Pre-Boomer Musings

The onetime jewel in this country’s crown of achievement and testament to the “good life” has tarnished to the point were it is unlikely to be restored to its former greatness.  With unbridled spending by a virtual one-party State Assembly and Senate, unsustainable concessions to public sector unions, unfriendly restrictions and taxes on business along with personal income taxes and sales taxes that are among the highest in the nation, it’s no wonder the California dream has turned into a nightmare.

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California is ranked 7th worldwide in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), placing the state above nations such as Spain and Canada.  There was a 50 percent increase in the number of new residents from 1980 to 2000, today there are 37 million people living in California, which represents 8.5 percent of the US population. 

But the population mix is changing.  Since the millennium, businesses have moved or closed at an alarming rate, causing the state to lose corporate taxes and the revenues skilled workers represent.  Even the work for unskilled labor has been diminished with draconian environmental laws for manufacturers and farmers losing vital irrigation sources in order to protect an endangered minnow at the expense of growing crops to feed the nation and the world. 

At the same time, pension funds for public sector employees has increased 2,000 percent in the last decade while revenues are up only 24 percent.  The state deficit for this year will be in excess of $20 billion.  What happened to the money from the state lottery?  Native American casinos?  Increased gas taxes?  Higher sin taxes ( cigarettes and alcohol)?  The recent hikes in sales taxes at the state and local levels?  Are Californians destined to depend on the legalization of marijuana and the taxes gained from it to tide the state over until the next financial crunch?

Too many special interest groups resulting in too many petitions that end up as ballot propositions have taken much of the budget responsibility away from the elected representatives.  This experiment in direct democracy may be popular with residents, but it hampers budget control – assuming the free-spenders in Sacramento would actually be concerned about finances as opposed to pushing their own agendas.

The cycle of higher taxes imposed in order to pay for immigration services, education, health care, an aging infrastructure and increasing government costs are hangovers from the glory days of the Golden State.  This is not 1960 or 1985.  It is 2010 and the countdown to self-destruction is a reality. 

Change is not an option; it is an imperative.  The voters of California must send a loud and clear message to politicians to stop the madness.  If they don’t listen, perhaps the state can declare bankruptcy (not actually do it, just take it to the brink before the federal government steps in), get out from under the commitments that shackle reform and start anew.  If California gets a fresh start other states might follow.  Think it could work?

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The Federal Government’s budget will be the highest in history, topping $3.8 trillion, while the deficit for this year is pegged at $1.6 trillion for the fiscal year starting in July, 2010.  That’s a long way from where these numbers were 50 years ago when most pre-boomers were in the workforce, or would be soon.  In 1960 the budget was $92.2 billion and nearly balanced.  What went wrong?

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Those of us born between 1930 and 1945 are part of a generation that learned how to control our family budgets over the years, and many of us were responsible for business budgets as well.  It never occurred to us to borrow money to run our household or a company knowing we could never pay it back.  Back then, credit cards were just getting started.  American Express was introduced in the ‘60s and those qualifying for the card had to pay the balance at the end of each monthly billing period.  It wasn’t until the ‘70s, when Visa and MasterCard came on the scene and allowed consumers to build a balance and pay finance charges for the unpaid amounts on their accounts.

Making it easy to spend money is never considered an excuse for spending more than a person can afford to pay back.  Yet, we have been educated – maybe propagandized is a more appropriate word – to believe this is the way government works.  That’s why the national debt is $13 trillion.  Image if your personal budget had to pay a third or more of every dollar taken in for interest on the things you bought in the past but had yet to pay for them.  Well, this is how our government handles the monies we entrust to them. 

The proposed budget freeze only slows down the out-of-control spending in selectively, because most of the budget is committed and not discretionary.  It does not address the problem of throwing good money after bad, because once the feds get their hands on our tax dollars they feel compelled to find something to spend it on, or worse yet create new programs requiring more funding.  Government is addicted to spending our money.

If the New Seniors don’t want to pass this debt on to our children and grandchildren, then we must be sure our voices of protest are heard.  We did this in opposition to the government takeover of health care.  Our generation showed concern early on and kept the momentum going throughout the year.  Now we should be looking for candidates in the upcoming elections who understand our needs and are willing to listen to us.   Why, then, can’t we insist on having our elected representatives be fiscally responsible?

Sitting back is not an option.  This country has been good to us.  We believe in what it stands for and want those generations following us to have the opportunities we had.   If that’s not reason enough to get involved, consider the possibility of tax increases, inflation or both.  Those retirement investments we worked so hard for are worth less than before, yet the gains may be taxed at a higher rate.  At the same time, increases in Social Security benefits are on hold and Medicare is slated to be slashed.  If these situations aren’t enough to get you moving, then nothing will.  Come on, join in the fight for what’s right.

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Talking with a friend from the South, brought back memories for this pre-boomer about the local products I enjoyed as a kid.  He thought a great after school snack was an RC Cola and a Moon Pie.  My favorite, as a Philadelphian, was a Hires Root Beer and a Tastykake.  It wasn’t until we were older and started traveling that either one of us got to taste what the other liked as a kid because these were regional brands that were not best sellers, or in many instances not available, except in specific areas of the country.

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Loving the foods from my hometown, I fondly remembered my favorites: Philly Cheese Steaks, soft pretzels, scrapple, tomato pie (the early local name for pizza) as well as a host of others.  It was great fun recalling these gastronomical memories and my mouth watered as I yearned for just one taste, which would hardly be enough.

This got me thinking about food and drink from coast to coast.  So I contacted a few friends who grew up in different parts of the country and did a bit of online research to come up with some of the snacks and drinks New Seniors enjoyed when we didn’t have to worry about our waste lines or our cholesterol.

New Englanders’ had a drink called Moxie which was popular until Coke (first formulated in Atlanta) and Pepsi (the alternative to Coke that moved from its North Carolina roots to New York City) began to make inroads against the stronger tasting Moxie.  Even the endorsement of Boston Red Sox star Ted Williams’ could not stop the slide of this once famous drink.  That section of the country, as with other regions, had lots of flavored drinks produced by local bottlers.

In New York, besides Pepsi, there were lots of bottlers.  Among them was Dr. Brown’s a soda which appealed to the areas large Jewish population and spread nationwide because of it.  In the Midwest, where carbonated soft drinks (“sodas”) are called “pop,” Vernor’s Ginger Ale was popular as was Faygo, with all its flavors.  Dr. Pepper was a big in the Southwest and there was Shasta on the West Coast.  There were no diet drinks back then.

Any of these drinks was perfect for washing down our favorite sub sandwiches.  But that’s not what they were called everywhere.  Grinder was the name for this Italian specialty in the Northeast.  A Hero is what New Yorkers ordered.  In Philly it was a Hoagie.  New Orleans spawned the name Po’ Boy, which was Poor Boy in St. Louis.  Chicago had the Italian Beef sandwich.  Blimpie, Torpedo, Rocket, Bomber and Zeppelin are all names used for this hearty sandwich that may change its ingredients, but not its shape, depending on the part of the country where it is made.

The differences by geographic areas are sometimes striking.  By the same token you may surprised by the similarities of some items, except for the name the locals call it.  Whatever the case, our memories tell us how much we enjoyed the tastes of our favorite foods and drinks from long ago.

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Congressman, Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) recently announced he will introduce a bill designed to create a million jobs for unemployed workers by allowing people who have reached 60 to take early retirement.  The question is, how can adding to the growing roles of those on Social Security and other government-run/taxpayer-funded programs possibly be good for the nation’s financial woes?

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“Many older workers can’t wait to retire, while many younger workers desperately need work.  My plan enables older workers to take early retirement, thereby freeing up those jobs for younger workers who are currently unemployed.  If just 25% of eligible workers choose to retire early, we can very quickly open one million job opportunities.  These are not temporary jobs, but permanent jobs that already exist in our economy, even under the current recessionary circumstances,” said Kucinich.

To many, this might seem like a sound idea, since more than two-thirds of workers elect to take early retirement based on Social Security (SS) rules offering reduced benefits at age 62.  The Congressman’s plan would reduce the eligibility age to 60 for the first million (25% of those eligible) who are willing to retire, now.  The money would come from the funds already allocated for job stimulus and health insurance would be covered by a different federal spending act.  This is still the taxpayers’ money.  Right? 

The broad concern about such a move is that it does not create new jobs; instead this simply replaces one worker with another.   In essence it takes a productive, experienced worker and replaces them with one that is younger but untrained.  Of course, the argument may be that the newer one will do the job for less money and fewer benefits.  

Public sector employees may welcome early retirement, since they usually receive better benefits after leaving the workforce than do those from the private sector.  Unfortunately, taxpayers are saddle with these retirement benefits (up to a whopping 90% of what they got while on the job) for the rest of the employee’s life.  And if they so choose, the employee is young enough at age 60 to find another job, with the net result to them being more income than before.  This also means taking a job that might have been filled by someone who is already unemployed.  Does this make sense?

Pre-boomers know what its like to plan for retirement and many of us have made the transition.  We know it’s not as easy as those who have yet to go through the process think it is.  The prospects of living another 25 or more years is worrisome when our fixed incomes are affected by the financial market volatility and out-of-control government spending.  On top of this we are faced with a freeze on SS benefit increases and a $500 billion decrease in the Medicare budget. 

The 65+ market is about to experience a population explosion as boomers become New Seniors next year.  Before fixing anything else, well-meaning politicians need to talk to those of us living in retirement before trying to add more people to our roles.

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We pre-boomers grew up in a time when there was no doubt that this country was the world leader in virtually everything we could think of.  Our generation was born between 1930 and 1945, so we saw results of what a united people are capable of doing.  Rising from the ashes of the Great Depression, being drawn into fighting wars on two fronts and the launch of the post-war boom were just the beginning.  During the next 50 years, more than any country in the world, we invented more products, our workers produced more goods and our government did more to improve the quality of life at home and abroad.

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This was not an accident.  America was always exceptional.  From the time the early settlers arrived on our shores through the colonists’ fight for freedom to the war on slavery and our joining in WWI, the citizens believed in doing what is right rather than what is easy.  If others suffered, we suffered with them and tried to right the wrong, without regard for what dissenters might think or say. 

The same kind of attitude prevailed in our nation’s businesses, both large and small.  A good idea became a great idea when people got excited and applied American ingenuity and old-fashioned hard work to make the dream come true.  Our generation saw the advent of frozen food including pizza, television followed by TV dinners, jet travel, fast food restaurants, a man on the moon spawned Tang in several flavors as well as satellites, copying and answering machines, pagers, cell phones, personal computers and all the hi-tech gear that followed, plus much more.

Most of these inventions changed our lives forever and continue to prompt change as they inspire an ongoing flood of new and improved products vying for the consumer’s attention – many of which will make our quality of life somewhat better, and all of them are designed to make money for the individuals and companies involved in bringing these products to the marketplace, here and around the world.  America has always provided an atmosphere for creativity and we have shown the world how to market goods and services.  So, while there’s cheap labor available in other parts of the world, we are the ones with the ideas, build the initial products and provide the marketing capabilities to establish brands worldwide.

Because America creates what others eventually copy, we must continue to innovate in areas such as energy, food and pharmaceuticals for the world.  The need to innovate applies to more than business ventures.  Our educational system is in great need of help.  Just as we test market products, it is vital to try then perfect new ways to better educate our children and prepare them for the changing world they will face.  America’s health care system needs to be studied and revamped to attend the needs of the aging citizens and to make it affordable to our younger population.

America’s exceptionalism will be challenged in the years ahead.  We must not let this happen from within.  Instead, we have to view the problems facing us lemons and make some lemonade.  That’s the American way.

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