Baby Boomers and Ageism: Will There Be a Storm? In the article, “The Future of Ageism: Baby Boomers at the Doorstep”, by Charles Longino, he depicts the negative affects of ageism and the impact that baby boomers impending retirement and Medicare will have on society. The term ageism was coined by Robert Neil Butler (1969), it describes the stereotyping and discrimination against a single person or a group based solely on their age (seniors). While the immense population of baby boomers (those born approximately between 1946 and 1964) begin to contemplate retirement, it is on the verge of encountering ageism on a degree never observed before. As the baby boomers reach the “normal” retirement age of 65, the number of people eligible for retirement
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There are burgeoning apprehensions that the baby boomers will deplete the social security resources presently being used. Meanwhile, the elderly are leading healthier lifestyles and living considerably longer lives than before. As the baby boomers approach old age, Longino predicts that there will be a crisis because “the population of the United States has aged during the entire twentieth century because the mortality rate has declined at all ages, causing life expectancy to increase” (2005:80). The rate of the U.S. population surviving into old age is quickly thriving and as it expands, “the older population itself is also aging, so the oldest portion of it is increasing the fastest” (2005:81). In addition, Longino states that “the old age “dependency …show more content…
The problem with declining Social Security and Medical funds is not recent, “for more than two decades, a steady drumbeat has hailed the impending demise of Social Security and Medicare when the baby boom retires. It seems inevitable” (2005:80). Longino states, “the baby boom is on our doorsteps. Is this the calm before the storm? We fear that it will be like a wrecking ball unleashing its destructive potential” (2005:83). With Social Security and Medical being drained further everyday, it is appropriate to assume that there is a storm upon our horizon and while it may not be present currently, this storm will produce a great deal of chaos in our future
There are burgeoning apprehensions that the baby boomers will deplete the social security resources presently being used. Meanwhile, the elderly are leading healthier lifestyles and living considerably longer lives than before. As the baby boomers approach old age, Longino predicts that there will be a crisis because “the population of the United States has aged during the entire twentieth century because the mortality rate has declined at all ages, causing life expectancy to increase” (2005:80). The rate of the U.S. population surviving into old age is quickly thriving and as it expands, “the older population itself is also aging, so the oldest portion of it is increasing the fastest” (2005:81). In addition, Longino states that “the old age “dependency …show more content…
The problem with declining Social Security and Medical funds is not recent, “for more than two decades, a steady drumbeat has hailed the impending demise of Social Security and Medicare when the baby boom retires. It seems inevitable” (2005:80). Longino states, “the baby boom is on our doorsteps. Is this the calm before the storm? We fear that it will be like a wrecking ball unleashing its destructive potential” (2005:83). With Social Security and Medical being drained further everyday, it is appropriate to assume that there is a storm upon our horizon and while it may not be present currently, this storm will produce a great deal of chaos in our future