* Baby Boomers represent the about 28% of the US population. People born between 1946 and 1964 are the largest generation segment of the US population. The Boomer segment is so large that sheerly by size alone it has influenced every stage of life in America. Boomers have begun to transition into the disability years and will for a least another decade.
* Life expectancy is ever increasing in the US compared to just decades ago. That means approximately 28% of the population is living longer than has previously been experienced by people 50 and older.
* Medicine and technology have contributed to not only to longevity but also to quality of life. In short, what used to kill you isn't as likely to kill you as it once did. You may be disabled as a result of not dying, but technology, specifically assistive technology, has and will provide you with more functional independence than ever before in the history of the world. In short, the US will see more disabled people and many of them are/will be older.
* Age of onset. I don't know offhand what it is, and I'm too busy to look that up (perhaps ttwtt will Google that for us
), but we you aren't going to find many high school kids in America with Alzheimer's, ALS or Parkinson's. While Diabetes II is now a national epidemic, the age of onset is around 40. With this and a lot more in mind let me take you now back to the huge demographic of Boomers. That is a will be one of the impacts Boomers will have on the 3rd stage of life in America - disability. Good or bad Boomers will change the way the nation looks at disability.
* Food. Most of what most people in America eat is processed ****. It is chemically drenched and altered garbage. It contains flavor enhancer chemicals because otherwise no one could stomach the stuff. It actually contains chemicals to make you want more of the garbage. Boomers are the first generation to begun eating processed foods in large quantities. In the 40s people still ate real food. Milk wasn't spiked with chemicals fed to cows*, nor was beef. Moms didn't pass on massive quantities of chemicals through breast milk.
*People under 40 were raised on chemicals ingested in through food and drink. They have grown up in a toxic world that is becoming worse, not better. As a result they have developed more allergies, more and more varied physical, emotional and cognitive maladies than previous generations. More children than ever before have learning disabilities as an example. More children have food allergies, behavioral issues and the like. Disabilities.
The above is just for openers. We cannot pretend that the issues don't exist. We shouldn't ignore some of the causes, but we do. We must also be reasonable in handling the consequences of our national actions. Like or not we do live with the sins of our fathers. It isn't a conservative or liberal issue. It is an American issue. Pointing blame and/or declaring that everything is either right or wrong is nothing more than pissing in the wind.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2012050/The-cocktail-20-chemicals-glass-milk.html
