Our retirement system is broken. But the Deficit Commission's plan is to break it even further.
I know first hand how just broken the system is--I took an "early" retirement two years ago because my back forced me to.
I worked as a driver at a New York City laundry for 19 years, delivering fresh linen to nursing homes and hospitals while picking up used linen. The easiest part about my job was driving a truck in the New York City streets. The linen came in 600-pound containers that I loaded and unloaded myself. Making 63 deliveries and 63 pickups, I would move 75,600 pounds of linen per day.
When I was 62, my back couldn't handle the work and I retired. I was the oldest driver at the laundry. Because I retired early I will make $6,000 less a year for the rest of my life and will receive $120,000 less over the next 20 years. I hated sacrificing that money, but my back was more important.
I was lucky enough to have a modest pension to help me make ends meet. But more and more workers don't have pensions and they can't rely on their 401(k)s as the market continues to sag. But now the Deficit Commission is recommending we raise the retirement age to 69.
Most of the commission members are in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s. Before they recommend the rest of us work until we're 68, why don't they try moving around a couple tons of laundry first?
