Solution near for our Social Security woes

Here’s my solution to the Social Security challenge of the near future: Do nothing. It will solve itself, because the baby-boomer generation – the generation expected to bankrupt Social Security – will not enjoy longevity. Those of us born in the boomer years, between 1946 and 1964, will not live into our late 80s, as projected. Rather, we’ll die in great numbers as we reach our 60s and 70s.

My theory is based almost entirely on intuition; little evidence backs me up. Pause here for a seeming digression. In the 1920s, geologist J Harlen Bretz theorized that the Pacific Northwest’s unusual geography was shaped by a prehistoric flood of biblical proportions. He was hooted out of geological conferences. He based some of his theory on intuition. For instance, huge rocks in sagebrush fields near Soap Lake had to be deposited there by a great force, such as flood water. These out-of-place rocks are called “erratics.”

I’ve been tracking some sociological erratics that indicate the boomer generation will die off early. Today, from the sagebrush of my imagination, I offer the following erratics.

The Obituary Erratic. A reader called two years ago to comment on how many “young” people regularly appeared in the classified obituary section of this newspaper. By young, she meant those in their late 40s, 50s and early 60s. Are middle-age folks dying in greater numbers, or does it seem that way because we middle-age boomers notice it more? Further research required.

The Stress Erratic. Studies show that stress can decrease longevity. We boomers have been under relentless stress our entire lives. We grew up in bigger families. We were schooled in larger classes. We had to compete for everything, because there were so dang many of us.

We’re not the first generation to be the “cheese” in the family-responsibility sandwich. But we might be the first generation to be closed in by such fortified “bread.” Our children’s schedules are a running joke. And our aging parents enjoy the longevity which, I believe, will be denied us. A doctor once told me that when baby-boomer children accompany their aging parents to medical exams, he takes blood pressure readings on everyone. Invariably, the boomer blood pressure readings are higher than their 80-something parents.

The Body-Abuse Erratic. We were the first generation to embrace junk food. Lucky Charms cereal was introduced in 1964. A friend reminisced about childhood afternoons in front of “Gilligan’s Island” scarfing down the Oreos. Then, the drug years arrived. Hey, man.

Some boomers, as they reached their 30s, veered off into the health-food-exercise direction. But others kept eating and drinking and smoking, tobacco and the weed, too. These are now the boomers facing obesity, diabetes, alcoholism, nicotine and drug addiction. All longevity cutters.

The Gen X-Gen Y Erratic. Jonathan Peck, futurist with the Institute for Alternative Futures in Alexandria, Va., suggested this one to me when I called to brainstorm my theory with him. The younger generations will rebel soon about paying for aging boomers’ expensive medical treatments, he says.

“The Gen X waitress who is earning minimum wage to pay for Bob Dole’s Viagra” will get fed up, Peck predicts. Medicare will spiral into crisis first. Aging boomers might not have easy access to the best medical technology available, as many aging folks do now. And no boomer I know counts on their children caring for them in older age. So we could be cut off from important avenues for physical and emotional healing. And die younger because of it.

Peck, by the way, doesn’t entirely buy my early-demise theory, but he’s happy to be consulted about it. And we’ll ponder together some other erratics in future columns. All of this can seem depressing, I know, except to those really worried about the future of Social Security.

Remember, it’s just my theory. But by the way, Bretz was right about those prehistoric floods.