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Now that summer is here most New Seniors will, no doubt, have some favorite recollections of their youth.  From playing with friends and neighbors to get-a-way cabins by the lake or cottages by the ocean to going to camp or being involved in local activities the time was full but we always wanted to have more things to occupy our time.  Over the years, the reality of youthful impetuousness and the desire to be constantly entertained has given way to an appreciation, maybe a yearning, for those easier softer times.

Younger people may look at nostalgia as an older person’s day dream.  This may be because the young are not far enough away from life’s events for people, places and things to have a lasting impact or meaning on them.  Another reason that the past is significant is when the product, service or circumstance no longer exists.  And, the older you get the more things disappear and the more attractive those memories become.

In due time the Gen X, Y and whatever other generational groups come along will find their own moments of nostalgia.  These may be the quiet days before the Internet was invented, remembering their first cell phone, what was “in” prior to body piercing and tattoos becoming popular, or how enjoyable life was before the great recession.  Time will reveal what is worth remembering for today’s younger people when they become tomorrow’s older people.

New Seniors who were born in the ‘30s through the mid-‘40s are considered pre-boomers.  While the depression is not stored in their memory banks, WWII is.  They remember the war years and the ultimate victories.  The coming on the scene of television, 45rpm records, the Korean Conflict, 3-D movies, moving to the suburbs, and the birth of rock and roll were all important events in the lives of pre-boomers. 

Boomers did not start arriving until 1946, but they took what their older brothers and sisters had and expanded on it.  They experienced Vietnam with its protests, civil rights and the women’s movements, plus a whole lot more.  They are turning 65 at the rate of 4 million individuals per year and will continue to do so through 2030 until all 76 million of them have attained New Senior status.

What will be nostalgic in the minds of boomers as they continue the aging process?  Will it be the historic events such as those mentioned above, those that are frivolous in nature like or strictly personal situations that can be conjured up anytime they want to take a break from the stress and strain of modern life?  Whatever the reason remembering the good times can’t be a bad thing.   

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Back in the ‘60s, the federal government decided it was in our best interest to have cigarette packages carry a warning that smoking could be a health hazard.  It appeared on the side of every package.  Soon it appeared in all ads as well.  The next move was the banning of all cigarette advertising on both radio and television.  Then, there were more and harsher warnings along with educational campaigns that spread the woes of second-hand smoke.  This led to smoking bans in restaurants and virtually anyplace outside of ones home or car.  Now, even these once safe havens are also under attack.  

Continued pounding away at the dangers of cigarettes achieved the desired result of reducing the number of Americans who smoked.  However, with this came reduced revenues, since tobacco products were an important source of tax dollars.  So, the government did what it does best and raised taxes on tobacco products, particularly cigarettes.  All the while, subsidies were still being paid to tobacco farmers.

Less than half the percentage of US adults smoke today compared to a half-century ago.  However, what seems to be a never ending quest to control the electorate, politicians and their bureaucratic colleagues are pushing harder to reduce cigarette usage.  This seems like a strange way to treat a legal product that generates considerable tax dollars.  But the decision has been made to scare people to stop or never start smoking in the name of better health for everyone.

Have you seen the illustrations that will be adorning the cigarette packages?  There’s a clean lung next to a smoker’s lung.  Another has a smoker sporting a tracheotomy.  And, of course, there is one that features a corpse, with the body obviously being that of a smoker.  There are others, but you get the idea.

Only the die-hard smoker in denial, a cigarette company executive or a politician from a tobacco growing state will extol the benefits of smoking.  Therefore, we will probably see tobacco usage decline further.  Taxes will be increased so the cash cow can continue to fund the projects aimed at shrinking the size of the market in this game of round robin. 

What non-smokers have to worry about is if the government will use the same heavy-handed tactics to stop us from eating the foods we enjoy.  This, then, becomes an attack on our freedom.  Are we willing to allow Big Brother to usurp individual choices and personal responsibilities in order to conform with what someone else says is good for us?  Isn’t it time to let the elected representatives know, as Americans, we still claim the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

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With more than 14 million workers unemployed and millions of others under-employed or lacking skills to get ahead the future looks rather grim.  And with manufacturing jobs going overseas, most of them unlikely to return, our once big consuming society is about to turn into a nation of individuals who are just-getting-by.

Government spending has done little to improve the situation.  To the contrary, the United States is deeper in debt than at anytime in the 235 years since our founding.  Our elected representatives can’t or refuse to find common ground on spending issues.  And, the unfunded liabilities at the federal, state and local levels are about to leave these government entities and individual voters broke.

Americans have always rallied to overcome adversity.  The question is will we be able to do it again?  This nation does best when we unite and work together to accomplish the seemingly impossible.  We did this through wars, financial crisis, physical disasters and more.  Yet many wonder if we have strayed so far from the founding principles that selfish interests will take precedence over consideration for the greater good.

The 76 million Baby Boomers were told they were special and acted that way.  Referred to as the “me generation,” they changed the national landscape over the past 50 years.  It was the baby boomers who fought against the war in Vietnam while fighting for civil and women’s rights.  They continued to make an impact throughout all these years. 

Boomers, for better and worst, helped make America what it is today.  Now, they are becoming New Seniors as the oldest of them turn 65 this year.  And, they will continue to do so at the rate of 4 million per year through 2030.  However, it must be remembered, this generation has not been known for making sacrifices.

The folks who are part of Gen X, and Y along with those coming after them are scrambling to provide for their families, as are the younger Boomers.  So, the New Seniors must act like the adults.  We have the experience and desire to make America the land of opportunity for our children, our grandchildren and their children as it was for us.

There’s a lot on our collective plates.  Besides stopping the spending spree, we must address the short and long-term future for both Social Security and Medicare.  At the same time, faith in America has got to be restored.  We have seen this happen before, yet many of those who have not experience great national problems are turning pessimistic and believe that America is on a path of decline.  This defeatist attitude is truly the greatest evil of all.  New Seniors can play an important role in overcoming such thinking.

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New Seniors (pre-boomers and the early baby boomers) are the ones who benefited most from the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.  It may seem strange to those younger than we are to consider being born during the Great Depression or WWII to be a good thing.  But it was.  We saw first hand, or soon came to understand, what incredible strength, faith and courage our parents and the others of their era had.  They were patriots.

They, their parents or earlier ancestors, came to this country with a dream: the hope of building a new and better life.  One were they could be free.  And, one where their children would have endless opportunities to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  These people left behind whatever they had and whomever they knew to come to America.  They understood it would not be easy but believed it would be worth it.

Few arrived here with money or the possibility of work.  They lucky ones had friends or relatives provide them with food and shelter.  When jobs were found, the hours were long and the tasks difficult.  Yet these new Americans were determined to make it and while doing so they made this country a better place for all of us.  This makes them patriots.

It’s almost impossible for us to think of what they went through.  Although stories passed down let us know it was no cake walk.  What our patriot parents went through was a long arduous journey through the ‘30s and directly into fighting a War on two fronts in the early ‘40s.  Many of us remember those war days, when people lived in both fear and faith for nearly five years.  And we all benefited from their efforts as the country moved from 15 long years of darkness into the sunshine of post-war prosperity.

Those who carried the message of family tradition and the responsibility that goes with the freedoms enjoyed in this great country of ours are leaving us at an ever increasing rate.  The pre-boomers are approaching old age as the boomers join us as New Seniors.  In the meantime, we have work to do in order to help get the US back on track.

This Independence Day, let us commit ourselves to using what we learned and what we believe to reignite the feeling of patriotism within in our families, our friends and our communities.  The true greatness of America began with the individual and became  bigger, stronger and more beautiful as people worked together to make this the land of the free and the home of the brave.  This may be the moment in history when we can do our part to let the American dream live on for our children and grand children.  There is no better birthday gift we could give to the country that gave so much to us.

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We are allowing a minority fringe to hijack America by changing our accepted and preferred way of life to fit their agenda.  And, it affects a great deal more than shooting off fireworks one day a year in the local park.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal government’s arm for setting rules and regulations to keep American clean, safe and beautiful for all its inhabitants, human and otherwise.

Has this agency become more interested in control than it is for the total welfare of the more than 300 million people living here?  Take the three inch long smelt that is endangered by the irrigation system in California’s Central Valley farm area.  Billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs have vanished because the government has closed down the canals.  No wonder food prices are going through the roof.

There’s a species of lizard in West Texas that is dwindling in numbers.  If the environmentalist get their way oil drilling there will be put on hold.  Add that to the lack of drilling licenses issued for the Gulf of Mexico after the BP oil spill, along with the administrations refusal to drill offshore in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans or tap into the rich reserves in Alaska and it is understandable why we are being held hostage by those unfriendly countries (Canada excluded) that export oil to us.

The effort to get Americans to switch to other forms of fuel has been spectacularly unsuccessful.  Ethanol costs more to produce and results in corn shortages worldwide.  Without this commodity, many will die.  Electric cars have been proposed, but coal is frowned upon as an energy because it pollutes, even though it is a highly cost-effective energy source and abundantly available within the borders of the continental US. 

However, neither the facts nor the current financial straits we are experiencing seem to stop the government from blindly forging ahead with plans to immediately take America off oil and change the country to renewable energy, sort of like they way it wants us to instantly change our eating habits.  How do they intend to make this happen? Wind and solar power are still a more expense form of energy. Plus, depending on how the energy will be used, power grids and charging stations must be built – a long and expensive process.  And, nuclear energy became taboo after the disaster in Japan.

The energy situation is just one of the areas where the environmental activists, the EPA and the administration appear to be working at cross-purposes with the will and needs of the people.  It’s time we took a stand and said no more regulations until America gets back on its feet.  Maybe the place to start is by being sure we can celebrate the country’s birthday with a rip-roaring, patriotic display of fireworks.

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Jennifer Garner, actress turned advocate for Save the Children, thanked the administration for the funding but warned, “this is not enough.”  She went on to tell reporters, “I have a child entering kindergarten and believe it or not, a huge part of why you are successful and bright and cheerful, clean, pretty looking people is because you were able to sit in a circle when you got to kindergarten – that is kindergarten readiness.”

So let’s get this straight, Ms. Garner and others like her believe that being able to be still and sit in a circle is kindergarten readiness?  Try selling this concept to the parents of any healthy, active 5 year old boy or even some girls.  Could the objective of the program be to produce a bunch of cookie-cutter kids that behave the way they are told and, therefore, can be trained in a way that will allow the government to teach young absorbent minds what it wants them to learn?

Isn’t it the parents responsibility to provide the early instruction, basic training if you will, for the children?  They teach the toddlers by example, reading to them and exposing them to society.  Family values are a big part of a child’s development.  Should parents leave this up to the state?  What about the notion of religious teaching?  No school receiving federal funding will be permitted carry out the wishes of all parents, so whatever the children are taught will necessarily be religion-free. 

By taking the child out of the home environment the parent forfeits the early nurturing contact with the youngster and deprives the children this basic need.  Operating under government regulations will mean all children must receive the same degree of care and attention in order to provide equal treatment.

Some may argue that many families are comprised of working couples or single parents, which justifies the need for toddler schools.  This is outweighed by the potential loss of parental control and authority government run facilities the will occur.  If you doubt this, look at today’s public elementary schools compared to when we were young.  Bible reading and prayer are out, but revisionist history and gender diversity education are in.

This new program is designed to establish the government as the super-parent, the all-knowing and all-providing entity that will take care of everyone’s needs from the cradle on, and do it fairly as opposed to the way a living, loving parent does.  Is this what America is becoming?  If you like this, go with it.  If you question this approach to raising our kids, contact your elected representative and let them know that you believe parents must have responsibility over their children.

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The forerunner to the company was established in the 1880s when the firm’s founder invented a machine that helped the US Census Bureau complete the tabulating task in two rather than ten years and saved the government millions.  In 1911, this firm combined with three others to form the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation (CTR).

In 1914, Thomas J. Watson joined the company as general manager and became president a year later.  He was innovative and believed in team work as well the motivation and retention of good employees.  Soon after he arrived, the first disabled employee was hired.  He started training programs.  And it was Watson who coined the famous company slogan: “Think.”   Ten years after his arrival, the company changed its name in order to more accurately reflect the company’s mission and goals to International Business Machines (IBM).

Even during the Great Depression, IBM continued to hire people and was among the first companies to provide group life insurance, survivor benefits and paid vacations.  All the while, Watson saw to it that the firm reinvested in its future through research and development activities.  He strongly believed in “world peace through world trade” and had that statement inscribed on the headquarters building in New York.  But, when WWII broke out, he offered his company’s facilities for the production of military ordnances.  It was during the war that the first woman became an IBM vice president.  Immediately after the war ended, the company hired its first black salesman.

As the post war recovery took place, the company was faced with making the transition from mechanical counter devices and systems to the electronic age.  This effort was interrupted with Watson’s death at age 82.  His son, Tom Watson, JR., took over and completely reorganized the company while keeping his father’s philosophies and policies in place.  After his retirement in 1971, IBM continued to flourish.

The shift to PCs and an influx of new technology in the early 1990s had a devastating effect on IBM.  It had to shed old products and seek new areas of opportunities. The firm lost nearly half its workforce, but continued to practices the proven principles for success.  

Today, less than two decades later, IBM is back up to about the same number of employees and revenues have increased to well above previous levels.  This demonstrates that a commitment to excellence at all levels within a company can payoff for everyone involved, in spite of setbacks.  Other companies could learn from IBM’s performance.  And, the government might learn a thing or two as well, if it were so inclined.    

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More than 6 in 10 women have a negative opinion about how well the children will do compared to half of all the men surveyed for a Rasmussen study conducted in June.  Again, younger adults of both genders have a more positive view of the future than their older counterparts.

Along racial lines, whites were the most pessimistic with 60% saying the years ahead look bleak, while only 48% of blacks agreed and those designated as others (mostly Hispanics and Asians) being the least negative at just 38%.

Asked if it is still possible for anyone in the US to work hard and get rich 28% of respondents answered yes, the lowest rating in the last 2 years.  More than twice the percentage of men said yes versus women.  The 18 to 29 and 65+ age groups were most negative while about a third of those between 30 and 64 were optimistic.

In terms of getting rich through hard work, the most positive group of all were the others in the racial sub-group with 44% saying yes to the children’s future.  This group also believed it was possible for anyone who wants to work to find work with 65% answering affirmatively compared to 44% of all adults.  Could this attitude be attributed to so many of the other group being immigrants or the children of immigrants?

The question of whether it is possible for anyone in the US to work their way out of poverty received a yes answer from 44% of the adults surveyed.  The men were more positive with 57% saying yes versus just 36% of the women.  The 18 to 29 age group was lowest with 25%.  All race groups were in keeping with the percentage of total adults stating a positive belief that in this country people can work themselves out of poverty.

Concern over poverty is mounting with 7 in 10 respondents saying more people are living in it than a decade ago.  And, a plurality (45%) of those surveyed said the current government anti-poverty programs actually increase poverty.  However, the state of poverty in America is not what it is in third world countries where nearly all children are faced with disease, starvation and a lack of education.

So, while people generally don’t think the children will partake in the American dream to the extent they did, a good portion of them believe those who are willing can find jobs and that it is possible to work your way out of poverty.  If that isn’t the American dream what is?  Now, let’s instill this concept into the hearts and minds of each and every one of our children, so they believe they can actually do better than their parents.

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These men and women, many not even out of high school and having just gone through a decade-long depression, put the safety of their family, friends and community ahead of themselves.  They came from rich and poor families, educated and nearly illiterate ones, some were famers others city dwellers.  The make up was as diverse as America itself. 

Everyone was part of the war effort.  Besides those fighting the war, defense work was a priority at home.  Rationing of food, gas and luxuries was commonplace.  Even the children were involved with paper and scrape metal drives plus selling War Bonds in conjunction with the schools.  Virtually all families had someone in the armed services and every community suffered when one of theirs was lost in the war. 

World War II was fought by every American in some way.  That’s why New Seniors and those older remember it so vividly to this day, nearly 70 years later.  Sadly, the people who lead us to victory are leaving us at an increasing rate.  The Greatest Generation is big in its accomplishments, but their ranks are becoming smaller.  We already miss their wisdom, and the courage they displayed is remembered in stories rather than in news reports as it once was.

Before it’s too late, we should talk to these true American heroes and find out why they did the unselfish things they did without asking for praise or reward.  This is something New Seniors are well equipped to do.  In fact, it is our responsibility to honor these patriots and get the word out to the rest of the population, starting with the aging Baby Boomer who benefited so much from what these folks did.  Tell them to get over Viet Nam, when the only thing many of them did was to complain rather than serve.  If they can’t do that, the future of America looks bleak, indeed.

Then, pass the word on to the Gen X and Y groups who never had to sacrifice anything until recently when jobs became scarce, cars and homes were reposed and their credit cards got maxed out.  This are the generations that have not paid their dues but seem unwilling to pay more for services they intend to use in the future.  They don’t realize that unless we all help finance Social Security and Health Care there won’t be any programs to aid them.

And, last but not least, what about the politicians?  They are not being asked to sacrifice their personal money.  We just want them to have the courage to make the right decisions, without regard to party lines.  Government programs must be fixed so people can start earning money in order to pay for the changes that will ensure funds are ready when needed and the United States can collectively have the courage and wherewithal to remain the land of the free and the home of the brave.        

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According to the Rasmussen report, 44% of Democrats believe the economy will be stronger next year.  This is in sharp contrast to the 23% of Republicans and 26% of Independents (or those with other political affiliations) expecting the coming year will show a stronger economy. 

There are significant differences by race, as well.  About half of black adults (49%) think the economy will improve next year, which is the highest sub-cell within the study.  And, 43% of the other category (primarily Hispanics and Asians) say the economy will be stronger in 2012, while only 28% of whites were optimistic.

Looking ahead to 5 years out, the sub-groups come closer together and show greater confidence in a stronger economy, with Democrats at 55%, Republicans 43% and Independents 39%.  The racial disparity is even closer, 48% of blacks, 54% of others and 44% of whites expecting a stronger economy.

Two economic barometers were also part of the study.  When asked how long it will take for the stock market to recover, the respondents answered as follows: 1 year 14%, 2 years 16%, 3 years 15%, more than 3 years 27% and not sure 28%.  With 55% of respondents saying more than 3 years or they were not sure, the attitude of most Americans seems to be fear or frustration.

The findings involving the real estate market are even more discouraging.  When asked how long it will take housing prices to recover, the respondents said: 1 year 6%, 2 years 11%, 3 years 14%, more than 3 years 48% and not sure 20%.  That means 68% think it will take more than 3 years or were not sure how long it would take before the housing market is back in the black.

In spite of the continued concerns voiced by all segments of the population in all parts of the country, politicians are either incapable or unwilling to fix the lingering problems that keep the economic recovery from becoming a reality in the lives of most Americans.  Both sides of the aisle are to blame as is the administration along with the various agencies serving it and the activist judges who turn their backs on the law by trying to legislate from the bench.

It is up to us to get better educated about issues and more deeply involved in the political process in order to put elected representatives’ feet to the fire.  If the politicians won’t put party issues to the side and start working on the peoples’ behalf, we’ll elect new ones.