Retirement Planning - Lessons Learned

[ultrarunner]

At one time I wanted the set... 2door, 4 for and Wagon...

I do have a factory Continental kit pulled from a parts car...

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Hey I was working $50 a week and still have my Rambler American... 1959

I was 13 and paying taxes, had a checking account and each week in summer of the $50 in wages $20 went to mom for room and board... and $20 in the bank.

Don't we all wish that world still existed? Unfortunately, the world we grew up in is gone, never to return.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

We must be kin...or should be! I also have a 1958 Rambler American. The 58,59,60 hard to tell apart. 195.6 cu in flathead six.

The 196 cast iron block had overhead valves by 1962. I know. I rebuilt one.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Wonderful thing, America, you can believe as you wish. Facts, however, are a thing. The US has never experienced hyperinflation. What you are describing about the Nixon/Carter era was Stagflation. This was supposed to be impossible according to Keynes, who erroneously convinced generations of politicians that it was possible for government to spend its way out of recession.

Taxes are not really a factor in inflation as you describe the Great Society. Whether the government raises taxes or not, increasing the money supply is one way to spur inflation. Ultimately, it was Johnson's Great Society that led to the problems during the Nixon era...Nixon just made it worse by ignoring his economists, including Milton Friedman.

One reason the US has not experienced hyperinflation is that the minimum wage is not pegged to inflation. By definition, that would cause an ever expanding upward spiral in inflation. This is not really a debatable fact. It is exacting like an infinite loop in a computer program, if wages rise, then prices rise to pay them, then inflation indexes wages, which increase prices...ad infinitum.

For examples of hyperinflation, see modern day Venezuela, post WWI Germany, or post WWII Hungary.

That's a scary story, but I don't believe it. You obviously do. If you think having to pay more that $0.79 for a Big Mac will drive America into hyperinflation, I can't help you. You're trying to justify oppressing the most economically helpless class in American society. Here's a clue: inflation is not driven by the steadily increasing price of menial services.

 

[ultrarunner]

Don't we all wish that world still existed? Unfortunately, the world we grew up in is gone, never to return.

Somethings different for sure... back then a bank manager had authority...

I went in to cash my check and the teller called the manager over... he asked if this was my check and I said yes and then asked how long had I been working and I said one week on my summer job at the car dealership as gopher...

He approved cashing my check and gave me his card saying to see him to set up a checking account because anyone pulling down a weekly paycheck can open an account in his branch and that is how it started...

The funny thing is the world is gone because those in power deemed it so...

Now opening a checking requires ID and background check and I doubt any manager could or would approve on only a minors signature...

My brothers all worked... youngest at 16 lifeguard for park district and pre approved for credit card... and Savings and Loan manager approved it for $200 saying if my brother didn't pay the money would be coming out if his pocket... years have passed but brother still does business with Savings and Loan as Realtor...

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe it is unique here in SF Bay Area but a lot of immigrants with nothing are sending kids to universities...

Lots of small business Asian and Spanish speaking in restaurant and trades...

At one time I was told 4% mortgage money of parents age would never happen as I signed papers for 13.5%

Wonder if Wonders... I currently have 2.75 fixed mortgage...

Never is relative...

 

[Fuddy1952]

The 196 cast iron block had overhead valves by 1962. I know. I rebuilt one.

Well, not exactly. There was an overlap of different engine choices. A 1964 American base 220 of mine still has the flathead.

 

[Torvy]

That's a scary story, but I don't believe it. You obviously do. If you think having to pay more that $0.79 for a Big Mac will drive America into hyperinflation, I can't help you. You're trying to justify oppressing the most economically helpless class in American society. Here's a clue: inflation is not driven by the steadily increasing price of menial services.

You are not understanding that the economy is connected. It is not just that worker or that burger. When the minimum goes up, people making more than the minimum will get more, too. Many union contracts are pegged to the minimum wage. They automatically get raises if the minimum goes up. They could already be make 2-3x the minimum, but the contracts move them up. Even in nonunion environments, if you want to keep your good employees happy, when the minimum goes up, so does everything else. You cannot claim moral high ground based on intentions. I am sure that you and many others truly believe that boosting minimum wages will benefit the poor. The data shows just the opposite. Sure, for a few weeks or months, those who keep their jobs will have a bit more.

It is super scary right now because we have money supply concerns on top of pressure for massive increases in the minimum.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

While a 5.9% SS check increase sounds good until I realized if everything I buy inflates the same I have lost ground in a major way. Inflation is a killer tax.

 

[Torvy]

While a 5.9% SS check increase sounds good until I realized if everything I buy inflates the same I have lost ground in a major way. Inflation is a killer tax.

Oddly enough, this becomes a good argument for not paying off your house/property even if you have the cash. ( Unless you have a high interest rate or worse, an adjustable rate. ) Your payment stays the same, but your income increases. The money not tied up in your property can make even more if invested carefully.