Boomer and Busted

This is not fun. The whole lot of us, are going mad ... and feeling mad ....and soon, we'll be behaving badly. You just watch.

This week, MSNBC posted this story: "Boomers Face Stark Choices in a Bleak Economy". Now there's a headline that'll turn your blood to ice.

The article lays out the daunting tasks ahead for people my age who are too young and too financially vulnerable to retire. Between the crash in the housing market -- where most of us stashed a big chunk of our money -- and the crash in the stock market -- where our alleged retirement savings safely resided for "the long term" -- we've been left floundering. More dire, our jobs are at risk and when we lose them, many of us never find another. Today, even the poorly paying ones in retail and low-paying service businesses, are vanishing.

Losing your job when you are in your 50s and 60s is nothing like the experience when you are in your prime -- your 30s and 40s. Ageism rules, and don't for a minute think it doesn't. You are too expensive to hire -- not just the overt salary cost, but the cost of your health care may be higher. Your experience makes people reluctant to place you in a lower level job, where you might cause trouble for your (almost certainly younger) boss. You are presumed to be less adaptable intellectually, less technologically savvy, less interested in new approaches to work. And you are expected to tire easily and resist working long hours.

Most of this is bullshit. And if you've ever worked with a lot of 30- somethings, you should have some pretty eye-opening experience with the gap between the baby boomer work ethic and the one held by younger workers. But I digress. The bottom line: if we lose a job, we aren't going to find one any time soon and if we do, it will pay less.

The article goes on to promote a return to school. Go ahead, retrain, "re-invent" yourself. OK. I'm good with that. I've done that more than once. The last time, I spent the majority of my life savings going to graduate school in my late 50s. It landed me my current job, which I've just been told may be at-risk. For all the hype around the potential for growth in the health care industry, many hospitals and physician groups are down-sizing. They may need workers, but they don't have money to pay them. So what are we supposed to reinvent ourselves to do??

Yeah, I know, we are all going to have to work until we die. OK, I'm "in". But the assumption is that the work will be there. I fear that it won't. If my hunch is right, then what? The burden of this reality is not going to strike my generation alone. For those of us with adult children, the possibility is growing that we are going to have to move back to multi-generational homes. Parents, grandparents, and grandchildren may begin to live together again, and we will all be living with less. Even if the economy begins to recover over the next 12-18 months, our savings and our jobs will never return to the levels they were before the Great Recession of 2009. We are facing an entirely different future than the one we envisioned.

Compounding it all is our guilt and shame. We almost certainly made mistakes ...investing badly out of ignorance, assuming the boom times would persist, getting hooked by the seductions of a consumer society. Now, even if we still have a job, we know how thin the ice is beneath our feet. Most of us cannot survive a catastrophe -- major housing expenses, a dire health care diagnosis, a job loss. We have vowed to work harder, to prove our value to our employer, to be willing to do whatever it takes to earn a living. But the dice may not land as we hope ...and so much is out of our control. The article notes that we have become increasingly isolated, for we don't want to let on how scared and vulnerable we are. We are a proud and mostly optimistic generation, who believed we could achieve all our dreams if we just worked hard enough. Here we are. With dreams and assumptions shattered, along with our security.

On the community level, we need to use our legendary boomer creativity to imagine other futures, other ways to live and be of value. We need to consider the potential for founding new businesses that have growth potential. And we need to loudly and aggressively lobby for universal, government sponsored health care -- the source of our largest expense, a major deterrent to entrepreneurial activity, and a primary reason for bankruptcy.

On the personal level, we need to talk. To our kids, to our friends. We need to be honest about the reality that at some point, despite our best efforts, we may not be able to afford to live on our own, much as we dread that possibility. Some good may come of that. We may create stronger and more compassionate families. We have much to teach our children and grandchildren, if they choose to value our experience and wisdom. But none of this was in our plan. We never intended on becoming more dependent than our own parents were. But if we've hit our high mark, and it is likely many of us have, we'd all -- parents and children -- best be thinking pragmatically about Plan D.

AgeWise Morphs

I have a reputation. For changing things. It annoys the hell out of some and excites a few. Me? I guess I thrive on it, despite the anxiety it always raises inside of me.

A few posts back I spoke about my personal future, where I was headed, what mattered to me. Coupled with my personal search, I've been thinking about realigning this blog for awhile, to bring greater focus to it beyond "the musings of an aging boomer". Today, I did some research on my postings, identifying themes (you'll notice some change in 'labels'). The result? Change.

"AgeWise" has become "The SpiritedNP: Change for the Health of It". This better reflects my blog's address in the great ether, as well as bringing a clearer focus. Health ...of individuals, our community, and the planet. They've always been interrelated but the interdependence is growing exponentially.

Health -- the root is an Old English word that means "whole". That's one broad concept -- to be(come) whole. In the 21st century, we've delegated achieving "health" to technocrats -- doctors, pharmaceutical researchers, nurse practitioners, dentists -- and have lost sight of the environmental, political, and spiritual components to health. Yet to achieve health, a complex web of relationships must function at the highest possible level. While health certainly comes from a culmination of personal choices, an important determinant of health results from the societal and political milieu in which we find ourselves. If that weren't true, then we'd be having a whole lot more health from living in the richest (are we still?) country in the world.

Yes, we make choices -- what we eat, how much we move around, the work we do, the relationships we make or abandon -- these choices and more, influence our health. But our health is also intimately wound up with how well or poorly we are governed -- for government policies and their enforcement shape the world we live in. Economic policy determines how wealth is distributed and greed is restrained; environmental policy determines the quality of our physical environment; agricultural policy determines what food we have available to eat. And so it goes.

Our country is facing the biggest challenges of my lifetime. And almost certainly, the biggest opportunities as well. We have the chance to become the healthiest country on earth, leaving an invaluable legacy to those we love. True patriots, in my view, are Americans who are willing to commit to a healthy lifestyle as well as lobbying for the changes needed to ensure a healthy environment. For only by achieving both, can we meaningfully reduce the economic burden on ourselves, our society and our families. Our President continues to remind us that the government can only do so much. It is obligated to act on our behalf, to bring about change that will ensure a healthy environment and economy. But while government can ensure that we have the resources to maximize our health, we have a personal responsibility to make wise choices. And wise choices are impossible if we are uninformed, if we cannot imagine the consequences of our actions.

This blog is dedicated to making its own small contribution to our ability to choose wisely, to bring about change "for the health of it".

Competence Counts

At last I chose. I’ve vacillated for months. But today, I chose my candidate. Then I sent some money. This helped me decide:

“…I'm not alone in wishing for a nation run by someone [Hillary] whose desire for our well-being is passionate but whose actions on our behalf also exude bedrock competence, someone who lacks any flash whatsoever except the flash that keeps a person assiduously doing the hardest things in life. In New Hampshire and all across the country, many female voters seem to be thinking along the same lines.”

The NV debate pushed me in her direction and away from Obama as well. When asked about his greatest weakness, Obama confessed that he isn’t an operations guy, he can’t keep track of a paper for longer than 2 minutes. He does the ‘vision thing’. He is a ‘transformational leader’. He hires good people who do all that management stuff. He declared that it is not his job to run the government. Ding, ding! Been there, seen that (for the last 7 years).

I was about Obama’s age in the early ‘90s. I was as naïve, as ‘experienced’, as full of hubris as he is. I wanted to transform health care. I had a vision. I could articulate it. People lined up to follow me. I was an executive of a large organization hired specifically to be a ‘change agent’. I failed. Spectacularly.

Coincidentally, Hillary was trying to do the same thing. She failed too. We both learned some very hard, very public lessons: transformational change is seldom a fit for large organizations or government. If you attempt it, it is one of the most difficult things you will ever do and it requires constant, hands-on intervention by the top leadership. You are setting about changing mindsets, culture, systems, processes. Due to its scope, it rarely succeeds. To quote an old manaagement professor, 'the organization always pushes back and it almost always wins'. Given Obama's loose use of the term, it is clear he hasn’t tried it. Community organizing, passing bills in a state legislature aren't even remotedly the same. What's scary, is that he thinks he knows how to do it. His near-dismissal of anyone who challenges his belief, his denigration of those who have actually done the grueling work to create change, borders on arrogance. It is certainly naive. You can only get so far on charisma. The 'American People' won't do the work. Personally, I’m not anxious to let him use the presidency as his training wheels.

Here’s how political and institutional change really works: you use insider’s knowledge and accumulated chips to get things done (see the movie, “Charlie Wilson’s War”). It is painstaking work. It is incredibly frustrating. It is slow. I hate it.

As an alternative, you could seize unilateral power to dictate solutions — I believe that is the model Dick and George like best. Think about that.

But if you want to make substantial change in government and policy, you must be willing to endure the almost soul-sucking battles fought on the inside. You do what Hillary has done: you slog through for years, learning how the wheels turn and who you want to be beholden to you. When the day comes, you call in your chips. That’s the political process. That’s what LBJ learned to do. He was masterful at it. All those civil rights we have today came from the work of experienced politicians who took risks, knew how to cut a deal and which buttons to press. Activists are necessary, but not sufficient. In a democracy, the political process has to seal the deal. I hate that reality. But that IS reality.

Like Hillary, I’m impatient. I want change faster than I’m gonna get it. I alienate people with my passion and my willingness to bust some balls (which is not very feminine of me, is it?). The organization, the society, the status quo always pushes back. So you damned well better have the fortitude to fight hard and not give up. She has proven her mettle for 35 years. You can dismiss that if you want to. But it deeply pisses me off that when you spend your life positioning yourself to get the big things done, the younger generation dismisses your experience, your wisdom, and opts for ‘change’. Pardon me, but they don’t know what the fuck they are talking about. I was one of them once. I learned that the ideals of youth take the wisdom and experience of age to ‘make it work’. The challenge is to hold on to your ideals for 35 years. I have. Hillary has.

There is a third alternative: revolution. And some days, I crave that option. Some days, I think it might be the only way to save ourselves. But revolutions are not begun by politicians. If you want change without revolution then you’d better be looking to someone who can navigate the corridors of power. Who can play hardball while building political alliances. Someone who knows what levers to pull. The challenges facing this country are so huge, so complex, that nothing will be accomplished quickly. But if you are a novice, you’ll get nowhere singing kumbaya and giving great speeches. The largest accomplishments of our era were made by people who were insiders and over 40: FDR and LBJ. They had plenty of enemies and no illusions. JFK’s vision, while grand, only became reality through the work of a career politician, someone today’s generation would disdain.

If Barack and his minions, who are looking more and more like a cult of personality, want transformational change, then they should remain activists. We need them to stir the pot and build a large-scale movement for a specific agenda, not just ‘change’ and ‘non-partisanship’. Revolutions are painful. Obama and his troops will have to sacrifice, they will have to step into the streets, they will have to serve. But I do not believe they are ready to run a government, not based on their few, small-scale accomplishments.

Oh, and one last thing: Obama gave an interview yesterday in which he praised Ronald Reagan as a transformational leader and extolled Reagan’s skill at getting people to follow his vision. What’s wrong with this picture?

So, Hillary’s my candidate. She’s imperfect. Sometimes I want to thrash her. Sometimes she shows poor judgment. But I’m now prepared to fight for her, warts and all. And if she loses the quest for the nomination? I’m a Democrat. I’ll work my ass off for whoever we choose. And yes, that includes Obama.

Redeemed and Noble

Thrilled? Me? I've been living for this day...so, thrilled is a tame description of my emotional state. The Wingnuts are already out in force, attempting to denigrate the one Hero I have. Will they succeed? Your answer likely depends on how much faith you have in the average American's intelligence.

Not long ago, we undertook an exercise at my workplace. The assignment: name the one person we'd like most to meet and what we'd like to ask him/her. The choices included the usual suspects offered up by a typical crowd of zealous Fundies: Bush, Jesus, an assortment of Biblical icons. I chose Al. I titled it "My Hero" and wrote a short tribute. It was shunned by most, who do not think kindly of Progressives and their longings.

I admire Al more than any other public person. He suffered a horrid public humiliation when the Presidency was ripped from him...and us. And while he took time to tend his wounds, he resurfaced stronger for the experience. In his late 50s, he decided he had work to do, and would damn well do it. He reached into his kishkes to find the one passion that would sustain him: mobilizing others to save this fragile planet. His award today demonstrates what an individual can achieve if they can rise above their darkest hour, their most demoralizing defeat.

What next? A 2008 run? God, I've been fantasizing about this possibility for so long...and today, on the announcement of his prize, I reached the conclusion that it wasn't what I wanted him to do. While we need a President with his gravitas and intellect...national politics, regardless of the nation, is not where guys like Al make their biggest mark. His achievements over the last 6 years would not have been possible if he'd been inside the system. Any system. His strength is his ability to work outside and beyond political agendas. His is a moral and spiritual quest.

Al is a Global asset. I want him to hold everyone else accountable, to forge alliances that go beyond national boundaries, to stimulate innovation and allegiance to a cause bigger than America. His agenda to help save humanity from itself cannot afford to get bogged down in the bullshit of elections.

Don't run Al. We need you far too much to lose you to campaigning. Please. Lead us...all of us...to commit to whatever it takes to leave a healthy planet as your legacy and ours.

A Shout-Out to Generation Q — The Quiet Generation

The Quiet Generation was newly christened by Tom Friedman in this morning’s New York Times. These college-age young adults are quietly rebuilding New Orleans, staffing “Teach for America”, and going abroad to combat AIDS and poverty. They represent the best of American ideals. But they are making a difference far too quietly. As Friedman notes:

“I am impressed because they are so much more optimistic and idealistic than they should be. I am baffled because they are so much less radical and politically engaged than they need to be.”

“… Generation Q may be too quiet, too online, for its own good, and for the country’s own good. When I think of the huge budget deficit, Social Security deficit and ecological deficit that our generation is leaving this generation, if they are not spitting mad, well, then they’re just not paying attention. And we’ll just keep piling it on them.”

We of the Greediest Generation — Generation G— are desperate for you to funnel your energy and rage against the machine. We fiftysomethings …and up …whose hearts beat progressive tunes…are behind you with money and whatever power we’ve accumulated. But no matter how energetic and well-intended we might be, there is no substitute for the fire and endurance of youth.

Friedman pleads:

“America needs a jolt of the idealism, activism and outrage (it must be in there) of Generation Q. That’s what twentysomethings are for — to light a fire under the country. But they can’t e-mail it in, and an online petition or a mouse click for carbon neutrality won’t cut it. They have to get organized in a way that will force politicians to pay attention rather than just patronize them.

Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy didn’t change the world by asking people to join their Facebook crusades or to download their platforms. Activism can only be uploaded, the old-fashioned way — by young voters speaking truth to power, face to face, in big numbers, on campuses or the Washington Mall. Virtual politics is just that — virtual.”

Soon, some of us will be retirees and hopefully, refugees from the Greediest Generation, reclaiming what we once stood for — change, responsibility, a rejection of the religion of corporatization and consumerism. Retirees are notorious for their willingness to embrace activism to achieve goals that matter to them ...they have the time and the money to kick some ass and they care a lot less about who they offend. But they still don’t have the physical advantages of youth and the natural organizing environment that a college or university provides.

Maybe Generation G needs to set up recruiting tables at local colleges, natural organizing hubs. We can enlist all those students into a cross-generational militia. A merger of AARP and Facebook could be a formidable community both online and off. I love it! The young and the not-so-young, raising hell together!

Can't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow...

Following the injunction of Fleetwood Mac, I can't stop thinking about tomorrow. At my age, I should finally lighten up and take one day at a time, don't ya think? But yesterday, I read this article on the front page of the New York Times, and who in their right mind can ignore this?

The Arctic ice cap shrank so much this summer that waves briefly lapped along two long-imagined Arctic shipping routes, the Northwest Passage over Canada and the Northern Sea Route over Russia.

Close your eyes for a minute. Imagine waves lapping the shore of the NORTH POLE. Yes, I'm shouting. There are still dipshits out there who insist that it's no big deal, we're getting all 'exercised' over nothing. Like that guy who wrote this book. He's cute and all ...seductive and soothing and ..freakin' dangerous. The siren song of the 'skeptic': Won't it be great to plow ships through water and not ice? I mean, we'll be able to get all our precious trinkets so-o-o-o much faster! And maybe we'll grow tomatoes and corn and cows right outside Santa's workshop. How cool is that?

Seriously, when my heart isn't turning to ice in sympathy for the Arctic, I want to pummel someone. But it's hard to know who to beat. There are so many choices, so little time...and (here I'm gonna sound old) so few mechanisms for effectively ranting and raving. I miss the good old days -- a sure sign that I'm approaching senility. I remember when the University of Wisconsin had mock gravestones on the hill up to the main campus. When people boycotted classes, professors, stormed the streets. Do any of you remember that? What has happened to collective outrage?

Until we can muster up the courage, the time, the rage we had as youths, we're doomed. The only people who take to the streets are immigrants, who are promptly hosed, arrested, and dismissed.

I can't stop thinking about tomorrow though. About the world my children and grandchildren will face. We all have too much to lose to risk the streets and too high a price to pay to sit on our sofas, hoping Jon Stewart will do it for us.

Options? Well, voting isn't enough, as 2006 reminds us every day. It won't be enough in 2008 either. Interest groups send letters on our behalf but are too polite to kick some ass. Aren't young people supposed to do that stuff? Aren't they supposed to be the Idealists who shame the rest of us into action? They seem so passive ...waiting to inherit the future rather than forge it.

I guess we Boomers, who went from angry to self-involved, are going to have to risk our Golden Years. When they told me old age wasn't for sissies, is this what the hell they meant? Am I supposed to start yelling and throwing stuff again?

Yup. Seems so. Grab a rock.