Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

“I feel GOOD!” “Living in America!” “Get on the GOOD foot!” “Get on UP!” – James Brown, “The Godfather of Soul” and “The Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.” (No, not that sports commentator guy…. )

I was all set to write an upbeat blog entry about California tonight, but it looks like I need to write an upbeat blog entry to cheer up my generation (that is, the “Baby Boomers“), instead!

A CNN article entitled, “New study finds baby boomers are in a funk” cites study results released today by the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends, that “Eighty percent of baby boomers are pessimistic about the current direction of the United States.”

Now, THAT’S a shocker! 😉

If I remember correctly, we have ALWAYS been pessimistic about the “current direction of the United States.”

The survey was conducted earlier this month with a sample of 1,500 people.

The article cites “retirement and pension funds shrinking” (what’s a “pension fund?” ) and “the unemployment rate near 10%” (we in California WISH the unemployment rate were near 10% instead of 12.4%). Some of us Baby Boomers ALSO remember a time when cameras did not hang at every intersection, when our facial recognition information was not in databases, when the “social graph” of all of our friends and associates was not known, when our houses were “above water” (mine still is), when elected officials knew that “compromise” meant you each have to give up something, when 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendment Rights weren’t all simultaneously under siege, and when “retirement” actually had real meaning. Yes, my dad got to retire and actually ENJOYED his retirement.

Baby Boomers are people in the age group 45-64, according to the study.

Of the generation BEFORE the Boomers, sometimes called “The Greatest Generation,” 76% were also dissatisfied with the status quo. I can see why. Those folks dealt with Hitler, Mussolini, and the Emperor of Japan, the Holocaust (yes, it happened), and the Cold War,  and it was by their fortitude that many of us are even AROUND today. I am glad that MY parents are no longer alive to see the current state of the world, having survived through so much worse!

In contrast, among the “Millenials,” people between the ages of 18 and 29 (who MAKES UP these names, anyway?), ONLY 60% (this is an AWFULLY large percentage, if you think about it ) have a bleak view of the way things are going today! (This large percentage among younger people would worry the hell out of me, if I were an elected official. )

Ah, the “innocence of youth!”

Baby Boomers:

• reported less overall life satisfaction than did earlier generations.
• believe that their standard of living is lower than that of their parents (20% of responders).
• expect that the standard of living of their children will be even lower (1/3 of responders).

These “grim results” come in before a MAJOR MILESTONE in January. The first Baby Boomers turn 65! Baby Boomers number about 79 million people, a little more than a FOURTH of the entire U.S. population.

CNN says:

“Over the next 19 years, about 10,000 people will turn 65 each day, the survey reports, resulting in a grayer America by 2030. By that year, 18% of the nation’s population will be over the age of 65, compared with 13% now.”

So WATCH OUT!

I have always felt that it is better to be ANGRY (outwardly directed) than DEPRESSED (inwardly directed). So…. If we’re “…as mad as hell, and… not going to take this anymore!” (Howard Beale, “Network“) then we need to continue to take action, because the generation before us has DONE their service, and our children don’t remember when things were different/better.

If you recall, I wrote about the year 2030 as the year experts stated (in the fall of 2007) that there would be only slightly more than TWO people working (and paying payroll taxes) to support each retiree. Later statistics this year on the overall decline in population in the U.S. (as the result of declining birthrate) made me question whether there would even be TWO people working for every retiree. (That’s why you younger folks need to read this blog! )

Two theories, by “outside experts” emerged with regard to the generational gloom of the Boomers:

1. Some “experts” blame the large size of the Baby Boomer generation for creating tremendous competition among peers in the workplace. “They had a tougher fight to get jobs and crawl up the ladder.” (Yeah, management removed the “rungs!” )
2. Idealistic Boomers failed to complete the societal reforms they envisioned during their youth. (Hey! There’s still time.)

In addition to other interesting findings, I noted THESE TWO:

1. “Six out of 10 boomers between the ages of 50 and 61 say they may have to postpone retirement.” Good. You still have a lot to contribute. Even if companies (like those in high tech) “retire you early” you can still contribute so much, with your knowledge, intelligence, experience, and wisdom – four qualities that are generally NOT appreciated by most corporations. Besides, many corporations, even after all of the offshoring, may STILL not have the labor that they need in the future, as the result of demographics alone! Should you go back and WORK for them? 😉 Why? There are so many other REWARDING things that you can do with your remaining years!
2. “The younger boomers, between the ages of 45 and 55, say they are nearly as likely to be online as younger adults.” Plus many of us who are OVER 55 and who worked in high tech, who STILL spend endless hours in front of “the screen….”

Rock on, Boomers! You are not dead yet!

And some of the biggest problems are yet to solve….

-Bill at

Cheshire Cat Photo™ – “Your Guide to California’s Wonderland™”

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