If you love what you do, you have never worked a day in your life

[Wathen1955]

Conservative pundit says retirement 'is a stupid idea

Whether it’s a conservative pundit saying retirement “is a stupid idea” or GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump talking about cutting Medicare and Social Security, one thing is clear: Republicans rightly recognize that all us Americans would be better off if we worked until we’re dead.

I strongly support this stance and have long planned to continue working until my last breath, collapsing face-first onto a laptop as my ancient carcass succumbs to the ravages of time.

Noted podcaster and conservative thought leader Ben Shapiro said on his show Tuesday, “It's insane that we haven't raised the retirement age in the United States.”

He continued: “No one in the United States should be retiring at 65 years old. Frankly, I think retirement itself is a stupid idea unless you have some sort of health problem. Everybody that I know who is elderly, who has retired, is dead within five years.”

More here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/conservat...080600663.html

I retired at 65 from the grind at work and I'm glad I did. I now have a side job where I work from home reconditioning used laptops and then selling them on Facebook Market place. I don't make a bunch of money but it keeps me busy and off the streets, and I enjoy taking them apart and fixing things that people discard as not working.

[LATB]

I believe most here know my position on this. I will work until I literally cannot anymore.
Started at 8 years old and I’ll be 65 this year.
I love physical work and I enjoy the feeling of daily accomplishments.

[vettemed]

I dislike my job but plan to keep working, doing *something*, even after I'm able to step away from owning the business.

[LATB]

As far as SS goes, I would gladly take a onetime cash payment for a fraction of what was taken from my income over the past 50 years.
Short of that (because we know that the government would just screw me out of it all if they want) I will start drawing soon at FRA.

[Jughead]

I continue to work FT. I quickly lose interest in hobbies. How many fish can you catch? How many round of golf can you play? How man bingo tournaments? I don't have the motivation or energy to work on my 70 vette.

Plus I like money. I would really be pissed if I had retired and then get hit with this crazy inflation and prices.

Plus I'm not digging ditches

[LATB]

Originally Posted by Jughead

I continue to work FT. I quickly lose interest in hobbies. How many fish can you catch? How many round of golf can you play? How man bingo tournaments? I don't have the motivation or energy to work on my 70 vette.

Plus I like money. I would really be pissed if I had retired and then get hit with this crazy inflation and prices.

Plus I'm not digging ditches

I’ll admit that the income is nice. Especially since I’m bleeding cash at an insane rate doing this farm/homestead/house building thing on our rural acreage.

And I actually am occasionally digging ditches.

[KenHorse]

Originally Posted by LATB

I believe most here know my position on this. I will work until I literally cannot anymore.
Started at 8 years old and I’ll be 65 this year.
I love physical work and I enjoy the feeling of daily accomplishments.

Same here. I own my own company and absolutely LOVE what I do.

Sure, there are days I want to run away but that's part of the deal. Otherwise, my plans are to keep going until I drop

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by Wathen1955

Conservative pundit says retirement 'is a stupid idea



More here: https://www.yahoo.com/news/conservat...080600663.html

I retired at 65 from the grind at work and I'm glad I did. I now have a side job where I work from home reconditioning used laptops and then selling them on Facebook Market place. I don't make a bunch of money but it keeps me busy and off the streets, and I enjoy taking them apart and fixing things that people discard as not working.

I was a tool/mold maker since getting out of school in '68, and self-employed since 1985. It was just work until I got involved with CAD/CAM around 2000-2001.

That changed everything for the better. It was a steep learning curve for someone who learned by the old ways, but after a few years I saw the advantages of CAM, which made everything easier and took away the drudgery of repetitive tasks.

I got to actually enjoy it and it never seemed to be "work" after that, it became a way of life. I planned to work until I couldn't, and that happened in April 2021 because of sudden arthritis. I was 71 later that summer.

Not working was tough to take for at least the first year. Now, after three years of not working I cannot imagine going back to it.

Ben Shapiro, the "smartest guy on the planet," thinks everybody dies within 5 years of retirement? My dad made 25 years, a buddy is pushing 30 years, another buddy is around 28 years, one BIL 19 years, another BIL 12 years.

Hey Ben, "correlation does not prove causation." Find out what they actually died from.

[ZipZap]

We sorta started this convo yesterday before Ben posted. It was Trump that suggested we need to look at SS.

He's right. It's untenable and merely creates another way our debt can be bought by foreigners. The ONLY real way to save SS is to increase intake, or decrease output.

Ben's thoughts about taxpayers not paying someone's retirement are spot on. Call it welfare, or disability (again), it's yet another social plan that went off the rails years ago.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by Bruze

I was a tool/mold maker since getting out of school in '68, and self-employed since 1985. It was just work until I got involved with CAD/CAM around 2000-2001.

That changed everything for the better. It was a steep learning curve for someone who learned by the old ways, but after a few years I saw the advantages of CAM, which made everything easier and took away the drudgery of repetitive tasks.

I got to actually enjoy it and it never seemed to be "work" after that, it became a way of life. I planned to work until I couldn't, and that happened in April 2021 because of sudden arthritis. I was 71 later that summer.

Not working was tough to take for at least the first year. Now, after three years of not working I cannot imagine going back to it.

Ben Shapiro, the "smartest guy on the planet," thinks everybody dies within 5 years of retirement? My dad made 25 years, a buddy is pushing 30 years, another buddy is around 28 years, one BIL 19 years, another BIL 12 years.

Hey Ben, "correlation does not prove causation." Find out what they actually died from.

He has stated he supports the disability part, so your arthritis would easily qualify you if it was bad enough to make you stop working.

[Bruze]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

He has stated he supports the disability part, so your arthritis would easily qualify you if it was bad enough to make you stop working.

I'm fine, it's all history now. I signed up for SS in 2013 anyway for other medical reasons that turned out okay.

[Kevin68]

For every year you are away from your full retirement age, add one or two months to your original FRA. Do this forever.

Would be a minimal shock to those nearing retirement and give younger people time to plan.

[Anjdog2003]

I loved what i did when i worked, and i love being retired.

[Unsuspicious]

With so many jobs now that don't require physical prowess, I'm curious if the standards for disability have changed at all.
What is the difference between "unable to do the job I used to do" and "not willing to retrain to do something else I could do"?

[Wathen1955]

In addition to my thread I started, I loved my previous job of Calibration for a medical device company. I like having challenges in figuring out how to calibrate some expensive equipment like a Mettler 7 digit scale where the maximum weight was only 5 grams! I created and wrote almost 98% of the calibration procedures used at the facility, detailing over 500 pieces of equipment. Had to answer and deal with audits from the FDA and other external agencies.
The part that I did not enjoy was the bureaucracy of a large medical company.

[Rodnok1]

Work at something I want to do forever...
Work for a company... Only as long as I need to.

[Vince Clortho]

[ZipZap]

For the OP...

I loved what I did for my entire life of work. Saw amazing stuff as well as amazing talent. Until CV-19. I was in LA. In one week we went from a influential billion dollar engineering company, to a whimper that was flinching every time some dimwit decided a new policy was necessary in the Health and Safety department.

I should have received honorary degrees in epidemiology and public health.

[DAB]

sounds great until no one will hire you.

[AUTOHOLIC]

Retirement is a GREAT thing if like all things you take it in moderation. I always have maintenance around my 40 year old 5 bedroom 4 bath home that I do at my leisure unless it is an emergence.
My girlfriend and I take weekend trips around Arizona and surrounding states often and are planning on doing the California coast highway in the fall. Although I have done this before and have seen All the states other than Florida and Alaska we have a beautiful country with so many great things to see AND it is great to see them in a classic Corvette.
The main thing is you HAVE to stay active or you die.