The funny thing is that Gary will be able to find health care if he needs it because he doesn't have much. Those of us who HAVE things find health care expensive if we don't have insurance. The ability to pay is what's looked at. Personally, I think it's a challenge to live that way the older you get. You get by fine when you're young. But the day comes when you're not so young anymore and things start to catch up with you. At the very least,seeing a dentist is so important. When I was young, I thought about working really hard while I was full of energy just in case I couldn't do it when I was older. That idea has come full circle now as I recently found out I have a rare genetic defect that rears it's ugly head as you get past 50. I'm real glad to have insurance---to not have to work, as I could never walk the miles at work that I used to. Chelone--I'm glad you feel my generation didn't screw things up. But today's CEO's and those in charge are from my generation and I think many of them are little better than cannon fodder. I remember the people in charge at the company I worked for. It was a fortune 500 company and most of the people in charge were MBA's and those who came in to their positions because an uncle was high in the company. It was like a bunch of weepy eyed little kittens who had genetic problems do to so much inbreeding. There wasn't a person there who had ever gotten their hands dirty. Wisdom doesn't come from standing around watching over things from afar. You can't sit in your ivory tower and say you know what the peasants go thru to deliver your daily bread. You only learn what's REALLY going on by being in the trenches. All CEO's should have to come up thru the company----or at the very least, have to spend a year's time on the production floor so he knows the business from the ground up. When these CEO's rule from the top down, the lowest they get is to the company president's office. I don't think you're being wimpy,behaviorkelton, because you worry about all the things that can befall you. I think you're being realistic. It's the fool who sits and thinks, "this won't happen to me." If God allows you to get old, it's a blessing. If God allows you to get old, it's a curse. ALL of life is a double-edged sword and you have to make the right choices or get a big old slap in the face. You have a duty to protect yourself, best you can. Any risks you take in life should be calculated risks. Not crazy, foolish,"take your life in your hands" kind of risks. Those who depend on you would not look kindly on the fact that you've died at 50, because of no health care,when you COULD have lived till 80 with it. Don't diminish your worth to the world and those around you.

Here are some of the greedy, stupid and irresponsible investors in the Madoff fund, and Madoff was a past chairman of the board of directors of the Nasdaq Stock Market as well as a member of the board of governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers and a member of numerous committees of the organization, according to his firm's Web site. That said, I am still waiting for the rants and raves from those who still want to believe that this economic tsunami was all about "stupid, greedy, irresponsible" mortgage borrowers. (foot tapping) Notice how all of these wealthy, highly educated folks did not understand they were being scammed. Where is the outrage on THEIR lack of due diligence. Hmmmm? "...New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon, GMAC LLC Chairman J. Ezra Merkin and former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman were among the dozens of seemingly sophisticated investors who placed money on what could prove to be history's largest financial scam. Giant French bank BNP Paribas, Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings Inc. and Neue Privat Bank in Zurich are also exposed, according to people familiar with the matter. And at least three funds of hedge funds -- which raise money from investors and farm it out to hedge funds -- may have significant losses. Fairfield Greenwich Group and Tremont Capital Management of New York placed hundreds of millions of their investors' dollars into funds overseen by Mr. Madoff. On Friday, Maxam Capital Management LLC reported a combined loss of $280 million on funds they had invested with Mr. Madoff. "I'm wiped out," said Sandra Manzke, Maxam's founder and chairman. The Darien, Conn., fund of hedge funds will have to close as a result of the losses, she said..... .....The alleged fraud has "swept up some of the most prominent and wealthy Americans, along with many people who thought they were embarking on a comfortable retirement and have now been left destitute," says Brad Friedman, a lawyer at Milberg LLP, which with Seeger Weiss LLP represents more than 30 investors with losses they believe could total more than $1 billion...... .....Details emerged Friday of how Mr. Madoff ran the alleged scam, fostering a veneer of exclusivity and creating an A-list of investors that became his most powerful marketing tool. From New York and Florida to Minnesota and Texas, the money manager became an insider's choice among well-heeled investors seeking steady returns. By hiring unofficial agents, tapping into elite country clubs and creating "invitation only" policies for investors, he recruited a steady stream of new clients. During golf-course and cocktail-party banter, Mr. Madoff's name frequently surfaced as a money manager who could consistently deliver high returns. Older, Jewish investors called Mr. Madoff " 'the Jewish bond,' " says Ken Phillips, head of a Boulder, Colo., investment firm. "It paid 8% to 12%, every year, no matter what." As his reputation grew, Mr. Madoff gained the trust of prominent businessmen, including ex-Eagles owner Mr. Braman, who owns a chain of Florida auto dealers. A voicemail message left with Mr. Braman's office was not immediately returned. Mets owner Mr. Wilpon, who also owns real-estate investor Sterling Equities, often raved about Mr. Madoff's investment prowess and invested tens of millions of dollars of both his own money and the team's with his company, say financiers who have worked with him. Mr. Madoff handled investments for the Judy & Fred Wilpon Family Foundation, which distributed about $1 million a year in 2005 and 2006 to charities, according to its most recent federal tax returns..... .....Mr. Merkin, the chairman of former General Motors Corp. financing arm GMAC, is also a money manager at Ascot Partners LLC in New York. Ascot, which had $1.8 billion under management as of Sept. 30, had substantially all of its assets invested with Mr. Madoff, according to a letter to Mr. Merkin sent to clients Thursday night. Mr. Merkin said as one of the largest investors in Ascot, he believed he had personally "suffered major losses from this catastrophe." Mr. Merkin could not be reached for comment. Mr. Madoff tapped social networks in Dallas, Chicago, Boston and Minneapolis. In Minnesota, he attracted investors from Hillcrest Golf Club of St. Paul and Oak Ridge Country Club in Hopkins, investors say. One of them estimated that investors from the two clubs may have invested more than $100 million combined. One of the largest clusters of Madoff investors was in Florida, where losses could be substantial. Mr. Madoff relied on a network of friends, family and business colleagues to attract investors. According to investors and agents, some of these agents were paid commissions for harvesting investors. Others had separate, lucrative business relationships with Mr. Madoff. "If you were eating lunch at the club or golfing, everyone was always talking about how Madoff was making them all this money," one investor says. "Everyone wanted to sign up." Jeff Fischer, a top divorce attorney in Palm Beach, says many of his clients were also Mr. Madoff's clients. "Every big divorce that came through my office had portfolio positions with Madoff," he says. Two of his investors said that among his clients, Mr. Madoff was considered a money-management legend; they would joke that if Mr. Madoff was a fraud, he'd take down half the world with him.... ...Richard Spring, a Boca Raton resident and former securities analyst, says he had about $11 million -- or 95% of his net worth -- invested with Mr. Madoff. "That's how much I believed in him," Mr. Spring said.

There was a tsunami that caused huge devastation in the south-west Pacific and the Indian Ocean, what, about three years ago? Dozens of villages, even some cities, were almost destroyed. There have been recent earthquakes in Turkey, Pakistan and China that caused huge devastation in those limited areas, as well. Millions in southern Sudan are being kicked out of their area, their villages burned, because another ethnic group wants the oil that lies under their land, and many of the Masai herders, whose cattle are their wealth, are finding their cattle dying due to ongoing droughts in their area, the expansion of the Sahara. They were so much poorer than we are, even before they were overwhelmed by the disaster. "In God we trust" is found on some currency ... in case there may be a God ...does God care less for them than for us? It is not an easy task, separating the wheat from the chaff ... but, for some who claim to be religious, aren't we exhorted to be hard headed ... and soft-hearted. Don't the Christians claim that that was the way that Christ was? Good wishes for finding the important/worthwhile ways in life. ole joyful P.S. I agree that I find the interminable amd multiple requests for support somewhat off-putting ... and if they gave some worthwhile and specific information about what they've been doing lately, I'd find their messages somewhat less so. Many - including my churches - ask me to agree to monthly automatic contributions, and I've told several that I refuse ... for, should there be inadequate funds on hand to cover the $10.00 (or whatever) per month, for three of them ... ... 3 X $35.00 mounts up to $105.00 - which is what my bank will charge for three dishonoured cheques or preauthourized remittances. No ... thank ... you!! That said, I don't like the standing outside the door of the food store selling overpriced chocolate bars, to support some charity that I've never heard of ... but I explain my position courteously to the practitioner, for my quarrel is not with him/her. o j

I am a boomer that relies on SSA and two tiny pensions to survive. I worked my entire life from age 17 on, paying into the system all along the way. I fit into that group of now retired workers that didn't really have an opportunity to contribute substantially to any retirement savings account like a 401K (instituted too late along the career path) and was not employed at a high enough salary level to be able to save much of anything anyway. My husband and I (when I was married) barely made enough to make ends meet, let alone save. In fact, we lost our home to foreclosure (the real estate crunch and a sub-par lender – bad combo) and divorced soon after. I am not alone in this situation. Other than utilities and car insurance, I have no bills. My car is paid for (nearly 20 yrs. old), no credit cards. And other than Medicare, no insurance. I simply cannot afford it. My biggest expense aside from rent is food and as a single person, that's not all that huge an expense but boy, have I ever noticed a sharp increase in my grocery bills over the last couple of years for essentially the same goods!! Right now I am looking for a new place to live – my tiny 650sf rental property of more than 6 years is about to be developed. I am finding that anything that fits my budget is barely livable – most want an income level 3 times the rent, whereas I barely can cover twice my current rent (although I have managed it successfully for the last 6 years). What's the alternative........homelessness?? For those retirees that can afford to live comfortably and securely without SSA, good for you!! But there are a lot of us out there that cannot, through no fault of our own. And Social Security alone – even with my small additional pensions – is barely a living income. Let me tell you, it is a tough row to hoe and causes me some sleepless nights and more stress than I would like to have to deal with. I have put off some major dental care I need simply because I couldn't afford it. Thankfully, a family member is coming forward to help out with that or I'd be walking around with no teeth in my mouth! I do receive some additional income from a small home business I conduct, however it is very seasonal and somewhat unreliable in its size and predictability and so cannot be used for income calculations for my housing situation. But it does just manage to keep the wolf from the door :-) As I said, I am not alone in these circumstances. I can think of any number of seniors in the same boat in my area. Please do not begrudge those of us who are forced to live in the reduced circumstance of just our SSA income, such as it is. It is not a pleasant or secure way to live out our “golden” years.