Bitter Dregs vs. Empowerment

Writer's block is not a problem for me. Something inevitably comes along to inspire or incense. Today it was a photo and letter, published on a social media site. In her letter the mother (who looks like her grandmother or great grandmother) asks her daughter's understanding and compassion.  Those should be given, but, wait a moment. I am incensed. At seventy-three, I consider myself presentably well-heeled, well groomed, articulate, technically savvy, completely competent and, frankly, more au courant  than many young people. Age, by definition, need not diminish us.

"Discrimination due to age is one of the great tragedies of modern life. The desire to work and be useful is what makes life worth living, and to be told your efforts are not needed because you are the wrong age is a crime." Johnny Ball

     
     Retired, or not, I would ask elders neither to make resolutions in 2013, but to live one resolution: not to be quite so accepting of the limitations we place on ourselves. We do not have to drink the bitter dregs of decline without putting up a fight. Only by changing ourselves, can we end prejudicial treatment. If we want to be regarded as capable individuals, there is a price on the privilege. In other words, for us, as for younger people, we are not entitled.  

    First we can all work on our social skills, even though we live alone. There is absolutely no need to babble or repeat ourselves. Getting out into the community, socializing with people of diverse ages, volunteering, working ... all require the acquisition of interpersonal skills. I stress diversity here, because it is critical for growth.

  Even less is there a need to simply accept encroaching physical weakness. Injury and illness occur. That said, people in chronic pain can improve pain management with yoga, practiced at an appropriate level. For reasonably well elders, fitness programs are available on public television, in various media formats for a small investment. Fitness facilities nationwide offer 'scholarships' available for men and women, who cannot otherwise afford them (YMCA fitness facilities are an example.) It is hard work, but it is part of not accepting the bitter dregs of age.

      Among my elderly friends and neighbors few are computer literate, let alone technically savvy. With affordable, accessible broadband and the availability of inexpensive (or, at least, less expensive) equipment, this should have come to a screeching halt, but did not. Part of living in the present is acquiring telecommunications knowledge and skill. Like physical fitness programs, many community programs exist for the purpose of teaching computer literacy and more. These programs are inexpensive or free. Self-teaching is part of the equation, because there is nothing like hands-on experience in computing. I find it difficult to excuse seniors' reluctance to jump in and utilize the technology. Not to do so is isolating and limiting.

     For elders who are computer savvy, get up-to-date with new concepts in computing. Again classes and courses are available for little or no money. Many state-funded colleges and universities offer senior citizens the ability to monitor or audit courses free of charge. 

     A brain at rest is a brain in decline. We can find learning opportunities, in addition to those we encounter in workplaces. BBC language courses are available online, free of charge. Take a class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Available through MIT, free of charge or for a donation, is an array of timely open online courses.  Course materials are generally available for little money or free from libraries.

    I submit that, only by refusing the limitations placed on us by ignorance and bias, we empower others. How much better is this than begging anyone's indulgence?

My Kingdom for a Horse

"For want of a Nail the Shoe was lost; for want of a Shoe the Horse was lost; and for want of a Horse the Rider was lost; being overtaken and slain by the Enemy, all for want of Care about a Horse-shoe Nail." Benjamin Franklin

Sooooo .... the United States did not topple over the fiscal cliff. The question is whether landing will be soft. It seems extremely doubtful, as economic growth will be affected at a crucial time. There are three more precipices coming, so, don't be too quick to exhale. (As a shameful aside people all along the East Coast, who suffered the effects of Hurricane Sandy, will continue to have to wait for relief.)

As everyone knows a principal area of concern, for me, has been Social Security and the myths surrounding it. Now there is a new worry that ongoing payroll tax relief could be exploited -- it could become a stick with which to beat the old Social Security horse some more. As Social Security inevitably declines we hear echoes of the death knell. The critics will have right on their side; Social Security will not work the way it did in Franklin Roosevelt's day.   

Privatization is an unpalatable alternative. So what is left is to reform Social Security, so monies taxpayers put into it are guaranteed. The Trust, itself, should not the government's lender. The Trust's investments should yield returns, and monies rolled back into it. The Trust should 'own' real securities, not bonds that represent debt, rather than having potential liquidity. Then, the money we put in would grow and would return to us, not in ever-decreasing amounts for an ever-decreasing number of (older and older) people. Next a truer measure of increases in the cost of living should be sought, and the impact of inflation, anticipated long term.

Ah, but that would require taxpayers and voters to demand better. We'd have to elect representatives, who have some concern for the needs of citizens, other than the very wealthy. 

Whether Mr. Boehner will be his party's new pariah and whether his long career will survive the blow, remains to be seen.  The new body politic may yet reject the vicious partisan politics, nasty infighting, and ineffectual representation we've seen in 2012. Hope springs eternal! 

"Where's My Money?"

Pay As You Go

     Entitlement is a word designed to characterize beneficiaries as a drain on the Nation's treasury and her taxpaying citizens. We paid into Social Security, some of us, starting in childhood. People, we are being subjected to a storm of falsehood regarding Social Security. And it is shameful to call it an "entitlement program." 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
     
    We must make it clear to elected officials we understand the myth(s) involved here and demand the term 'entitlement' cease to be used, particularly with regard to Social Security.
     Let us dispel the notion Social Security is doomed because people are living longer, and there are too few workers, to support those who have retired. Here is the plain truth. Social Security was established, during the 1930s as a "pay as you go" program. During Franklin Roosevelt's administration, it seemed reasonable.
      Had benefits been guaranteed by the federal government, beneficiaries would have been paid, if necessary, out of the General Fund, irrespective of the ratio between active workers and retirees. In other words, Social Security would have remained secure. To make Social Security secure we'd have to have demanded the federal government guarantee all retirees, present and future, receive the federal benefits they earned. (The same applies to Medicare.) 

     As to the impending crisis in Social Security, the $2.7 trillion dollar reserve in the Social Security Trust gives us pause. What happened to our money, i.e., our cash payroll tax contri-butions? The contributions have been exchanged for non-negotiable Treasury IOUs. They are in are in the Social Security Trust Fund, but they can't be sold or redeemed. What is the result? Should there be a deficit in the Trust Fund, the U.S. government would have to sell bonds to the private sector, increasing government debt by $2.7 trillion. It is extremely unlikely to happen, however. 

     Had the Trust Fund monies been invested, it could have generated income, to be added to the cash in the fund. Government officials cover themselves by saying they traded payroll tax-generated monies for treasury bonds. -Sound good? Sure, there are treasury bonds but, again, they are bonds, which cannot be sold to generate cash. If they do generate cash returns, these are also taken from the fund, like the payroll tax cash. Should a true deficit occur in the Trust Fund, there will be no cash and no way to cash in the treasury bonds. Some experts believe this could come as soon as 2016 (sooner, if payroll tax cuts continue.) The crisis would mean the issuance of new bonds, increasing the federal deficit by at least another $250 billion a year over ten years ... a highly unlikely outcome. This is why we are unilaterally offered benefit cuts as the only alternative to avoid crisis. 
     The anticipated effects will will come first to those with five years to go before retirement and earlier. Those of us already retired, of course, are affected now by cuts in cost of living adjustments, which may be cut altogether, or which may be tied to the Chained Consumer Price Index, which will cause a cascade of negative results to beneficiaries. Last, but by no means least, social security disability is on the chopping block. -Seems to me, we have to get busy!

   
          

No Benediction for You!

The Face of Goodness, of Infallibility?

      The Pope has come out. Yep. That's right. He's announced, for the season of peace, I presume, in the name of The Prince of Peace, an alliance of many religions. My God, it's a new Ecumenical Council! He's going the extra distance to unite those who would ban the marriage of homosexual couples.

      -"Where's the surprise," you ask. Clearly the Roman Catholic Church has never indicated even a remote un-derstanding of the separation of church and state. American Catholics seeking civil union, who wish to enjoy the same civil rights as others, repent now, or, not. If you live in a state that honors the United States Constitution and your civil rights, marry before a judge. On the other hand, marriage may not appeal.

One should always be in love. That is the reason one should never marry. 

Oscar Wilde

      According to my gay neighbors, Pope Benedict may be offering a gift. One neighbor said he'd never considered marrying, anyway ... he's enjoying his partnership, enjoying their life free from marriage. Other gay couples may not share this, because they need the secure knowledge that their domestic partnerships and partners are honored, protected by law, in the event of  calamity. Gays and lesbians seeking for their unions, the blessings of the Church have been shown the exit, along with those who cherish notions of acceptance by their churches, even, progressive churches and temples ... need we continue?

      I'd submit a symbolic withdrawal from the Catholic Church, or the Christian faith, in light of this Christmas message, but cannot. I think there would be nothing more refreshing, just now, than self-excommunication. - It is a missed opportunity. I blew it decades ago, when my former spouse was granted permission by the Catholic Church, to declare our marriage invalid and our children, illegitimate ... another story for another place and time.

      We see Benedict XVI confirming his arcane role in spiritual leadership in a Catholic Church that has lost even its elder congregants. He has descended from his ivory tower in Vatican City, to offer the least timely, least  apropos message of Christmas 2012.

Slammed

The three coins of the ancient Chinese book of Changes.

How we older people do love to reminisce, and how we humans do love the status quo. By now our Christmas nostalgia is drowning in the wake of the Newton, Connecticut, shootings. The commentary, political and otherwise, is widespread and deafening. This post is about the only constant, change ... for, it is not exclusively the realm of the young to be in the present. Two of the most concerning messages I have encountered in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre have come from older celebrities, actors whose work I regard highly. Morgan Freeman expressed the ever-popular, media exploitation and fifteen-minutes of fame, arguments. Next Samuel Jackson rang in with teaching the value of life. With respect, these good ideas are partial solutions, at best.

We are not merely confronted with change; we're being slammed into reality. We must respond with clear-headed views of present realities. In an increasingly crowded world, quality of life and mental health issues are magnified. Regardless of what good, sincere parents teach children, there are parents in our communities who cannot get themselves and their children early, effective, mental health services.

Regardless of how we feel about excessive press coverage and giving instant notoriety to perpetrators of horrific crimes, journalists will chronicle events, and they will name names. Not all this information is superfluous, and, by no mean should all of it be suppressed, even were it lawful to do so. At some point do we need to re-examine our national conscience about media overkill? Absolutely. Right now, however, we are responding poorly, as a nation, to the needs of the mentally ill, regardless of age. 

It matters not what part of the country you are from or whether you grew up with hunters imbued with profound reverence for life. Weapons, accessories and ammunition have become incrementally more sophisticated over a few decades. I am talking about guns designed to kill as many people as possible, with as much destructive force as possible, from a maximal distance, in the shortest possible length of time. 

I believe in the concept of the perfect storm. The question is, will we cling to the past, or acknowledge and address the present? Will we fail to implement security measures in our schools, reform our mental health systems, ban assault weapons? If we fail, it will not matter whether we implement background checks and waiting periods for gun sales. It will not matter whether we put a stop to media exploitation and curb our rapacious national appetite for violence, because we will not have done what we must do first. Here's another thought, from Bill Maher.

"Maybe every other American movie shouldn't be based on a comic book. Other countries will think Americans live in an infantile fantasy land where reality is whatever we say it is and every problem can be solved with violence."

Something Sweet

Would we not love to recapture the sweetness, the sweet dreams of childhood? Some of my own sweet dreams were prompted by The Sugar Plumb Fairy from the Nutcracker Ballet. Sugar plumbs, it seems, weren't plumbs, after all; they were Christmas candies. While I looked for the story of the famous fairy and a recipe for the confections, I ran across the most delightful children's poem by Eugene Field. Here it is. I offer it as an antidote to the cares of the season.
This illustration is on a precious old scrap of linen, origin unknown. (The gingerbread dog and chocolate cat cannot be seen, but it is a lovely little vignette.


THE SUGAR-PLUM TREE by: Eugene Field (1850-1895)

AVE you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree?

'T is a marvel of great renown!

It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;

The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet

(As those who have tasted it say)

That good little children have only to eat

Of that fruit to be happy next day.

 

When you 've got to the tree, you would have a hard time

To capture the fruit which I sing;

The tree is so tall that no person could climb

To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!

But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,

And a gingerbread dog prowls below--

And this is the way you contrive to get at

Those sugar-plums tempting you so:

 

You say but the word to that gingerbread dog

And he barks with such terrible zest

That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,

As her swelling proportions attest.

And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around

From this leafy limb unto that,

And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground--

Hurrah for that chocolate cat!

 

There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,

With stripings of scarlet or gold,

And you carry away of the treasure that rains

As much as your apron can hold!

So come, little child, cuddle closer to me

In your dainty white nightcap and gown,

And I 'll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.

Twelve Days ... Phew!

The neighbors began to decorate for Christmas. Harriet got out her gun.


Here's an updated version of The Twelve Days of Christmas, age appropriate. I'll start with the final verse, for the sake of brevity, as is appropriate for those with ADD ... or the senior singalong.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Twelve Zanacs Numbing,
On the Eleventh Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Eleven kiddies griping,
On the Tenth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Ten nodes a' seeping,
On the Ninth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Nine brokers romancing,
On the Eighth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Eight charities milking,
On the Seventh Day of Christmas,
My True Love Gave to me,
Seven aches beginning,
On the Sixth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Six pundits braying,
On the Fifth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Five hemorrhoid cremes,
On the Fourth Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Four unkind words,
On the Third Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Three EpiPens,
On the Second Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
Two latex gloves,
On the First Day of Christmas,
My True Love gave to me,
One Ace Bandage for my knee

-Sounds better, if you sing it. By now, you're laughing or crying. We'll get through it all, I promise!