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The presidential election of just over a year ago was about change.  Americans were tired of the ways of Washington, and many believed in the candidate’s message of change.  He won impressively, but not with a mandate.  In fact, there was nothing specific laid out on the campaign trail.  Change in attitude, openness and fairness were the recurring themes fed to people hungry for something different.

Change came so quickly.  The vault was open, and money was being shoveled out the door faster than it could be printed.  The Stimulus package, including the takeover of GM and Chrysler. Cash for Clunkers, which sold more foreign cars than US brands.  Cap and Trade, taxes and fees that will put our industries at a competitive disadvantage and cost consumers more for energy.  Plus the now infamous Health Care Reform bill, the legislative disaster that demonstrated how poorly politicians listen to their constituents.  These are not solutions; they are part of the problem 

While those elected by us are following their own agendas, the people of this country are crying for jobs, so we can get the workforce back on its feet and get the economy going, then growing, again.  The simple truth is the people have lost confidence in the government’s willingness and ability to do the right thing.   

Spending is out of control and the debt is dangerously high.  The question is when will the politicians get a handle on financial issues?  Many of us want the government to slow down, examine their priorities and then go about the peoples’ business.  Yet the pleas from concerned citizens continue to be  ignored.  No wonder trust in our elected representatives has dropped so low.  No wonder protests, town hall meetings and grass root movements are so popular with the people but not the politicians.  No wonder incumbents of both parties facing November elections are worried about being booted out of office.

Politicians must start using common sense, forget about pet projects and, for God’s sake, when the time comes to bring up legislation, work together with those across the aisle to bring the people something we can believe in.  In the meantime, Washington needs to create an atmosphere were businesses, large and small, are willing to re-invest in the future of America by putting people back to work.  That’s real change. 

Isn’t this what New Seniors like us want and expect?  We need to let our elected representatives know how we feel on the issues that matter to each of us.  While we may account for less than 15 percent of the population, those 65+ deliver nearly 30 percent of the vote in primaries and off-year elections.  We are the people who can change things.

We planned ahead and felt safe about our retirement years, never expecting anything like this financial meltdown. Like many pre-boomers, I did the footwork, but I now have an uneasy feeling about the future. It’s not the kind of topic I like to discuss with others. So I end up with the sense of being alone. If I don’t talk about it then I’ll end up dealing with this situation all alone, even though I realize lots of folks have similar fears and choose not to talk about it either.

We complain out loud, yet seem paralyzed when it comes to taking action. True, the T-parties and recent protests at Town Hall meetings were a way for some of us to demonstrate displeasure over the government tax and spend policies. Here in California, we said “no” to propositions calling for more taxes, but we don’t know how this will rein in spending and what services will be cut. Trillions of dollars are being committed by the federal government with more to come, but we have no idea as to how the funds will be spent and the effect it will have on our individual families now and in the years to come.

Government doesn’t create things or provide the kinds of incentives needed to grow the economy. So why are we allowing them to take over the auto industry, banks, insurance companies and more? It didn’t work in other countries; and I don’t believe it can work in America. So instead of worrying about my personal situation, I started engaging in conversations with friends, family and neighbors, looking for areas of agreement. After finding this common ground, the next step is to let the politicians know how we feel.

This type of grassroots effort has little to do with political parties, political labels or political philosophy; it’s about our way of life and the quality of it. Let’s face it; we’re all in the same boat, so we must forget about the white collar/blue collar thing. It’s really a red, white and blue thing – the colors of our flag, a symbol of the greatest nation on earth. The country has been through tough times before; and we united to overcome adversity, because we are Americans. Together, we can do it again.

As the turmoil continues it appears as if most citizens are reacting to more than health care.  They are concerned with over-spending, under-listening and a general lack of responsiveness on the part of their representatives.  It’s possible that voter reaction will alter plans for stimulus one and stop stimulus two dead in its tracks.  Cap and trade may have trouble making its way through the senate.  And other spending proposals may be DOA if vocal Americans continue to keep the pressure on the crowd doing business inside the beltway.

For now, the health care issue is uncertain.  However, the administration is shifting from health care to health insurance.  Single-pay or government options may give way to co-ops, with Washington still setting the standards and exercising bureaucratic control.  Many believe this will increase costs and, at the same time, reduce the quality of care as the issue moves forward and more people are covered.

What remains to be seen is whether the will of the people (based on scientific polling data rather than Town Hall protests) or the will of congress prevails.  I’m betting that the politicians ignore the facts, because they have a year – a lifetime in political measurements – to convince constituents they acted in the people’s best interest.  With the power of both houses and the presidency behind the plan, the incumbent party does not want to squander an opportunity that has been in the making for decades.

Our representative form of government allows duly elected officials to vote their conscience; and if enough people disagree with the individual’s decision(s), this person will not be re-elected.  This seems simple, but by the time elections roll around in 2010 other important issues may be higher on the priority list and the culprits will slip through one more time.  Think about it.  As pre-boomers we are faced with many immediate and financially devastating problems.  We’ll be hurt in the short-term, but our children and grandchildren are going to be paying for today’s mistakes the rest of their lives.

Are we going to let this happen to them or our beloved America?  Not if we take action and tell our representative, “Stop the politics.  Go back to Washington, and come up with a bi-partisan plan to address the major problems of cost and coverage for health care before re-doing the entire system.  While you’re at it, study the possible consequences of cap and trade prior to launching into it.  Before appropriating another stimulus budget, see what results the first effort produced, where the money was spent and if the funds had any measurable effect.  After that, please do your part, which may be the most difficult request of all; let the economy recover with no more quick fixes or government intervention.  Then you might get re-elected.  Thank you.”

The “me generation” grew up with television, which brought the world into the boomers’ living rooms.  The medium served as parent, teacher and babysitter; and, therefore, shaped their views from an early age — not from a family perspective, but from outsiders.  Unfortunately some of these views were often distortions of reality.  The home life depicted on most TV shows bore little resemblance to what went on in most families, the Vietnam War appeared every night on the flickering screens around the country, assignations, protests, Watergate and other images bombarded their young minds.  This, undoubtedly, added to the confusion and cynicism of boomer generation.

On top of this, the felt guilt; because so many boomers had received so much in terms of material things, while others had so little.  The confluence of events of the times set the scene for the perfect storm of emotional upheaval.  Their thinking resulted in the notion that all the wrongs were the fault of those older than they, thus the phrase, “don’t trust anyone over thirty.”  Of course, not every boomer was a radical, but there was enough support for their being the special ones that television looked at this generation as news. Aided by this celebrity and their shear weight in numbers, the boomers gained unprecedented power.  Therefore, boomers came to believe they were the solution to all perceived problems, which they blamed on by past generations.  Their self-centered, narcissism was a badge many wore with pride.  Could much of the blame for today’s financial and social problems be attributed to the free-spending, if it feels good do it, don’t worry about tomorrow, boomer generation?

On the other hand, those who preceded the boomers respected tradition, believed in team work, but had a sense of individualism.  I have dubbed pre-boomers as the “can-do generation,” because we believed this country was great and could make a contribution – even change – by working within the system and pulling together to make this nation better for us as well as others.  This does not mean pre-boomers didn’t color outside the lines or break a few rules along the way; we just went about it with a more positive attitude and fewer personal demands.  For example: rock and roll is the music of our generation — a cultural change if there ever was one; and we contributed mightily to the longest period of peace-time prosperity in the history of this country.

The above comparisons might be considered the opening round for this debate.  There are many examples of the differences between these two generations that are so close in many ways, yet so far apart in basic philosophy and the way we go about accomplishing our goals.  Let’s hear what you have to say.