[The NY Times propaganda mill is working overtime getting folks used to the idea that the postwar "Golden Years" concept of retirement -- which, all of a sudden, is being described as not just economically unrealistic but also emotionally stultifying -- is obsolete. People will now have to work until they're dead, but as one beaming expert tells the Times, old folks will now have "the freedom to work in new fields." Can't wait; I'm practicing already: Welcome to Wal-Mart!]
March 6, 2005 RETIREMENT IDEAL
The Late, Great 'Golden Years'
By STEVE LOHR
... Though there was always a bit of Madison Avenue mythologizing to that vision, the "golden years" have been real and attainable for two generations of Americans, those born roughly from 1900 to 1945. Yet for people now in their 50's and younger, what once seemed to be a permanent new feature of the American dream appears to be rapidly receding.
Were the golden years ever a sustainable concept for American retirement - and will we miss them when they are gone? ...
[In a word, no.]
... the baby boomers are ... shunning the golden-years notion of retirement as an endless vacation. Surveys by AARP and other organizations are finding that up to 80 percent of boomers plan to do some sort of paid work into their 70's. They see continued participation in the work force as a way to help them stay mentally sharp and socially engaged, as well as financially more secure.
"The 'golden years' was a brilliant marketing strategy, and a model of retirement that appealed to a lot of people for a long time, but it no longer works economically or socially," observed Marc Freedman, president of Civic Ventures, a nonprofit group that tries to make it easier for older Americans to work in their communities.
Today's retirees are a diverse group, 40 million people of varying ages, incomes and levels of activity. But there are signs that many of them, too, find conventional retirement unsatisfying.
"A life of leisure for most people is boring," said Ken Dychtwald, a marketing and strategy consultant on aging, who advises corporations and governments. One symptom that Mr. Dychtwald cited: Retired Americans watch an average of 43 hours of television a week - akin to a full-time job. "Traditional retirement has proved to be a failed experiment," he said. ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/06/weekinreview/06lohr.html>
OK everbody, back to work -- chop-chop.
Carl
