Listen, up kids. Those of us in the baby boom generation have given you rock 'n' roll, computers, war protest, the breakup of the family and the breakdown of social order, the sexual revolution, drugs, sport utility vehicles and the elevation of self-indulgent narcissism to an art form. We created the world you live in by squandering the heroic sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.
Now it's your turn to start taking care of us:
Less than half of the nation's communities have begun preparing to deal with the needs of the elderly, whose ranks will swell dramatically with the aging of the baby boomers, according to a study to be released Wednesday.
A survey of more than 1,790 towns, counties and other municipalities found that just 46 percent are looking at strategies to deal with aging America.
The issue is critical because the baby boomers _ those born between 1946 and 1964 _ began turning 60 this year and are rapidly approaching retirement age. By 2030, the number of people over age 65 in the United States will exceed 71 million _ double the number in the year 2000, according to the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, or n4a, one of the sponsors of the study.
I don't ask much. A nice little condo will do, perhaps with a tennis court and swimming pool, at taxpayer expense. Oh, and my drugs -- the legal kind, which are getting way too expensive. Borrow the money from your kids if you need to. That's what we did.
