Posted on November 5, 2009 by kjenwws
Age discrimination claims are on the rise, reaching 30% in 2008. Entry level workers are struggling to find their first career job, returning home from college jobless in record numbers. The unemployment rate for persons age 55 and over, while slightly better than their juniors, more than doubled in a year and a half. Both men and women are being downsized and the duration of unemployment is increasing.
Pounded by the stock market, money market and the mortgage debacles, older workers and retirees have lost an estimated $2 trillion, 22% of the value. 36% of workers have no pension or IRA whatsoever. And, of course, we know about the millions without healthcare coverage.
Social security claims are on the rise with Baby Boomers responding to employment decisions but also due to the family benefits the program offers. In 2008, 51 million people received Social Security benefits, 15 million of those were under age 65 (disabled workers, children, spouses, widows/widowers and parents). Only 63% of Social Security benefits pay retired workers. And we haven’t accounted for even a fraction of the debt mounting for Generations X and Y, potentially burying them fiscally before they’ve even had the chance to earn, save and succeed.
Perhaps the most critical measure is the change in poverty levels since the recession began in December of 2007. While not yet available, we can only surmise what the data may show about the economic insecurity for millions of Americans - potentially the most compelling argument for creating cost-effective social support programs.
Filed under: Financial | Tagged: age discrimination, poverty, social security, unemployment | 1 Comment »
Posted on November 2, 2009 by kjenwws
Are you Red or are you Blue? I suspect that without any explanation you know that I’m referring to the political color-coding used by television reporters to flag voting outcomes. Somewhere along the line, though, this seemingly innocuous way of reporting results has apparently lead us to believe that we can’t have ideologies, opinions or philosophies that aren’t somehow connected to one of only two political parties.
Or is there something more sinister at foot? Recently a prestigious university found that despite our open access to more factual information, we tend to only seek out the information that agrees with our already held beliefs. Not only are we seeking out sources of information that concur with our views, we’re also moving to live with those of like mind. Now entire neighborhoods, cities and states are defined by a political point of view. While increasing our individual comfort zones on our own “turf”, does this limited view have the potential of tearing the country apart?
Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart, makes a compelling case for how we’re losing our national identity, our openness to diversity and potentially our ability to innovate and adapt. “The reason like-minded groups get more extreme over time is that people always want to be a little bit more extreme than the group is as a whole so they’re not mistaken for an outsider.” Sound familiar? It should and it should make you afraid, very afraid. As conflicts between groups intensify along with an unwillingness to hear other views, is the logical outcome at best, inaction or at its worst, violence? If we won’t stay open to learning from each other where we are of like mind, how will we ever live out the principles that made this country great and interpret them accurately for the generations to come? If we fail, hopefully our children will have learned how critical it is to resurrect the Spirit of America.
Filed under: Perspectives and Trends | Tagged: Bill Bishop, democrat, political views, red or blue state, republican | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 27, 2009 by kjenwws
Over those last great years before the “crash”, cosmetic surgery and anti-aging skincare grew by double digits. It appears that when we had more money than sense, we could take dramatic approaches to aging and appearance. Right now, I recognize that none of us thinks we have money. With all the pressures and predictaments we face today, we are probably also feeling that self-actualizing is irrelevant in the face of funding basic needs. We’re all back at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy.
While our appearance certainly affects how we feel about ourselves, one has to wonder how much of our Botox or body and facelifts are actually masking more serious self-esteem issues. Recently I learned about a high school student who opted for cosmetic surgery because of out-of-control criticism from a classmate on Facebook. This is only one of a long list of examples where I fear we’re more focused on how we appear to the world than improving the world by activating our personal goodness. I’m going to urge us to refocus on getting our world house in order instead of putting a new coat of color over peeling paint.
Kudos to Dove and Walmart for promoting our inner beauty! http://www.dove.us/#/cfrb/
Filed under: My Plan After 50 Musings | Tagged: inner beauty, Maslow's hierarchy, self esteem, world house | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 21, 2009 by kjenwws
Sad news for the everyman of retirement, he’s been laid-off. With a longevity bonus of from 20 to 40 years past the traditional retirement age of 65, there is no common picture of retirement or a retiree today. Baby Boomers are pioneering once again in a world full of harsh realities. How and if we retire will depend on a plethora of factors that will vary widely by individuals – married or single, childcare or childless, eldercare or empty nest, no house or several homes, working our way up the career ladder or downshifting into a role for a cause, living here at home or migrating overseas. The picture of retirement from today forward will be as diverse as our population itself. In fact, we ought to change the name. Got an alternative for “retirement”? Love to hear your suggestions.
Filed under: Perspectives and Trends | Tagged: change | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 19, 2009 by kjenwws
40% of caregiving is done by men today. And you thought he wasn’t listening during the ’til death due us part speech!
Filed under: Family | Tagged: caregiving, men | Leave a Comment »
