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Do we even trust our leaders to help?
Retiring old ideas about retirement
Social Security more solvent than most Americans realize
Focus group participants discuss retirement
Series looks at middle-class angst
Insurance misery has no easy cure
Health-care matchup finds Ohio falls short
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
NFL star Chris Spielman's wife loses cancer battle
Coventry man killed in crash at I-77 ramp
College student mistaken for deer, shot to death
Man allegedly paid teens to spit in his face
Retired firefighter who broke color barrier among those being honored
Angel Food Ministries helps stretch grocery dollars
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Friday Night Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Two blowouts, one night
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Holmgren expresses interest in Browns position
Kent State Sports:
Singletary update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs at Indiana Pacers – Here’s to LBJ and Free Throws
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Bowling season starts today
All Da King's Men:
Headed For Disaster
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Federal Judge Declares DOMA Unconstitutional
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
Ohio Travels with Betty:
George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Colloquium at University of Akron
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Published on Sunday, Jul 20, 2008
SPEAKING OF...
After publishing findings that show Americans are earning less than their parents, the Beacon Journal invited readers to participate in focus groups. Here's some of what they said:
Marguerite Coffield, 50, of Stow: ''My dad never paid a dime for his benefits, and that mentality is still out there amongst the children of that generation. It's slowly eroding. I've worked at nursing homes, where I was an H.R. manager, and there are these wonderful women who come in to care for the elderly. They make anywhere from $8 to $12 an hour, but they can't afford to pay for the benefits because the benefit costs are enormous.''
Bob Caetta, 56, of Ravenna: ''When I first was diagnosed (with multiple sclerosis) and had to quit full-time employment, I mean there was a while there where it really comes home to you very quickly. And when your medicine costs a 'little bit' — $1,300 a month — that can take a little bit of a chunk of change out of you. That hits you fast.''
John Rettger, 51, of Hudson: ''If you're 30, you're going to be looking for the dollars. When you're in my age group (over 50), I think the quality of the work you do and the security that the job provides — maybe the benefits, the 401(k) plan, what kind of health benefits you have — those make the decision to jump ship a little bit more complex.''
Brenda Cook, 48, of Green: ''The things (my teenage children) hear on TV is that the middle class is going down big time because of taxes and so on and so forth. Medical costs are huge. And so when they hear that, they say, 'Aren't we going broke? Aren't we poor because we have to pay for medical costs and medical insurance?' ''
Lyn Gwinn, 58, of Akron: ''With the demise of the pension plans, along with the retiree health-care benefits — not many companies offer those anymore. Neither place my husband and I work offer them. So, for any of us in that situation — anybody over 50 looking at retirement, you have two choices: You're going to work until you're 65 and get Medicare or you're going to start planning for how you're going to pay for your health care, should you leave employment previous to 65. Or you can work until you're 63-and-a-half and pay COBRA for 18 months. And that's not cheap.''
Jimmy Taylor, 59, of Cuyahoga Falls: ''I think my parents . . . had a cradle-to-grave mentality that you work and then retire. This was a manufacturing town. My father worked at the rubber factory. It was loyalty and he never thought about hopping jobs. They thought longevity. . . . All these amenities, you didn't think about rising health-care costs, excessive taxes. Those things weren't on the radar screen back then. They had less stress, in terms of the peripherals.''
SPEAKING OF...
After publishing findings that show Americans are earning less than their parents, the Beacon Journal invited readers to participate in focus groups. Here's some of what they said:
Marguerite Coffield, 50, of Stow: ''My dad never paid a dime for his benefits, and that mentality is still out there amongst the children of that generation. It's slowly eroding. I've worked at nursing homes, where I was an H.R. manager, and there are these wonderful women who come in to care for the elderly. They make anywhere from $8 to $12 an hour, but they can't afford to pay for the benefits because the benefit costs are enormous.''
Bob Caetta, 56, of Ravenna: ''When I first was diagnosed (with multiple sclerosis) and had to quit full-time employment, I mean there was a while there where it really comes home to you very quickly. And when your medicine costs a 'little bit' — $1,300 a month — that can take a little bit of a chunk of change out of you. That hits you fast.''
John Rettger, 51, of Hudson: ''If you're 30, you're going to be looking for the dollars. When you're in my age group (over 50), I think the quality of the work you do and the security that the job provides — maybe the benefits, the 401(k) plan, what kind of health benefits you have — those make the decision to jump ship a little bit more complex.''
Brenda Cook, 48, of Green: ''The things (my teenage children) hear on TV is that the middle class is going down big time because of taxes and so on and so forth. Medical costs are huge. And so when they hear that, they say, 'Aren't we going broke? Aren't we poor because we have to pay for medical costs and medical insurance?' ''
Lyn Gwinn, 58, of Akron: ''With the demise of the pension plans, along with the retiree health-care benefits — not many companies offer those anymore. Neither place my husband and I work offer them. So, for any of us in that situation — anybody over 50 looking at retirement, you have two choices: You're going to work until you're 65 and get Medicare or you're going to start planning for how you're going to pay for your health care, should you leave employment previous to 65. Or you can work until you're 63-and-a-half and pay COBRA for 18 months. And that's not cheap.''
Jimmy Taylor, 59, of Cuyahoga Falls: ''I think my parents . . . had a cradle-to-grave mentality that you work and then retire. This was a manufacturing town. My father worked at the rubber factory. It was loyalty and he never thought about hopping jobs. They thought longevity. . . . All these amenities, you didn't think about rising health-care costs, excessive taxes. Those things weren't on the radar screen back then. They had less stress, in terms of the peripherals.''
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