Texas students raise $250,000 for 80-year-old school janitor forced out of retirement
theguardian.comSubmitted by fgfgfgg t3_11azw8k in UpliftingNews
webgambit t1_j9vife2 wrote
Reply to comment by CoveyIsHere in Texas students raise $250,000 for 80-year-old school janitor forced out of retirement by fgfgfgg
How has the government failed in this situation? Individuals are responsible for saving for their retirement. And we know very little of this person's situation other than his rent was increased.
ScottEATF t1_j9zarcf wrote
Governments are formed to provide for the general welfare of their citizenry, among other things. 80 year olds being forced to work to keep up with rent is a clear societal problem that is negatively impacting the general welfare of the citizenry.
Not rocket science. Even if you just want to look at it from an economic angle you don't want older people having to work for longer and longer as you're bottlenecking jobs for younger people.
webgambit t1_j9zdm3w wrote
Thank you for answering my question. I can see where your reasoning makes sense when you believe what you do for why government exists. I wish you were correct, the United States would be a better place if it actually was formed to provide for the general welfare of its people.
SoraUsagi t1_j9wstyv wrote
I know why you're being downvoted, I just wish you weren't. I tend to agree with you. Many people believe social security is your retirement fund. It isn't. It's a supplement to it.
seataytle t1_j9wtefk wrote
Save? When medical bills can take your entire life savings in seconds? Save? When rent goes up astronomically each year and the housing market is so inflated that the only people that can afford them is corporations? Save when food prices and gas prices are higher than ever? Yeah ok. Lets just save for retirement. Most americans dont have much money to save anymore even for emergencies, let alone retirement.
SoraUsagi t1_j9x8yh6 wrote
I get where you're coming from. I really do. However, I've had a different experience.
My girlfriend and I moved in together when we were 20. I was working quasi part time, and she definitely part time. We had our first kid a year later. By now I was full time working at Walmart, at minimum wage. We never applied for food stamps. We had our second kid two years later. I got fired form my job (totally my fault, unfortunately) now my wife and i were both working "part time". We bought our house in 2013, and I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease the same year when i almost died. (that was a fun 13k bill)
My wife and i didn't do anything special. We showed up to work every day, we worked hard, and we went home.
I have a hard time getting people to show up for their shifts now. People complain about money, but when I offer them extra shifts, they don't want the hours. 4-5 hours a day is the most I can get out of them. "8hrs is a long day..."
So I have a very hard time listening to "how do you expect to save money in this economy?!". There are absolutely things wrong in the world. Corporate greed is definitely an issue. But this pessimistic look on life isn't helping either. You want free healthcare? Maybe young adults should actually show up to vote in all elections, local up to federal. You know who does show up to every election? The "fuck you, I got mine" generation.
Bamanec t1_j9zxsxo wrote
Asking for more money and instead of giving them a raise you decide to make them work more hours.
Our lives shouldn’t be about working 90% of our lifetime.
And using your experience to compare many millions of others who don’t have those outcomes is gross.
You sound like a young boomer or an older GenX who were both raised saying that hard work leads to so and so l. Overall it is simply not true, or else the most hard working people wouldn’t be struggling in life
SoraUsagi t1_ja0cj66 wrote
I would love to give people a raise. I'm not allowed to. People have abused "merit raises" in the past, so now no one gets one. I'm not asking people to work 90% of their life. How about just 20hrs/wk?
I'm a millennial, not that it should really matter. While my personal experience is absolutely anecdotal, we did nothing special. I didn't have family get me a job/car/house. I applied for and secured a part time job, and showed up every day.
There are absolutely struggles out there. But they aren't insurmountable.
fernser t1_j9xzhkq wrote
Another rich idealist...
webgambit t1_j9wvoom wrote
Appreciate it.
I expected the down votes but had hoped I'd get a polite response explaining their logic as well.
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