gayboomers and the middle aged queer

American Workers Hit Hard by Decade of Doom and Gloom

Filed Under AARP, Boomers, Retirement | Leave a Comment

More older people were hired—and fired
By: Carole Fleck | Source: AARP Bulletin Today
It’s been a dismal decade for older workers. But it didn’t start out that way.

Americans age 55 and older entered the year 2000 with optimism. One-third of them worked, and their unemployment rate was a mere 2.7 percent in January.

Fast-forward to December 2009, when the unemployment picture darkened. The number of people age 55-plus without a job grew from 490,000 at the start of the decade to 2.1 million last December, according to an AARP analysis of government data on older workers released Thursday. Though nearly 40 percent of people in that age group were working, the jobless rate spiked to 7.2 percent.

To make matters worse for boomers and other older adults, the amount of time it took to find work was devastating—35 weeks in December 2009 compared with 19 weeks in January 2000.

Older adults’ nest eggs also suffered since the recession began in December 2007, resulting in dwindling property and retirement account values. Suddenly, workers who were approaching retirement were now eager to stay on the job longer to recoup some of those losses. Some retirees sought to return to the workforce in the face of falling retirement income. Read more

Technorati Tags: AARP, Aging, Boomers, unemployment

Get counted! Why the Census is crucial to gays

Filed Under Gay Rights, Hot topics, National News | Leave a Comment

By Diane Silver, 365gay.com
When gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans receive their census forms this month, they will have an historic opportunity to smash stereotypes – even though the form ignores a large portion of the LGBT population.
“Without data, you have no needs, no identity, no funding”
So say activists and demographers who also have this advice for LGBT people: Grit your teeth, fill out the census form and return it on time.
“Without data, you have no community portrait, and without a portrait, you have no needs, you have no identity, you have no funding; the census has always had a civil rights component to it,” says Jaime Grant, the director of the Policy Institute at The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The census is a once-a-decade snapshot of the U.S. population counting lives where on Census Day, April 1. The count determines the number of seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Census data also guides the distribution of $400 billion in federal funding for schools, hospitals and public safety.
For minority groups like LGBT Americans, the census is even more important. Census data can be used to counter stereotypes, win court cases and break legal barriers. “The more invisible we are, the more powerless we are, the less represented and the less understood,” Grant says.
The history of LGBT Americans and the census is mixed. For the first 200 years of the census, LGBT people were ignored. Lesbians and gays did not appear in the census until 1990. Even then, their appearance was an accident. Read more

Technorati Tags: census, civil rights, LGBT Americans

The Top Ten Perks of being over 60 and heading towards 70!

Filed Under Boomers, Celebrities, Hot topics, Retirement | Leave a Comment

Grace Slick with her mom Virginia Wing in her mom’s home in Palo Alto, California. Credit: John Olson, Life . That blue chair rocks.

10. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

9. No one expects you to run–anywhere.

8. People call at 9 pm and ask, did I wake you?

7. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

5. Things you buy now won’t wear out.

4. Your eyes won’t get much worse.

3. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

2. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can’t remember them either.

And the number one perk for being over 60:

Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size!

Technorati Tags: Grace Slick, mom, Palo Alto

Gays Will Be Able to Marry in D.C. Starting March 9

Filed Under Gay Marriage, Healthcare, Politics | Leave a Comment

D.C.

Barring any last minute successes by the bigots who are doing everything they can to stop equality from being recognized in the nation’s capital, gay couples will be soon be able to apply for licenses and marry there.
D.C. Wire reports: “Council member David Catania, the bill’s sponsor, has a countdown clock on his website to March 3, the anticipated first day when gay couples will be allowed to apply for licenses in the District. While couples will be able to apply next Wednesday, the three-day waiting period in the District means that couples will not be able to formally marry until the following Tuesday, March 9

Technorati Tags: D.C., gay couples

Lesbian speed skater wins gold, again

Filed Under Celebrities, Hot topics, Sports | Leave a Comment

Ireen Wust

By Ruth Schneider, 365gay.com
Dutch speed skater and out lesbian Ireen Wust is leaving Vancouver with a gold medal.

Wust, who won gold in 3,000-meter and bronze in 1,500-meter in Turin four years ago, will be adding another gold to her collection with a win in the 1,500.

“Pulling all the pieces together, I’m so proud and happy. I can’t describe how happy I am. I don’t have words for it,” Wust told The Washington Post. “I think I’m the happiest person on Earth right now.”
According to Afterellen.com, Wust came out a few months ago, telling TVM Helden magazine she has a girlfriend and is very happy

Technorati Tags: Irene Wust, speed skating

« go back — keep looking »