[Vision2020] taxation

[Dale Courtney]

Scott asks:
> I'm sure this will all work out much better than your gloom
> and doom scenarios.  I also expect that with fewer workers in
> the job pool, those workers will enjoy nice big fat paychecks
> and won't be hurting too terribly to support the
> infrastructure that allows them to flourish.  Do you have a
> graph on that?  The increase of median salaries when the
> worker pool shrinks and yet the demand for workers grows?

Actually, these are not *my* doom and gloom scenarios -- although I agree
with the SSA's findings.

Here's the rub -- the rate at which life expectancies are increasing and the
rate at which baby boomers are retiring is *significantly* higher than the
rate at which you suggest we'll have better paying jobs. I challenge you to
find anything from the Labor Department that shows otherwise. 

First, we cannot fill all the labor slots that are going to be vacated by
retirees (because of our decreasing pool of wage-earners).

Second, technology and other efficiencies are leading to a workforce that is
smaller for the GDP (read: more efficient). That has also been the findings
of the Labor Department as we come out of this recession.

Finally, I think you missed the point of the investment seminar you
attended. The point is not how to make less money (that's a no-brainer --
work less). Rather, it's how to make more money while not letting the
government take an increasing amount away. The point is how to stay out of
that highest marginal tax bracket while still increasing your overall
income.

Think how generous we all could be to the "Christine and Scott Dredge
Engineering Endowment Fund" if we didn't have 40% of all our income going
for taxes!

Best,
Dale