The Long Baby Boom
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In my text, the author of “The Long Baby Boom,” Jeff Goldsmith describes predictions for the next 20 years by ‘catastropharians’ as a myth in the making. I agree with this that some of the forecasts for aging America will not happen.
One of the predictions for aging America according to 'catastropharians' is that the baby boom generation is a potential albatross in American society. The doomsayers argue that the baby boomers will pose a burden on social support and possibly lead to skyrocketing taxes on their caregivers while trying to sustain their leisure. That would allegedly rob America of its future. The prediction will not happen because the baby boomers might follow a path different from that of their grandparents, where unproductivity and heavy dependence on the younger Americans have characterized longer lifespans in the past. The current entitlement schemes might also adapt realistically to future pressures and bear the foreseen damage. The American economy is dynamic and growing, and the society is creative and innovative, which means it is possible eminently to avoid the envisioned crisis. Most boomers have already made fundamentally different life plans after observing their parents experience hardships in their later life. For example, most baby boomers have planned not to have conventional retirement but continue working after 65.
Another prediction for aging America, according to 'catastropharians' that might not be is aging linking with illness. I believe one should not link aging with illness because the American Health status of the elderly has meaningfully been improving. Although eligibility for public benefits commences at 65, this does not necessarily mark the onset of illness. Such improvements in health among the elderly will mean only a few of them will require institutions for the elderly and that many of them might continue working and remain independent compared to their grandparents.