Baby boomers are in the news this week, everywhere you look, on the nightly TV news, in magazines, on the internet. So what if the largest demographic group in the country is starting to turn 60 and thinking about retiring, is that so newsworthy? It must be a slow week for news, and that is a good thing compared to the last year.
(Answers.com) A baby boomer is defined as someone who is born in a period of increased birth rates, such as following World War II, triggered by the elation of victory and large numbers of males returning home. In the United States, the baby boom generation's birth years are from 1946 to 1964.
Guess that makes me one! I didn't even know I belonged to this illustrious crowd. Does that mean I can retire now?
(CBC News) In 1946, 3.4 million babies were born in the U.S. By 1964, 78 million "baby boomers" had joined the population. These children acquired more education than any previous generation; many grew up projecting a rebellious, idealistic attitude that promised to reshape society.
Now, with the first of them turning 60, the baby boomers are about to do something utterly conventional and predictable. They're going to start getting old and begin developing health problems. They're also going to retire from the workforce.
Great! Now we'll never be able to get a campsite! (Or an appointment at the doctor's office.)
(Newsweek) The generation that vowed to stay forever young is coming up on a major milestone. But for the 3.4 million Americans who were born in 1946, retirement is a distant prospect, and life still holds plenty of promise and surprises. They've been hippies and yuppies; and now it's the time of the 'abbies': aging baby boomers.
I was never a hippie, or a yuppie, and I hope I don't become an abbie!
Well, this has just been very enlightening. I was supposed to be rebellious and idealistic and reshape society, and be forever young. Wish I had read the handbook. Hopefully I have a few good years left, better late than never, I guess!
