By 2029, all baby boomers will be 65 or older. They are the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 in the baby boom that occurred after World War II. Sometimes maligned as self-absorbed and labeled the “me generation,” this aging cohort has shaped and overwhelmed every institution for the past six decades.
They needed hundreds of new school buildings in the 1950s and 1960s, and they got them. They made the development of suburbs and interstate highways possible. They triggered shopping malls, a new era of mass-market consumerism and McDonald’s. Boomers caused everything to change, and it needs to be asked: For better or for worse? Are they finished yet?
Four boomers became president and three of them were born in 1946: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Donald Trump. The fourth was Barack Obama, born in 1961. There probably won’t be another. The mixture of styles and character on that list might be a good metaphor for the diversity and achievements of boomers as a whole. Some good, some not as good – and disagreements, alas, about who the good and the bad are.
I am a boomer. We inherited Jim Crow, June Cleaver and dirty rivers and air. As a summer intern in Washington in 1975, I saw the headline in the local alternative weekly, “Shit may close the Potomac.” To the extent that we tapped into our collective energy in recent decades to improve on civil rights, equal opportunity and environmental awareness, you’re welcome. We tried. I swear we tried, but I understand why Generation X and the Millennials, which are thriving now, roll their eyes because we didn’t do enough. “OK, boomer,” they sometimes sigh as we brag. A big one we ignored too long was LGBTQ rights, and we owe it to those younger than us for showing us the way on this issue.
When we were very young, I regularly heard it said, “Never trust anyone over 30.” We were foolish and wrong about that, and I hope Millennials and Gen Xers, who are now assuming the reins of power and influence, resist thoughts of people over 60 being too old for the labor force or marketplace of ideas. That would be foolish and wrong.
That’s especially true in Sangamon County where the population is getting older. The number of people over the age of 65 here has doubled since 1970, and the percentage of the total population 65 and older has almost doubled as well.
“Springfield is aging a little bit faster than the rest of the state,” said AARP Illinois senior director of advocacy and outreach Ryan Gruenenfelder, adding that many older people are still employed because they find purpose in their work. “They feel a sense of community, a sense of connection,” he explains. “Working gives them a reason to get up, especially if they’re working in a profession or job that they care about and that brings them a lot of self-fulfillment. They feel that their experience brings a lot of expertise, maturity and perspective.”
Ironically, AARP research also shows older workers still face significant age discrimination. “There are a lot of employment barriers and negative stereotypes about older workers,” Gruenenfelder says. “It often takes older workers twice as long to find a job than a younger job-seeker.”
Besides employment, volunteerism is another popular activity among retirees, and it’s good for them. Studies show that helping others boosts a volunteer’s physical and mental health. A national survey conducted by AgeWave asked older people whether they would prefer to be useful or youthful, and by a four-to-one margin, those chose “useful.”
The legacy of boomers will prove to be complicated. We didn’t have a Great Depression to overcome or a world war to win. The Greatest Generation succeeded at both. Boomers have been pampered in new ways every decade, our massive numbers pulling all markets in our direction.
To settle the legacy of boomers, data will help only to a point. Every positive statistic that demonstrates women’s upward movement in the workplace, for example, could be reasonably countered by numbers showing a continuing lag in salary equity and top executive positions. It is also difficult to attest on many issues whether boomers were responsible for any changes or just went along for the ride by accident of birth.
It’s self-serving – OK, boomer – but I conclude that the boomer generation will leave the world better than they found it – overall, but not in every way. I applaud the progress they have made, and history is best measured by progress.
The final chapter hasn’t been written. Boomers in your midst are now between 61 and 79 years old, retaining opportunities to be useful – or screw things up. I think it’s time to hand off to the next generations the biggest roles in shaping the world we fashioned for them, knowing they will do it their way, just as we did.
Ed Wojcicki is a baby boomer who has degrees in journalism and political studies. He is twice retired (from higher education administration and association management) and makes himself useful by freelancing from Springfield.