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Baby Boomers Unite                                #273

By Hank Silverberg 


 I was playing with my six-year-old grandson this past weekend and after a while of playing with his plastic Mario Brothers characters, we decided to turn on the TV and stream one of his favorite programs. 

It was a frustrating experience for me because his parents don't own a TV remote. They use video game controllers to do the job instead. I kept hitting the wrong button until my grandson took over and found his show in a minute. 


If I was running for president, would someone say I had dementia or Alzheimer's?   

I remember laughing at my wonderful mother when she could never learn how to program her VCR. 

                     

If you are over 65 or close, the world considers you a "senior citizen." In many companies and jobs there is a mandatory retirement age of 65. Why?


In past generations before World War Two, when Social Security was born, 65 was considered old. But as the life expectancy of Americans went up (it's now an average of 77.6 years), people started rethinking that. Why make someone stop working in the prime of their life?

Sure, there are some things older folks can't do. In some cases, our manual dexterity decreases, and so too our physical strength. And maybe we need glasses. But most of us still have sharp minds. Now add to that a lifetime of experience. The younger generations should not underestimate us.   

I bring all this up because Joe Biden, at 81 and Donald Trump at 77, have both made mental gaffes in recent weeks, prompting all those Gen X and Millennial pundits to question their ability to handle the most powerful job in the world.

Biden mixed up former French President Francois Mitterrand (who is deceased) with current President Emmanuel Macron, while Trump confused his Republican opponent, Nikki Haley, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

Bad gaffes for sure. But does it mean they are on the verge of dementia or Alzheimer's? 

Biden has a reputation for stupid gaffes going all the way back to his early days in the Senate, while Trump gets facts and people mixed up on a daily basis, so much so that you question whether he does it on purpose (on the facts, the answer is probably yes). 

I'd like to see the presidential race concentrate on the character and policies of the two men, and not an occasional "senior moment". 

In some future blog I will explain why Biden is hands-down more qualified to be president (Trump has already mishandled and abused the office during his four years in the job). 

Part of the problem of course, is that torch JFK inherited has been flickering of late. No one in Gen X or Millennial generation seems willing to pick it up.  

So for now, let's listen to what the candidates say on policies like war, peace, the economy, climate change and the future. Let's do that for my six-year-old grandson and yours. 

Empty Offices

There is one aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which may have changed downtowns and office work forever, and could hit the average family's bottom line.  

Millions of people learned how to their jobs sitting

at home instead of commuting to an office in a downtown area of a city, both big and small. And when the pandemic ended, and they were called back to work, many happy without the commute,  said "no, I can do it from home." Some employers were okay with that. Others weren't. But either way, many big office buildings nationwide remain vacant or half filled as a result.  

The vacancy rate across the country is now 19%, a record high. That's the lowest since 1979. 

How does this affect you? Local governments rely on property tax revenue which fund roads, schools and other public services. A building that is half full is less valuable and produces less in property taxes. 

Also, many private retirement funds  include real estate holdings in their portfolio. Less rent and vacant buildings decreases the return on the investment, and less dividend for the retiree.    

For example, in Boston, commercial property tax accounts for about 36% of  total general revenue, according to the Tax Policy Center.  In Dallas, that figure is 26%. 

To make up for the lost revenue, the local governments either have to cut services or raise residential property tax rates. 

Then there's the direct impact. Fewer commuters downtown--fewer customers for local restaurants, food trucks, stores and even entertainment venues, who all may then have to lay off workers.  

If you don't have a pension and are expecting to retire on your stock portfolio, there's a problem there too.  Banks are the largest lenders for real estate mortgages. Unoccupied buildings put those mortgages at risk, which puts banks at risk, which cascades onto Wall Street. Small regional banks could be in more trouble than the big ones. 

In a recent "60 Minutes" interview, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects some small banks will either close or merge because of this. That makes less money available for loans on things like cars or houses. 

Working at home is not all it's made out to be. 

Tovarisch Tucker!

Tucker Carlson, who calls himself a journalist but does not have the credentials to be one, got an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin this past week. Carlson claimed he did so because no other media organization even wanted to hear Putin's side of the Ukraine war and didn't seek an interview. That, of course, is not true. Even the Kremlin says that's wrong, with a spokesman saying they turned down several such requests. Among them was the Associated Press. 

So why did Tucker have access to Putin? Because Carlson really isn't a journalist. He never asked Putin why he invaded a sovereign country. Instead, Putin talked for two hours and seven minutes with Carlson basically sitting there and listening to Putin give a five-century Russian  history lesson where he claimed Ukraine was always part of Russia. 

Needless to say, Carlson was raked over the coals by real journalists, and notably by some of his former colleagues at Fox News. Chris Wallace, now at CNN, said "during the Cold War, gullible Westerners who spread Soviet propaganda were dismissed as useful idiots. But calling Tucker that is unfair to useful idiots." 

Carlson NEVER asked Putin a challenging question.     

https://apnews.com/article/russia-putin-carlson-interview-ukraine-war-5dbcda4543ca82261d34f4372bc36949


Dumbest Quote of The Week!

This week's dumb quote comes from Virginia's Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who by law is a lame duck. He is in the middle of a legislative session in which Democrats have the majority, and with whom he will have to negotiate with to get anything done.  

He said this: 

"Democrats today do not believe in--nor do they want--a strong America, an America with no rivals; they are content to concede, to compromise away, to abandon the very foundations that made America exceptional." 

And Youngkin says this while the presumptive presidential nominee of his party, Donald Trump,  continues to attack just about every foundation in the country and also anger our biggest overseas allies as well.  Governor Youngkin has always been a bit off in his assessment of what is good for Virginia and what is good for the country. He really doesn't get it, but he's term limited, so I guess he can say anything he wants. 

 (Your comments and suggestions are welcome)   

My recent book "The Campaign" can be purchased at the links below. Or you can buy a copy by emailing me at:

HankSilverberg@gmail.com  for instructions on how to get a copy at a reduced price and with my signature)                       

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084Q7K6M5/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-campaign-hank-silverberg/1126429796


My NEWEST book is now available. It is designed for use in Public Speaking and entry level communications classes. 


                                                 
You can purchase Communications and Public Speaking Trends in the 21st Century at these two links: 


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