IMO why people aren't in the labor force

[nitpicker]

1. The 60+ (and younger) got kicked to the curb, and even if McDs and the rest are now mostly offering $15 a month, is it worth it to do an erratic shift, versus getting SS at 62?

2. The new Federal retirement system (FERS) encourages people to retire at 56. THEN removes the FERS supplement at age 62...

3. On the other end of the spectrum, menial- wage graduates may have chosen to become more schooled (as I did).

4 . That's on top of who can't find child care (short of paying and being taxed 110% for it).

[Busterscruggs]

1. Maybe they don't need to be

Work can be really difficult. I mean, I could if I really wanted to but free wifi isn't hard to find and it's always easy to find a couch to surf on. My serious PTSD from my last job makes it hard to want to look for another. The last boss I had yelled at me and I cried in the bathroom afterwards. Nobody should be under that much stress. I love myself for who I am and I don't need some useless job to define who I am

[XanaDUer2]

7. I have diagnosed PTSD from job stress

Interesting to hear others do, too.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm trying to get SSDI. I'm 56

[Busterscruggs]

12. We are all broken people

It's good to know that there are so many like minded people here. My family keeps pressuring me to get a job, but it's just not for me. My parents watch the kids alot but they still complain about me not doing better. I like what I am doing and don't see any reason to change. I don't see why this country emphasizes work and jobs so much....

[XanaDUer2]

14. Puritan work ethic

It's bullshit. I've been working ft since 1987.

The Italians have a phrase, The Sweetness of Doing Nothing. Can you try for SSDI? I'm awaiting my first turndown.

[Busterscruggs]

15. I would like to

But my family refuses to let me use their address for anything. I'm on a friend's couch but they said yesterday that I have to pay for groceries or something and if I don't I need to go elsewhere. I thought they were better friends than they are behaving like

[XanaDUer2]

16. See if you can talk to an SSDI attorney

First consultation is free. If you have medical records showing anxiety, depression, etc, you may be able to try to get on it.

PM me if you need to talk.

Take care. I'm sorry you have little support

[Busterscruggs]

19. Thank you for listening

I researched the disability thing and it might work. I also found something about unlawful termination, given that i have PTSD and anxiety that led to my getting fired. It's clear that they had no intention in keeping an employee on with an obvious disability. I may talk to an attorney about it next week. I am under alot of stress again with the looming housing situation. I hope I can pull through this nightmare

[James48]

2. FERS isn't new.

It’s been around for 35 years already. The system that preceded it also paid a retirement at age 56 if you had worked enough years.

As a recently retired FERS covered employee, I didn’t make my retirement decision based on FERS supplement. (Which provides me about $1100 a month). I made my decision on the money I have stretched and saved for 30+ years, my pension, my Army National Guard retirement check ($900 a month), and a part time job I love for 8 hours a week.

[nitpicker]

5. I'm one of the first pure FERS retirees

in 2004.

CSRS let one retire at 55 years, but I barely missed that.

I had my reasons for bailing when I did.

((And I got to enjoy myself before things kicked in...))

[meadowlander]

3. Women are burned out.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/nov/19/great-resignation-mothers-forced-to-leave-jobs

"The fact of the matter is that when we speak of the Great Resignation, we are really referring to a great resignation of women. During the pandemic, women have exited the labor force at twice the rate that men have; their participation in the paid labor force is now the lowest it has been in more than 30 years. About one-third of all mothers in the workforce have scaled back or left their jobs since March 2020."

"Why are women leaving the workforce at such a disproportionate rate? It’s not because they have been on personal journeys of soul-searching and self-discovery. It’s because they have nowhere to put their kids. Schools were closed for much of two straight school years; many still face interruptions, quarantines and closures."

"The trend of women leaving the workforce to care for their children has often been explained as a matter of women’s personal choices. But to the women facing the stark financial reality that they can’t afford both their own professional ambitions and to meet the needs of their kids, it doesn’t feel like much of a choice at all. It feels like their options have been narrowed so much that the choice has been made for them."

[Johonny]

13. Number 4 is a huge factor.

I know more than one parent that is out of the work force due to it.

Retirement of boomers is another. A lot of my older workers returned from the pandemic only to retire within the year. Basically, having tasted being home and retirement it turned out not to be as scary as they feared. Work in pandemic times on the other hand is not fun. Certainly not as fun as retirement.

The third thing I'm seeing is people are leaving to start their own company. Basically many had time to discover they really wanted to do X instead of work for a company forever.

[bedazzled]

4. My job was hurting me and I am grateful to have quit

I think your points are exactly right.

[XanaDUer2]

8. Mine was killing me

Interesting to hear others' experiences

[BigmanPigman]

9. Mine too.

3 doctors made me quit due to the ongoing problems with the environment and stress. I was able to get early retirement (sort of like SSI).

[XanaDUer2]

10. Good for you

I hung at my super toxic ( both environmental and management, very chaotic with violence) until 2 doctors told me I was disabled and suggested SSDI. I stayed to vest in 5 years.

I just couldn't do it anymore.

[bedazzled]

17. You don't realize how bad it is

Until you are out for a while.

I hope you have found a safer harbor

[genxlib]

6. I don't know if it really has a noticeable impact

But Obamacare provides a reasonably secure and steady price to plan a bridge to Medicare.

Previously, healthcare was the biggest hindrance to retiring before 65. Now you can at least plan and budget for a cost to stay covered until Medicare kicks in.

Even if this isn't a factor as a primary breadwinner. It could be a factor for a younger spouse. I know a bunch of people who had to work beyond 65 just to keep insurance for a younger spouse.

[rsdsharp]

11. $15 a month?

[modrepub]

18. Seems Repubs Are All About Making People Poor

just to force them into the labor force, which not surprisingly suppresses wages. The more worker drones there are less you have to pay them or you can just continue to recycle new ones to replace the burned out ones.

TBH I envy folks who can manage to completely disengage from the rat race. The freedom to structure your own life is the ultimate way you can demonstrate you're a functioning member of society not the $.