But you called SS a ponzi scheme. Is that still your position? Retirement is only an option for the wealthy? It’s okay if people who worked fifty years at modest pay have to live on cat food?
Are you now, or have ever been considering your own retirement? Maybe you want to work til you drop and if so, my hat is off to you, but, guess what? Retirement and SS are POPULAR, still.
No mistakes? Wow, must be nice. We are all working in a demanding, safety critical system which, luckily, is not built on a presumption that everyone be as superhuman as you have convinced yourself someone might be.
Down here in reality, we are all just people trying to keep people safe and it’s not easy.
To my knowledge, no crew or passengers have ever met their end because a controller crashed his cab. Just remember that for all your challenges, your buttocks and/or feet are firmly planted on the ground, or, at least we hope, in a sturdy building.
This is way off topic. Please pose the same questions to all the members of Congress over age 65. SS is a Ponzi scheme - it spends ever penny of money it takes from younger people for existing SS recipients. It was meant to be an investment account like an IRA, but government just could not resist using it for other purposes. Its rate of return is horrible. All who have been forced to pay into it could have enjoyed a much higher rate of return through other forms of investment, or buying gold and silver.
It’s called Christianity, hardly “some religious belief”. Our POH is called the Bible, the world’s all-time best-seller. Please quote the Bible verse that tells us when to stop working. Good luck with that. My choice to continue work beyond some arbitrary, government-mandated retirement age is just that, my choice. I am 67, just warming up, have my own business making world-leading components for sailboats and aircraft. Life is great, even “working” seven days a week at what I love, providing for my family and employees, making my small mark on aviation.
I know how it works. It’s not a savings account, it was never advertised as an investment, and it’s not a ponzi scheme, either. In fact, it is social welfare for retirees, disabled and survivors.
It is still popular and all your ideas about letting people who manage “other forms of investments” handle this, will not happen, even though a lot of really rich people would love the opportunity to manage my retirement. No, thank you. Keep your sticky hands off of my social security.
Sincerely. Good for you. You seem happy about your lot, which is uplifting to hear.
Not everyone is eager to work til they drop and not everybody refers to the same POH, and btw, some who do like that flavor of religion would be happy to challenge you on your preferred exegisis. They might even chime in here…
Ponzi scheme: “A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profits to earlier investors with funds from more recent investors.” If it were so great, why would citizens be forced under the threat of violence to pay into it? Investors should flock to it. I say terminate it, Medicare, Obamacare, and all other claptrap government schemes. Citizens should be responsible and save for their later years. Continue working and earning an income and you never need to have retirement savings.
If it were so terrible it would be unpopular. But it is not. And having certain very wealthy people running around crying “ponzi scheme” will not make it so.
Please quote the Bible verse that tells us when to stop working.
I can’t quote the verse, but aren’t you directed to stop working for a day of every single week?
Apologies appreciated; my response is deleted.
Hey!!! Do a review/analysis of the value of dollars now verses at 71.
What is $100 with now at age 62 as compared to $100 in ten years.
PATCO (oops) wants more money!!! If airline pilots can fly all night and land at an unfamiliar airport in cruddy weather, at 64 years of age…., surely an experienced controller can handle the frying pan too at that age; mental lapse my …tail!
NOTHING can beat experience when it comes to ATC. I was there, working in an FAA tower, after the strike. It was not pretty.
I’ve discussed the idea of changing the Age 56 Rule with my fellow controllers. The main reason for having the early retirement at age 56, is the stress.
Yet, The Age 56 Rule IS THE PROBLEM because it reduces the work force drastically prompting a much quicker turnover.
The result is less experienced controllers, working six-day work weeks, and ten-hour days. Anyone on this regime WOULD get burned out at an earlier age.
I highly disagree, as stated in the 1971 ruling, that there is “Loss of proficiency with age.”
This directly contradicts the FAA Part 121 Airline Pilot’s Age 65 Rule.
A loss of proficiency is not caused by age but by lack of doing a particular task, i.e., “The pilot lacked proficiency because they had not flown in 20 years.”
And the last statement about “Typical Medical Retirements,” is a misnomer or a misstatement. This has absolutely nothing to do with a controller getting stressed out at an early age. A medical retirement is just that, there is some physical deficit which prevents the person from doing their job. This could be at any age and for a number of reasons.
When I stated that the rule is antiquated, I meant just that. In 1971, the majority of people did not jog. Tennis shoes looked like deck shoes. The life expectancy was around 70.
Today, diet and exercise are literally everywhere, mainstream and for the widest age range. These two aspects of personal maintenance have lead to a much stronger “clarity” at work, more zeal and zest. The life expectancy now is almost 80. Ask “Sully” Sullenberger if he jogs daily. He’s 74!
I can attest to just how physical fitness changes the level of alertness and situational awareness. When I worked cargo at night, flying the B-737, I would wake early to get my two-miles in on the treadmill.
With the increased circulation, I NEVER had a problem staying awake on my Midnight to 0800 shift. The jogging was a 100 times more effective than caffeine!
Age 56, PHFFFFTTTT!!!
From experience after 30 years in the Marines, I can assure you I was slowing down. Now in my 70s, there is no way I could pass the pull-up portion of the Marine Corps physical. Even at 65, I could not have done it. Sit-ups and runs were fine, but no more pulling the body up to prove upper strength. Still active as a Reserve Cop BUT you will get you ass tazed if you run, I’m not chasing some 20 year old sprinter anymore.
That’s exactly why I said exceptions for Police, Firefighters and Military.
This topic was automatically closed after 7 days. New replies are no longer allowed.