[OT]America. The land of the not-so-free (economy)

James A. Kuzdrall jakuz at intrel.com
Sat Jan 8 02:22:00 EST 2005


Some clarifications:

> >    a) How much money will you set aside for medical care?  My wife
> > had a $300K heart valve replacement.  I had a $250K operation.  Bad
> > luck, to be sure, but it could be yours.
>
> Well, I would never criticise *individuals* on their health, of
> course, but I will speak in generalities.
>
> Considering the average USian diet in this country...

    Diet and good habits will not protect you.  Both my wife and I had 
congenital defects which appeared late in life, not by-pass surgery.  
We are both slender, eat about 2oz of meat per day, tee totalers, don't 
own a TV.  We hike Monadnock and the White Mountains spring, summer, 
and fall.

> The healthcare costs in this country are so enormously high..

    Privatizing SS will not change that.

> >    c) How long do you plan to live?  With bad luck you will live
> > past your savings.
>
> The idea is to build cash flow, thus you do not deplete your savings
> over time, but build them up. How to do this is an exercise for the
> student. :-)

    Its tough!  With about $2M net assets, you can bring in $50K per 
year after taxes and inflation without touching the inflation adjusted 
principle.  About 4% of Americans have $1M in net worth, only a 
fraction of a percent have $2M.  It doesn't look good very for a 
national plan!  Maybe more can figure it out though, if forced.

> Then you are down to the last few years, start sweating, and scream
> for mommy government to come along and bail you out.

   Yes, but what will you do if it is your sister, lifelong friend, or 
good neighbor who screwed up and is now old, sick, fragile and unable 
to work?  Let them starve or freeze for their error?  Just as now, you 
will find yourself sharing your good fortune with those deemed less 
deserving.
>
> How do people in other countries handle this?

   Families have to take care of their own elders - a generational 
transfer not unlike the present SS plan.

> The stock market is a zero-sum game. Unless one understands *fully*
> what that means...

   Zero-sum, at least in the mathematical sense, means the if someone 
gains a dollar in the stock market, someone must lose a dollar.  That 
has not been true up to now, but it may be someday.

   If I pay $10 for a stock, hold it for 10 years, sell it to someone 
for $15, they hold it for 10 years and sell it for $22.50, who lost 
money?  The asset (company) became worth more through its own growth.  
It did not necessarily decrease the value of any other asset.

> I think about that all the time. My "greater fools" theory...

    Definitely applies to the deficit and trade balance financing.

> SS will always be a divisive issue, because those who rely on it
> *now* have few alternatives...  So the disaster is inevitable; it's
> just a matter of when.

    So right!

    Thank you, Fred, for the "unrelated rant" that brought up this 
issue.  I don't associate with too many computer professionals, so the 
viewpoints and concerns are illuminating.  I was told that all 
programmers are Libertarians.  It looks like the span is richer and 
broader than that.

    Apologies to everybody for stretching this [OT].

Jim 



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