Many older Americans are living a desperate, nomadic life

[Willie Pep]

Last edited Sun Mar 11, 2018, 12:50 PM - Edit history (1)

I thought this article was a sobering look at the lives of some older Americans and a good antidote to claims that the Baby Boomers are all living on easy street.

In her powerful new book, “Nomadland,” award-winning journalist Jessica Bruder reveals the dark, depressing and sometimes physically painful life of a tribe of men and women in their 50s and 60s who are — as the subtitle says — “surviving America in the twenty-first century.” Not quite homeless, they are “houseless,” living in secondhand RVs, trailers and vans and driving from one location to another to pick up seasonal low-wage jobs, if they can get them, with little or no benefits.

Full article: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/many-older-americans-are-living-a-desperate-nomadic-life-2017-11-06

[underpants]

1. This is the Chic-fil-a grand opening crowd?

Or the Walmart parking lot group?

[Bradshaw3]

2. If you read the article perhaps you wouldn't ask that question

[RKP5637]

3. K&R!!! n/t

[SMC22307]

6. Read the article...

and stop asking stupid questions.

[redstatebluegirl]

7. Wow that was uncalled for.

[Sherman A1]

8. Agreed

I noted a thread earlier about society's loss of civility on inauguration day 2017 and I can only believe that it happened long before then and this is an example of what we have lost.

[CountAllVotes]

9. It shows what a sick society we are

The day we bash an article that speaks the truth, we don't bother to read it, we just bash it instead. Take a lot less time.

I'm typing w/one hand now but I shall not be silenced! So many WOMEN are victims for the reasons stated. SO MANY!

[mr_lebowski]

23. Pretty sure UP was just bashing the Chick-Fil-A Grand Opening crowd ...

Pretty sure y'all are taking a joke ... totally wrong.

Probably had UP read the article they wouldn't have made the joke, and probably shouldn't have anyway, but ...

[mountain grammy]

42. We can't lose what we never had... national empathy or compassion.

[redstatebluegirl]

10. I have been really active for 40 years.

I resent the baby boomers being blamed for everything some people see as wrong with the current system. Take a long look at the people who didn't vote last time, or who did but chose to vote for Jill or write in Bernie. I also resent people thinking that us "old folks" all voted for Ronnie or supported crazy candidates. I hated Ronnie with a white hot passion!

I don't know how many doors I have knocked on, or calls I have made over the past 40 years, but it is a ton, all for DEMOCRATS! I trust that the people who feel this way are in the minority, but if they are not, maybe I should stop my activism.....

Not sure where some of these people are coming from on DU, I hope they are trolls, if not, I hope they take a long look at their own generation. I support the young people who followed Bernie, but not the ones who stayed home or voted for him as a write in. They helped give us Trump. I normally am very tempered in my response to this, but this is ageism and I refuse to play.

[CountAllVotes]

16. Yes, they are trolls

Respond or DO NOT RESPOND to them accordingly!

[murielm99]

29. I agree.

I, too, have spent a lifetime being active.

Boomers, for the most part, have spent their lives being analyzed and criticized, because there are so many of us. This criticism is more than just ageism. It is discriminatory.

Boomers paid into Social Security and pension funds all our lives. We supported the people older than us. Where is our money now?

We are being criticized for our lack of innovation and leadership, on social media of all places. Modern life, so dependent on computers, would not be possible without the inventions and leadership of the boomer generation. The millennial have their way of life because of us. They have refined and used that technology in new ways, but it looks to me like they have allowed that very technology to distort and derail our way of life. They have allowed it to take over and become monstrous. Let them fix the mess they have made before they criticize us.

I do not support young people who followed Bernie or voted for Jill. They helped give us trump as much as the ones who stayed home.

I am not going to stop my activism. A bunch of crybabies are not going to get the best of me any more than the critics have in the past.

[CountAllVotes]

38. Good for you!

I'm right there w/you!

I know of boomers that milk the system nicely (all pukes btw). I know of a couple that both collect hefty pensions and SSDI for 'eff's sake! They never have enough, NEVER. They sue anyone that crosses their path so they supplement their income with these various ongoing lawsuits. They bawl like babies because they don't like paying for Medicare. Sheer evil it is. The hatred of Medicare will be the knife that they will fall upon some day, mark my words. You can't have it every which way and oh how they moan about their taxes and they need a tax break.

They have it all or so they think.

I believe in karma and I think karma will eventually catch them. Well I hope it does as it sickens me so.

You might care to check our Carl Jung's "Modern Man in Search of His Soul". Jung addressed "Technology and modern man" in detail. He hit the proverbial nail on the head and this was long before the days that a computer existed.

Hang-in there as we are in this together! Well said indeed!!

[sharedvalues]

30. It's the boomer BILLIONAIRES that are the real problem

[DBoon]

78. Blame the boomers ia an attack on what our generation accomplished

In the areas of women's rights, environmental protections, anti-war and anti-conscription, LGBT rights.

Tarring a generation is a way to legitimize their accomplishments.

[Blue_true]

67. Frustration with the question.

Not a good response, but I see where it came from. I had a similar initial reaction to the question, but chose a different reply because I feel the person that asked the question is overall a decent person.

There is a very real problem with homelessness in the country, I see it in Florida given the state is a warm weather state.

[Blue_true]

65. Some are deplorables.

But others are simply people caught in the vice of life, earning too much for public assistance, too little to find decent housing.

[CountAllVotes]

4. Very sad but true

Why do you think so many older people are living and working this way?

I think it has been the pretty bad economic times. We saw in the 1980s a shift from pensions to 401(k)s; that was a raw deal for workers. These retirement plans were marketed as an instrument of financial freedom, but they were really transferring risk from the shoulder of the employers to the backs of the workers.

I met a lot of older women. The gender wage gap has meant women have lower lifetime earnings than men; they spend more time out of the workforce doing unpaid labor, raising families or caring for parents.

*****
So true. The 401K was not an option when I was still able to work. They have a defined benefit plan for retirement. It might be ok but I got sick instead. I live off of next to nothing and bring in less than $1K a month; spouse half that amount.

I hope I never end up on the street as it could easily happen to me or ANYONE out there no matter how well you have "planned". If you get sick, you can bid farewell to all of that money you saved. If you don't have long-term care or a family that cares about you, you are screwed, yup, screwed.

[Bradshaw3]

14. Thanks for sharing

And good luck going forward.

[CountAllVotes]

15. Thank you!

Good vibes appreciated!

[Sophia4]

26. You make excellent points.

It's true. 401(K)s are no substitute for real retirement plans, employer retirement plans.

But I never, ever had an employer retirement plan. And nowadays, employers go out of business or fire employees so quickly that there is not enough security in a job to build a retirement account with an employer.

And Social Security does not pay much.

Yet we live longer.

Getting a job when you are over 65 is not easy either.

[Wellstone ruled]

33. Know of and met hundreds of

of us older Folks who are struggling. Most do not have adequate funds to survive with out work. Listen to their stories,Bankruptcy because of Medical Bills,and the loss of their 401's and IRA's as a result. Have a who works as a Cashier in order to pay for her Husbands meds,she just celebrated her 61 st B-day last Monday. And she only sees relief when she or her Hubby pass. Real World Gang,so F--n Sad.

Then there are others who thought a Reverse Mortgage was the way to go, and they lost their Homes do to a partner Passing away and forgetting to make sure their Home Title was in both names as well as the Reverse Mortgage having a pass through to the surviving Spouse.

Most likely there are tens of thousands of Seniors that we do not know of who are hidden in the shadows. Look at the Homeless,notice the mega numbers of Seniors,and they are not mentally Handicapped.

We have failed as a Nation. Period.

[CountAllVotes]

47. +1,000 !!

Failed as a Nation.

Well said!

[Wellstone ruled]

48. Missed typo. The Lady is 81.

And yes we as a Nation we have failed .

[Blue_true]

71. I see a lot of what you mentioned in my part of Florida.

Don't know the people, but go to the public library or a restaurant and see people that are clearly living out of their vehicles.

[Wellstone ruled]

73. Please fellow Seniors,

if you do a reverse Mortgage,make damn sure you have your ducks in a row. If need be,please consult a Real Estate Attorney. Remember it is when the last person leaves the House. Make sure you and your Spouse are both on the Mortgage and on the Deed's and Titles.

And if you have a living Will,make sure it is up to date and the Reverse Mortgage is included in the Last will and testament.


Yes,just noticed a new Older Gent living in his car at the Local Supermarket Shopping area couple of hours ago. Appears to be a recent addition to our Homeless Community.

[chuckstevens]

5. This is what become of voting for 38 years of failed conservatives economic ideology

Many of these people supported Reagan, turned their backs on unions, and were OK with insane military spending.

[Bradshaw3]

13. And 52 percent of white women voted for drumpf

[CountAllVotes]

39. and a bunch of gun humping white boys voted for him too

The majority of white males voted for this despicable piece of crap!

Don't forget them. They ARE his base, not a bunch of pussies waiting to be *grabbed*!

[Bradshaw3]

69. As hard as it is for some people to admit, the majority of white women voters made up his base too

I know everyone wants to blame only older white males, who do make up the majority of his base, for the idiot getting elected, there is plenty of blame to around.

The point is blaming all poor people for the situation they are in - such as this article points out - is too often blaming the victim.

[CountAllVotes]

75. Well I voted for a white woman

and her name is Hillary Clinton!

[leftyladyfrommo]

60. I think I read that was fake info. It was actually 41%

or sonething like that. Still way too high.

[Bradshaw3]

66. You thought wrong

It is easy to look up.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/377787-trump-falsely-claims-he-got-52-percent-of-female-vote

[leftyladyfrommo]

68. Where I saw it was a fact check on his rally.

I can't remember the source.

Either way it is too many.

[Bradshaw3]

70. What he claimed was 52 percent of all women voters voted for him

Of course he was lying. It was 52 percent of white women.

[leftyladyfrommo]

72. ok. that makes sense. nt

[Xolodno]

56. Pretty much.

Their "tax cuts" and easy credit got them a lot of income to spend on luxuries. Never realized they were sacrificing a short infusion for a long term loss.

Sort of like having the option of a million dollars 30 years later or 100k now...they took the 100k.

[DBoon]

76. credit is what we have instead of social services

You get sick - borrow money
Your kids go to college - borrow money
You retire - reverse mortgage

We use home equity loans instead of commonly financed public services, like the rest of the civilized world

[SammyWinstonJack]

11. We live in a 2006 Class A motorhome for five yrs now, mostly staying in Army COE campgrounds.

Happily houseless. We don't have a large budget nor a large savings. We get by without having to workamp or pick up seasonal jobs, so far. There are a lot of us seniors doing campground host gigs. Some have very expensive rigs. We've met a few that do the Amazon workforce thing. It's not all bad out here on the road. Some of us are even happy to be living this way.

[padfun]

18. Good to hear. It's something I am thinking about.

I am retired now. If my wife passes away before I do, I think I will sell this house, give my stepson half for his inheritance, and then buy a (Class B or C) and cruise around until I drive off a cliff.. I do have a pension so I could afford a decent one.

[SammyWinstonJack]

20. It's not a bad life at all and the RV community is filled with wonderful people. Some of the nicest

we've ever met. It has its ups and downs, not going to say it doesn't, but we've been able to visit some amazing places, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, which makes it all worthwhile. Another plus is being able to follow the weather. For one person, class B is a good choice, can go anywhere/park it anywhere. Lots of freedom.

[samnsara]

50. i hear ya! I have several women friends, all widows who travel together in vintage

teardrop trailers.. Some are SO cute! What is the Amazon workforce thing?,

[Skittles]

58. ...

https://www.wired.com/story/meet-camperforce-amazons-nomadic-retiree-army/

[SammyWinstonJack]

59. Warehouse/distribution centers jobs filling orders seasonal during holidays.

There is also sugar beet harvest jobs that are filled by RVers. Good pay for a few weeks work. We haven't done any workamping jobs in the five years we've been full-time. Some couples work a seasonal job which pays their travels for the rest of the year. There are several clubs for single women RVers. Safety in numbers.

[Xolodno]

57. Couple of questions...

This is something the wife and I want to do when we "semi-retire".

But at the same time, we've been thinking "what are we waiting for?". Going to be full time in the workforce for about 9-10 years more and granted that means were stuck sticking pretty close to work, but, we could move about for a change of scenery and just up and move when on vacation. Would you recommend waiting or take the plunge?

Second question, Class C or 5th wheel?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. I read the book, and it's fascinating.

It's also frustrating to see how many of those she profiles made a lot of bad decisions along the way. And at the very end there is a young man, I think in his 20's, who has already bought the bullshit of no Social Security in the future, who's decided the best choice is to drop out and live that very nomadic lifestyle.

One rather positive note is that the places where these people congregate seem to be pretty vibrant communities.

[CountAllVotes]

17. My late mother believed that sh*t

She opted to work for the Feds & did not pay much into SS. That was the way it used to be, you pay into their pension system only. Today you pay into both.

She put in her 20 yrs. and retired from them. Her final pay stub revealed a pension of just over $700/mo. from the Feds and $170 from SS.

Luckily she was able to collect my father's pension from his former job as he died a few years before she did!

And yes, she was one of them and gee, look at the results after busting your tail for 20 years in a sh*t job that paid zip & nothing going into SS.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. Yes. I've known people who took great pride

in working off the books, and then were quite surprised when they got so little Social Security. Invariably they hadn't saved a penny.

The extent to which most people don't save is truly distressing.

[CountAllVotes]

36. I have an IRA

It is being sucked dry by house repairs.

I cannot sell this house if it won't pass inspection.

Dry rot = won't pass inspection.

Farewell to a huge chunk of my IRA.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. I suppose you could try selling your house as is

and let a new owner deal with the repairs. Although if you're not planning to sell in the near future, that's not an option.

Rather than draining your IRA, could it be refinanced?

[CountAllVotes]

40. It is good for 15 years

No worries now. None!

I plan to stay here as long as I possibly can.

I'd rather be dead and gone than end up in a nursing home.

I do not qualify for Medicaid so I'm screwed -- they'll take it all if you let them.

[CountAllVotes]

43. Actually ...

Maybe you or someone else knows.

I am abt. to be 62; spouse is abt. to be 82.

We have no heirs, just greedy relatives AND OUR BELOVED CATS!!!

What abt. a reverse mortgage? Would that be an option? Said house is paid for and is located in the California redwoods. It is made out of redwood and is abt. 1,000 sq. feet, garage included.

House is worth abt. $250,000 since I had it all fixed-up. New appliances, central heating, etc. Its a breaker believe me. Only things left that may need replacing soon are the refrigerator and the hot water heater. We rarely use the dishwasher so to hell w/it.

Let me know what you think. Thank you in advance!

[Mosby]

44. you can always take out an equity line of credit

They are called a HELOC, you have to make some payment, but it can be interest only. The rates are super low, I had one a couple years ago that was at 2.45 percent.

I don't know anything about reverse mortgages.

The thing with a HELOC though is that you don't have to sign away your home, your just borrowing against the equity.

[CountAllVotes]

46. I see

I do know what you are talking about. They tried to get me to take out a home equity loan when I bought my car in 2002. I still have that car luckily. I did not go for loan against the house though.

I do not like debt -- leftover Greatest Generation mentality hammered into my head and wow, it still hurts!

Seriously, I am not kidding, I hate debt in any form. My father's family lost it all in the Depression. His grandfather was a well-known accountant in San Francisco at that time and died in June of 1929 before the crash.

I found old stock certs. and ownership of a gold mine in Nevada among the ruins after they died. My gawd. They lost the whole load it seems -- all of it, house included.

No wonder you couldn't get my Dad to but a nickel in the stock market. He knew. Oh yes.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

51. What concerns me is that you took money from an IRA

to pay for the repairs. That's money you could have used down the road. But it's done now.

I know a lot of people absolutely insist you shouldn't have mortgage debt at retirement. That's a nice ideal, but isn't realistic for everyone. I got divorced and moved to another part of the country nearly ten years ago, at age 60. I wanted to buy my own home and I did. I'm now nine years into a thirty year mortgage and see no problem with it.

I'm guessing you don't qualify for Medicaid because you have too much money, and I know that too much isn't always very much. I hope you don't mean you don't qualify for Medicare. But that doesn't kick in for another three years for you.

If your spouse is getting Social Security, you'll continue to collect after he passes away.

What Mosby said about an equity line of credit might be a very good idea, especially as you have no heirs. No need to think you'll pass this house on to them. Let the greedy relatives fight over it.

With a twenty year age difference you're going to have to make plans that take that into account. If you don't have wills, make them. Dying intestate is never a good idea, especially as you do have a home that has decent value. You can do a lot of research on line about the laws in your state and so on. Probably you can use forms you can get on line.

[CountAllVotes]

52. I am on Medicare

I have been on Medicare for 20+ years as I am totally disabled w/MS.

The place I worked for is offering legal insurance for $17/month right now. It will pay for wills, trusts, etc. I may enroll in this if there is a practicing attorney in their network that is not too far for me to go.

I have made some plans given our age differences, things like pre-arranged cremations for both of us.

Being I am married to an immigrant from Ireland, I can move there and live as an option. Not sure I like this idea as it gets very cold there and I don't do well in the cold or heat.

I had attempted to draw up a will a # of years ago and the attorney I went to blew me off as she did not care to deal with a probated will being my husband had 10 siblings at that time. There are four left now and none of them would want our house. It is my brother I worry abt., your typical greed ridden gun-humping puke describes him to a tee.

We need to update our papers as second in line for my husband was his brother that died two years ago.

As for me, I do not qualify for Medicaid as I have more that $2,000 in assets. That disqualifies me. If the Special Needs Trust my father drew-up for me before he died, this would not be an issue but my mother revoked it so it is non-existent.

It is difficult to believe this house has gone up so much in value. We got it through the Rural Housing Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. We were on a waiting list for 10 years and finally our name came up. We got said house for $75,000 before the *boom* hit. Who would have ever thought? Never owned anything before, much less an actual house (renter in S.F. for years and years and got sick of it and left luckily!).

Thanks again!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

53. Are you eligible for full Irish citizenship?

That might be a good idea.

Ireland only gets so cold. I have seen palm trees in Dublin. But still, I understand that may not be where you'd most prefer to live. However, with Irish citizenship you can get an EU passport, which would making travelling or living in the EU pretty simple.

Yes, Medicaid puts ridiculous limits on assets.

Sounds like the legal insurance thing through your place of work could be a very good idea.

People too often find it weird or uncomfortable to make wills or any other plans for the end of life. Sounds like you're pretty comfortable with it.

Because someone close to me died last year I am fierce about telling people they need wills. This person did have a will, and even so I've been surprised at how long it has taken to settle things, even though there's no one contesting anything and there are no tricky provisions.

I have a close friend I've been after about doing a will for several years now. I keep telling him that if he doesn't make one and he dies, I'll go to his brother and sister and claim he planned to leave everything to me. Which he doesn't, of course, but I do happen to know how he wants to dispose of his worldly goods, and it simply won't happen without a will.

Just one further thought. The increase in value of your home and land is a very good thing for you. Think of it as a cushion that will make a huge difference down the road.

[CountAllVotes]

79. House as an investment

Upkeep is part of the deal so to speak like it or not.
The house across the street sold for over $300,000 at the peak.
They have not done a thing to it.
You can see the black mold growing around the windows.
They could never sell it like that, never.
It does cost a lot to get the windows "done" as they put it.
I did that too before the paint job.
I hope it is all done for now anyway.

Well used investment $ is how I see it esp. if I need to suddenly sale it!

[DBoon]

77. The billionaire Peter Peterson is not only undermining social security

he has also destroyed the lives of people who personally believe his propaganda:
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/02/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20121003

[Canoe52]

19. KnR!

[defacto7]

21. K&R

[KG]

22. this could be future me.

[mr_lebowski]

32. Yeah, me too ... well if my folks turned their backs on me or my mom goes before my

stepdad aka pops ... I don't know what he'd decide to do with all the bux if she were gone before him, he might re-write everything. He's been my pops for almost 50 years but we're never all that tight ... he's not tight with anyone but her come to think of it.

I do know i have a trust fund but not sure how much is in it and I don't have access til I'm a certain age that I'm not at yet. Not sure if pops could take that back or not. Anyways, I feel very lucky that I probably have a way to avoid the situation as described cause I damn sure havent' been able to save and I'm already over 50, so ...

By the way ... your sig line ... Although 'decadents' kinda makes more sense in 'mouths' context, I'm pretty sure the last word in that line ... is 'decadence'

"... and I can't feed on the powerless when my cups already overfilled ..."

Love that disc man. I bought it when it came out, already had teh Mother Love Bone album at the time ... Say Hello to Heaven is just a devastatingly powerful, brilliant, and tragic song ... even harder to listen to now with Chris gone as well.

[japple]

24. 'Castaways' in motor homes feel stranded on society's fringe" Recent story in LA Times.

This was an excellent photo essay.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-rv-homeless-20180304-htmlstory.html

In 1979, the recreational vehicle manufacturer Winnebago proudly touted its latest models in glossy magazines with splashy full-page ads proclaiming their coaches to be “A Condominium That Goes Places at About Half the Going Price.”

Today, many old and battered Winnebagos number among the thousands of motor homes that line the streets of Los Angeles, from the San Fernando Valley to the Westside to the Harbor area. In a region where rents and home prices skyrocket year after year, recreational vehicles now qualify as residences for people who would otherwise be homeless.

The 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count tallied 4,545 campers and RVs in L.A. County that possibly serve as makeshift dwellings. In short, one of America’s least affordable housing market forces people to find creative alternatives for shelter.

[Hulk]

25. 70...and am there.

Living in the Portland, Oregon metro area, we are leaving the end of June to either a simple apartment room, or back to Mexico...the latter being my choice.

Our rent has jumped 300% in the last three years, and we were borrowing from my shrinking 401k before that. This is where I grew up, worked and raised my family. I live on a half teacher’s pension, social security and a small disabled vet benefit. It ALL gets soaked up plus more for the rent and utilities every month. If you don’t OWN your own home or have a job, or both, you are dumping everything you own to survive and are being priced out of the area.

It’s sad...and pretty depressing; but hey, we got it better than 90% of the rest of world’s population.

[Sophia4]

28. Meanwhile the Trumps scam humanity to live the luxury life.

The disparity in wealth is disgusting in my view.

It was not like this when I was growing up. People had less, that is fewer channels on the TV and more public library, fewer e-books, but lived better, more secure lives.

[CountAllVotes]

35. True

Sad but very true!!

[TheFrenchRazor]

81. how's mexico? i'm seriously thinking about that. crime sounds pretty bad now, though. nt

[Hulk]

83. Only the stories sound bad...

I live in San Miguel de Allende, in the state of Guanajuato. Like anyplace on earth, wander around alone in the wee hours may be dangerous, but aside from careless behavior like that I would honestly say crime is no worse than where I have ever lived in the USA.

The border cities are where the danger lurks. That's where the cartel activity is..thanks to the USA's drug appetite.
Places like San Miguel, oaxaca, Guadalajara, Porta Viarta, and hundreds of other places I can rattle off are "English-friendly" and warm and inviting to live. I would recommend a visit to San Miguel for a week or two to get a better idea. 170 miles NW from Mexico City, around 10,000 expats living there permanently or part of the year; you could Airbnb a nice place and talk to other gringos who have seen the light.

Personally, my wife is from there, and now I have a handle on Spanish; but I lived there for years with extremely limited Spanish skills; and I felt right at home.

I'm currently considering San Lois Petosi, Puebla, or some other city with less tourism and more reasonable cost of living.

Don't be frightened by "stories". Many aren't true at all, and nearly all that are occur in border cities like Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Loredo, Matamoris, or other cities along the border (across from Loredo, Brownsville, El Paso, etc.)

[kimbutgar]

27. I was in a rite aide recently and the cashier was easily on her 80s

She was a bit confused about an item I brought that was marked down. Another worker stepped in and helped. I felt so sad for her. She should be traveling, being involved in a senior center or enjoying her grandkids but here she was working minimum wage in a retail store. She probably gets a pittance in social security and struggles for good. She was also very thin. Sad state to be in.

[CountAllVotes]

31. There is a lady at the local KMART in her 80s

She greets people at the door and wow, how very sad it is.

WTF is wrong w/our greedy society that allows such things? Ooops, answered my own question there -- GREED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spinbaby]

45. Its okay to work when youre older

But only if you want to. Too often lately I’ve seen cashiers at stores who aren’t just older but have obvious health problems. A cashier at our Lowe’s is actually on oxygen as she works. A cashier at our grocery store has arthritis that’s deformed her hands—she looks like she’s in pain as she scans and bags groceries. These are not people who look like they want to be doing what they’re doing.

[Delphinus]

49. ...

[Willie Pep]

80. My aunt might end up like this.

My uncle died and left her with little money due to massive medical bills and the failure of a number of business dealings. Like many women of her age group she gave up paid work in order to be a full-time mother to my cousins so she was out of the workforce for decades. Luckily she is still in good health and not extremely old yet (she will be 70 next year) but she is working because she has to not because she wants to. She is a cashier at a grocery store.

[TheFrenchRazor]

54. it's a great book; without a doubt a sign of things to come, unfortunately. nt

[TheFrenchRazor]

55. "modern day hunter-gatherers;" doesn't seem like it might be a bad thing, although it is usually

usually done out of financial desperation, due to the f-ed up economy, medical system.

[blake2012]

62. civilization progressed away from hunter-gatherer mode for a reason

[TheFrenchRazor]

82. you think i don't know that? i probably know more about it than you do, and yes, there are benefits

to living a settled, agricultural life; there are also some very significant drawbacks. if you're not familiar with the pros and cons of both cases, you might want to research it a little bit.

[blake2012]

61. I know a couple just like this. They shuttle from grown child to grown child

in a camper pulled by truck, and they are usually stuck with the mercy of some other friends in Oklahoma who let them park their camper when not roving around the country.

It is crazy what is going on--those reports about airline pilots and other airline workers staying in trailers and vans on or near airport sites was horrific.

[EarthFirst]

63. Maybe forty years of voting Republican wasnt exactly in their own best interests?

These are folks just like my Floridian parents.

Loudly evangelical xenophobes who are proudly voting themselves into an existence of misery and despair.

Meanwhile; it’s the Millenials and X’ers who are lazily driving the economy into the litter box and are unwilling to recognize that their own ethos of “personal responsibility” only relates to “those people” -most certainly not themselves...

I’m sympathetic to an extent.

I hate to seeing anyone suffer.

However...

[Blue_true]

64. I see a lot of those people in Florida.

Many are living in their vehicles. I know from coming upon some, many "bathe" in restrooms in restaurants that let them in or in public facilities like libraries. They are the ignored, can't qualify for public housing places, but apparently don't have enough money to rent privately financed housing.

[elocs]

74. I once considered becoming a full-time RVer in retirement

until when I really thought about it I realized that I don't like to travel, don't like to worry about where I'm going to be spending the next night.

I'm 65 and have been retired just over 4 years now. I am as poor as the proverbial church mouse, being under the 100% federal poverty level, but it is just me and I've taken care of myself for the last 20 years so my health is good. I have dual coverage with Medicare and Medicaid and the state pays my Medicare part B and so my healthcare costs are small.
When I retired I got rid of my car and so I've been saved all of that expense.
But the thing that has helped me the most is the humble home I've lived in for the past 27 years--my small mobile home that's in a great park where this time of the year I can very commonly see eagles flying over the river just a block from me. My lot rent is just $253/month and utilities add another $140 but after I pay all my bills I have $500 to spare.

I am living the time of my life now. I have a schizoid personality which basically means I am not a people person, I love to be alone yet I never feel lonely. So working and having to engage with a lot of people each day was stressful to me. So for me my life is simple now and I am more happy and content than I ever was before I retired.