Yesterday was my 58th birthday. If I were a Greek worker I could retire. Although pension payments in Greece normally start around 61, special provisions allow anyone to retire at 58 if they have been in employment for 35 years. That, as it happens, is how long I have been at work. My index-linked pensions from the Greek Government would be worth 75 to 90 per cent of the average salary in the country, guaranteed for the rest of my life by the State.
If you want to know why Greece is going bankrupt and why the euro seems to be on the verge of disintegration, look no farther. The best argument I have ever heard for a break-up of the euro was this observation in a German newspaper: “The Greeks go on to the streets to protest against an increase of the pension age from 61 to 63. Does this mean that Germans should extend the working age from 67 to 69, so Greeks can enjoy their retirement?”
This, however, is not another article about self-indulgent Greeks and self-righteous Germans. The battle over bailouts in Europe is only a sideshow compared with the great social conflict that lies ahead all over the world in the next 20 years. This will not be a struggle between nations or social classes, but between generations ”” and it is a conflict that, in Britain, begins in earnest this year. The end of the Second World War in May 1945 marked the start of the baby boom, which lasted until the mid-1960s. Now, 65 years later, the corresponding retirement revolution is about to shake up our society, economy and political institutions.
A good article, and I enjoyed the rather pungent comments which
followed it.
That said, we have the same situation in the U.S., namely a large
demographic bubble (“baby boomers”) beginning to retire now.
Here in Illinois, judges can retire at 85% of their salary. So, if
a judge’s pay is $100K per annum, their annual retirement pay
is still $85K. Even the Republicans are crypto-Democrats when it
comes to safe-guarding their retirement benefits. Their argument
is that they were “public servants” during their working days.
Just wait ’til the rest of us get stuck with the bill for all those
retired judges and other state, county, and municipal employees.
Most of us chumps will then be the servants of the “public
servants”.
very insightful…however i heard on npr that it wasn’t just the great bene’s that caused the greeks to be in that much debt; it was actually cheap credit and loans given to the gov’t and then the people. they, like us and everyone else, went nuts with it. i do agree that this trend will cause the misery to last longer…