The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers need to fight internalized agism

In the popular culture and throughout society, the message is loud and clear: Young is good, old is bad.

Although baby boomers experienced women's liberation and gay rights, they have anti-aging messages ingrained into their psyches, says Carol Orsborn, CEO, FierceWithAge, Spirituality for Grownups. These messages are economically, socially, and politically damaging for boomers and all age groups.

Boomers are allowing stereotypes of aging to take over their thinking about who they are as they age, Orsborn says.

She suggests boomers start or join a Fierce with Age Consciousness Group.

Find between two and 10 boomers and set a time to meet regularly. Discuss whatever you want, but when the following five flags come up, catch yourself and catch others.

1. Comments, satire, or jokes, including asides, that revile, infantilize, or marginalize aging and old people.

2. Youth-centric language, as in "young at heart" or "youthful." Replace it with age-neutral words such as "vital" and "passionate."

3. Separating one out from peers, as in: "Can you believe I'm 60 years old?"

4. Definitions of successful aging that are based solely or primarily on your having attributes normally associated with individuals younger than your own age.

5. Romanticizing or sanitizing images of aging.

For details, see Orsborn’s Huffington Post article “Aging With Pride: The Call for Boomer Consciousness.”

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

National Consumer Protection Week: Take action to become an alert, informed consumer

By Rita R. Robison

This week, March 4 through 10, is National Consumer Protection Week.

Here are some suggestions from consumer groups and government agencies on what consumers can do during this important consumer week to improve enhance their consumer lives.

NCPW.com

This is the website for the National Consumer Protection Week organization. For information on how to set up activities in your community, see its Great Outreach Ideas page.

National Association of Attorneys General

Check the Attorney General’s Office website in your state for the resources consumers need to make informed decisions on issues that include home foreclosures, investments, credit, and business opportunities.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Read about the steps the new agency has taken to help protect your financial interests.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The department urges consumers to learn more about their new health insurance rights and the resources offered by the Affordable Care Act.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The agency encourages consumers nationwide to protect themselves and make better-informed decisions by taking advantage of available resources. Information on credit, debit, and prepaid cards are offered.

Consumer World

The consumer information website urges people to reserve a copy of the great resource, the “Consumer Action Handbook for 2012” or read it online now.

Consumer Action

The consumer group offers a Take Action Center, reviews of consumer books, consumer news, and consumer action publications.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

The agency suggests consumers take a look at its HelpWithMyBank web page for answers and solutions for customers of national banks.

Federal Trade Commission

To learn about identity theft, investment scams, shopping tips, and telemarketing and telephone services, see the FTC’s Consumer Information web page.

Better Business Bureau

You can sign up to get a consumer tip a day from the BBB.

And don't forget to file consumer complaints when you have problems in the marketplace. Filing complaints lets companies and government regulators know when things are going wrong when consumers purchase goods and services.

 

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Boomer Project predicts baby boomers will continue to transform America in 2012

By Rita R. Robison

In its recent newsletter, the Boomer Project, a consulting firm focusing on marketing to boomers, predicts that baby boomers will continue to transform American culture, pursuing their own vitality through their midlife years and on into old age.

John Martin, on the left in the photo, and Matt Thornhill, co-founders of the Boomer Project, offer these top 10 predictions for 2012 for boomers:

1. Boomers will remain at the head of the table, heading more households than any other generation, including more multigenerational households.

2. More boomers will embrace city living, attracted by the variety of activities, energy, and hassle-free lifestyle advantages offered by the center city and new urban villages.

3. More boomers will get religion, since the median age in America increases every year as boomers grow older, and older people are more likely to attend church than younger ones.

4. Boomers will become even more wired to stay connected to their kids and grandkids.

5. Health and well-care will be everywhere, with boomer spending on wellness, fitness, and physical appearance increasing in 2012.

6. Boomers will volunteer even more, with boomers projected to swell the ranks of volunteering by almost 50 percent over the next 10 years. 

7. Boomers will drive green innovations that matter, because boomer consumers want to be responsible in their consumption, striving for sustainability, not planned obsolescence. 

8. Boomers will lead the age of responsible consumerism, because the Great Recession – timed with the green movement, volatility of retirement accounts, and anticipated governmental cuts – has helped usher in more responsible consumerism.

9. Boomers will create the "longevity economy," a growing portion of the American economy that will be based on the behaviors, needs, and desires of the 50-plus market.

10. Boomers will support a thoughtful plan for America's future, because boomers are transformational and have led or supported many societal shifts – from women's rights to gay rights.

Martin and Thornhill close their 2012 predictions by saying:

These predictions may paint an optimistic view of 2012, but we have never been fervent believers in the Mayan prediction that the world ends on December 21, 2012. For boomers, 2012 marks the first year of the rest of their lives. Another year when they can make a difference.

See the January 2012 issue of Jumpin' Jack Flash, the Boomer Project's newsletter, for more information on these 10 predictions.

Copyright 2012, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

What were your best and worst consumer experiences this week?

By Rita R. Robison

Which consumer happenings cheered you this week and which ones made you want to scream or weep? 

Here are my best and worst consumer experiences this week:

My best: Having a place to store paper towels and toilet paper

Although I’ve seriously cleaned out my garage two or three times, work still needs to be done.

However, when my daughter came to visit this summer, she sorted her boxes in my garage and helped me sort some of my boxes, too.

One positive result is that I now have space to put the paper towels and toilet paper I buy in cases on the shelves. That works better than leaving them in boxes on the floor.

My worst: Safeway telling me how to vote in a sign on its front door

In Washington state, citizens will vote Tuesday on Initiative 1183, a measure that would privatize liquor sales thus allowing supermarkets to sell it.

When I went to my local Safeway on Halloween, a sign on the front door said “Yes on 1183, Benefits Taxpayers & Vital Public Services.”

 When I asked the assistant manager about it, he said his store received the poster from Safeway’s corporate headquarters. The instructions that came with it said to post it on the front door.

The assistant manager didn’t seem concerned when I told him that I, a 30-year customer, would be taking my business elsewhere.

On Tuesday, I wrote a post about it on my blog, the Boomer Consumer, a reader blog on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer website. Wednesday, I called Safeway’s corporate headquarters to request a comment from its CEO Steven A. Burd on Safeway’s policy for putting political advertisements in its stores.

It’s Sunday, and I’ve received no reply, although I called about it on Friday and send an e-mail to the Safeway Press Office.

I’m outraged that Safeway has the audacity to tell citizens how to vote.

We all know corporations rule the world, but when my neighborhood grocery store tells me in a sign on its front door how to vote, it’s too much.

I oppose I-1183 because it would make more places where under-aged teens could buy liquor and I don’t trust corporations not to jack up the price when they get control.

After Costco, Safeway is one of the biggest contributors to the Vote Yes on I-1183 campaign, with a $50,000 contribution. Costco’s contributions are so enormous, a record-breaking $22 million, they’re currently being featured in the advertisements against I-1183.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Nov. 5 is Bank Transfer Day

By Rita R. Robison

Tomorrow is Bank Transfer Day.

Advocates of the movement say new fees on debit cards, charged by big banks because new federal rules put limits on the fees banks can charge merchants when consumers use debit cards, are outrageous because banks are making enough money and don’t need to up their fees to rake in even more.

"I started this because I felt like many of you do,” Kristen Christian, the organizer of Bank Transfer Day, said. “I was tired – tired of the fee increases, tired of not being able to access my money when I need to, tired of them using what little money I have to oppress my brothers and sisters. So I stood up.”

A not-for-profit credit union is a good choice for your new financial institution. I’ve belonged to two for years, and I appreciate using these community institutions.

It may not be easy to close your account with a big bank.

See this article, “Bank Transfer Day: A Guide to Closing Your Account,” for the steps you need to take so that your transfer goes smoothly.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

2012 retirement guide on how to live well on less offers tips for baby boomers to explore

By Rita R. Robison

While I don’t think I’d want to live in Boise, Idaho, one of the cities recommended by Money magazine’s article “Five Great Low-Cost Places to Retire,” the retirement guide has numerous tips worth considering.

In addition to this article, Money’s October issue includes these suggestions for a scaled-back retirement:

• Fine-tune your budget to cut expenses.

• Turn time into money by comparison shopping and cooking more at home.

• Live smaller by downsizing your home.

• Move to a low-cost area such as Marquette, Mich., Cape Coral, Fla., or Danville, Ken.

• Work part time.

• Become debt free.

For more information, look for copies of Money magazine’s October issue at newsstands or your local library.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Consumer coalition applauds Obama’s jobs plan, but says what country needs is large-scale mortgage modifications

By Rita R. Robison

Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 national and state organizations working for Wall Street reform, said it applauds President Obama for focusing on measures to create jobs and the problem of unemployment.

However, the coalition says what consumers and the economy need are large-scale mortgage modifications:

The unresolved housing crisis – including the millions of families facing foreclosure and the millions who owe much more than their homes are worth – remain another persistent drag on the economy. We support ways to make it easier for families to refinance, but we continue to believe that much more needs to be done. The country needs large-scale mortgage modifications, including deep principal reductions, to resolve the problem and to help spur consumer demand.

The coalition also believes that fair rules are needed for financial markets so that similar crisises can be averted. 

In its statement, the coalition said it’s troubling that Republican leaders in the Senate this week renewed their pledge to refuse to implement the consumer protection law passed last year by refusing to consider a nominee to direct the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

“This may work well for Wall Street banks, and financial industry special interests, but it leaves the public at risk, the coalition said. “As families navigate hard times, it is especially important to prevent financial tricks and traps that leave them poorer.”

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Gallup is off the mark to call federal government an industry

By Rita R. Robison

Things were going well as I clicked through the list from a Gallup Poll of the most hated industries in America:

10. Advertising and public relations industry

9. Pharmaceutical industry

8. Airline industry

7. Education

6. The legal field

5. Banking

4. Healthcare

3. Real estate industry

2. Oil and gas industry

Then I clicked on No. 1: It was the federal government. I couldn’t believe it.

In every economics class I’ve ever taken, including consumer economics, it’s clear that businesses make and sell “widgets.” Government has a different function; it provides services. Business and government are two entirely different segments of the economy.

Dictionary.com defines industry as follows:

1. The aggregate of manufacturing or technically productive enterprises in a particular field, often named after its principal product: the automobile industry; the steel industry.
2. Any general business activity; commercial enterprise: the Italian tourist industry.
3. Trade or manufacture in general: the rise of industry in Africa.
4. The ownership and management of companies, factories, etc.: friction between labor and industry.

I don’t see any thing in the definition that would classify the federal government as an industry.

Gallup started polling about the popularity of American industries 10 years ago. Two years later, it added the federal government.

I think Gallup is way off with this poll that classifies the federal government an industry.

What do you think? Let me know in the Comment section below.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Food Day offers restaurants the opportunity to adopt ‘real food’ policies

 
Alice Waters

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Chefs, nutritionists, and food activists are inviting the nation’s restaurants to celebrate Food Day on October 24 by announcing improvements to menus and sourcing policies that advance health and the environment.

On Food Day, organized by Center for Science in the Public Interest, restaurants could begin buying more produce, meat, and eggs from local farms; adding more whole grains to breads and pastas; or collecting money for food banks, farmers markets, or other local organizations.

Chefs already participating in Food Day include Alice Waters, of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., Dan Barber of Blue Hill in Manhattan and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and early organics pioneer Nora Pouillon of Washington, D.C.’s Restaurant Nora.

“I’m excited that many restaurants are seizing the opportunity presented by Food Day and becoming part of a movement aimed at getting people to celebrate honest-to-goodness real food that comes from farms and not factories,” Michael F. Jacobson, CSPI executive director, said in a statement.

Restaurants could invite farmers to meet diners, plan special menus or events, or publicize Food Day via email and social media, Jacobson said. Some examples planned include:

• A chain of vegan restaurants, Native Foods, will organize cooking demonstrations and tastings in its seven locations in California.
• In Manhattan, the Italian market Eataly has started handing out Food Day materials and will bring in 20 farmers to talk to customers.
• Food Day organizers in New Haven, Conn., are planning a Real Food Restaurant Week during which restaurants will offer special meals featuring local produce and healthier options.
• Uncommon Ground restaurant in Chicago will offer a three-course Farm-to-Table prix fixe menu from October 16 to October 24.

Food Day is partnering with groups such as the Chefs Collaborative, American Culinary Federation, and Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture and is encouraging local restaurants to seek out partnerships with area hunger and sustainable-agriculture groups.

Besides restaurants, national organizations – such as the American Dietetic Association, American Public Health Association, Community Food Security Coalition, Earth Day Network, Farmers Market Coalition, Humane Society of the United States, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, Prevention Institute, and Slow Food USA, along with many city- and state-level organizations – are planning on organizing or participating in Food Day events.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Compromise deal to raise the debt ceiling will harm consumers

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Like many, I am relieved that Congress finally passed something to raise the debt limit. Like many, I don’t think the deal was that great.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) said the compromise is bad for consumers:

The deal that has been struck is not balanced, as I would have preferred.  It does achieve the laudable goal of reducing the deficit, but does so with only cuts, even though a significant majority of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor closing loopholes for corporations and tax increases on the wealthiest Americans to make sure everyone is paying their fair share.

AARP said the organization is gratified that the President and Congress didn’t cut Social Security, Medicare, and long-term care in the first round of deficit reduction. Its CEO A. Barry Rand said:

We are concerned that a fast-track committee process will deny Americans a voice in the discussion about critical tax, health, and retirement issues. We also are concerned about the potential use of a trigger that would arbitrarily cut provider payments under Medicare, which could unfairly shift costs to seniors.

Seniors have worked their entire lives to achieve a level of health and economic security in retirement… With the compounded effect of loss of retirement savings and home equity, high unemployment, and rising health care costs, cuts to the benefits seniors have earned could undermine the standard of living of not just those with limited incomes, but middle class seniors who have median incomes of only $18,500.

All the hype and angst about raising the debt ceiling certainly has left consumers demoralized. Republicans made it clear that they favor what corporations want – smaller, weaker government – rather than what consumers need – getting Main Street back on its feet.

We’ll just have to see what happens next. Republicans seem to want to bring the workings of the country to a standstill, just because a Democrat was elected president in 2008. I sincerely hope that they won’t bring the economy to its knees again.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist