Unless Our Course Changes, Retirement May Be a Thing of the Past

As American voters prepare to go to the polls this November, the stakes for America's well-being and strength have never been higher.

More and more American workers are working longer and harder for less, while corporate profits continue to skyrocket, and for many, savings is difficult, if not impossible, in today's volatile economic climate. The American Dream of a well-earned retirement after a lifetime of a job well done is becoming increasingly fleeting for all except the super-wealthy.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 29% of people in their late 60's were working in 2006, up from 18% in 1985, and 6 million workers last year were age 65 or older. According to the Bureau and aol Money and Finance, over the next decade, workers age 55 and up are expected to rise at more than 5 times the rate of the overall work force in America.

If senior citizens in America choose to keep working full-time because they want to, I say bravo, good for them. Staying active and engaged both physically and mentally is not only good for one's health, but good for the country as well.

But if senior citizens have to work for fear of getting sick, going hungry, or losing what little they have, that is morally wrong in a country as great as our own. To those who say, "Well, they didn't save enough, that's their own fault, just too bad. Only the strongest deserve to survive,"
I say that Social Darwinism and devouring the weakest among us without providing opportunities to help those most elderly among us is a travesty of the highest caliber.

No one is talking about a handout. I am talking about a hand up. All Americans who have worked hard all their lives deserve that when needed.