So, I heard of the book “Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Re-Invented Old Age” and bought it, ‘cause I figured I exemplified the target audience. Should have read it on a park bench as befits someone of my years, but I was in Chicago for the Christmas holidays and it was too damn cold. So, I read it in a nice warm easy chair, which come to think of it also befits someone my age.

Author James Chappel, judging by his picture on the book jacket, doesn’t appear old enough to be discussing this topic from personal experience, but he put a helluva lot of research into it which makes it a worthwhile read, if sometimes a bit dry.

He reminds us that in days of yore, Americans were expected to work until they died or became too debilitated by age, at which time tradition demanded they be taken care of by their adult children. He points out that a major turning point came in the Depression years: “Whereas in the past, grown children may have borne the cost of supporting their aging parents, the Depression made it impossible for many families to do so. And given the fact that younger people were losing their savings and older people were increasingly exiting the workforce, it was unlikely that the earlier system would ever return.” Thus were the seeds sown for Social Security and the subsequent Medicare.

Chappel considers the old TV series “Golden Girls” to be almost a documentary of what happens to aging females in this society, and was a harbinger of trends impacting the elderly in the years since.

The author makes the point that before the end of this decade, senior citizens are expected to number more than the under-18 population.

What to do? One wag he quotes may have the best answer: “Don’t get old.”

22 COMMENTS

  1. Did your reading space feature a roaring fireplace and snoozing dogs?

    As the premise is presented, I’m not sure I buy the basic depression era concept as a totality. In my own family, the married siblings moved in/stayed with my widowed grandmother, sharing income & expenses. Have to admit though, that gram wasn’t elderly yet although she was cared for by family until she passed decades later. Similar story on the maternal side of the family, though SFAIK, no elders were involved during the Depression. Or after.

    Also, in days gone by wills often required the heirs to look after remaining elders. That wasn’t a practice limited to the wealthy and some of the attachment strings were close to chains.

  2. And young couples can’t afford homes and are being told not to have children in order to “save the planet.” We are starting to experience what Japan went through with an aging population dying alone in their apartments.

    • Mark,

      Notice how Americans were encouraged to have fewer kids, then we are told we need more immigrants because we aren’t having enough kids.

  3. And there are times I suspect the group “behind the curtain” is doing its best to make “don’t get old” HAPPEN!

    As my brother says: “When you stop getting old, they throw dirt in your face!”

    • Quote of the Day:

      “The older the violin, the sweeter the music.”

      Gus – from the mini-series ‘Lonesome Dove’

  6. Hi Mas,
    I turned 81 last July and find myself modifying how I do things almost on a daily basis. Still do many of the things I have always done just do them a bit different. Retaking MAG 40 is on bucket list. I tied you in the shooting phase and want to see if I can do better next time.
    Best wishes,
    Bill H.

  7. I sometimes feel like I’m fighting a losing battle. But they ain’t no fat lady waiting sing, and I ain’t ready to give up the ship. However, I have gotten to the point where I appreciate a good handrail. And I never sit on the floor without a definite plan on how to get back up. If only wisdom and age could mature at the same pace.

  8. It seems to me that the evidence justifies the following conclusion: Social Security was the brainchild of smart socialists who wanted to lay the foundation for a government-dependent populace.
    Does anyone remember that there was push-back against tagging Americans with a numeric identification system? Against trusting the government with a portion of your retirement savings, which they confiscated whether you consented or not?
    More interesting: Does anyone reading this have one of the really old (prior to the 50’s, I think) SS cards that explicitly say, “NOT TO BE USED FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES” ?

    • Still have my father’s SS card. It’s a classy engraved brass plate in a GI leather folder. How times have changed.

      It’s ironic that the SS# isn’t supposed to be used as ID, but it’s become the usual way to make sure which Jane/John Doe you actually are.

      SS has always been something of a Ponzi scheme, it just depends upon when you have to draw from it. There’s the well known Thatcherism: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples money.”

    • I HAD one of those cards, I think I got it around 1969 or 1970 when I was in high school and had a part-time job.

  9. One big change is the trend of children to find employment and establish their own families far from their parents’ home. Alternatively, parents move south as they retire, away from their children. Many families are widely scattered geographically, making care of aging parents difficult. While retirees may have lots of friends to start out, they may not be as good at developing a local support system as friends die off. A word of advice: develop a cadre of younger friends and consider moving closer to family before disability forces you to do so.

    Leigh Rubin draws a syndicated comic (“Rubes”) in which one strip depicts a lion, seated behind a consultation desk, counseling a hunched, cane-bearing water buffalo with the caption: “The lack of energy, the slowing-down, the insufferable aches and pains…growing old can be such a bother. That’s why I’d like to discuss with you an all-natural, time-tested alternative.”

    So far, growing old has its challenges, but it beats the alternative! I like Clint Eastwood’s response: “Don’t let the old man in.” But that old man is sneaky–sometimes it just best to be at peace with him.

    Also, it’s easy for me to be philosophical. My kids are off the family payroll. And I’ve got a great wife whose mother lived into her late 90’s.

    One possible way to salvage Social Security would be to allow younger FICA contributors to VOLUNTARILY transition to a Defined Contribution plan (with limits on rate of depletion allowed) or a combination of Defined Contribution/Defined Benefit Plan. We badly need to phase out the “chain letter” aspects of the current Social Security Program, before the ratio of old/young gets higher.

    Regarding Medicare: Please, Lord, spare us from a single-payer system. Competition with and comparison to private insurance plans are what keeps Medicare from deteriorating into a National Health Service that will ration care and underfund medical research.

  11. “Hope I die before I get old” was my motto. But I’m 74 now, retired, still riding motorcycles, and target shooting. Oh well!

  12. Another change occurred when people started living longer. A 50-year-old child caring for a 70-year-old parent is one thing. A 70-year-old child taking care of a 90-year-old parent is a whole ‘nother story.

  13. Mas, getting old sure beats the alternative! We’ve had too many friends who aren’t getting any older; I still miss them.

  14. Well, it sounds like a wonderful proposition, except the only way to succeed at “don’t get old” is, unfortunately, worse than what you’re avoiding. Me, I’ll go ahead and get old, but avoid the pitfall of “decrepit” that makes the former so unpleasant.

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