Handcuffed

Hand-to-mouth living stumbles when the hands get cuffed. The mouth stays hungry. The most widely accepted form of Engine building is Pensions. We get that one day we will have reduced capacity to earn, but we will still need to live. Many Pension Funds started as Pay-As-You-Go which meant working members paid the pensions for retired members. A legitimate Ponzi Scheme. As long as new workers joined, they could support new retirees without any Capital. There has been a big shift to self-funding. Building up your own Capital over your working life. In part because we are living longer, so there aren’t enough working age people (hands) to support more and longer retirements (mouths). “Work Culture” where you spend what you earn without building a Buffer or Engine is equally precarious. I believe in a world with underlying financial security (Universal Basic Income) and individual Buffers (Emergency funds for 3-6 months) and Engines (Capital to contribute your Earnings when you can’t work). Nothing happens the way we planned. We adapt, adjust, and accommodate. That requires planning for when you can’t do that thing you do.