuff like join a march or give money or get in the game with food distribution and medical care?

Once you are in the welfare category, not only are your concerns are politically invisible, but politicians can lie about what's going on at will for whatever political purposes they want and they can use whatever resources that remain to you as their political piggy bank because even though your survival is at stake, the media won't raise a big a fuss because their readers and the businesses that pay for their advertising don't care.

The problems of welfare just look like a big ugly resource "vortex" to the people who have resources. Then again, if we put all our parents in that pot, then maybe people would care about it a little more.

[Doremus]

40. The sooner unrest comes the sooner we'll reverse direction.

Means testing for social security will secure its demise.

Cut and dried.

The only thing that will affect change will be if more people get mad.
It's coming; the only question is when.

[bullwinkle428]

19. Sad K&R. At least my kitty doesn't need a lot of space.

[hootinholler]

24. This is *exactly* the problem that Social Security solved

And should have kept at bay.

My oldest sister will have a nice retirement, (she's actually retired now) and mine will likely be more like the campers.

[JEB]

27. My retirement plan: parkbench.

[Autumn]

30. Sad but true that some elected Democrats actually tried to reduce, rather than increase SS.

Rec

[louis-t]

34. I think we are being prepped.

Anyone see the ads for the micro houses? 300 sq ft shacks that are "all the rage". From this, the next step is living in 3'x3' cages like they do in China.

[harun]

41. You either increase Corporate Profits for someone or get the cage, lovely future.

[navarth]

36. Teaching that uppity Middle Class a lesson.

Send the jobs overseas. Better profit with slave labor anyhow. These Murkan workers are too expensive and they lack subservience.

-Navarth, channeling John Galt or Paul Ryan or some other equivalent selfish prick

[Cleita]

39. My husband and I used to do that when he retired.

Mostly we worked in campgrounds. For us it was a way to stretch our pension dollars since at the time I wasn't old enough for Social Security. But we used to work alongside old people who would go hungry if they didn't do those jobs and this was back when Clinton was President and after Reagan shot holes in Social Security.

[DeadLetterOffice]

46. I'm in my mid-40's...

...and most of the people I know in my age range aren't expecting to retire (including me). We're at best hoping to be able to switch to part-time work when our bodies start to give out. But we have no pensions because our companies don't offer them, or because we've changed jobs every few years, or because we've cobbled together full-time work out of 2 or 3 part-time jobs. We don't have 'retirement savings' -- our paychecks keep the mortgage paid and food on the table and if we're very very lucky they might see our kids through at least some part of college. And many of us think Social Security will be dead and gone by the time we hit 70, and even if it still is around there's no way we can actually live on it.

'Retirement' is one of those things that sounds nice but means nothing to a lot of folks of my generation -- kind of like 'job security' and 'lifetime employment.'

[kelly1mm]

84. Agree on the job security and lifetime employment meaning nothing to our generation.

However, there is a growing movement of people retiring early in part due to the ACA and 401k plans. With all their ills, 401k plans DO work rather well for those of us who job hop. My wife was a school teacher for 22 years and retired last June at 46. I will be retiring after the upcoming tax season and I will be 44. It is possible, especially if you are willing able to cut ongoing expenses (paid off home in low tax area, paid for economical car, solar panels, no cable, ect).

I read a lot on my way to being able to retire early. Mr. Money Mustache and Early Retirement Extreme are the main sources. They DO NOT talk about 'getting rich', rather how to reduce expenses and "live rich". Google them if you are interested.

[ancianita]

49. A lot of people -- younger ones -- have come to accept this and support each other in this life.

These more positive ideas and attitudes seem to contradict the bleak outlook posed by the OP. Maybe because we're such a mix in this country of people who enjoy travel and location change as much as those who want propertied comforts.

[glinda]

81. Well at least with floods and frackquacks a person can relocate ...

[Brigid]

87. !!!!!

I love a little gallows humor in the morning!

[JackInGreen]

86. That's absolutely sensational for them

and my wife and I have contemplated same several times.
My concern is that once we get to a point where 'Workampers' and transient mobile labor forces are the norm (and I have little doubt there are many in the corporate world that are projecting nothing but long term company gains from it and actively marketing it as an alternative lifestyle) , much like our current income set for the 99%, the powers that be will rush to utilize and push the labor force into it, which I'm afraid will drown out anyone that wants to live in one place and work without saying 'Do you want fries with that?'

[ancianita]

89. I can definitely see that happening.

[proReality]

54. If it gets bad for us after retirement...

...we've decided to commit suicide inside Congress, while they are in full session. We're sending our suicide letters directly to the media.

[JackInGreen]

90. That's grim and pessimistic and...

I rather love the idea myself 'Thank you, gentlepersons, for your time, we won't be long. We wanted you to have the blood sacrifice first hand instead of just another obituary' then sepuku ourselves all over the place.

[Liberal_in_LA]

55. kick

[L0oniX]

56. Can I interest you in a slightly used FEMA trailer on water front property?

[Texano78704]

59. This is why many choose to retire in other countries

Like Mexico and other Latin American countries where the cost of living is much lower.

[WinkyDink]

67. Ecuador is the rage now, I've read.

http://internationalliving.com/countries/ecuador/retire/

[madville]

69. There are something like 400,000

Retired Americans living in Costa Rica. That's a bunch of pension, social security, and 401k dollars leaving our economy.

[WinkyDink]

66. OMG; I have never heard of these new roving Hoovervilles, and I live near an Amazon warehouse. I am

VERY fortunate to be a retired public-school teacher. That is, if we can fend off Corbett's insanely destructive plans for teacher pensions.

[alfredo]

72. Buy when a Dem is in the White house, sell when a Rep wins the white house.

[glinda]

75. well this is depressing....

[tabbycat31]

76. unless something changes

The boomers will be the last generation that has retirement as we know it.

I look at my SS deductions as one more way that I'm subsidizing my parents generation. By the time I'm old enough, it will have all been used to bomb somewhere or sold to Wall Street. (I live in an area with a lot of very wealthy retirees so I do realize that my view is quite distorted).

[cannabis_flower]

77. Our plan...

is to go to my husbands's house in Honduras and sell it and then move to Uruguay. Maybe I can teach or tutor English for a few years before retiring completely.