I’m a year younger than you so not a kid. My wife & I have no kids..Neither do either of my siblings although my wife has 3 siblings, each with 2 or 3 kids. By North American standards, we were middle class; like your Canadian example, house & car with Social Security & a small pension. We live in a poor country with terrible schools. Without a better education, those nieces & nephews will be as poor as their parents, renting a small house but without a car, not to mention the 6-day work week without paid vacations or health insurance, much less job security, unemployment insurance, etc. As I said, it’s a poor country, one where all wealth has been for generations has been held by ruling families. So we’re paying all the health & education expenses of those nieces & nephews through college. And because this is a poor country it is within our means as retirees to do that & take care of ourselves on the monthly checks. (Tuition for a year at a either of the private high schools they’re attending costs about US$400 while college is more but similarly modest.) Speaking for myself while looking back at my life, this is actually the most significant thing I’ve ever done & as such, my greatest achievement. True, it’s almost nothing from a global perspective. Nonetheless, it makes me both proud & happy to just try to make their futures a bit better.
When you say their houses cost them next to nothing, you have to realize the at the time they didn't cost next to nothing. Our first home cost $59,00.00 and it doesn't sound like a lot NOW. Between us we were making aprox. $35,000.00. Our mortgage was at 10 and 1/4 percent! And when our first child was born I stayed at home. Our vacations were at the family cottage otherwise we stayed home. Yes we paid for our daughters to go to university because we wanted them to excel and they have. And yes we helped them buy their first home because paying rent is like throwing money away. Yes my parents and my husbands parents left us some money and we invested it. But we've had a full life and are making sure we have enough if we need help in our later years. I don't see anything wrong with our wealth going to our children and not the community.
I have no family left living so everything will go to charity when I die. If there’s anything left. Should I need to go into aged care, everything will get eaten up by fees.
There is nothing wrong with you at all, Mr. Slayton. Your sensitivity to life shines through. I guess it's unusual for a lawyer to be sensitive, according to me. Based on some harrowing experiences I've had with lawyers, I had little idea that some lawyers had deep feelings such as you have conveyed through many of your posts. Please don't stop.
excellent points made. No doubt a deliberate echo, given the timing, of Michelle Obama's wonderful line at the Democratic National Convention, 'the affirmative action of generational wealth'...
I’m a year younger than you so not a kid. My wife & I have no kids..Neither do either of my siblings although my wife has 3 siblings, each with 2 or 3 kids. By North American standards, we were middle class; like your Canadian example, house & car with Social Security & a small pension. We live in a poor country with terrible schools. Without a better education, those nieces & nephews will be as poor as their parents, renting a small house but without a car, not to mention the 6-day work week without paid vacations or health insurance, much less job security, unemployment insurance, etc. As I said, it’s a poor country, one where all wealth has been for generations has been held by ruling families. So we’re paying all the health & education expenses of those nieces & nephews through college. And because this is a poor country it is within our means as retirees to do that & take care of ourselves on the monthly checks. (Tuition for a year at a either of the private high schools they’re attending costs about US$400 while college is more but similarly modest.) Speaking for myself while looking back at my life, this is actually the most significant thing I’ve ever done & as such, my greatest achievement. True, it’s almost nothing from a global perspective. Nonetheless, it makes me both proud & happy to just try to make their futures a bit better.
When you say their houses cost them next to nothing, you have to realize the at the time they didn't cost next to nothing. Our first home cost $59,00.00 and it doesn't sound like a lot NOW. Between us we were making aprox. $35,000.00. Our mortgage was at 10 and 1/4 percent! And when our first child was born I stayed at home. Our vacations were at the family cottage otherwise we stayed home. Yes we paid for our daughters to go to university because we wanted them to excel and they have. And yes we helped them buy their first home because paying rent is like throwing money away. Yes my parents and my husbands parents left us some money and we invested it. But we've had a full life and are making sure we have enough if we need help in our later years. I don't see anything wrong with our wealth going to our children and not the community.
I have no family left living so everything will go to charity when I die. If there’s anything left. Should I need to go into aged care, everything will get eaten up by fees.
Thank U SIR , a opinion is a skrip where we hald one or stand 11544 marcus^√
There is nothing wrong with you at all, Mr. Slayton. Your sensitivity to life shines through. I guess it's unusual for a lawyer to be sensitive, according to me. Based on some harrowing experiences I've had with lawyers, I had little idea that some lawyers had deep feelings such as you have conveyed through many of your posts. Please don't stop.
On the perils of inheritance, Gianni Schicchi says (sings) it all! https://youtu.be/GcH-2uHqLBs?si=lJHZNlvGbE_GlNAg
excellent points made. No doubt a deliberate echo, given the timing, of Michelle Obama's wonderful line at the Democratic National Convention, 'the affirmative action of generational wealth'...
What to do…. Travel until we can’t