i am worried

I AM WORRIED
now i am not worried about my wife she and i
it looks like we will be able to live comfortable
the rest of our lives
doing all the things that we like to do

looking at my siblings it seems they will be in the
same boat

all have social security some type of retirement plan
some have more than one of those
plus some have saved money in their retirement plans

forbes.com

but when i look back one and two generations
there are problems on the horizon

first
social security
now i got in an argument the other day with someone
over social security
i usually dont talk about politics and money stuff around folks
unless im pushed
it wont be there was said
well i thought to myself and maybe said it to them
youd better dang be sure it is
or
you are in trouble as will be tons of americans
it gets scary when you see how much retired folks depend on
social security

dont let the politicians muck with this program
dont let them privatize it or use tax credits or use some other trapdoor
process
make them leave it alone except for tweeking it some to make it last
for our future generations
like
increase the upper income level on which the tax is paid
say $250,000
change the cola so its lower
tighten some of the rules
get rid of the complicated system thats used now
do i file and suspend or do i suspend then file
i suggest when you reach fra that full retirement age you get 100%
retire at 70 and you get 100%
retire at 62  and you get less
kiss is what they need to do
keep it simply simple

the pensions are in trouble
they are gradually going away
401ks are replacing them
that requires some incentive some initiative from folks to save
or
we gonna have a broke group of old folks without pensions or money

maybe make it mandatory
like social security
invest say 10% in a safe plan
dont let the wolves steal folks money
so
when people do retire they have a pot of money to draw from
like my wife she and i have managed to do
since we dont have pensions well i dont she does
but hers doesnt ever change
what she gets now
is what she will get in 20 years
no cola exits

now since she works for a school that doesnt pay social security
even though she paid into the system for years before becoming a teacher
she will get only about 30% of what she should get

when i die her widow benefit will be only about 50% instead of 100%

i am really worried about the pensions
how safe will they be to be there 20 years from now
i see them going away going broke every year
yes they are insured
but
folks dont get their full benefit from these failed plans

so
if you dont have grey hair
i suggest
stay on your politicians butts to take care of social security
to fix it

start saving in your retirement plans to the max allowed
like 401ks 403bs 457s etc
start low and add a percentage or two each year until you are
saving 15%

start downsizing you life now
now while you have money coming in
buy used stuff quit wasting money cook at home instead of eating out
etc etc etc

dont carry debt
do you have $500 dollars cash to use if an emergency happened

remember
if you make $120,000 a year for 20 or more years
you will draw around $30,000 a year from social security
if you dont have a pension wheres the rest coming from

if you want to live on $80,000 a year
then you need to have $1,250,000 in your retirement plan
to get that extra $50,000 a year

this it seems will be the situation that most folks will be
finding themselves in
those generations behind me

so
thats why i am worried

i dont see anythang being done to fix this situation

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-summer solstice

DEAR MS B-SUMMER SOLSTICE

now this is a picture of a proud grandfather
beginning the teaching of a youngster
how to be a gardener
now she helped me water the new plantings we put in her
parents square foot garden
im sure her watering them made them grow much better

i cant wait to have her dig her little hands into that soil
get her nails all dirty
i know that will make her a better person
and
make a more healthy kiddo

trust me on this one
is all i can say

now yesterday was summer solstice
june 20th
its the longest day of the year
its the day the real summer starts
around here in central texas its that transition from hot
to real dang hot
its the day for fertility renewal and harvest
its the day of the once in a lifetime strawberry moon
so named by the american indians
a full moon in june
we are in the strawberry harvest moon now

so this is a special week
this summer solstice and strawberry moon
no its not red
apparently its time to pick strawberries somewhere

i just stepped outside at 400 am
its still
its moist from the humidity
i hear whippoorwills in the distance
i hear lots of crickets and other insect noise makers
an occasional bull frog in our small watering ponds
a peacefull soulful solstice strawberry moon night out there
my moment of zen for the day

now ms b
you are lucky since you live in a city that has a big summer solstice
parade
its a funky type of fun parade that i am sure that you will really
enjoy with all the colors bells whistles music going on

hopefully you get to go so you can experience it
so you can start developing an appreciation for the
summer solstice celebrations
and
what they really mean

dont wash your dirty hands that day though
leave the nails with that dirt under them
youll feel much closer to the earth if you do this

lets put a boot to alzheimers
www.txalz.org/walk

donate and or join my team organicgreendoctor
for the alzheimers texas williamson county walk on september 24th

the organicgreen doctor

finally

FINALLY
i enjoy watching good basketball at all levels
from high school to college to the wnba to the nba

there are two nba basketball players that i would
travel just to watch them play
well ive had the honor of watching one of them play live

those two players are
steph curry
lebron james

lebron james ive watched live

now in this years nba final i watched every minute of all
7 games
ok so 6 of them i watched on dvr
at least i got to skip those dang commercials

in the 70 or so years of the nba finals
there has never been a team that was down
3-1 in the series
to come back and win it all
until
last night

folks i now believe in destiny
this was destined

now cleveland
much maligned as a city
and
much defeated in nba playoffs
has never ever won the finals

heck the city has a lot of professional teams
and
only rarely have them won any championships
not the cleveland indians well in 1920 and 1948 they did
not the cleveland browns that is the super bowl
the cleveland browns have been the joke of the nfl
like cleveland has been as a city
as the cleveland cavaliers have been as a nba team


espn-go.com

now lebron took them to the brink the finals
on his first go round there
losing
on his second stint there
loosing last year

cleveland the city of losing
losing jobs
losing population
losing respect
losing so much

this winning
means a lot to this city
just hope they didnt tear the city up last night
but man
i hope they celebrated all night long

if there was a superman
it would be lebron james
a triple double man in many games in the playoff
maybe even he was batman too

theres no doubt who the mvp of the nba finals was this year

for those in the dont knows
a triple double is getting at least 10 in three categories
like usually for lebron
points rebound assists

so i feel bad for the warriors
at least they won last year
if i had to chose between golden state and cleveland
to watch them play live
i would chose golden state warriors
steph is so silky smooth
a joy to watch

but
it was lebrons night
his final

i started the series wanting cleveland to win
i knew how much winning meant to the city
it meant a lot

i know they are getting the republican convention next month
but
i do worry what may happen inside that convention
and
worst
outside the convention with protesters
it could be worse than the democratic convention years ago

so cleveland
enjoy the day
stay cool
try to weather next month

maybe
this could be a turning point for the city

lebron
you be the man

the organicgreen doctor