The chatter was noisy around the table this past Friday as we were eating out weekly ration of donuts. Trying to focus on one conversation was difficult but when someone brought up the subject of Oregon’s unemployment it was like being in outer space, it got so quiet. We’re experiencing over twelve percent joblessness in Oregon overall with outlying counties well over that number. I can’t figure out why this state is always one of the first to get hit the hardest and one of the last to recover.
The donut crew as we’ve labeled ourselves are all over sixty five. And no, we’re not immune to the Obama administration’s Socialistic policies (as I call them) which are resulting in the economic demise of our U.S. economy. I know it’s a little late for pointing fingers at the democrat voters as we’re all suffering as Americans from high prices and job losses. And we don’t know who exactly is behind it all, anyway.
Maria, the 85-year old matriarch widow who sat on my right has a pretty good retirement income and for the most part doesn’t have to worry. She can have a gardener mow her lawn, she take trips and really doesn’t do without. But she is very concerned for her kids who all live in California, which is experiencing an economic meltdown.
On my left sat Pete, in his seventies who suffers from a type of palsy but has a great sense of humor and tries to live out his days not thinking too much about economics. His wife Doris however, is very concerned. They’ve already had to sell their home because they just couldn’t afford to stay there any more and now they live in a much smaller apartment. I’m sure she wonders what will become of her when Pete dies.
Bob, the diabetic and his wife Paula sit together. Bob just had part of his stomach removed for some reason and lost some weight, too. He and Paula (both in their sixties) are officially retired but Bob still has to do the books and taxes for some local companies in order to make ends meet. It seems they’re feeling the pinch, too.
Being a sixty-six year old guy it would be nice to retire. So many people just assume that I’m enjoying the fruits of my past labor and living the good life. Here’s a wake-up call for all of those that think everyone my age is actually retired. Many, many of us can’t afford retirement. In fact, I predict that it’s going to get a lot worse for seniors in the future if the economy continues as it is.
Back to me for a moment. I write and submit articles online. This is an example of just one of many that are published all over the Internet. It’s how I continue to make a living . Social Security doesn’t pay me enough to live on and I don’t enjoy any kind of pension. It’s just the way it is and as long as I can write and maintain my websites I’ll do it as long as I’m able.
This coming Friday the donut crew will no doubt seat themselves around the table again and chatter about whatever is on their minds. Life will continue, I suppose until one of us, some of us and eventually all of us pass into eternity. Until then however, our small group of seniors represent a microcosm of folks who are pretty much non-existent to most folks in this country. Who cares, really how this sabotaged economy is affecting us?
The politicians all want our valuable votes and promise us the world, which is not theirs to give away. And when many of us are swayed by their sweet talk and vote them into office, they promptly dismiss us knowing that we’ll probably die off pretty soon anyway and besides, there will be a new crop of seniors coming down the pike to bamboozle come the next election cycle.
