by Lore » Sun 22 Dec 2013, 16:15:05
They must be all sadists then in Denmark because if it were so painful then why are they the happiest people on the planet?
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')b]World Happiness Report 2013 Ranks Happiest Countries Around Globe
The happiest people in the world apparently reside in northern Europe, according to a 156-nation survey published by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
Released Monday, the 2013 World Happiness Report ranks the happiest countries around the globe, with
Denmark, Norway and Switzerland leading the pack. Among North American countries, Canada took sixth place, while Mexico (16) slightly outranked the U.S. (17).
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In 2012, Denmark also took the top spot, receiving the highest combined score on a scale of zero through 10. This year, scores range from 2.936 (Togo) to 7.693 (Denmark). Compared to last year, the 2013 World Happiness Report includes more detailed analysis in a bid to guide policymakers to take the well-being of citizens into account when making decisions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/0 ... 94041.html
The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
... Theodore Roosevelt
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Lore
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by Lore » Sun 22 Dec 2013, 18:52:20
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'R')eleased Monday, the 2013 World Happiness Report ranks the happiest countries around the globe, with Denmark, Norway and Switzerland leading the pack. Among North American countries, Canada took sixth place, while Mexico (16) slightly outranked the U.S. (17).
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In 2012, Denmark also took the top spot, receiving the highest combined score on a scale of zero through 10. This year, scores range from 2.936 (Togo) to 7.693 (Denmark).
By coincidence I'm in Copenhagen right now. Just finished the Kilimanjaro climb and then the Serengeti safari
No doubt Denmark is a lovely little country. Who wouldn't be happy living in a country full of beautiful tall leggy blondes like Denmark
Blah, blah, blah.. tell me another story. You're an absolute fake in more then one way.
One more thing, get some help... I mean it!
The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
... Theodore Roosevelt
by vision-master » Mon 23 Dec 2013, 17:51:56
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', 'R')eleased Monday, the 2013 World Happiness Report ranks the happiest countries around the globe, with Denmark, Norway and Switzerland leading the pack. Among North American countries, Canada took sixth place, while Mexico (16) slightly outranked the U.S. (17).
------------------------
In 2012, Denmark also took the top spot, receiving the highest combined score on a scale of zero through 10. This year, scores range from 2.936 (Togo) to 7.693 (Denmark).
By coincidence I'm in Copenhagen right now. Just finished the Kilimanjaro climb and then the Serengeti safari in Tanzania and hopped KLM from Arusha back to Europe for Xmas
No doubt Denmark is a lovely little country. Who wouldn't be happy living in a country full of beautiful tall leggy blondes like Denmark
Daddy's little trust funder.....
by Newfie » Mon 23 Dec 2013, 18:13:46
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')araphrasing now, As much as we regret the situation, reality says we cannot meet these obligations, we need to deal with survival.
But they are legally binding, the retirees MUST be paid.
Until the legislature changes the law.
Ho Ho Ho!
by vision-master » Mon 23 Dec 2013, 18:41:18
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Newfie', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')araphrasing now, As much as we regret the situation, reality says we cannot meet these obligations, we need to deal with survival.
But they are legally binding, the retirees MUST be paid.
Until the legislature changes the law.
Ho Ho Ho!
Constitutional Protections
No explicit constitutional protection for public pension benefits, but courts provide protection based on impairment of contract principles, holding that changes can be made to a retirement plan as long as the changes do not impair vested rights. Blackwell v. The Quarterly County Court of Shelby County, 622 S.W.2d 535 (Tenn. 1981) (holding that public pension benefits may be adjusted when necessary to protect or enhance the actuarial soundness of the plan, provided that no such modification can adversely affect an employee who has complied with all conditions necessary to be eligible for a retirement allowance); Davis v. Wilson County, 70 S.W.3d 724 (Tenn. 2002)(holding that health care benefits amounted to welfare benefits that did not automatically vest and could be altered or terminated by county at any time). (TN CONST., Article 1, §20) Source: Robert Klausner, Esq., State Constitutional Protections for Public Sector Retirement Benefits
http://www.nasra.org/tn
by phaster » Mon 03 Feb 2014, 20:19:25
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Surf', 'P')ensions is are becoming a big issue for local,state, and the US government. San Jose California police department is currently spending about 10% of the yearly budget paying retired police officers. Many people are aware of Detroit's problems. However most people are not aware of the unfunded liability of the federal government:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 't')he federal government last year made more than a half-trillion dollars in future commitments, valued in 2010 dollars that will cost far more to pay in coming decades. Added last year:
•$107 billion in retirement benefits accumulated by current workers.
•$106 billion in new benefits granted to veterans.
•More than $300 billion in the snowballing expense of previous retirement promises that have no source of funding.
And to top it off
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')n all, the government committed more money to the 10 million former public servants last year than the $690 billion it paid to 54 million Social Security beneficiaries.
Source:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-11/federal-retirement-pension-benefits/50592474/1The more I look into it , I am finding that it is a global issue. Many country governments have the same problem, including Greece. Most governments offer pensions to their employees. Most private companies have stopped offering pensions.
I pretty much came up with the same conclusion and that is why I think the effects of a mismanaged economy (due to pension obligations) are going have larger social disruption influences than "peak oil"
in other words, because political power will kiss the ass of older retired workers, there will be little political will to "invest" in energy and education for example
by phaster » Mon 03 Feb 2014, 22:09:31
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('phaster', ' ')political power will kiss the ass of older retired workers, there will be little political will to "invest" in energy and education for example
I don't think older retired workers want their ass kissed.
They just want the retirement benefits that the local, state and federal governments are contractually obligated to pay to them.
Governments should have to live up to their contracts just like everybody else
it would be nice if government kept its word, but the simple fact of the matter is it all comes down to the basic "human nature" problem of over promising and under delivering and realize something has to give when expectations exceed supply
truth is,...
www.ThereIsNoPlanet-B.org
by theluckycountry » Tue 25 Jun 2024, 18:11:29
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Lore', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'B')y coincidence I'm in Copenhagen right now. Just finished the Kilimanjaro climb and then the Serengeti safari
No doubt Denmark is a lovely little country. Who wouldn't be happy living in a country full of beautiful tall leggy blondes like Denmark
Blah, blah, blah.. tell me another story. You're an absolute fake in more than one way.
One more thing, get some help... I mean it!
They had you pegged long ago plant lol. You're full of it, absolutely Full of it Ha Ha.
Retirement Nightmare! Hordes Of Older Americans May Need To Go Back To Work Just To Survive$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Social Security program was instituted to help elderly Americans thrive during their retirement years. Unfortunately, millions upon millions of retired Americans are finding that their monthly Social Security payments are simply not enough as the cost of living spirals out of control.
One recent survey found that a whopping 85 percent of U.S. adults now consider inflation to be one of the most important political issues that we are facing, and seniors are being hit particularly hard. In fact, a different survey that was just conducted by the Motley Fool discovered that 44 percent of retired Americans are thinking of going back to work because they need more money to survive…
Needless to say, trying to go back to work in your seventies, eighties or nineties is not an easy thing to do. But if you have to choose between going back to work or not eating three meals a day, I think that the choice is easy. Today, the average Social Security payment is less than half of what the average retired American spends each month.
The average monthly Social Security payment in 2024 is $1,907, according to the Social Security Administration. But that is just a fraction of the $4,818 that Americans age 65 and older reported spending in 2022. At this point, our politicians in Washington have borrowed so much money that we are spending more than a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt. In fact, we now spend more on interest on the national debt than we do on national defense. But instead of slowing down, our politicians just continue to borrow and spend trillions upon trillions of dollars so inflation is not going away any time soon.
https://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/ret ... e_vignetteThe social contract: You pay your taxes and behave yourself and we'll look after you. Until we don't.
So what's the solution to a failing SS system? Well a good ol private retirement account of course, an IRA or a 401k or a whatever. Where is that money kept? In the overinflated stock market of course. Overseen by a greedy government and controlled by faceless men in suits that collude behind the scenes as all men of big finance do. Just think about that for a minute. Who proclaims this as the way to a secure financial future? Why everyone of course, absolutely Everyone! And absolutely Everyone keeps their life savings in these "Digital" accounts. All you're future food and electricity payments and even new cars are in a hard-drive somewhere represented as electronic code. What could go wrong with that?
It all boils down to TRUST. Everyone Trusts... The Government, to make sure these promises are kept. But in reality these promises are outside of government control. Government can't control the stock market, they have no control over bank collapses, Something as simple as a solar flare of great magnitude could wipe out the entire grid, along with your life savings. An outlier event of course, it's much more likely to be stolen through a market collapse, high inflation, or a government bail-in.
It's something to think about as we move into this era of scarcity and collapse. Just don't think about it too long before making a decision. Personally I like Gold and Silver as a hedge against this future wealth destruction. After all it has a few points in its favor. It's never failed in thousands of years to protect life savings. It's increasingly being stockpiled by the central banks of most world governments (there is a big hint) It is highly liquid, and it's something I can control myself if I so choose. I have no control over the cash in my bank account and even less over the money in my superannuation account.
Having personal control though is an old fashioned concept that has been lost in this era of self-driving cars, fast food and investment advisors. Most people take it for granted that it's wise to have other people manage the important aspects of their life. Trusting people they don't even know in most cases. What is this but the behavior of Sheep? All happily grazing in a field beside the still waters. They go where the Shepard leads them without a care in the world, even up the ramp into the slaughterhouse.
We're 17 years past the peak now and the 3rd World is going hungry and dark. We'll be next, we're well on the way in fact.
