Boomer Bardo - A Possibly Quantum (and Definitely) Far Out Place To Groove

Age Discrimination

2012-01-01T19:59:55Z

Baby Boomers Confront Age Discrimination – Or Do They?

Age Discrimination. What an ugly phrase.

And anyway – what does it mean? Ever find yourself in a situation – job interview or whatever – in which you very strongly suspect that Age Discrimination is being applied towards you? But of course, you can’t prove it.

How does our society view older folks?

Now that Baby Boomers are entering retirement age in vast numbers in the next few years: will we be perceived as ‘cool’? Or as just terribly old and outmoded?

At present, Age Discrimination is thriving in the hiring processes of companies in a reeling economy.

Age Discrimination is the Silent Plague.

Like racial hiring discrimination in the 1950’s – at present – Age Discrimination cannot even be mentioned at without an insta-denial (!) from 20- or 30-somethings; or even Boomers themselves. How bad does the hiring economy need to get – and how far do some unlucky Boomers need to fall (becoming homeless, etc) – before even the IDEA of Age Discrimination occurring – CAN EVEN BE DISCUSSED OPENLY?!

Baby Boomers have, over the years, taken on huge causes. Causes such as: Pollution (the original Earth Day), crooked Presidents (’I mis-spoke myself!’), Social Injustice (integration, racial profiling, Gender Discrimination and Equal Work for Equal Pay) – and more in a list too long to list here.

Boomers in general are sticklers for the ideals of fairness, ethical behavior, development of renewal energy resources and affordable health care. That’s the ideal. But what is the reality? Boomers are actually too diverse a group to categorize in any particular way.

We are STILL cool

But we can all agree on one thing: Age Discrimination is not hip! And yes, we are STILL cool. But we ARE getting mad as hell regarding the lack of employment opportunities for the over-45 crowd. Most of us cannot afford to retire in 2009 anyway.

As long as we say nothing -

But – how long do we say nothing and silently take it? Do we all honestly believe that we are the only ones experiencing the ’shame’ of being continually passed over for hiring in favor of younger, more inexperienced (and possibly cheaper) workers? Or the humiliation of always being the first to be laid off or fired?

Many Boomers would just like a job right now

Any job.

CEO Pay and Peer Benchmarking

2011-10-21T13:55:05Z

The idea behind setting executive pay this way, known as “peer benchmarking,” is to keep talented bosses from leaving.

But the practice has long been controversial because, as critics have pointed out, if every company tries to keep up with or exceed the median pay for executives, executive compensation will spiral upward, regardless of performance. Few if any corporate boards consider their executive teams to be below average, so the result has become known as the “Lake Wobegon” effect…

‘All the other kids have one’

The gap between what workers and top executives make helps explain why income inequality in the United States is reaching levels unseen since the Great Depression.

Since the 1970s, median pay for executives at the nation’s largest companies has more than quadrupled, even after adjusting for inflation, according to researchers. Over the same period, pay for a typical non-supervisory worker has dropped more than 10 percent, according to Bureau of Labor statistics.

To read the entire article, click on the link below.

Cozy relationships and ‘peer benchmarking’ send CEOs’ pay soaringFor longtime autocrat, a violent end Grossman’s mistake: Not learning from his Clinton sees Gaddafi news on Blackberry Researchers shed light on source of Earth’s… Herman Cain’s problematic position(s) on… The 9-9-9 plan in one long graph THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – As the board of Amgen convened at the company’s headquarters in March, chief executive Kevin W.

via Washingtonpost

Why ‘Occupy’? It’s Personal

2011-10-21T13:36:09Z

“Class warfare? You bet. As Buffett has said so eloquently, this country has been engaged in class warfare for decades, and guess what? His class won. It is now time to stand up and fight for fairness for the middle class and a balanced approach for working-class families, who have labored just as hard as America’s top CEOs but have not had the same kind of increases in salary…”

“Executive pay is now about five times higher than it was in 1980, adjusted for inflation. The average salary for the rank-and-file American worker, however, is about the same as it was in 1980. Really? Does American exceptionalism exist only at the top 1% of our workforce? Did our CEOs really get 5 times better than they were in 1980 and our workers remain just ho-hum average? I don’t think so. Neither does the rest of America. When there is this kind of disparity while these same CEOs are paying taxes at a rate lower than their secretaries, their receptionists, and the people who clean their offices, it is personal.”

Click on link below to read complete story.

Why ‘occupy’? It’s personal – CNN.comBy Maria Cardona, CNN Political Contributor updated 11:55 AM EST, Mon October 10, 2011 Editor’s note: Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist, a principal at the Dewey Square Group, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, and former communications director for the Democratic National Committee.

via CNN

Occupy Wall St 2nd Month

2011-10-21T13:37:02Z

Occupy Wall St Enters 2nd Month

2011-10-21T11:42:02Z

– Between 1977 and 2007, the top 1% earners’ share of national income jumped from roughly 9% to 23.5%, a level only bested once in our history — in 1928.

– The CEO-to-worker pay ratio has also skyrocketed: At the start of the 1980s, CEOs made roughly 40 times as much as bottom-rung workers; by 2010, they took home between 300 and 400 times as much.

The issue, as most of us agree, is not really inequality so much as it is mobility, or opportunity. The vast majority of Americans — and the presidential hopefuls on stage are certainly among them — don’t want to live in a society where everyone is held equally low; they want to live in a society where everyone has a fair opportunity to climb high.

That’s a moral issue as much as economic one, and our political leaders are ultimately judged not just by the way they lift the GDP, but by the way they lift the moral life of their country.

From CNN article, “Time for GOP to address Occupy Wall Street“

Read the Entire Article Below.

Time for GOP to address Occupy Wall Street – CNN.comBy David Gergen and Michael Zuckerman updated 10:29 AM EST, Wed October 19, 2011 Editor’s note: David Gergen is a senior political analyst for CNN and has been an adviser to four presidents. He is a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

via CNN

Remember When..Neither Do I

2011-10-20T03:12:42Z

Why Facebook Is for Old Fogies

2011-10-19T19:06:55Z

Click on the Link Below to Read the Complete Post

Why Facebook Is for Old FogiesIllustration by John Cuneo for TIME Facebook is five. Maybe you didn’t get it in your news feed, but it was in February 2004 that Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, along with some classmates, launched the social network that ate the world.

via Time

Why Facebook is for Old Fogies slide

2011-10-19T19:15:10Z

25% Web Services Discount for Social Media for Adults Class

2010-09-03T20:15:12Z

To All Students in the Social Media for Adults Class

It has been my pleasure to have you as my student in this first
Social Media for Adults class at Richland College!

It has been a large class and there was a huge amount of information to cover. I hope that everyone now has some basic tools for navigating basic Social Media: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Also, as a result of this class all of you now have the tools in place to expand your use of Social Media for personal and business use! And have the knowledge regarding how to use Social Media – and how Social Media works within the general context of internet usage.

Our Boomer Program Social Media Class Group on LinkedIn continues to accumulate Resources (look in Discussions). There are now four pages of resources listed.

I will leave the Boomer Program Social Media Class Group on LinkedIn groups active for your use; and also our group on Ning. These are your groups! Use them to network and exchange resources. This is Social Media in action.

I will be teaching a more complete course on Business Internet at Richland College in the Spring Semester on Saturdays in 2011, Feb 12 – March 12 from 9am until 1pm. Class Title: Internet Toolkit for Business Owners.

I have enjoyed meeting each of you! Let stay in touch?

Dorian Karthauser

My Pandamonium SEO-Marketing

Instructor, Social Media for Adults

HOW TO Use Facebook for Professional Networking

2011-10-19T18:39:56Z

Click on the Link Below to Read the Complete Post on Mashable

HOW TO: Use Facebook for Professional NetworkingBoris Epstein is the CEO and Founder of BINC, a Professional Search Firm that specializes in the Software Marketplace. Boris shares his thoughts about the recruitment industry, job hunting and career advice at AskBinc.com. Ask anybody why they use Facebook, and most people will respond with reasons like staying in touch with friends, or being able to share pictures.

via Mashable