One of my Facebook friends is constantly triggered by things President Trump says or does.
It almost doesn’t matter what the issue is… he goes on flakebook and emotes.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t like Donald Trump.
Come to think of it, I don’t like any politician.
So, I don’t let them get to me. Not unless they somehow directly affect me.
This friend of mine feels he’s personally threatened by the whole issue over “the wall” and doesn’t like how Trump slams Mexicans. I’ll let you fill in the blanks as to why.
But… as far as I know… he’s a legal citizen. And yet, he overreacts to the idea of Mexicans being deported and so turned his whole life upsidedown and let one man in Washington dictate his life and actions.
He became reactionary and lost control.
Now… this Facebook friend of mine is not a bad guy.
It’s been a long time since we hung out IRL but… he’s a fairly laid back dood.
He’s normally funny, outgoing, a real stand-up kind of guy.
Which is what surprised me… how he let a politician get to him like that.
… to the point of doubling up on posting liberal memes and doing pretty much anything and everthing that’s anti-Trump.
Which is funny because… the dood isn’t a liberal.
Anyway, let’s talk about something serious. It doesn’t matter whether you’re liberal or conservative. There are only two political alternatives: pro individual rights or anti individual rights.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am pro individual rights.
Not pro woman rights.
Not pro gay rights.
Not pro trans rights.
Not pro Christian rights.
Not pro black rights.
Not pro Jewish rights.
Not even pro man (as versus pro-woman) rights.
…
Just pro-individual rights.
Moving on.
Because I’m pro-individual rights, I dislike things that trick people or coerce them into supporting bigger government or less freedom.
Things like Social Security but also… government-created tax qualified retirement plans.
Most all these plans are tax gimmicks with no real long-term benefit.
In fact, not only is your tax benefit nearly always erased, you end up paying more in taxes than you did while you were still working due to the constant inflation adjustment on withdrawals and, later, RMD adjustments made by the IRS.
It forever pushes you into a higher tax bracket and more total tax paid.
Investment advisors like to argue that if your tax rate is the same before and after retirement, then it doesn’t matter.
And that’s true IF your withdrawals don’t push you into a higher tax bracket.
But, for that to happen, you have to withdraw the same amount of money in retirement each and every year… forever.
And, if you do that, you end up forever shrinking your lifestyle.
In my way of thinking, if you adjusted your income, expenses, savings, and investment portfolio for inflation BEFORE you retire then… you’ll do it after as well.
Otherwise… yeah… shrinking your lifestyle until you can’t afford anything anymore.
Which is fine, if that’s how you want to spend your 70s, 80s, and possibly 90s.
Me?
I’d rather do things differently so I have more control over my savings, tax payments, and so on in my old age.
That doesn’t necessarily mean shunning investments or being “anti” anything. It just means thinking about the problem in a different way.
If that sounds interesting to you, or you just want a second opinion, then join my email list for an all-you-can-eat buffet of advice.