The Patz McMillan Team

  What's a Boomer? This question seems more correct than "who is a Boomer?" since this statistic-laden collective term is usually applied to group reactions and behaviours. Don't let the hype about Baby Boomers distract you from what is really important -- you and what you want to achieve. Instead of following others, adopt self-leadership and lead yourself, your family and your community toward a brilliant future.

The impression left by today's 24-7 media and marketing barrage is that Boomers set the standard for everything from home buying and interior decor to cottage and recreational acquisitions. "Follow the leader" motivations fostered by media and marketing campaigns led Boomers to follow each other into condominiums, SUVs, materialistic lifestyles and everything in between.

In hindsight, Boomers and society alike are realizing that not all their decisions were the best ones. Mega-homes and car-centric subdivisions are among the housing choices that are leading to environmental and social problems. Neither Boomers nor governments have proven an ability to anticipate Boomer numbers and use them to positive advantage for the communities they live in, so why should we expect more from them as we move through the next decades?

Baby Boomers, collectively referred to as The Age Wave, represent a population bulge -- "the lump" often compared to a pig swallowed by a python -- which moves through society as each year Boomers became one year older. Ironically, age-phobic Boomers owe their entire fame to their age, since it is common birthdays that gain them inclusion, not always special talents or attributes. Their sheer numbers are what mark them as a force, not any organized or deliberate actions on their part, nor specific contributions.

Boomer is the collective term applied to those born in the years after World War II. In Canada, Boomers are often identified as those born between 1947 and 1966 while in the United States, it's 1946 and 1964. Always check with the speaker or author when Boomers are discussed because the selected birthday brackets can vary, even within an organization. For instance, Statistics Canada does not use one standard set of age limits for Boomers.

Statistics and projections concerning this group increasingly make up significant proportions of what we call "the news." Surveys and polls from private pollsters and researchers highlight many consumer interactions with sponsoring businesses, banks and other organizations. The resulting reports and releases are picked up by media and broadcast in all formats. This statistical outpouring could lead you to believe that there is someone who knows what you should be doing, someone to follow, someone who can put you on autopilot to a successful future.

The truth is no one knows what's coming next. In this never-before-time-in-history, experience with past situations and norms may not be helpful. It might even distract you from choices appropriate for you.

As new information on what Canadians are actually doing is released from 2006 Census data, those serious about finding the best path toward a successful future may benefit from learning what patterns already exist. Free online access to the releases, studies, articles and reports that Statistics Canada produces, most of them in very readable plain language, makes this easy: http://www.statcan.ca. While we wait for Census releases, here are a sample of offerings and insights into Canadian families, Boomers and otherwise, that will help you clarify your definition of a "brilliant future":

• "Survey of Financial Security, based on data collected from 5300 families between May and June 2005, sheds light on how wealth is distributed and concentrated. The wealth of Canadian families increased substantially between 1999 and 2005, but so did debt loads in the form of mortgages and consumer credit. The total value of assets (everything from pensions to real estate) rose 42.4 percent over that period with the increase in market value of real estate the main contributor. The single most important asset was the principal residence which accounted for one-third of the C$5.6 trillion total.
• "Family wealth across the generations" from the Perspectives on Labour and Income publication, October 2003, which includes information on ownership, real estate and wealth.
• "A portrait of seniors, is a statistical portrait of Canadians 65 and older, based on a wide range of data sources. The report provides "valuable contextual information about the population of seniors" and projections about those who will become part of this group over the next decade. Between 1991 and 2003, the life expectancy at age 65 in Canada increased by 1.2 years to 19.2 years. Between 2006 and 2026, the number over 65 is expected to increase from 4.3 million to 8.0 million, representing 21.2 percent of the total population.

Reading one or two of these or similar items, rather than catching a statistical snippet in the news, may seem like too much work in an already busy life. However, discovering the best road ahead for you, your family and your community will not be as simple as following others. The more you invest in understanding the patterns of life around you, the more control you will have over your own. We are now struggling to undo much of the economic, social and environmental damage that accumulated over the past decades as the result of short-term decision making. As The Age Wave rolls on will it continue to over-tax and over-whelm services, systems, standards and individuals as it has in the past? The future may not offer us the same "redo" opportunities.


Written by PJ Wade