Over the past two weeks I have heard some interesting responses to my retirement announcement. Several of my colleagues - all of whom are members of the same teachers' retirement system - have indicated that they can't afford to retire. The comment goes something like this, "I wish I could afford to retire." I simply don't understand their position (unless they are raising children). The Georgia retirement benefit is 60% of an average of two years of your highest salary, with an additional 2% for every year of service. Quite generous.
As Bill McKibben explains so convincingly in Deep Economy, happiness does not correlate with high income. And isn't happiness the goal? I recommend this book to anyone who has ever been concerned about excessive growth and development. McKibben offers numerous examples of alternatives to unchecked growth that result in less waste of resources, better nutrition, a higher quality of life and, yes, even increased happiness.
The framing question for many of the decisions I make is paraphrased from Deep Economy. Posted on my refrigerator is this: "What is more when you already have too much?"
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