The ORIGINAL Baby Boomer site.

   Home | Subscribe | Links | Contact Us

PM WARNING FOR BOOMERS

The Prime Minister is worried about Boomers and highlighted some concerns he has after reading the Third Intergenerational Report.

‘KEVIN Rudd has warned of economic disaster from a looming wave of retirees unless Australia embraces a decade of nation building and workforce reforms.

Revealing findings of the third Intergenerational Report, Mr Rudd said that, by 2050, there would be only 2.7 people of working age for each person aged 65 years and older, compared with 7.5 people in 1970 and five-to-one this year. Within 40 years, the proportion of the population aged 65 years and older would almost double to 23 per cent.’ Courier-Mail 19 Jan

All this would not be new to regular viewers and subscribers of BONZA LIFE as it is the reason we set-up the site in 2001. That is, to focus on the issues confronting over 5 million Boomers as we age.

With his predictions that only three X, Y or Z generationers paying taxes for our keep as Boomers retire, we remind you that your pre-retirement years should be a time for saving, work as long as you can and invest wisely for your future.

Mr Rudd has pointed out that the problems for government and all Boomers will be many so it was timely that I read renown Psychiatrist Victor Frankl’s book ‘ Man’s Search for the Meaning of Life’ over the Xmas break.

The author has spent many years in a WW2 concentration camp and watched hundreds of thousands of his inmates die. He questions why we waste time searching for the meaning of life when he sees it as the individual problems we are all faced with each day and our life is how we solve them.

Accepting Frankl’s philosophy, the answer to your life having meaning, I believe, is to give yourself a few positive options for each of your problems and prioritise them. If one works then the problem is gone. If not, then try another until you solve it and you can move on.

Many of us stagnate on our problems and become depressed and that has dire consequences on the affect on our health and daily lives.

Frankl warns unemployed in particular, that they are living on what he calls ‘provisional time’ instead of real time.

Because they have no income, they can not make positive long term goals that make them feel their lives are moving forward.

This lack of goal planning eats away at them and they decay in health and mind, he argues.

BONZA will therefore always have options for Boomer problems and some are listed at the end of this newsletter below.

One in particular is MATURELINK.

I make no apology for continuing to push for this Over 50S Mature Age program that allows Boomers access to all available programs/resources/community groups that can support them through the troubled years ahead.

Boomers need a one-stop shop were questions are answered and assistance and support given for our needs.

At the moment, Boomers have informed me that it is difficult if not impossible to find the answers for Boomer problems.

I will keep you updated on any break through with this issue but it is encouraging that the Prime Minister has also stated that there will be funding set aside to address the findings of the third Intergenerational Report due out on the 1 February.

Read the other Intergenerational Reports on our link site on the home page of www.bonza.com.au

Further, no political party in government can budget for the needs of the Boomers in the next 40 years and Mr Rudd correctly predicts extraordinary deficits in out budgets with heavy borrowing needed.

We all need to be well informed about what, how and why we must plan for the future for our sakes and our families sakes.

Contact BONZA if your staff or organisation need more information on the issue or talk on the blog site about your concerns.

NOTE:

BONZA advocates for:

1. Mature Age Leave for over 50s so they can have some quality time out from their workplace and freshen up doing interest things.

2. Over 50s need a separate government office, Maturelink, to highlight the importance of Mature Age looking to Move Forward in life not plan for retirement only in our older years. This is even more essential now we have to work to 67.

3. A need for incentives from government for families to build granny flats for the aged care of family members at home. A family approach to an Ageing Australia in line with European and Asian cultures.

4. A need for Community Health Clinics that the aged can attend and not clog the hospital system just as we had some priority at birth due to our numbers.

5. A strong community based program for aged to take an interest in the local community through supporting schools, group exercising, supporting welfare groups and strong social clubs for the aged.

6. Government incentives to allow us to retain/build assets so that we can support ourselves more as we age.

7. Developments of the Uni of the Third Age so that minds are kept active through study and research.

8. Break Centrelink up into a smaller office. Aged Pension to Retirement Offices, Familes to Medicare (completely), Disabled to revamped CRS offices, Youth to Youthlink (could be in Centrelink with Maturelink so mentor roles are easier) and Newstart to Job Network who could also pay them when there is compliance with job seeking.

9. Skills for the Bush project. A database of jobs available in Regional Australia set up through Local Govt so that over 50s can work their way around Australia. This would fit in well with the Mature Age Leave concept.

10. A Mature Age Policy for every workplace so employers can offer loyal staff some incentive to keep going. They will need their skills as the skill shortage approaches.

11. A referendum to decide whether euthanasia should be part of Australian life.

Lots to do folks so let’s get on with it and have a BONZA LIFE!

Brian Murphy
Editor
BONZA
www.bonza.com.au

Archives:

Bonza Life January 2010

Bonza Life December
Bonza Life November
Bonza Life October
Bonza Life September
Bonza Life August
Bonza Life July
Bonza Life June
Bonza Life May
Bonza Life April
Bonza Life March