Month: September 2012

Teachers’ Strikes- An Uncivil War

By Larry Teren

Teacher strikes now rarely affect Baby Boomers because we’ve outgrown having children who go to school. We boomers don’t have to worry how to keep the kids preoccupied. We just worry about if the governing commissions will cave in to demands and cause our property taxes to go even higher.

Illinois is becoming the focus for those who fret over teachers’ work stoppages. Let’s take a look at the two highest profile in the media- Lake Forest and Chicago. Continue reading “Teachers’ Strikes- An Uncivil War”

How Baby Boomers Are Spending Their Money

By Larry Teren

The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) had one of their staff analyze data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Survey, comparing the spending habits of 45- to 64-year-olds in 1990 and 2010. After carefully pouring over the statistics, she came to the conclusion that baby boomers stopped saving their money. Duh. As a member of the baby boomer generation, I can readily explain why but as a gentleman, I will let her announce each point and then I will offer my take: Continue reading “How Baby Boomers Are Spending Their Money”

Whistleblowing Proves it Pays to Cheat

By Larry Teren

Apparently it pays to cheat and then rat on your accomplices. Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service gave $104 million dollars to a scoundrel who spent about two and a half years in jail for committing fraud conspiracy. The fraud was helping a bunch of very wealthy Americans illegally hide money at Swiss Bank UBSAG. Continue reading “Whistleblowing Proves it Pays to Cheat”

Baby Boomers are a Mixed Blessing to the Economic Recovery

By Larry Teren

According to remarks credited to the president of AARP, 10,000 people are turning 65 every day and that level will continue for the next 18 years. If people make it to age 65, they can expect to reach 82, according to the Harvard Health Letter. If they make it to age 85, they can expect to reach 90. Of all the people who ever lived to age 65 since the beginning of time, two-thirds are breathing right now. Continue reading “Baby Boomers are a Mixed Blessing to the Economic Recovery”

Baby Boomers Should Move to Arkansas

By Larry Teren

Maybe baby boomers should move to Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, in Arkansas those over the age of fifty had a 5.6% unemployment rate. Compare that to Arkansas’ general population unemployment rate of 7.3% as of August 2012. For the nation as a whole, the rate was 8.3%. Arkansas seems to be the land of relative opportunity. Continue reading “Baby Boomers Should Move to Arkansas”

Don’t Blame the Baby Boomers

By Larry Teren

Don’t blame the baby boomers. It’s not our fault. Although it seems as if everyone wants to blame social and economic ills on us. One pundit says that we boomers do things in a herd mentality. Duh, all subgroups within a society do things in a herd mentality. That’s why it’s called a group- we share common experiences and aspirations. Continue reading “Don’t Blame the Baby Boomers”

A Penny Saved is Not a Penny Earned

By Larry Teren

The saying “A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned” goes back in time even before Benjamin Franklin put it in writing in the 1700s. Maybe four hundred years ago you could buy plenty with a penny. Heck, even in the 1960s I was able to buy a variety of goods with a cent piece at the corner grocery store.penny I used to collect pennies because they added up to good value. Five pennies bought a pack of baseball cards or fancier candy. If I found a penny lying on the ground, I pounced on it rather than walk past it with an uncomfortable disdain to show to anyone spying that I wasn’t that hard up. Continue reading “A Penny Saved is Not a Penny Earned”

Cane Mutiny

By Larry Teren

Once many seniors get past the magical age of eighty they start using a cane or walker on a regular basis. Ma uses a copper coated cane only outdoors. Once she gets into the house, she parks the cane on the front door knob. Initially, she only intended to use a cane or walker while she rehabbed from a couple of nasty falls that broke bones. After going through reconstruction of both hips she has come to accept using the cane, at least outside. Continue reading “Cane Mutiny”