Mass. law about to take effect - some interesting points

[Crabcake Johnny]

The only investment product you're gonna buy without hidden fees designed to fatten the company that offer them are buying stock company direct. 401K's, mutual funds, annuities and life products are riddled with fees.

By my question again is should employers not be allowed to offer 401Ks?

I assume what you're saying is instead of paying someone $50,000 just give him $62,000 with the employer saying "Listen, this is all the money. Go do with it what you will."

And by the way, I'm not a 401K fan; limited investment options that are poorly explained to employees.

 

[James]

The only investment product you're gonna buy without hidden fees designed to fatten the company that offer them are buying stock company direct. 401K's, mutual funds, annuities and life products are riddled with fees.

By my question again is should employers not be allowed to offer 401Ks?

I assume what you're saying is instead of paying someone $50,000 just give him $62,000 with the employer saying "Listen, this is all the money. Go do with it what you will."

And by the way, I'm not a 401K fan; limited investment options that are poorly explained to employees.

Personally I think our society would be on better footing if people did their own buying of benefits.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

The problem with letting people do anything they want is most will choose to do nothing. They'll take the extra cash employers offer and blow it. Then tragedy strikes and the government must bail them out. Almost every state mandates emergency treatment be provided if you don't have health insurance.

Could we ever be a society that punishes people for making poor choices? Are we going to watch people go homeless who chose not to invest a cent? Are we gonna turn away someone in the ER with broken bone? No - but you can get blood out of a turnip. If that person has no assets the someone has to take it up the ass with that bill.

Case in point; how many people would drop auto insurance if it wasn't mandatory? Good guess? 75%.

You system would work if there was actually a price to pay or "punishment." Ok - so no more 401K or benefits - instead you get top dollar. You can also opt out of social security and invest on your own (we can get into a 50 page thread on that if you want - social security is the biggest con ever played on the American public) BUT here's the kicker......you choose to do NOTHING and waste that money and something happens to you then you should go into some slum government housing project that barely has running water. Now there's consequences to your actions. As of now there are none.

 

[James]

Tha nation did fine for what? Over two hundred years nearly. Remember SS didn't start till the late 30's and medicare/medicaid didn't start till 1964, retirement by companies didn't really start till the late 50's and 401 or of the most recent what the 70's is the first sign of these menaces. yet for the most part people did okay. I would venture to guess that in our near future we will have a lost generation, I thinking it be the late baby boomers, meaning most of all government aid will be yank away as our children say "Oh Yea, You expect me to pay these taxes?".

I'm simply under the impression sooner the better, lets get'er done!

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I'm with ya. I don't need the government holding my hand when it comes to my retirement. Give me my social security money back tomorrow and I'll invest it. At least my heirs get the money if I die. If I'm not married with no kids and I die at age 45, where does all the money go I put into social security?

Sometimes I think Americans have lost their minds on what they allow the government to pass.

But again, we get to consequences. You say "we did fine" for 200 years and you're right - we did. We also did have people retiring into poverty - as in zero money.

So the question again becomes what do we do with that guy, age 62, who becomes too sick to work, developes medical conditions, yet pissed away every nickle he earned over the past 40 years? Will our society watch him crash and burn? No - liberals will want to buy him a home, clothe and feed him for the rest of his life.

Basically, this is the grasshopper and the ant story and the moral conclusions you draw from that.

 

[James]

I would imagine our society would have to generate back to the family structure. Than you have the whole charity thing, lets face it as we are tax more and more charity are the ones that get hit hard. Lets face it, medicaid and SS is a charity, rather racist one as black men with much lower life expectancy losses the most or near the most maybe second to smokers. Lets face it, SS would be bankrupt long ago if smokers didn't smoke! Bless the smokers, they pay so much in taxes and die young we all benefit from them.

 

[James]

In fact smokers have done so much good instead of having a 9/11 memorial we should erect one for smokers instead. Can you tell I'm a smoker? I've cut down a lot and near ready to quit, even as much as I was amazed at the comfort the oral surgeon performs in his duty it is still a drag!

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Smokers proove the theory of natural selection; the dumbest and slowest animal dies first.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Hilarious, sad and true:

http://www.progress.org/antgrass.htm

 

[James]

Smokers proove the theory of natural selection; the dumbest and slowest animal dies first.

My daddy is 80 and smoke his dang whole life, in perfect health! I'm in perfect health, okay some teeth and gum problems but that is easily enough handled. Yet though last years physical showed me being in fine shape, you never know. The link to smoking and dieing isn't as clear as some would like to make it. Plus I look at others that have lived too long and that doesn't seem pleasing at all. In fact it looks like a living hell.