A Slice of the Senior Situation

The chatter was noisy around the table this past Friday as we were eating out weekly ration of donuts. Trying to focus on one conversation was difficult but when someone brought up the subject of Oregon’s unemployment it was like being in outer space, it got so quiet. We’re experiencing over twelve percent joblessness in Oregon overall with outlying counties well over that number. I can’t figure out why this state is always one of the first to get hit the hardest and one of the last to recover.

The donut crew as we’ve labeled ourselves are all over sixty five. And no, we’re not immune to the Obama administration’s Socialistic policies (as I call them) which are resulting in the economic demise of our U.S. economy. I know it’s a little late for pointing fingers at the democrat voters as we’re all suffering as Americans from high prices and job losses. And we don’t know who exactly is behind it all, anyway.

Sitting on my right was Maria. She is 85 and is considered to be the matriarch of our group. She’s got a good retirement income from the Fed. and lives worry free. She has a yard man mow her lawn, she travels a lot and sure doesn’t do without. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have a deep concern for her adult kids who all live in the chaotic state of California.

Pete was parked to my left, in his seventies and always shaking with his affliction. He’s a funny guy, always making wise cracks and doesn’t offer much on the subject of the economy. Guess he figures he won’t be around too much longer so why worry about it. His wife Doris is sitting across from him speaking her mind and must be pretty concerned. They had to sell their home not too long ago because it was just costing them too much money each month and now they live in a much smaller apartment. She’s got to be worried what will happen to her when Pete dies.

Then there was Bob and his wife Paula at the table. Bob is a diabetic who recently had stomach surgery. He’s in his mid-sixties and officially retired, as is his wife, also in her sixties. But Bob still does accounting and taxes for small companies and organizations to bring in extra money. They’re not immune to the economic pinch, either..

Being a sixty-six year old guy it would be nice to retire. So many people just assume that I’m enjoying the fruits of my past labor and living the good life. Here’s a wake-up call for all of those that think everyone my age is actually retired. Many, many of us can’t afford retirement. In fact, I predict that it’s going to get a lot worse for seniors in the future if the economy continues as it is.

Let’s use me as an example. I compose articles to submit online. This is one of many published on the Internet. Since Social Security doesn’t pay me enough to live on and I have no pension, this is how I make my living. No complaints! It’s my reality and so long as I can still continue writing, I’ll survive and thrive.

So, the donut crew will meet again next Friday, I suppose. We’ll talk about whatever is of interest to us and life will go on. On anyway, until our measure of life is poured out. In the mean time we represent a microcosm of people up in years who are generally not talked about very much or considered to be significant despite the financial effects of a sabotaged economy.

The politicians all want our valuable votes and promise us the world, which is not theirs to give away. And when many of us are swayed by their sweet talk and vote them into office, they promptly dismiss us knowing that we’ll probably die off pretty soon anyway and besides, there will be a new crop of seniors coming down the pike to bamboozle come the next election cycle.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, Ron Knowles reveals fantastic lessons on how to learn and earn at home from his website and even has an educational newsletter that helps people choose the best vehicle for doing so. For those who need to make more money and stay at home, his system is fantastic.

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