The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

What does spirituality mean in America?

 

A new survey by Parade magazine reports 69 percent of Americans believe in God, 77 percent pray outside of religious services, and 75 percent believe it’s a parent’s responsibility to give children a religious upbringing.

However, even though 45 percent of respondents called themselves religious, 50 percent said they rarely or never attend worship services.

The Parade survey offers an interesting look at spirituality in America.

In analyzing the data, Christine Wicker, author of the book "The Fall of the Evangelical Nation," said what Americans are doing today is separating spirituality from religion, with many people disavowing organized practice altogether while privately maintaining some form of worship.

The old terms – "atheist" and "agnostic" – are no longer catch-alls for everyone outside traditional belief, Wicker said. For example, 24 percent of respondents put themselves into a whole new category: "spiritual but not religious."

That phrase means different things to different people, she said. Some may be members of traditional religions but want to signal that they aren’t legalistic or rigid. At the other end of the spectrum, "spiritual but not religious" can apply to someone who has combined diverse beliefs and practices into a personal faith that fits no standard definition.

As Americans’ ideas of spirituality have become more expansive, so have their attitudes toward people of different faiths, Wicker said. Only 12 percent of respondents said that their own religion was the only true faith, 12 percent said no religion has validity, and 59 percent said all religions are valid.

Take a look at the survey results. It makes for interesting reading.

For example, only 15 percent of respondents thought religion should be a key factor in political decisions, while 58 percent said religion and politics should not mix at all.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What America can learn from other nations on how to provide affordable, universal health care

The United States not only spends more money on health care than any other nation but also leaves 45 million consumers uninsured, allowing about 22,000 to die annually from easily treatable diseases.

Washington Post foreign correspondent T.R. Reid, author of "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care," was recently interviewed on National Public Radio about his travels around the world investigating the health care systems in other wealthy countries.

To gather information on health care systems, he went to doctors in the U.S., Japan, Germany, France, and Britain to see what they would suggest for treatment for an old shoulder injury.

Reid said that although he did receive a recommendation to have surgery, he declined. However, he did receive help by massage treatments.

The interview with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross on WHYY, "T.R. Reid: Looking Overseas for 'Healing of America,'" is worth taking the time to listen to.

Reid also wrote an article "Five Myths About Health Care Around the World" on The Washington Post.

He said in the article that other industrialized democracies have faced problems like the U.S., and they've found ways to cover everybody – and still spend far less than is spent in America.

Here are some highlights on Reid’s five myths:

Myth 1. It's all socialized medicine out there.

Many wealthy countries – including Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, and Switzerland – provide universal coverage using private doctors, private hospitals, and private insurance plans.

Myth 2. Overseas, care is rationed through limited choices or long lines.

Studies by the Commonwealth Fund and others report that many nations – Germany, Britain, and Austria – outperform the U.S. on measures such as waiting times for appointments and for elective surgeries.

Myth 3. Foreign health-care systems are inefficient, bloated bureaucracies.

U.S. health insurance companies have the highest administrative costs in the world; they spend roughly 20 cents of every dollar for nonmedical costs, such as paperwork, reviewing claims, and marketing. France's health insurance industry covers everybody and spends about 4 percent on administration. Canada's universal insurance system, run by government employees, spends 6 percent on administration.

Myth 4. Cost controls stifle innovation.

The U.S. is home to groundbreaking medical research, but so are other countries with much lower cost structures. Hip and knee replacements are a French innovation. Deep-brain stimulation to treat depression is a Canadian breakthrough. Many of the drugs promoted on American television, including Viagra, come from British, Swiss, or Japanese labs.

Myth 5. Health insurance has to be cruel.

American health insurance companies routinely reject applicants with a "preexisting condition." They employ armies of adjusters to deny claims. If a customer faces big medical bills, the insurer's "rescission department" digs through the records looking for grounds to cancel the policy, often while the consumer is still in the hospital. Foreign health insurance companies must accept all applicants, and they can't cancel as long as you pay your premiums.

Reid’s research helps clear up the misconceptions that have been circulating about the health care systems in other nations.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Why we can’t cut federal spending

Bruce Bartlett, Forbes columnist and author of the soon-to-be-released book "The New American Economy: The Failure of Reagonomics and a New Way Forward," says every time he writes about the need to raise revenues to pay for federal spending, some nitwit always demands to know why we don't just cut spending.

Bartlett says in his column, "Why We Can't Cut Spending," that the votes aren’t there.

Congress determines how the federal budget is spent, he says, adding the president has little discretion in the matter. He must spend federal money as the Congress sets out.

Last year, $456 billion was spent on Medicare, and it’s the fastest growing major government program.

Bartlett says in his column:

How likely is it that the people protesting Obama's Medicare cuts will stand with Republicans if they propose cutting that program even more to balance the budget? They will switch sides in an instant. The elderly will fight anyone who tries to cut their benefits even as they hypocritically demand fiscal responsibility and rant about the national debt. The elderly are the reason why we have a national debt.

And the number of older people is growing in number. Bartlett reports:

In 1980, those over age 65 constituted 11.3 percent of the population. Today they represent 13 percent, a figure that will rise to 16 percent in 2020 with the aging of the baby boomers and increasing longevity, 19.3 percent in 2030 and 20 percent in 2040, according to Census Bureau projections.

In addition, older people are a rising portion of the electorate. He says:

Back when Medicare was established, those over 65 constituted 15.8 percent of voters. Last year, they made up 19.5 percent. This is due to the rising percentage of elderly in the population and their increasing propensity to vote. In 2008, 72 percent of those between the ages of 65 and 74 reported voting while only 48.5 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 did.

Bartlett says in summary:

In short, there is no evidence that it is politically possible to cut spending enough to make more than a trivial difference in our nation's fiscal problems. The votes aren't there and never will be. Those who continue to insist otherwise are living in a dream world and deserve no attention from serious people.

I found the link to this interesting article on The Boomer Blog.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

The health care debate: Who do you trust to decide whether the red pill or the blue pill is best?

Yesterday I wrote I was reassured by the direction the overhaul of the health care system is taking after watching President Obama’s press conference. I listed 10 points that he made that I thought were positive.

However, one topic he discussed seems to me to be problematic.

Obama wants the health care system to work better. A laudable goal.

He said the MedPAC program, a group of health care experts that makes recommends on cuts and specific changes to Medicare, should be given more authority. Currently, their suggestions don’t need to be followed.

Obama said Republican lawmakers proposed that these recommendations be sent to Congress for their approval. It would incentivize and empower important changes, he said.

Medicare benefits won’t be reduced, Obama said. The benefits will be made more effective.

Who do you trust to make decisions about which pills and treatments are best?

I don’t trust the pharmaceutical industry. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America or PhRMA, which represents the 29 largest drug companies, has spent $40 million lobbying on health care in the last three months, reports All Things Considered, a National Public Radio program.

The drug companies also are lobbying. With their lobbyists and the PhRMA lobbyists, there are more lobbyists for the drug industry than there are members of Congress.

Jerry Avorn, M.D., author of “Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs” said the drug companies are getting what they want in the proposed health care legislation.

Cheaper drugs from Canada and the ability of the government to negotiate the price of drugs are “off the table,” Avorn said on the program.

I don’t trust doctors. Doctors rely too heavily on the drug companies for information and treatment options. More and more information is being reported on faulty research results in medical journals and doctors being compensated by the drug industry.

For example, a world-renowned Harvard child psychiatrist, Joseph Biederman, M.D., whose work has helped fuel an explosion in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did not report much of this income to university officials, reports the article “Researchers Fail to Reveal Full Drug Pay” in The New York Times.

I don’t trust insurance companies and health maintenance organizations. They’re making coverage decisions now, with no cost caps, and share a lot of the blame for our out-of-control health care costs.

I don’t trust health care providers who rely heavily on medications and surgery to solve health problems. Alternative medicine has many effective, less invasive options – such as massage and acupuncture – to help consumers. I’m concerned that these helpful options won’t be available if “experts” on the panel disregard these options in favor of medications and surgery. For example, see my article “Baby Boomers Should Try Alternative Medicine Solutions Before Opting for Knee Surgery for Arthritis.”

Many Western medicine doctors rely extensively prescription drugs to relieve symptoms. Underlying problems aren't being addressed. People continue to take the drugs, many of which have devastating side effects, but they don't get better.

In his book, “An Integrative Approach to Healing Chronic Illness: Revealing the Root Causes of Modern Disease,” acupuncturist Rich Brightheart discusses the need to examine the role of pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, allergies, and environmental toxins in causing illness.

I don't trust hospitals. They're charging outrageous fees, paying CEOs huge salaries, and not doing enough to curb hospital infections. See my article "Consumer Group Calls on Hospitals, Government to Take Action to Prevent 100,000 Deaths Annually From Hospital Infections."

Who do you trust to make these health care decisions?

My next post will be "How to Find Out About What's Happening With Health Care Reform."

Disclosure: Richard Brightheart is my acupuncturist, and I edited his book “An Integrative Approach to Healing Chronic Illness: Revealing the Root Causes of Modern Disease.”

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What’s in your bright, green future?

Alex Steffen, executive editor and cofounder of Worldchanging.com, is a big, green idea guy.

Steffen tracks what’s going on in green innovations and writes essays on the possibilities for the future. The popular book he edited, “Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century,” is a 600-page tome of writings from more than 60 leaders around the world.

Tall, dressed in jeans and a dark blazer with his white shirt untucked, he addressed his audience at the Seattle Green Festival and flung ideas out at them – one after the other.

Steffen sees the possibility of the world becoming choked with people, with the demographic tilting to the old and young.

Four billion people in poverty have seen the American lifestyle on television, and they want to climb up into the middle class. The most watched TV program in the world is “Bay Watch,” and the world’s poor are saying, “I’ll take my version of that.”

Educational opportunities need to be extended to women throughout the world, he said, because when women have choices they have fewer children. If education is provided to every woman, population could see peak this century.

While the poor are “getting rich,” our job is to reinvent what “rich” means, Steffen said. Americans need to consume less of the world’s resources, reduce their impact on the earth, and develop a restorative economy.

“We can do that,” he said, adding “It’s not going to be easy.”

Changes are needed in how:

• Infrastructure is constructed.

• Transportation is provided.

• Minerals are used.

• Waste is handled.

• People live in cities.

Some things that are working:

• Mountain Dwellings near Copenhagen, where livable, suburban apartments are stepping up the “mountain” above the car parking space.

• Huge flowerboxes added to buildings that provide shade and food to eat.

• Yard sharing where people garden in your yard and share the produce with you.

• Street lights that turn off when moonlight reaches a certain intensity.

• Meters in the home so people reduce usage when they see the dial spinning fast.

• Car sharing.

• Bicycle sharing programs such as Bicing in Barcelona.

• Tool sharing through tool banks where you can checkout tools.

• High-end purses and jewelry rentals, such as Seattle’s Bag, Borrow, and Steal.

Things that are operational but need to be improved:

• Google walking maps.

• An iPhone program that will tell you when the next bus is coming.

Ideas for the future:

• A smart grid that can take inputs from electric car batteries and other sources which have extra energy.

• An iPhone readout of how much energy and materials are imbedded in a product you can receive after taking a picture of the product.

• Cell phones that pop into components when heated so all the parts can be recycled.

Steffen said the economy of the future is a high quality of life at a low ecological impact.

“We can do it,” he said, adding a better place can be created than what’s happening now with the destruction of the planet.

“We’re all in this together,” Steffen said. People in balance with the planet will make a life everyone can enjoy.

The Seattle Green Festival is sponsored by the Global Exchange and Green America, formerly Co-op America.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

100 ways baby boomers can improve their lives in 2009

It’s often difficult to remain cheerful in these turbulent economic times. News of more job layoffs. Banks and other financial institutions continuing to have problems. Businesses closing.

Although the news can be discouraging, it’s important to think through what’s positive in your life and how to get more joy and satisfaction.

Here are 50 ways to improve your life this year:

 

Health

• Read novels to reduce stress.

• Walk, walk, walk.

• Use less toxic products, especially for cleaning your home and on your body.

• Eat more vegetarian meals.

• Plant fruit trees.

• Buy organic food.

• Talk honestly to your doctor about your health needs.

• Try yoga.

Community

• Talk to your neighbors.

• Find a rewarding volunteer activity.

• Move to a walkable neighborhood.

• Contribute to your city or county government.

• Take a walk in a park once a week.

Finances

• Compare prices before you buy.

• Pay off your credit cards.

• Complain when something you buy or a service isn’t right.

• Figure out ways to simplify your life.

• Read Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound.”

 

Joy

• Read “Finding Joy: 101 Ways to Free Your Spirit and Dance With Life” by Charlotte Davis Kasl.

• Sign up for the lessons you’ve always wanted to take.

• Say “I love you” to someone you love every day.

• Have coffee or lunch with a friend you haven’t seen in a while.

• Relax by soaking in the bathtub.

• Laugh out loud.

• Sleep in once a week.

• Hold a baby.

• Remember to get as much joy as you can from the present, rather than worrying about the past or future.

• Visit a farm.

• Watch movies that are fun.

• Stop being a perfectionist.

• Visualize daily what you’d like your life to be like.

• Surround yourself with people who are positive.

• Spend a realistic amount of time using the computer.

• Don’t think about work when you leave for the day.

• Pursue your dreams.

• Enjoy the wonders of nature.

• Give up nagging.

• Figure out ways to enjoy your children more.

• Reduce the amount of television you watch.

• Take care of yourself.

• Don’t dwell on your mistakes.

• Pace yourself.

• Be open to new ideas and activities.

• Let go of disappointments and negative people from the past.

Home

• Turn on your favorite music when you clean house.

• Organize one spot or cupboard in your house weekly.

• Use lights and plants to make your home more enjoyable.

• Remodel a room.

• Buy a pretty new bedspread.

• Organize your photos.

• Recycle.

Here are additional suggestions from the article “50 Ways to Improve Your Life in 2009” in U.S. News and Reports:

Money

• Recycle old gadgets for cash.

• Choose “Obama” stocks.

• Advance your career online.

• Put your cash in safe accounts.

• Start your own nonprofit.

• Drink screw-topped wines.

• Lose the ‘microwave’ mentality.

• Make friends at work.

• Watch television free online.

• Try that home before buying.

Health

• Bike to work.

• Use glass to store food.

• Take an afternoon nap.

• Get paid for good health.

• Walk the cravings away.

• Get a new toothbrush.

• Move to Vermont.

• Get your eyes checked.

• Add obstacles to your jog.

• Get fit as you get older.

The brain

• Read Edgar Allan Poe

• Publish your book yourself.
  

• Go back to school for new skills.

• Study philosophy.

• Save that November 5 newspaper.

• Silence noise pollution.

• Finish a crossword puzzle.

• Start using Twitter.

• Learn Russian

• Keep a “clothes hanger” journal.

The world around you

• Learn about Abraham Lincoln.

• Plant a square-foot garden.

• Hypermile when you drive.

• Help those hit by the recession.

• Switch to a push mower.

• Air dry your laundry.

• Practice spreading tolerance.

• Ditch the phone while driving.

• Get your news online.

• Buy laptops for kids.

 

Play

• Learn to play bridge.

•  Visit Alaska.

• Celebrate the life of Miles Davis.

• Take a “staycation.”

• “Geotag” your digital photos.

• Watch the Beatles “Let It Be.”

• Teach your kids to cook.

• Play a fake musical instrument.

• Read the book before you see the movie.

• Try your hand at pottery.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Martin Luther King advocated for a guaranteed income for all to eliminate poverty

When I was doing research on what Martin Luther King had to say about consumers, I was surprised to learn that he supported a guaranteed income for all Americans in his last book, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” written in 1967.

King said programs to improve housing and education and to offer counseling to families were sporadically funded and uncoordinated. And, in addition, he said such programs are indirect. Each seeks to solve poverty by first solving something else.

King, pointing out that at the time there were twice as many whites as blacks living in poverty, said dislocations in the market operation of our economy and the prevalence of discrimination thrust people into idleness and bind them in constant or frequent unemployment against their will.

“We also know that no matter how dynamically the economy develops and expands it does not eliminate all poverty,” he added.

“The curse of poverty has no justification in our age,” King said. “The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct, and immediate abolition of poverty.”

King was right about the expansion of economy not eliminating poverty. It’s been more than 40 years since he wrote his book, and poverty in America and its social consequences are worsening.

Citizens Dividend, the Web site where I found the information on King’s book, describes how a guaranteed income for all would work.

It suggests funding guaranteed incomes not by getting money from producers and taxpayers, but by using revenue that wasn’t produced in the free-market portion of the economy – from monopolies, which are government-granted privileges.

An example from Citizens Dividend: When the federal government allows private broadcasters access to a new set of airwaves, instead of giving away the airwave rights to a few big radio or TV station owners, leases for the airwave rights should be auctioned off and the revenue from the auction of leases should go to citizens.

In Alaska, oil-drilling companies operating on state-owned sites pay a royalty to the state, which divides the money among Alaska citizens. It’s called a Permanent Fund Dividend check. I lived in Alaska for four years. It was great to receive the checks.

The guaranteed income certainly is worth considering, although I haven’t heard much about it in recent years.

In 2007, 5.8 percent of all people in married families lived in poverty, as did 26.6 percent of all persons in single-parent households, and 19.1 percent of all persons living alone, according to the U.S. Census.

In 2007, the following lived in poverty: 12.5 percent of all people, 10.5 percent of whites, 24.5 percent of blacks, and 21.5 percent of all Hispanics.

Some argue these government figures are understated.

In 2007, 37 million people lived in poverty, with 10 million of those being black, according to The New York Times.

In 2007, a task force organized by the Center for American Progress prepared a report called “From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.”

The 12 recommends of the task force are:

1. Raise and index the minimum wage to half the average hourly wage.
2. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
3. Promote unionization by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
4. Guarantee child care assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all.
5. Create two million new “opportunity” housing vouchers, and promote equitable development in and around central cities.
6. Connect disadvantaged and disconnected youth with school and work.
7. Simplify and expand Pell Grants and make higher education accessible to residents of each state.
8. Help former prisoners find stable employment and reintegrate into their communities.
9. Ensure equity for low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.
10. Modernize means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps workers and families.
11. Reduce the high costs of being poor and increase access to financial services.
12. Expand and simplify the Saver’s Credit to encourage saving for education, home ownership, and retirement.

The guaranteed income wasn’t included in the recommendations of the task force.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Orman’s 2009 action plan offers great tips for baby boomers

When I was at the drug store, I couldn’t resist. I bought a copy of “Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound.”

Although the book offers many of the recommendations you see Orman make on her TV appearances, the book is a small, 209-page, easy to read guide with a question-and-answer format on what to do in these complex, stressful financial times.

She begins the book with a brief history on the financial crisis, saying it was caused by greed. I certainly agree with that.

Orman’s first recommendation is to pay off your credit cards. Then she recommends investment strategies, including her familiar warnings about not using your investments to pay off credit card debts or a mortgage.

Orman also repeats her familiar mantra about saving money. Make a budget and do it.

Her action plan also includes tips on what to do about your home, college costs, and a job loss.

I love Suze Orman. She emphasizes the basics of financial planning that I’ve written about for years. And she does it with passion and a great deal of caring about people.

Orman’s action plan book is one I recommend strongly.

Copyright 2009, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Vegetarian cookbook offers great information, recipes on eating foods low on the glycemic index

I was lucky to get a great new cookbook as a Christmas present from my daughter. It’s called “The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Vegetarian Cookbook” by Jennie Brand-Miller, Ph.D., Kaye Foster-Powell, R.D., and Kate Marsh, R.D.

The thing that sets the book apart from other vegetarian books and cookbooks is information on foods as rated by the glycemic index. The index is a system that ranks foods by the speeds at which their carbohydrates are converted into glucose in the body.

Why is this important? Vegetarians eat a lot of carbohydrates. That’s even truer for vegans, who don’t eat dairy products or eggs. When you eat too many high GI foods, they’re digested rapidly and cause a quick rise in blood glucose. Insulin, a hormone that takes glucose from blood to be stored in cells, pours out of the pancreas.

 

If people eat high GI meals frequently, they could develop high insulin levels, which leads to insulin resistance, according to the authors of the book. With insulin resistance, cells that normally respond to insulin become resistant to it. The body thinks it needs to make more insulin to do its work. When the pancreas is worn out and doesn’t produce enough insulin to normalize blood glucose levels, type 2 diabetes occurs.

Eating more low GI carbohydrates, according to the authors of the book, will:

• Reduce your insulin levels.
• Lower your cholesterol levels.
• Help control your appetite.
• Half your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

What are some examples of high and low GI foods offered in the book? Instead of biscuits, eat whole grain bread. Replace cakes and pastries with whole grain raisin toast, fruit buns, yogurt, or low-fat mousses. Don’t eat French fries. Try a salad or extra vegetable serving instead. For rice, use basmati rice, Japanese koshirari rice, pearl barley, cracked wheat (bulgur), quinoa, pasta, or noodles.

Some recipes offered in the book for vegan adults include: Chickpea and Vegetable Curry With Cumin-Flavored Rice; Vegetarian Pad Thai; Three-Bean Chili With Spicy Tortilla Crisps; Spaghetti With Steamed Greens and White Beans; and Lentil and Sunflower-Seed Burgers.

I became a vegan in August and have been concerned about eating so many carbohydrates. This cookbook is that what I needed to eat lower GI foods.

 

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Books for baby boomers

AARP The Magazine and Publishers Weekly are teaming up in "Books for Grownups" to let baby boomers know about the latest fiction, nonfiction, and lifestyle/self-help books of interest to the Boomer Nation.

Among the current offerings are:

Fiction

• "Suzy, Led Zeppelin, and Me" by Martin Millar –Millar's trip back to the Sixties tells the story of a mildly fictitious young Millar whose life is forever changed by a Led Zeppelin concert.

• "Man in the Dark" by Paul Auster – This tale features an aging book critic whose imagined characters come to life and set out to assassinate him.

 Nonfiction

• "Hippocrates' Shadow: Secrets from the House of Medicine" by David H. Newman, M.D. -- An emergency-room physician reveals some of the less savory parts of medical care – the little time physicians spend observing their patients; the dubious benefits of certain treatments; the imprecision of X-rays, EKGs, and symptom interpretation; and how little physicians are trained – or inclined – to communicate honestly with patients.

• "The Letters of Allen Ginsberg" Edited by Bill Morgan – The Beat icon's life – from literary efforts to LSD experiments – is revealed in more than 3,700 letters to fellow poets, journalists, and politicians, ranging from Jack Kerouac to Ezra Pound to Bill Clinton.

Life style/self-help

• "Energy Medicine: Balancing Your Body's Energies for Optimal Health, Joy, and Vitality" by Donna Eden with David Feinstein – Eden conducts workshops and offers lectures on the ancient practice of healing the body using its own energy systems. She explains that by keeping these energy systems balanced and flowing people can help prevent illness, promote well-being, aid the body in self-healing, and receive better results from traditional medicine.

• "Branding Only Works on Cattle: The New Way to Get Known" by Jonathan Salem Baskin – Baskin believes branding is an outmoded marketing strategy, and he presents arguments for new techniques that influence consumer choices.

Copyright 2008, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist