Posted on 01/14/2005 7:43:34 AM PST by qam1
I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! The Baby Boomers are coming!
For years and years, those of us who are old, and those before us who were old, have kept quiet, not questioning, not asking. Sometimes this was out of fear. If I complain about senior housing, they may throw me out. If I complain about my checks, they may stop coming. And, of course I must never complain or, heaven forbid, question my doctor because 1) he is so busy, or 2) he will get upset with me, or 3) he is God. With more and more women doctors on the scene, people like my stepfather question a lot. What could a woman know? But that's another column.
If we did let out a little peep now and then, we were ignored. We settled for what other people thought we wanted. We accepted what other people told us we wanted. And when we said what we really wanted, it was heard as complaining. Someone in that great somewhere called Washington, D.C., dreamed up a nightmare that will cost the taxpayers a fortune and called it the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan. Those who pushed it through have developed shoulder pain from patting themselves on the back. Just think, that poor old lady who can't afford to pay $600 a month and continue to eat can now save 20 percent. Didn't we do a good job!
They scream bloody murder at the cost of nursing home care and they know our population is growing and it is only going to get worse. But does it have to be that way? Do they ever talk with us and ask for our advice on the type of care that seniors really want and need? And what most of us really want and need is far less expensive. But then, what do we know? We're old.
But, wait! The Baby Boomers are coming! And you can bet your life they aren't going to take this lying down. They are speaking out and there are too many of them to ignore. They haven't spent a lifetime just making it from one day to the next and never asking for help. They ask for it. They demand it, and what's more important, they get it. And now that they're catching up with the rest of us, they will holler mighty loud if they don't get their way.
The Boston Globe recently published a story about a new AARP campaign to "change attitudes toward aging consumers." Almost all of the ads that are on TV and in magazines that are directed toward seniors deal with medical needs such as scooters, magic drugs, and other such products. "AARP, which represents people over 50, is running an ad campaign in trade publications to highlight advertisers' lack of concern for older baby boomers." One of its messages is: "These days, doctors don't pronounce you dead. Marketers do."
Seniors drink beer, but you don't see seniors in beer ads. The article said that there are large numbers of seniors going to health clubs, but the ads always show youngsters. "By the year 2010, there will be 97 million seniors nationwide." We're living longer and some of us who have done it longer than others want to see living better added to our expectations.
So bring it on. It will be kind of fun riding the coattails of the Baby Boomers as they make sure they aren't forgotten, ignored or shoved aside. They will make the changes we have been wishing, praying and longing for.
I think I'm going to like Baby Boomers!
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effect Gen-Reagan/Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
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You're obsessed. Get help.
On what planet? For as long as I can remember, the oldsters have been driving the socialist agenda full steam ahead.
I thought Xers we supposed to have short attention spans. Which is it or are you a waffling boomer. ;-)
I don't think it's the seniors doing the demanding. If you ever want to see real agression in demanding "the best of everything and I want it NOW!" try sharing a hospital room with a welfareite and watch a real pro at work. Those bottom-feeders think they're entitled to instanteous first-class treatment, and being first in line. Poor grandma is no match for a welfare queen. Grannie will die waiting for care while queenie has everyone jumping and asking "how high."
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When I was a kid the neighbors had a pony. It could count to four with its hoof. They never could get it to do anything else though.
I have a great idea for SS, maybe extreme but it might help out, if you are a boomer and have had an abortion your social security benefits should be reduced if not emilinated due to the fact that you (by your own choice) created a disruption in the number of people that could be taxed in order to provide you funds in your old age or we could just get rid of SS now.
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