Does this tenured professor really understand age discrimiation today?
I would like Roszak to be correct in his predictions, but I'm not quite ready to embrace his halcyon vision of the coming elder culture, inspired by Boomer activism. From where he sits as a tenured professor, I believe he's sadly out of touch with the extent to which many Boomers today are confronting systemic age discrimination and social marginalization. Maggie Kuhn is a great role model for Boomers to follow, but, alas, she is gone. No single Boomer personality has emerged who has the vision and communication skills to inspire Boomers toward collective action, to force society to embrace age inclusiveness in all its ramifications. This is the focus of my article last week in Huffington Post: http://tinyurl.com/yz59yhh.
Brent Green
of CO
@
Nov 02, 2009 10:54:17 AM
Smaller families may affect my retirement.
I was an only child. My husband and I are married 22 yrs but were unable to have any children. Who is going to take care of me? All this financial planning and life insurance is great but there should be better ways to manage it. Looks like I'll be rewriting my will shortly and have no idea who to leave things to... maybe a charity or a scholarship fund at my high school or college?
As to retirement in Florida, now I have to be afraid of Chinese wallboard polluting those condos that were remodeled after 2005 Hurricanes! OMG, the challenges never cease to amaze me!
Dee
of MA
@
Oct 31, 2009 21:58:57 PM
God's Blessing
I'm sure that the Baby Boomers will continue to give God the glory in their senior years the way they did so well, in their youth, during the 1960s and 70s.
I'm sure God will continue to bless America as a result of it.
Shane
of TX
@
Oct 31, 2009 21:56:56 PM
It Can't Happen Soon Enough!
The article quotes Roszak as saying: "Age offers us the opportunity to detach from the competitive, high-consumption priorities that dominated us on the job and in the marketplace." I couldn't agree more, although perhaps it's not "age" but rather status as a "retiree" that causes people to consume less. My research shows that retirees consume (i.e., spend) much less that many of the retirement planning "experts" think. That's why I believe that the retirement industry (insurance companies, investment advisers, mutual fund companies, personal finance magazines, etc) are unnecessarily scaring people into thinking they'll never be able to retire. I hope aging baby boomers will return to their youthful idealism. It can't happen soon enough.
Jonathan Edelfelt, author of Who Said You Need Millions? Retirement Strategies for the Rest of Us.
www.whosaidyouneedmillions.com
Jonathan Edelfelt
of TX
@
Oct 31, 2009 16:18:47 PM
Ageless Mature Productive Woman, Not a "Senior"
Retirement was not created by God. Just because you get to a socially prescribed age is not a reason to stop being productive and start becoming a leech.
Workers are encouraged to plan financially for retirement. No one is telling those who are healthy enough to work that they also need to plan for balanced lifelong growth and productivity.
Traditional retirement is no longer sustainable and is going the way of the dodo bird, and not a moment too soon.
Barbara Morris
of CA
@
Oct 31, 2009 13:27:44 PM
Public Lobbyist
Entitlements are necessary because ageism in our society demands it.
To ensure our freebies, we have the political clout and some of us leverage it by influencing our children to vote for our candidates.
Now, if you eliminate ageism, then a different dynamiec will occur but that is so unlikely to happen that I must agree with Mr. Roszak and Ms. Kuhn that our role is to create new paradigms while the young subsidize our efforts through entitlements.
By the way, just a short note on AARP. I have a bone to pick with them. They allow Lenscrafters to jack up the price of their glasses when a senior flashes the AARP card. They better wise up because, frankly, they can be replaced.
Brent Green of CO @ Nov 02, 2009 10:54:17 AM
Dee of MA @ Oct 31, 2009 21:58:57 PM
Shane of TX @ Oct 31, 2009 21:56:56 PM
Jonathan Edelfelt of TX @ Oct 31, 2009 16:18:47 PM
Barbara Morris of CA @ Oct 31, 2009 13:27:44 PM
Angelo of NJ @ Oct 29, 2009 11:57:18 AM
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