Pre-Boomer Musings

New Seniors, those born between 1930 and 1945, have had a good run.  We’re a positive lot and expect life will be even more rewarding to the end and beyond.  As life continues to expand, so do our horizons, spheres of influence and the opportunities to be of service.  Yet, with the state of the news these days, it’s easy to fall into the deceptively comfortable habit of negative thinking.  

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Look at the problems out there: major unemployment, out-of-control spending, investments and savings going nowhere, deflation or inflation  ready to strike at any moment, tax increases looming, medical coverage rates up with services down, more taxes to come, unprotected borders, foreign forces threatening America and more.  On top of this, the foods we love are killing us.  Hanging on to the barrage of negative information slung at us each day is having faith in the worst rather than the best life has to offer, which eliminates of hope.

Expecting negative outcomes allows one to predict the future, control the results and then say, “See I told you things were lousy.”  To make this self-fulfilling prophecy become a reality, requires ignoring the good that surrounds us.  These blessings are abundant, even if we refuse to see them.  Only by letting go of the negative are we free to open our hearts and minds to the positive things that come into our lives.

This sounds simpler than it is, because we live in a “problem/solution” world.  For years, we’ve been instructed to identify the problem, analyze it, develop a plan and implement it in order to solve the problem.  This causes us to focus on problems rather than live in the solution.  “What’s that,” you say?  Everything we encounter is not a problem.  Look at them as situations, because if you can’t make a direct contribution to resolving the matter, it’s probably not your problem.  It belongs to someone else.  Situations don’t demand your personal attention the way problems do.  So why worry about it?

Don’t think for a minute that this is a head-in-the-sand approach to living comfortably in today’s world.  Nothing of the kind.  It is a common-sense way of being able to make a difference where and when you can while not being bogged down with problems that you can’t resolve.  This is more a tend to your own knitting way of participating in life.  Your job is to sort through the situations until you find a problem that deserves your attention and your involvement can make a difference.

The place to start is at home, then branch out to friends and eventually the community in which you live – like dropping a pebble in the pond and following the concentric circle as the move out.  Being of service is a concept that works.  It will allow you to get outside yourself  by helping others with their problems.  The more you do this, the fewer problems you seem to have.  And if you think the government is a problem, vote for someone who you rely on to fix things.  In the meantime reach out and accentuate the positive, chances are you’ll find real solutions for living.   

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When you look at the research, it’s hard to believe that the people at home actually voted for those who were sent to the nation’s capital to represent the voters’ interests.  Polling shows 57% of the sample believe the party in power has an agenda that is too extreme.  Put another way, 56% say Congress is to the left of them while 42% say it is to their right.  And, 57% see the President as being more liberal than they are.

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These attitudes make for an interesting mid-term election.  The movement to oust incumbents continues to garner supporters.  Unemployment, while a big concern, is overshadowed by the bigger question of “where is the economy headed?”  Slow recovery could be acceptable if there was an indication that someone in the federal government understood the plight of the people and had a plan to fix the problems.  Instead, the government continues to throw good money after bad in a desperate effort to make something – anything – happen.

This failed strategy of out-of-control spending may please some special interest groups but does not cut it with the average citizen, particularly those 65+.  This is apparent when taking an inside look at the recent Rasmussen study mentioned above.  This shows 62% of New Seniors believe Congress is too extreme, 5 points higher than the average.  Greater differences were reported for Congress being more liberal at 64%, a difference of 8 points, and too conservative 34%, also a spread of 8 points from the norm.  And, 65% of those 65+ thought the President to be more liberal than they are compared to 57% of the overall respondents.

New Seniors tend to be more conservative with age, but they have a different point-of-view regarding entitlements that affect them.  They worked hard at their job, raised a family, provided them with food and housing, saved for the kids’ education and tried to still have enough for retirement without depending on a handout to get by.  However, this group paid into Social Security, as did their employers and through taxes contributed to Medicare since its inception.  So they have a right to demand what was promised them.

Now, inside maneuvering is quietly taking these benefits away or changing the way they are delivered.  The two-year freeze on COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) is the first time this Social Security benefit has been stopped for a multi-year period.  Has the government considered the fact that basic costs that are not part of the inflation index have increased and those on fixed incomes are left with less disposable dollars in their pockets?  Medicare cuts, to the tune of $500 billion, are starting to be understood, and the result may well be fewer providers accepting the plan, longer waiting periods and lower quality care.  None of these are acceptable, but it could be that all of them will apply in some way to all New Seniors.

There are many more reasons for those 65+ to have a disconnect with those in Washington.  But one thing is clear, New Seniors are not happy and are expected to express their dissatisfaction at the polls in November.

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We worked, we saved and we believed retirement could be a relatively stable period for us.  Boy, were we wrong.  The lose of value in our pension accounts, low returns on the investments we still had, home prices falling, freezing of Social Security benefits and severe cut backs in Medicare add up to fear of financial insecurity for many of us born between 1930 and 1945.  On top of that, the boomers will be joining us soon as they start turning 65 next year.

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Fear does not necessarily relate to reality.  However, there are many warning signs as we travel the road to the next phase of life.  Some of these facts may suggest we are on the threshold of a pending crisis.  America’s top 100 corporations were found to have pension plans that were underfunded by over $200 billion.  The number of pension funds considered at risk inside falling companies has tripled.  And, in the last year, a quarter of those in the workforce who were ready to retire have put it off until later.

Government workers are usually guaranteed that any shortfall in their pension funds will be made good by the taxpayers.  Financially strapped states and local governments are revisiting this practice and are making efforts to renegotiate labor contracts, but this will be fought to the bitter end by the unions.  Unfortunately, the general public believes these workers should not be rescued at the expense of taxpayers.  It is unlikely that retired government workers will be affected, but younger ones have plenty to worry about.

Some 60% of non-retired Americans believe Social Security benefits will not be available to them when they stop working.  They have good reason to believe this, since this is the first year when Social Security will pay out more than it takes in; this had been projected to occur in 2016.  Currently 35% of those 65+ depend solely on these benefits for their retirement income.  But the situation will not improve because the number of workers paying for each retiree is 3.3 and will worsen by 2025 to just 2 workers for each one receiving Social Security.

The ever-increasing interest costs on the national debt coupled with the rise in spending for entitlements means that by 2019 more than 90 cents out of every dollar in federal revenue will be required to support Social Security and Medicare, as we know it.  If we ignore these disturbing facts, each of us is headed for financial disaster as the United States goes bankrupt.  This can’t be allowed to happen to the greatest country on earth.

It is imperative that we start a national debate about all entitlement programs.  Our elected official will be required to state their positions and we will demand that they listen to our thoughts.  The problem won’t be fixed overnight, but a dialogue can be established.  Through this process, we will get to know what the politicians believe and what their willing to do.  Then, we can decide who will represent us in the future.

In the meantime, stay calm.  Help others needier than you.  And, be sure to be of service to your family, friends and community.  This sure beats worrying.         

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Fortunately, I have a 94 year old friend who is much like a surrogate father to me.  Our relationship started while my dad was still alive.  We became closer when dad passed on 5 years ago and have remained that way ever since.  It’s a blessing to have an older person in your life to learn from and gain prospective about today’s world based on the experience they have by going through difficult times in the past.  And, the beauty of it all is they don’t expect a thing in return.

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My friend was a neighbor when we met.  We got to know each other by working on a community project together.  To discuss the work, we had lunch several times and soon discovered we had plenty more to talk about than the project at hand.  He had been the founder and manager of several businesses.  His experiences as a youth, then struggling through the Great Depression and serving in WWII before finally getting the opportunity to succeed in the recovery period in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s helped make him a man I admired – much like my father only in a different way.

His stories were enlightening and often funny.  But there was always something to learn from the memories he shared.  The way he sacrificed to pursue his dreams.  The manner in which business relationships were built and sustained.  And the things he wished he had done differently where all laid out on the table for discussion.  It was obvious that he was smart; but more important he was, and still is, honest.  This meant I could question decisions he made without fear of upsetting him or not getting a straight answer.

What a refreshing change of pace he is from the guarded, uptight ways of many modern business people.  Through our relationship, I learned how to enjoy retirement and seek out something meaningful to do with my God-given talents.  That’s what brought me to become an advocate for those 65+, start my blog and later found the online magazine, NewSeniors.com.  At the same time, I was able to help him through the decision process of moving to assisted living.  And, recently, we talked about him giving up driving.  He already stopped driving at night but fears this next step would substantially restrict his freedom.  So I related how my father did it.  This seemed to help.

Mentoring each other seems natural as we grow older.  There’s nothing to prove.  No control issues.  And no financial considerations.  Just open, one-on-one discussions about whatever is on our minds.  The results are wonderfully therapeutic and amazingly helpful.  So I suggest all New Seniors be open to this kind of relationship.  There are many people from the Greatest Generation who would welcome the opportunity to have us as friends.

There are people at your church or temple, senior centers, study groups, community organizations and anywhere people volunteer to help others.  Maybe the most significant help you can give is to be available for the folks from the generation that give us so much.  They won’t be with us forever, but the time you spend together will create memories that last forever.      

Tags: America, Family, Nostalgia, Retirement // Add Comment »

Nearly a quarter of the time Americans spend online is devoted to social networking, according to a recent Nielsen study.  This represents a 43% increase in share-of-time spent for the biggest single online activity.  Blogs are included in the popular social networking sector.

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Online games are second, accounting for just over 10% of the users’ time.  The only other activity showing an increase was video/movies ranking sixth at almost 4%.  In June 2010 a major milestone was reached when the number of online videos streamed surpassed the 10 billion mark.  Consumers in this country spend an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes viewing videos each month.

All age groups are increasing their usage of the Internet, but how they use it and the way the medium is accessed varies.  For instance, early adopters tend to be younger people while older Americans are still getting comfortable with computers.  This may explain why the game sector increased.  E-mailing, a favorite among older users, is third in time spent with 8.3%, but its share has fallen by 28% — the biggest change of all sectors.

Part of the drop in e-mail share was the shift to mobile phones for instant messaging, which had a 4% share of time, but was still off 15% from the previous year.  However, within this sector e-mail leads in time used with 41.6%.  At the same time, social networking on mobile units experienced a 28% rise.

The big unknown is the 34.4% share attributed to the “other” category, which has declined in share by 8 points this year.  Nielsen analyst Dave Martin said, “Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the web, 40% of U.S. online time is spent on just three activities time spent – social networking, playing games and emailing leaving a whole lot of other sectors fighting for a declining share of the online pie.” 

Trends suggest that for the most part, people — even those addicted to the Internet — exhibit the basic need for contact with another human being.  This is hardly a revelation to New Seniors, those born between 1930 and 1945, or the boomers turning 65.  Interacting with others has always been our preferred means of communicating.  But this need may be amplified with the way younger Americans are willing to embrace new ways of using the Internet for a way to bridge geographic gaps and to get as close as possible with those receiving messages, even though personal contact was restricted.

At NewSeniors.com, we make it simple by using new technology to connect with those 65+ in order to provide news, information and entertainment as well as a forum for expression and the exchange of ideas to the fastest growing segment within the U.S. population.  Many of us are new to the Internet, but we are learning and enjoying the experience.  If you’re reading this, you are ready to be part of our online community.  So tell your friends to come to our neighborhood where they discover that being 65+ ain’t what it used to be.  That’s why there’s NewSeniors.com.         

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