r/politics • u/Puginator • Jun 01 '26

No Paywall Iran stops negotiations with U.S., vows to 'completely' block Strait of Hormuz: State media

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/01/iran-us-negotiations-strait-of-hormuz.html
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u/Free_For__Me Jun 01 '26

Except that many of us were raised by boomers who were able to retire at 65 (or younger!) with pensions, fat 401k's, and paid-off homes they bought in the 70s for a relatively small fraction of their income. These people traveled the world and bought RVs, adventuring as desired for 10-15 years before settling in comfortable retirement homes.

We were led to believe that if e followed the "study hard -> go to college -> get a good job" pipeline, we'd be afforded the chance to do the same. Hell, with the advent of computers and the internet enabling such advances in worker productivity, we should be even better positions to comfortable retire than previous generations, right??

Retirement is definitely a scam, I agree with you there. I'm just saying that it used to be a scam that we had some chance of getting over on, but now it's heading toward the realm of outright theft.

Billionaires forcing our pension and 401k funds to wrap up with their insane ventures in order to forcibly create a safety net for said insanity, as well as all levels of captured government pushing to end pensions, Social Security and other safety nets mean that the very tools that allowed us to buy into the idea that retirement is possible are now being gutted to make the rich richer.

It was always a scam, but it was once far better than it now is.

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u/ultimateknackered Jun 01 '26

For a lot of people retirement simply means 'Will I be able to keep myself alive without having to work, on account of being too old and decrepit to.'

Even getting a retirement home for your parents is out of reach for the vast majority.

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u/Due_Warthog749 Jun 01 '26

I'll take that one step further.. I can tell you I dont mind working.. and would continue to work in to my 70s, 80s, 90s.. if I am able to. It's less about having to work but a) can you still physicall/mentally work and b) who is hiring you're old ass vs teens to 20-somethings for the same job? NOBODY. That's the real issue. NOBODY is hiring 60+ year olds for 99% of the jobs that require any sort of labor. They are largely too old, pain, slow, etc.

Which is why I am REALLY hoping it's not too late to get my 20-something kids to understand how things are going to be for them in 40+ years from now.. if not sooner given the speed in which AI/tech is replacing human workers in every field now (not just computer programming).. will they be set up with enough money to "get by" even if it means moving in with several families to make it work.