 By Jim Selman | Bio
David Brooks wrote a very compelling New York Times op ed piece recently called “ The Geezer’s Crusade”.
His point was that the elders in our society hold the future for
everyone in their hands (so to speak). Since 1980 when I was serving
on the California Commission on Aging, one of my biggest concerns has
been that, as a society, we are turning older people into constituents
competing with their grandchildren for scarce resources. David Brooks
shows how this kind of trend affects us all and today we spend about $7
on older people compared to about $1 on younger people. I am not
arguing for what the amounts should be: however, I am agreeing[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Jim Selman | Bio
I
think that one of the things going on these days is that ‘Baby Boomers’
are waking up to the fact that they have a choice about how they age
and what it means to be old. The Boomer label is just a demographic
slogan. Personally, I don’t like being lumped into a single category
with 70 million other folks. This sociological category of “Baby
Boomer” (which is now almost synonymous with growing older) makes it
easy for us to slip into generalizations about age and aging,
generalizations that have been here for generations. Even when we
attempt to show how Boomers aren’t like other generations, we are
subtly reinforcing a profoundly negative and disempowering stereotype
of what it means to grow older.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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By Kevin Brown | Bio
Have you noticed lately the impact that Boomers continue to have on the
world as we know it? Yes, the 'Net Generation' is beginning to have a
growing influence on our world and the way we interact with everyone in
it. But the Boomers are not retiring or withdrawing from being in
action on the field like their parents' generation did before them. No,
the Boomers are choosing to remain in the game and to impact how life
occurs for them and for everyone else. The question is, “Is this a
selfish act by Boomers or one of generosity and possibility?” Boomers
(those born between the mid 40s and the mid 60s) have been the agents
of change for most of their adult life. Whether challenging dress
codes, music preferences, the Vietnam War, or the status quo, Boomers
were and continue to be all about change. Of course, if change means
upsetting established norms, then Boomers are likely to be found
leading the parade. One can see their impact on each and every decade
for the last fifty years. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at Fearless Aging
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 By Kevin Brown | Bio
Increasingly I find myself thinking about the word
retirement and whether it has the appeal that it once had for the mature
worker. I remember, as if it were yesterday, my father talking about how he was
looking forward to retirement. After working long hours and raising a family,
there just did not seem much time for anything else. Through much of his
mid-life, my dad's job (conductor for the railroad) had him working away from
home and on the road during the week. Weekends were mostly reserved for rest
before returning to the job the following Monday. Often he would share how he
looked forward to being able to spend time doing the things he really wanted to
do. I just assumed that meant golfing and fishing simply because those are
about the only leisure activities that I remember my dad enjoying.
[ Read More]
Written by eldering at Retirement
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By Jim Selman | Bio
It’s getting hard to stay ‘upbeat’ in the
face of all the economic news. The line between a recession and
depression is blurring more and more each day. It seems pretty obvious
that we’re entering what will be a long road to some sort of
prosperity. The old joke about a recession is when your neighbor loses
his or her job and a depression is when you lose your job isn’t so
funny anymore. I learned today that China is embarking on an official
policy of selling directly to U.S. consumers bypassing the
middlemen—and that means even more pressure on the economy if they pull
it off. The bottom line is that the American Dream will evade more and
more of us and, in particular, the dream of living a life of leisure
after retirement will evade most Baby Boomers. [ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
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I have been having a lot of ‘state of the economy’ conversations
lately. The consensus is that we are going in the wrong direction and
the only question is how long, how deep and how prepared we are for the
long haul. I made the observation that the economic consequences of a
recession are only part of the problem. A recession is a trust issue.
When credit dries up, it means that lenders don’t trust the borrowers
to keep their commitments. It creates a kind of double-bind. Here is
how it works.[ Read More]
Written by eldering at The Great Turning
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 I guess everything starts somewhere. This is my first ‘blog’. I’m
still getting used to the local jargon in these here parts. I see the
‘blogosphere’ as the perfect place to share my ideas about age and
aging. Actually, this isn’t the beginning of my interest in and commitment
to do something about the culture of aging that we all share. It has
been a kind of hobby of mine for a long time. And now, as I approach
65, it has become more of a mission.
[ Read More]
Written by Jim Selman at Fearless Aging
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