THE SECRETS OF BABY BOOMER BLISS

            My wife and I will both celebrate our 60^th birthdays this year.  We are in the middle of those Americans born between the years 1946 and 1960.  We are boomers.  Some of the factors that I find have made my contemporaries content and secure are fascinating. They are not the factors I would have expected to report when attending Woodstock in August of 1969.  My thoughts below are personal observations and do not rise to the level of the study on finger length and prostate cancer. (Another topic important to boomers)

            Married boomers who never had children are at the top of my happiness and security list.  They have, on the whole remained happily married over the years and lead the most interesting of lives.  They love their god children, nieces, nephews and neighbor’s children.  They love spending time with them on their terms, with no responsibility as parents.  Their bank accounts are large, retirements early and they also do not have pets.  They may be more selfish than the rest of us, but it is difficult not to envy their independence.

            Next on my list are married boomers who had children, but fought off their parents, rabbis, priests and social mores. These boomers entered marriages with a spouse from another religion, ethnic group or race.  They now tend to be divorced and may be less financially well off.  However, they appear happy.  One child per couple was the norm.  The children from these mixed marriages are beautiful and unique jewels.   Now adults, these children are a credit to mixing the gene pools.  After all, Presidents, world class golfers and movie stars are made of such stock.  Parental pride and satisfaction have overruled the stresses of parenthood.  The social sacrifices were worth it and time has proven them right 

Many of the boomers I know with traditional marriages, lifestyles and 2.3 children are on the whole stressed out, and fearful of the future.  The blueprint laid out by their parents, Dr. Spock and the republicans seems to have failed them.  Their adult children depend on them as do their elderly parents.  A pleasant retirement is a pipe dream.  They need socialism in the areas of medicine, education, elder care and retirement but many support the libertarians. They continue to believe that even in the mist of social despair, anyone can win the American lottery.

I find boomers with a well rounded liberal arts education a fascinating lot and on the whole happier than those without one.  Their world, as they have less to do and more time to think, is simply more interesting.  My boomer sister got her BA degree and became a housewife.  She is not qualified to enter the job market.   However, she reads incessantly and holds her own when discussing politics, literature, theology and philosophy.  My much younger brother took business courses and became a CPA.  He never reads a book and is not interested in much beyond taxes and football. I believe he will miss a great deal of the world as he gets older.  To balance off the happiness quota, my sister’s children have been a challenge while my brother and his Indian wife have no children. (He needs to get started and mix the gene pools)

Of great interest to me is how those boomers, who have achieved financial success, are often our most vocal social democrats.  These boomers who have already won the American lottery drive the tea party to distraction by offering to pay higher income and estate taxes.  They want to spread the wealth so that more of us boomers are content and secure.

Financially, boomers who by design or accident learned to drink from the public trough are more secure and content than those who looked to the private sector for their employment.  Few boomers I know are good at financial matters let alone investing. Disappointments from 403(b) retirement plans, IRAs and bankrupt companies have left many acquaintances working longer or parking cars in their retirement.  On the other hand, friends who spent their careers in the public sector, government or teaching have defined benefit annuity checks and often health care benefits to look forward to each month.  One Pittsburgh friend who remained a dedicated bureaucrat, will receive a city, county and state pension check and free health care as he travels the world.

            Lastly boomers whose parents passed away in their 60s and 70s have a much better quality of life. Yes, they miss their parents.  They do not miss nursing homes, fights with their siblings over parental care, dementia and watching their parents hard earned cash go to the government (to help pay the retirement checks for the bureaucrats).  The inheritance they receive often makes the difference between a comfortable as opposed to a marginal retirement.

In 1970, who would have imagined that remaining childless; taking a risk in relationships; government work; being educated to think, rather than to do; and having parents who exit early, would be positive to boomers.  The next generation may or may not think well of us. The least we can do is all get living wills and not wear out our welcome.