The Graying of America Essay Example
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” America has always had its challenges when facing economic issues; however, the government has the tendency to avoid the reality of what approaches in the future. There have been several attempts of reform for these types of economic problems. Nevertheless, most have not been successful, and time is running out. One of those issues is the graying of America. What is the graying of America? It is the demographic trend consisting of all the baby boomers that are aging and getting closer to retirement. Even though it does not seem like an area of concern, there are many complications that will result from this movement. Before explaining the various problems associated with the graying of America, it is important to understand the characteristics of a baby boomer.
A baby boomer is defined as any person who was born in a period of increased birth rates following World War II between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1964. The baby boomers represent the largest generation in American history consisting of about seventy-six million people [Gillon, 2004]. The special name for the boomers is derived primarily from its enormous size in comparison to the smaller generations that came immediately before and after that time period [Gillon, 2004]. There was not one previous generation that had been developed on such expansive hopes or had been so confident in their ability to change the world. According to Gillon [2004], the baby boomers were the first generation to realize the American dream of equal opportunity for all of its citizens. Zeitz [2005] described the following:
The boomers—a generation born into national wealth and power, raised on the promise of their limitless potential and self-worth, reared on television and advertising, enthralled by the wonders of modern science and medicine—are, for all their
John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” America has always had its challenges when facing economic issues; however, the government has the tendency to avoid the reality of what approaches in the future. There have been several attempts of reform for these types of economic problems. Nevertheless, most have not been successful, and time is running out. One of those issues is the graying of America. What is the graying of America? It is the demographic trend consisting of all the baby boomers that are aging and getting closer to retirement. Even though it does not seem like an area of concern, there are many complications that will result from this movement. Before explaining the various problems associated with the graying of America, it is important to understand the characteristics of a baby boomer.
A baby boomer is defined as any person who was born in a period of increased birth rates following World War II between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1964. The baby boomers represent the largest generation in American history consisting of about seventy-six million people [Gillon, 2004]. The special name for the boomers is derived primarily from its enormous size in comparison to the smaller generations that came immediately before and after that time period [Gillon, 2004]. There was not one previous generation that had been developed on such expansive hopes or had been so confident in their ability to change the world. According to Gillon [2004], the baby boomers were the first generation to realize the American dream of equal opportunity for all of its citizens. Zeitz [2005] described the following:
The boomers—a generation born into national wealth and power, raised on the promise of their limitless potential and self-worth, reared on television and advertising, enthralled by the wonders of modern science and medicine—are, for all their