shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

I got my stimulus payment finally, how about you?

According to a USA Today story, more than 5 million potentially eligible retirees and disabled veterans haven't received a stimulus check yet because they haven't filed a tax return. If you haven’t received your rebate, it’s not too late. You could still be eligible for several hundred dollars.

Here’s the deal: you have to file a tax return form, but not with all the mess and confusion. So what are you waiting for? Visit AARP’s Stimulus Payment Tool – it’s free and easy. The hardest part will be deciding what to do with the money …

It is a good day. We've been watching this closely and apparently so has the Huffington Post:

The Supreme Court made it easier Thursday for employees to prove they have suffered discrimination because of their age.

In a 7-1 ruling, the court said that when older workers are disproportionately affected by an employment decision, the employer bears the burden of explaining whether there was a reasonable explanation other than age for the company's action.

The lawsuit involved 26 former employees of Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in upstate New York who were all over 40 at the time they were laid off in 1996. In fact, 30 of the 31 workers who were laid off that year were over 40 years old.

But the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects them, and the Supreme Court justices agreed. The New York Times reports:

The issue in the case, while technical, is important for the litigation of age discrimination cases in which an employer's action or policy that appears neutral on its face has a disparate impact on older workers. David Certner, the chief legislative counsel for AARP, praised the decision and said it would prove 'vital to the creation and maintenance of a workplace that is fair and free of age bias.'

Indeed. Read the Times article for more details, and let's start celebrating.

In general, what is the best age for the president of he United States? Is the “best” age for a president in the 40s? 50s? 60s or 70s? CBS News conducted a poll in February that asked this exact question, and found some surprising results.

Just about half of those polled said that the best age for a president to be in office was in their 50s. But of course neither Senator Obama or Senator McCain is in their 50s. Barack Obama is in his 40s and John McCain is in his 70s.

Ok, so what does that mean? Well, 20 percent of those polled said that Barack Obama’s age was just about right while only 2 percent of those polled thought that John McCain’s age was appropriate to be president. So do a majority of people feel that John McCain is too old to be president?

Not exactly. The CBS poll also asked voters if they thought a candidate’s age would be an obstacle to their voting for a candidate. Only 30 percent of those polled said that McCain’s age would be a problem (70 percent didn’t think it would be a problem). But the surprising fact that the CBS News poll points out is that voters under 30 were less likely to view McCain’s age as a problem than were older voters.

Go figure.

Somewhere Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan are looking down on all this and smiling.

So we know now that boomers are online doing a lot of the same things that younger people do. Why would gaming be any different? Well, in fact it isn't. In a nod to changing trends in gaming, AARP's website will include a gaming platform. Turns out boomers spend 100 minutes of their leisure time each week playing video or computer games. I wonder how much of that "leisure time" takes place in the office?

Maybe boomers are spending so much more time playing video games because they are trying to forget about the economy. Between high gas prices, a tight credit market, and bad housing market, we are far from out of the woods here.

We’ve heard that “gaming” is all the rage, and people can’t stop talking about “friending” people on Facebook, but young people aren’t the only ones playing online anymore. Boomers are behaving like teenagers on the Internet too—joining online communities, playing games and shopping according to a new study. The perception that people over 50 are only dabbling on the Internet has been totally dispelled by this study – in fact, they’re pretty much doing the same stuff online that 20 year olds are! The majority of folks said their online community is important to them and that they are going online to check for news now more than ever!

Okay, shameless plug here. If you haven’t found a community yet – give aarp.org a try. Happy “friending.”

When it comes to preparing for care later in life, it pays to know your stuff. Considering many of us are likely to reside in a nursing home at some point in our lives, it is crucial to research your options and be prepared for that possibility. The Chicago Tribune's health care blog Triage has a piece today on the new five star rating system for nursing homes. This is the kind of system that can easily give people a way to compare their options and find the best fit for them. Thanks for the help Medicare!

AARP has come out in support for this rating system and has had nothing but good things to say about the value of it. Hopefully by creating an clear and easily understood ratings system, people won't be left in the dark when trying to make one of life's vitally important choices.

We talked about Electronic Prescribing not too long ago. It brings Silicon Valley and health care together, and makes this blogger squeal with delight.

Imagine if your prescription was ready at the pharmacy before you even leave the doctor’s office. Even better, imagine automatic reminders when a cheaper generic drug is available. And imagine getting immediate notice if a new prescription could have dangerous interactions with a drug you’re already taking. These are just some of the promises of e-prescribing, which The Wall Street Journal touched on.

The Journal’s Health Blog points out a couple of the roadblocks...like the fact that the DEA has forbidden electronic prescribing of controlled substances. Even though e-prescribing actually produces better records than pen and paper, doctors can’t prescribe pain killers and other controlled drugs electronically. That’s a big red flag to doctors that don’t want to keep paper and electronic systems running together. Fortunately, the DEA is starting to respond to pressure to fix that..

So how can we make e-prescribing a reality? Encourage your doctor to make the switch, and let your representatives and senators in Congress know that you want them to support electronic prescribing legislation that will make it easier and safer for you to get the prescriptions you need.

We all face the daily struggle of trying to keep track of deadlines, bills, and other responsibilities. While it might be tough to hold on to every last detail, there are ways to improve your recall and keep your brain healthy. The Huffington Post picked up on an Associated Press article on the booming brain fitness industry. Companies such as Nintendo have created products that work along side with classics like Sudoku and can help to create and maintain mental sharpness. Now that's something worth remembering!

Since we're on the topic of memory, let's talk about how Congress seems to have forgotten its promise to protect the American people, particularly in the wake of the economic slowdown we've been going through. Al Dia covered an AARP survey which showed that Hispanic Americans are being hit even harder than the average American by the weak economy. Maybe members of Congress could use a few brain fitness exercises.

So many of today's big headlines revolve around Fed Chairman Ben Bernake's recent comments on the state of disrepair of our nation's health care system. He acknowledged that without major reforms to the system, health care costs will continue to rise at an astronomical pace. No kidding.

Rising health care costs are just one contributing factor forcing Americans to stretch a dollar further every day. In fact, more and more Americans are facing the breaking point when it comes to their finances. AARP's Consumer Bankruptcy Project confirmed that bankruptcy rates amongst older Americans have risen 150% in the past ten years. Just another symptom of a country that needs to stop the infighting and come together to solve major challenges.

If this has got you fired up, you're not alone. Let us know what you think it the comment section below.