Pre-Boomer Musings

Based on the current rhetoric, Medicare has become “Mediscare,” but neither political party seems to let the truth get in the way of their agendas.  Those of us 65+ have a vested interest in the effects of health care reform, as do citizens of all ages.  The problem is Medicare has already been targeted cuts of $500 billion, which few talk about.

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As part of the president’s health care plan that was signed into law, we were told that the half-trillion dollars would be realized by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse within the system.  These cuts will include paying less money to doctors and force them, along with hospitals, out of the Medicare system in the future, making it increasingly difficult for older Americans to find health care providers willing to accept Medicare.

The good news is that both the president’s health care law and congressman Ryan’s proposed plan will not affect anyone 55 and over.  The bad news is if something is not done to reduce the growth of health care costs the tax burden will double within the next two decades. 

Under the current plan, reducing the amount of money the government spends for Medicare will eventually result in fewer benefits.  At the same time, taxes will increase to pay for the growing number of people who will qualify for Medicare coverage.  Younger Americans will have to shoulder the rising costs from an already out-of-control system.  And, they will wait longer to receive whatever benefits that can be squeezed from a shrinking budget allotment for each individual.

The only thing left to do is reform the system so it still exists for those now under 55 when the reach the time for Medicare to kick in.  A combination of some form of medical saving account and boosting the age for qualifying will likely produce the best results.  Younger adults will complain.  Do you remember when the Baby Boomers were faced with moving the age for full Social Security benefits?  They may not have liked it, but now it’s simply the way the program works.

Don’t forget, under the president’s law an additional 32 million people will be insured.  They were previously uninsured, so the money has to come from somewhere.  Some will come from the $500 million being cut from the Medicare budget. Higher taxes, yes.  More efficient system operations, doubtful (after all the government is running this).  Fortunately, the folks under 55 will have several years to save for what will certainly be increased health care costs when they reach retirement age.

So, today’s New Seniors have little to worry about, right?  Wrong!  There will be more health care regulations in place, which could adversely affect those 65+.  One major concern is the establishment of a government run Independent Payment Advisory Board.

This panel will have the responsibility to approve when to get health care, where to get it and whether to extend care or not.  That’s why it is incumbent upon all New Seniors to contact their elected representatives and say, “No death panels.”     

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A number of major food marketers have re-introduced packages from the “good old days” in an effort to stand out from other products on supermarket shelves.  And, it appears as if consumers are responding favorably by loading these items into their shopping carts.  Is old-time packaging just a fad or a trend beginning to take hold?

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Many of the brands we buy today are those we were first introduced to as kids.  Mom was the families purchasing agent.  During the ‘50s and ‘’60s most of us lived in homes with just one TV so family members were often exposed to commercials at the same time.  As a result, everyone had some influence on what products to buy, but mom was the ultimate decision maker.  Of course, if we joined her as she strolled the aisles of the local supermarket, there was a change to lobby for a cereal or snack food that was not included on the shopping list.

Studies over the years indicate that when people move out of their parents’ homes, they usually buy products their mothers used.  This ranges from laundry brands, to paper goods, to household cleaning products.  The same is true for food brands, although individual tastes come into play here as with personal care items.  Once they are on their own, product usage is determined by personal satisfaction.  However, new or improved products that are heavily advertised may receive trial, which could result in repeat purchases thereby replacing the old brand.

Retro packaging is a means to instantly differentiate a brand from all the others, and remind shoppers that this was a product they liked back when times were better.  Such a strategy is fine for Boomers and New Seniors who combined represent the largest purchasing demographic in US history.  But modern moms don’t remember the old packages – they had yet to be born.  However, with the aid of advertising, they can be made to realize this is a bit of nostalgia they can enjoy, too.

Some of the brands that have dabbled in retro marketing include Doritos, Pepsi, Cheerios, Hostess Cup Cakes and Twinkies as well as Tide and Downy.  Results for these products have been favorable.  One notable brand that tried using elements from its original label design dating back to 1933 was Kraft’s Miracle Whip.  Research told the company that younger consumers were not attracted to the look, so the company took its label in a new, more contemporary, direction.

Some products have not changed their look over the years, but these are usually specialty items.  New products, often premium ones, may use old-style graphs and type to give them a distinct look and make the brand synonymous with old-fashioned quality. 

The outside of the package may attract us to buy, but what’s inside is the reason we keep buying it.  If food processors made a good tasting item with honest ingredients rather than a bunch of chemicals and preservatives or manufacturers offered a product that was as good as its advertising they might find this is the best way to create real brand loyalty.    

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The talk these days is concentrated on Medicare and Social Security and how changes will affect the New Seniors population.  We must not forget the other end of the age spectrum: our youngsters.  They have no voice in the political debate and no dollars in the game, but what we are doing to them will have long lasting consequences.

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The biggest culprit is the education system.  America spends more money per student and gets the worst return on this vital investment, because education is a political football with special interest groups coming first and teaching our youth is a distant second.  There never seems to be enough money to do the job schools are supposed to do. 

What happened to the school money from the bonds voted on at the state and local levels?  The dollars generated from cigarette taxes?  The portion of sales taxes that was for education?  Or, the educational windfalls that state lotteries were going to provide.  How are these things working out in your state?  In the meantime, charter schools and other school system refinements are blocked by unions and their political lap dogs.

In spite of a noticeable lack of academic improvement, there are lots of additions to the rules and regulations being imposed on schools.  Current curriculums are under attack.  The rewriting of history is an ongoing battle at all grade levels.  Parents are also concerned that younger students are being exposed to sexual orientation education.  In one California school district, gender diversity is now being taught to first graders.

No longer are parents the ones to decide when it is appropriate to discuss sex with their children and how they want to form the conversation.  The schools, with the support of the teachers’ unions, are leading the way to determine what is said and when this kind of information will be instilled in the minds of children. 

Any attempt to stop this kind of indoctrination is quickly met with cries that homophobic groups and ill-informed parents are harming children and causing disharmony in the classroom and bullying outside the school.  Of course, the PC (politically correct) police are on the scene to point fingers at anyone who baulks at this subject matter being taught to kids, even at the elementary school level.  Activist judges and supportive media outlets work in concert to jam these changes into school curriculums now and forever.

Young minds are sponge-like and have yet to develop the ability to discern.  Learning what is right and wrong, what is and is not actable behavior as well as determining moral and other values is the responsibility of the parents. 

Knowledge of social behavior should be imparted by teachers who also demonstrate and monitor the application of these necessary skills within the school community.  However, the schools are usurping the parents’ authority by making unilateral decisions about teaching debatable subjects.  After all, is it not reasonable for parents to be the ones to decide when their children have come of age to lose their innocence?  

Tags: America, Government, Grandchildren, Political Correctness // Add Comment »

While the United States government is willing to forgive foreign countries from billions of dollars in debts and continue to barrow money from China or print more in order to loan money to Middle East nations, more and more Americans are slipping into financial despair.  One can’t help but wonder if the politicians have their priorities mixed up.

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Surveys indicate that Americans in general have an inflated estimate as to how much money this country gives to other nations around the world.  The median estimate is 25% of the federal budget, while 10% is considered appropriate for those polled.  Yet, less than 1% of Washington’s annual budget is earmarked for foreign aid.  That’s about $50 billion.  When discretionary spending is added in, the percentage jumps to 2.6%.

However, the question of late has become who get the money more than how much they should receive.  For instance, Israel receives about $3 billion each year, Egypt gets $1.5 billion and $1 billion goes to Pakistan for counterinsurgency activities. 

With Israel being a democracy, our closest ally and strategically located in the Middle East, it is easy to understand why they receive our aid.  But Egypt has been under the control of a dictator and appears headed for dominance by factions that are unfriendly to us.  The government of Pakistan is less than cooperative with us and the country is home to terrorist groups that are determined to destroy the Western way of life.

There was a time when America thought by propping up government’s run by strong-armed regimes the citizens could be kept under control.  Those days are over.  And the suppressed people of these countries are angry that we supported their oppressors.  The people want to be free but not in the way we understand freedom. 

In Central and South America, the people are likely to choose socialistic or even communistic governments.  Citizens in Islamic countries are more comfortable turning things over to religious leaders or a quasi-secular government backed by religious law, which results in a different kind of oppression such as can be found in Iran.  Africa is too volatile to be included in these considerations at this time.

We can’t buy respect for the United States and we certainly can’t buy friendship.  In fact, we were not able to buy help from Pakistan after pouring more than $8 billion in aid to them during the years that Osama bin Laden was hiding out in a compound within a stone’s throw of that country’s version of West Point.

Isn’t it time to review America’s foreign policy and the dollars being spent?  As a country, we are broke.  We can’t afford to waste money here or abroad.  Maybe cutting back with foreign aid would result in fewer countries taking us for granted.  Maybe the folks in congress will realize that those who take our dollars must do something in return.  And, maybe this kind of thinking will start to be applied for the dollars spent here at home.  Just maybe.     

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If you are 65+, you know what it means to be a New Senior.  And if you know someone who is 65+, you can see that New Seniors are not like the seniors of old.  The concept of being a New Senior started with the Pre-boomers (those born between 1930 and 1945).  We are more than 30 million strong, and all of us are 65 or older. 

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Another New Senior landmark event took place this year as the first of the more than 76 million Baby Boomers began turning 65.  This translates to someone becoming a New Senior every ten seconds through 2030.

The Greatest Generation, after doing so much for our country, has passed the baton to the New Seniors.  So it is our job to uphold, the values those before us fought for and sacrificed to protect for all generations.  New Seniors Day was established to memorialize this responsibility. 

New Seniors accept this honor and make the commitment to connect with other New Seniors by engaging in honest and civil discussions, sharing our experience and getting involved in our communities and reaching out to others in an effort to bring our great nation together, once more.

The 65+ crowd is a more homogenous group than most other demographics – partly because we share similar concerns about living our own lives in relative comfort and safety and partly because life’s lessons endowed us with an understanding of the importance of  unity.  New Seniors are not from one race, political party, religious affiliation, education level, job background or geographic area.

Our numbers are impressive.  There are more Pre-boomers than there are adult Hispanics living in the United States.  Pre-boomers and Boomers together represent a larger population than Generations X and Y combined.  By 2015 the New Seniors population will be about 50 million, which is just 17% of the population.  However, we will account for a third of the discretionary income and half of the country’s assets. 

Politicians should note that this year those 65+ accounted for about 1 in 4 of the votes cast in the last election.  And our concerns about Medicare, Social Security, government debt and tax increases will continue to be expressed at the ballot box.  New Seniors are also concerned about the future of our grown children and the education and opportunities for our grandchildren.  We expect the nation’s problems to be solved in a common sense way that will benefit all Americans.

So on June 5^th (6/5), join in the celebration of New Seniors Day.  If you’re not one, take a few minutes from your busy schedule to call a New Senior and get to know us.  Learn from what we experienced by living life on life’s terms.  And, most important, enlist our guidance to navigate the bumpy road that lies ahead.  You’ll discover that we are ready and willing to help if you are prepared to accept it.    

Tags: America, Nostalgia, Pre-boomers, Retirement // Add Comment »