THE SANDWICH GENERATION
I was born in 1950. As a middling baby boomer, I have experienced all of the downside that my generation has had to face: overcrowded schools; excessive competition for admission to "A" colleges; overcrowded job markets; high interest rates and expensive housing; mid-life job losses; increasing health care costs.
Not much attention has been paid, however, to the new muck through which the Boomers are now slogging. Our parents, particularly the females, are living longer and longer. My mother is 86. On her side of the family, I have an aunt and uncle who are 90 and 92 respectively. I have another aunt who is 98. And on the other side of the family, there is another group of aunts all in their mid 90's. The health of these individual varies from good to total dementia, but none of them are able to function totally independently. All of them require a degree of care and looking after.
The fastest developing area in my law practice is Elder Care. While many of my clients are gentle, sweet people, there is an equal number who are....difficult. They aren't bad people, but simply experiencing the ravages of time taking its toll as they desperately cling to their independence knowing it is being taken away. Add to it the older generational stigma attached to mental health issues and senior care, it becomes problematic. How many of the Boomers' parents really had to take care of their parents? Not many. No medical miracles then. My grandfather died in his early 50's, and my grandmother when she was 68. People in their 80's were rare then. Now people in their 90's are becoming common place. If brown is the new black, 80 is the new 60.
On the other side of the coin are the children of the Boomers, many of whom have opted to move home with Mom and Dad, or not move out at all. Rapid job changes, late marriages, the ease of divorce, out of wedlock children and a general "Friends" and "Sex in the City" television mentality make it easier for them to choose to move home rather than to "stick it out" when the going gets tough. Progressive liberalism has taken away the virtue in following a moral compass.
It is no wonder that the Baby Boomer generation is rapidly becoming the stressed generation. We are sandwiched between two generations of people who are primarily focused on themselves, either out of desperation and fear of losing control characterized by those who are older, or the self-centered, "live for the moment" approach to life exhibited by those who are younger. This problem is taking a serious toll on the mental, physical, and financial health of the Boomer generation.
What will society do for retiring Boomers, needing care themselves, but still having to care for uber senior parents and little Johnny who has moved back home? For starters, Congress has just cut back Medicaid benefits. The first thing I did was to buy long term care insurance. But for those in their mid 60's and older, that is not a viable option for themselves or their 90 year old parents. Social Security reform??? Ya, right!!! How about this one...major corporations bankrupting their deliberately under funded pension programs. And let's not forget the Medicare drug program with the coverage hole in the middle determined by the cost of the brand name drugs you are not taking because they make you buy generic. Huh? It truly is difficult to understand.
For the sandwich generation, it is going take more than a little mayo and mustard to handle the problems. It is a quiet disaster waiting to happen.
Not much attention has been paid, however, to the new muck through which the Boomers are now slogging. Our parents, particularly the females, are living longer and longer. My mother is 86. On her side of the family, I have an aunt and uncle who are 90 and 92 respectively. I have another aunt who is 98. And on the other side of the family, there is another group of aunts all in their mid 90's. The health of these individual varies from good to total dementia, but none of them are able to function totally independently. All of them require a degree of care and looking after.
The fastest developing area in my law practice is Elder Care. While many of my clients are gentle, sweet people, there is an equal number who are....difficult. They aren't bad people, but simply experiencing the ravages of time taking its toll as they desperately cling to their independence knowing it is being taken away. Add to it the older generational stigma attached to mental health issues and senior care, it becomes problematic. How many of the Boomers' parents really had to take care of their parents? Not many. No medical miracles then. My grandfather died in his early 50's, and my grandmother when she was 68. People in their 80's were rare then. Now people in their 90's are becoming common place. If brown is the new black, 80 is the new 60.
On the other side of the coin are the children of the Boomers, many of whom have opted to move home with Mom and Dad, or not move out at all. Rapid job changes, late marriages, the ease of divorce, out of wedlock children and a general "Friends" and "Sex in the City" television mentality make it easier for them to choose to move home rather than to "stick it out" when the going gets tough. Progressive liberalism has taken away the virtue in following a moral compass.
It is no wonder that the Baby Boomer generation is rapidly becoming the stressed generation. We are sandwiched between two generations of people who are primarily focused on themselves, either out of desperation and fear of losing control characterized by those who are older, or the self-centered, "live for the moment" approach to life exhibited by those who are younger. This problem is taking a serious toll on the mental, physical, and financial health of the Boomer generation.
What will society do for retiring Boomers, needing care themselves, but still having to care for uber senior parents and little Johnny who has moved back home? For starters, Congress has just cut back Medicaid benefits. The first thing I did was to buy long term care insurance. But for those in their mid 60's and older, that is not a viable option for themselves or their 90 year old parents. Social Security reform??? Ya, right!!! How about this one...major corporations bankrupting their deliberately under funded pension programs. And let's not forget the Medicare drug program with the coverage hole in the middle determined by the cost of the brand name drugs you are not taking because they make you buy generic. Huh? It truly is difficult to understand.
For the sandwich generation, it is going take more than a little mayo and mustard to handle the problems. It is a quiet disaster waiting to happen.
Comments
Well, there you are again, telling it like it is. What do those of us who are members of "The Sandwich Generation" do? We have mini-nervous breakdowns now and then to try and cope with all the demands from all sides. Good for you, if you purchased long term health care. Some of us might have to join the "Hemlock Society" if we run out of money and/or energy.
SK