Let's look at Tony's life. His mom died of cancer when he was 17. He knew, growing up, he would die of cancer, likely in his 40s or 50s. He majored in philosophy. ("what is the meaning of life?")

When he first heard of a newfangled retirement plan called a 401k, he probably learned also that there's be penalties if he withdrew before age 59 1/2. Let's see... dead by 60, no benfits till you're 59... hmmm.

And as for his cancer? It does not matter what country you live in, whether a republican or democrat is in office, or how many tests you have run, or how much money you throw it at-- the form of cancer Tony has will shorten his life no matter what.

I'm annoyed that Tony is saying he's not paid enough, but I would take a job that gave me a 20% payraise no matter who my boss was in a heartbeat. Tony alledgely can make double, perhaps 5x his current salary elsewhere. Would you give up even 50k of extra income for the chance to work with a man half the world hates? There's no glory in it, there's somewhat the opposite of glory.

i betcha tony NEVER assumed he'd die of cancer before retirement. younger people assume they're invulnerable, which is why they drink, smoke, drive over the speed limit, scuba dive, sky dive, etc.

and exactly how many times have we been told that a cancer cure should be available in 10-15 years?

i dont for a moment buy the notion that tony snows financial idiocy is all some crafty ploy because he was pessimistic about his health decades in the future.

idiocy is idiocy, not some some sort of "so dumb he's actually smart" paradox.

Well,

401(k) and IRA accounts can be deducted pentalty free for the following reasons:

Home Purchase - downpayment for first time home buyer

Insurance - can be used to cover medical insurance costs if unemployed for 12 months or self-employed without penalty.

Medical Expenses in excess of 7.5%

Disability

Educational expenses

Death (which would go to his family at their ordinary tax rate in the year of distribution

I'm not saying Tony was particularly smart or stupid. But I do think he greated his fate with some despair. He probably looked at the 401k and said meh, what's the point?

"younger people assume they're invulnerable"

Have you EVER met someone with a parent that has cancer? I have, and they are the exception to the "rule".

My mother has cancer - the worst kind Neurofibrosarcoma, in fact I do approach life with a fairly invulnerable attitude. I expect there is a 50 to 60% chance that I'll die of the same thing that afflicts her, it doesn't make me cautious it makes me more independent and less likely to go with convention. That doesn't mean I'm some "alternative" Joe, people like that are following conventions and expected behavior in their own groups.

I expect to live long enough to retire. I save aggressively-- 18% of my pre-tax earned income is going towards building net worth. I plan to have a comfy retirement, live to see great-grandchildren, and leave behind an inheritance. Bullish on long life, so to speak.

You may feel invulnerable, but are you saving like you plan to retire and live forever? Or do you, like Tony, spend like there is no tomorrow?

We don't actually know what Tony Snow is doing truly, unless you happen to have more accurate information than Slate does. So while I understand the thrust of your question, I don't think it applies to the subject in question. As for me, I do neither, I enjoy my life and do what I can to secure a retirement but I don't believe I obsess over it. Money holds no value to me anyway.

If you don't obsess over money, *why* are you on a messageboard talking about it?

I don't post on message boards unless I have interest in the subject matter :)

Interest != obsess

Perhaps that's another difference between you an I, I don't take conversations on this board seriously. It's tough to take anything on Slate seriously given the anger, vitriol, and utter contempt shown by a large number of the posters on any subject. Sarvis' comments about letting Snow rot was particularly contemptable. However occasionally I learn quite a bit about something new, and most often my opinions change based on what I read here - most of the time for the worst, occasionally for the better. Even RMLReturns says something I find agreeable from time to time.

It seems to me that it is very presumptious of you to assume to know the inner thoughts of Tony Snow.

Almost every family in this nation has been touched by cancer. I hope that Tony Snow hasn't lived his entire life pondering his inevitable early death and I seriously doubt that is the case. Watching him perform musically, I get the sense that he enjoys his life very much, thank you.

Mr. Snow was blessed at birth with a special talent. He has been very fortunate financially and he doesn't need to worry about availing himself of a 401K retirement plan. That is wonderful for him. I believe that the point of this article is that the vast majority of Americans are not so fortunate.

There is some hypocrisy involved when politicians with inherited wealth, government pensions and health care plans preach about an ownership society. The majority of Americans will never have such benefits available to them no matter how hard they work and/or study. Those are the hard, simple facts.

After the economic crash of the Great Depression, we decided that we could and should work together as a community to assure that no American would be left destitute in the event of encountering catastrophic bad luck. That is why we created the Social Security Insurance system. Many of the more fortunate amongst us have always felt that they didn't need this safety net and resented being forced to participate in the system.

Our strong manufacturing industry and labor unions brought affordable medical insurance to most Americans and that was a good, non-governmental system, although it has always been supported by tax incentives at the corporate level. That system is now failing. Those without insurance will get medical care, and those of us fortunate enough to still have insurance will pay for that care through increased fees and premiums. Those of us fortunate enough to be able to pay any medical expenses out-of-pocket will pay the higher fees, but not the higher premiums.

I hope that Tony Snow outlives his prognosis in good health. I hope that he also learns to appreciate the fact that many hard-working, patriotic Americans suffering his same fate don't enjoy the financial privileges that he does -- through no fault of their own.

What NightSwimmer said and the way he/she said it.

Horseshit! Who made you a psychic-oncologist? Because his Mom died when he was 17 has nothing to do with his lifespan.

Thanks.

BTW - I'm a he.

;-)

Madai? After reading several of your responses I'm inclined to believe that you are extremely naive and/or an idiot.

HeyMac, if you have looked into the facts, you would know you were making an idiot of yourself. The particular form of cancer Tony and his mom had is hereditary. I know that was way too hard for your puny brain to infer from my post, but the further fact is, Tony suffered from "ulcerative colitis," even before he got cancer, and colitis is a huge sign that you are at increased risk.

It's not being psychic at all. It's just a matter of getting the facts straight.

So, yes, moron, his mom's death (well her cause of death) has quite a bit to do with Tony's lifespan.