Boomers are Tanking and Thinking of Retirement in Mexico

David Simmonds

There was a recent Wall Street Journal story describing the number of boomers who are now borrowing money to live day-to-day. The content of the story isn’t as suprising as that it was in the WSJ, a once-reliable publication now owned by far right-wing idiot, Rupert Murdoch. They usually don’t report bad news under GOP leadership.

The AARP study reveals that one in 10 middle-aged and older Americans are borrowing money to pay their bills and to help out family members who need financial help. With spiraling gas and food prices this is a trend that is sure to worsen. Virtually everyone around my age that I personally know is worse off than they have been for years, and I’m talking about mostly professionals with higher educations. And do you know what they are asking me? “Tell me more about moving to Mexico. We need to find a way to live well on the money we have left.”

I live in San Diego, a pretty conservative town, and many of my friends vote Republican. But most of them are voting for Obama in November because they are seeing the results of three decades of policies that have benefitted corporate America instead of its citizens. But just as is took many years to get to where we are, it will take many more to fix the problems that got us here. And that’s why they ask about Mexico: they want to live well for less money…now. So, I tell them what I know to be true. I tell them that they have bought all the toys, eaten at all the restaurants, taken the cruises and the Vegas runs, and look where they are. Those things were fun, but think back about your life.

When were you truly the happiest? Usually they will admit to a time in life when they didn’t have the money to buy all the toys, take all the cruises. A time when contentment was a walk on the beach or the woods, a good conversation, changing diapers and quiet evenings with the family. And I tell them that that life can be recaptured, and I tell them about Mexico.