.
LOS ANGELES, California / Los Angeles Times / Health / July 13, 2009
Aging (at least for now). But you can work to live to your potential age.
By Marnell Jameson
Nothing in gerontology comes close to fulfilling the promise of a dramatically extended life span -- despite bold claims to the contrary.
"I have little doubt that gerontologists will eventually find a way to avoid, or more likely, delay, the unpleasantries of extended life," says S. Jay Olshansky, author of "The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging." But they're not there yet.
For now, what researchers are finding is that, although we can certainly accelerate the aging process, we can't stop it.
People don't like to accept that our life spans are generally preset by genetics. "The only control we have over our life span is to shorten it," says Olshansky, an epidemiology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health. We do this by being sedentary, smoking, gaining weight and abusing drugs.
Olshansky adds: "If we do everything right, the best we can do is live out our potential with as little age-related disease and disability as possible."
In the United States today the average life span for women is 80 and for men it's 75. Of the planet's current 6.5 billion inhabitants, no more than 25 people are older than 110. Jeanne Calment of Arles, France, who died in 1997 at age 122 1/2 , set the record for the greatest documented age reached by any human.
Researchers who study centenarians (people who live to 100) and super centenarians (those who live beyond 110) appreciate how rare it is to attain that age. They also understand how ridiculous it is to claim that people alive today can expect to live to age 125, which is what some longevity proponents claim is achievable.
"Saying that is inconceivably irresponsible," says Tom Perls, a geriatrician and director of the New England Centenarian Study. That said, he does believe we can borrow from the successes, if not the genes, of people who've lived to be 100. "I wouldn't be devoting my life to studying centenarians if I didn't think something would come of it."
There isn't a cure for aging because it isn't a disease, says Laurence Rubenstein, geriatrician at UCLA Medical Center. "It's a natural and complex process that involves every system in the body." That individuals age unevenly at vastly different rates suggests that genes, lifestyle and disease can all affect the rate of aging.
Our risk of dying increases as we get older because more can go wrong, says Olshanksy, citing what those in the field call increased competitive risks. "If you do an autopsy on an 85-year-old who died of a stroke, you will find five other things that person was about to die from."
While research continues to look at ways to help people live longer and healthier, Perls is looking at populations that seem to do that better than most.
The Seventh-day Adventists are such a group: They live to an average age of 88, or about 10 years longer than other people in the country. They don't smoke. They tend to be lean and fit and get regular exercise. They eat a largely vegetarian diet and spend a lot of time involved with family and religion, which scientists think helps them manage stress.
"If everyone in our country adopted those behaviors, the payoff would be huge," said Perls, an associate professor of geriatrics at Boston University Medical Center. He would add one more piece of advice to the list:
"Avoid anti-aging quacks like the plague." [rc]
health@latimes.com
Copyright 2009 Los Angeles Times
USA: Elderly parents can be a boon, not a burden
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LOS ANGELES, California / Los Angeles Times / Health / July 13, 2009
From the Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2009
MY TURN
By Monica B. Morris
When "Caring for Your Parents" aired on public television, I saw it just before I went to bed -- then lay awake for hours, utterly depressed, wondering just what was the purpose of this production? Aimed primarily at boomers, it told of five families, each coping -- or rather, not coping -- with the care of aging and infirm parents.
We know that ours is an aging society, with people living longer than ever. We understand too that some people will be unable to care for themselves in their later years. A program offering practical advice about resources, public and private, to help caregivers provide the best care for their ailing relatives -- and respite for themselves -- would offer a real service.
But this program did not do that. Instead -- and I'm sure I'm not alone in reacting like this -- it made me feel that I'd better bump myself off right away before I become the kind of burden depicted in these stories!
One middle-age woman was at breaking point, caring for her helpless mother at the same time as looking after teenage children and holding down a part-time job.
In one vignette, a wife divorced her husband, unable to care for his ailing parents any longer. He was left to manage on his own, until his own health declined dramatically.
And so the stories went.
Now, I am not a Pollyanna; I know that these are realities. There are, though, other realities, and I would like to see a program about the vast majority of older people who do not need long-term care, who are vibrant and productive until the end of their lives, who are, in fact, able to help their children and grandchildren.
I can find five stories off the top of my head:
An acquaintance living in Houston is, at 92, an active member of a busy, lively household. Her daughter and son-in-law care for their teenagers, some adopted children and a slew of foster children.
"Gramma" cooks for them, organizes chores for the children and is always ready with hugs and advice to anyone in need. I met her at a kid's birthday party where she was replenishing the buffet and making sure everyone's glass was full.
A family friend, an actor and director, turned 80 last year. For his "party-piece," he performed an elaborate tap dance, a prolonged, energetic production number. He is a busy working actor and is directing a play off-Broadway.
I've just seen a musical adaptation of "Great Expectations," written by Margaret Hoorneman. She is in her mid-90s a retired schoolteacher. This is her first staged production.
A friend first walked the Los Angeles Marathon when she was 78 -- then did it again the following year, placing second in her class (a small class, to be sure). She plans to walk it again when she turns 80.
All over my house, I have paintings by an artist who didn't pick up a brush until after he retired. A "primitive" painter, he had substantial success, with gallery showings of his work in cities across the world.
I feel better, just recounting these stories! Now let's see a documentary about the joys of living long and aging well! [rc]
Monica B. Morris lives in Hollywood. Her latest book, to be published in August is "Goodnight Children, Everywhere." Other books include "That Ridiculous Blue Sky: A Novel" and "Falling in Love Again: The Mature Woman's Guide to Finding Romantic Fulfillment."
Copyright 2009 Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES, California / Los Angeles Times / Health / July 13, 2009
From the Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2009
MY TURN
By Monica B. Morris
When "Caring for Your Parents" aired on public television, I saw it just before I went to bed -- then lay awake for hours, utterly depressed, wondering just what was the purpose of this production? Aimed primarily at boomers, it told of five families, each coping -- or rather, not coping -- with the care of aging and infirm parents.
We know that ours is an aging society, with people living longer than ever. We understand too that some people will be unable to care for themselves in their later years. A program offering practical advice about resources, public and private, to help caregivers provide the best care for their ailing relatives -- and respite for themselves -- would offer a real service.
But this program did not do that. Instead -- and I'm sure I'm not alone in reacting like this -- it made me feel that I'd better bump myself off right away before I become the kind of burden depicted in these stories!
One middle-age woman was at breaking point, caring for her helpless mother at the same time as looking after teenage children and holding down a part-time job.
In one vignette, a wife divorced her husband, unable to care for his ailing parents any longer. He was left to manage on his own, until his own health declined dramatically.
And so the stories went.
Now, I am not a Pollyanna; I know that these are realities. There are, though, other realities, and I would like to see a program about the vast majority of older people who do not need long-term care, who are vibrant and productive until the end of their lives, who are, in fact, able to help their children and grandchildren.
I can find five stories off the top of my head:
An acquaintance living in Houston is, at 92, an active member of a busy, lively household. Her daughter and son-in-law care for their teenagers, some adopted children and a slew of foster children.
"Gramma" cooks for them, organizes chores for the children and is always ready with hugs and advice to anyone in need. I met her at a kid's birthday party where she was replenishing the buffet and making sure everyone's glass was full.
A family friend, an actor and director, turned 80 last year. For his "party-piece," he performed an elaborate tap dance, a prolonged, energetic production number. He is a busy working actor and is directing a play off-Broadway.
I've just seen a musical adaptation of "Great Expectations," written by Margaret Hoorneman. She is in her mid-90s a retired schoolteacher. This is her first staged production.
A friend first walked the Los Angeles Marathon when she was 78 -- then did it again the following year, placing second in her class (a small class, to be sure). She plans to walk it again when she turns 80.
All over my house, I have paintings by an artist who didn't pick up a brush until after he retired. A "primitive" painter, he had substantial success, with gallery showings of his work in cities across the world.
I feel better, just recounting these stories! Now let's see a documentary about the joys of living long and aging well! [rc]
Monica B. Morris lives in Hollywood. Her latest book, to be published in August is "Goodnight Children, Everywhere." Other books include "That Ridiculous Blue Sky: A Novel" and "Falling in Love Again: The Mature Woman's Guide to Finding Romantic Fulfillment."
Copyright 2009 Los Angeles Times
EMIRATES: This happens the world over - Running risks to save a few steps
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ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates / The National / Weekender / July 11, 2009
Running risks to save a few steps
Matt Kwong
Pedestrians dash across a busy road in the Tourist Club area.
Stephen Lock / The National
Outside Abu Dhabi Mall, a Bangladeshi man yanks an errant jaywalker back as a crush of lorries thunders by. A Lebanese mother races through the traffic with a baby stroller, then struggles to mount the high pavement at the other end. An elderly woman briefly considers crossing alone, amid screaming car horns, before scurrying behind a group of labourers.
And all the while, a steel footbridge nearby – designed to provide safe passage for the jaywalkers risking their lives below – appears conspicuously unused.
In the streets of Abu Dhabi, pedestrian infrastructure appears to do little to dissuade people from darting through high-speed traffic. Yesterday The National monitored a footbridge, an underpass and a zebra crossing, and found pedestrians routinely ignoring the safer passageways.
In one hour outside Abu Dhabi Mall, only 80 people climbed the stairs to use the steel footbridge; 134 preferred to make a mad dash across six lanes.
Kussai al Najjad, the manager of Ettihad Antiques Gallery across from the mall, sees the scene every day.
“Look at these ones now,” he said, pointing out a group of women sprinting across the road with bags of groceries. “This is so dangerous. Why does nobody use the bridge when it is right here?”
Mr Najjad, 33, of Syria, said he had witnessed at least two accidents at the crossing in the past two months.
“Maybe 10 days ago, one lady – she was driving and she hit a guy who was stuck in the middle trying to cross the street,” he said. “I saw he was lying on the street, with blood. Then the police came.”
Mr Kussai acknowledged that although he makes a habit of using the bridge, doing so could be arduous for others.
One employee with the Abu Dhabi Co-operative Society noted that it would be impossible for him to carry grocery trolleys up and down several flights of stairs to customers’ cars. He obtained a permit from the police allowing him to cross the intersection legally if he is pushing a trolley.
Omar Farook of India said he jaywalked because he suffered from back pain and could not climb too many steps.
“I wait for signal and I cross this way, because this bridge is too far,” said Mr Farook, 40. “Sometimes I feel sick and this is bad for my back.”
Jane Hernandez, 50, from the Philippines, walks to the mall for weekly grocery shopping. She began using the bridge several months ago after seeing a lorry mow down a jaywalker.
“It was really horrible. I saw one Filipina, she was hit by a big trailer. I heard she had three operations,” Mrs Hernandez said. “It’s easier to cross here [at the bridge] because I’m afraid of the cars going by very fast.”
Like others, she complained that the bridges were not accessible enough, especially for pedestrians who were often hauling shopping bags while they cross.
Col Gaith al Zaabi, the director of the Ministry of Interior’s traffic department, said in April that municipalities needed to do more to protect pedestrians and should take a far tougher stance against drivers and jaywalkers who flouted the law.
Surveillance cameras should be installed in underpasses, as many women were too scared to use them, particularly at night, he said.
Col al Zaabi, who oversees traffic in the emirate, also called for underpasses and bridges to be made accessible to people with special needs.
In a bid to encourage more people to use the overpasses, Abu Dhabi Municipality announced this week it would install automatic lifts in several bridges, including the one overlooking Abu Dhabi Mall.
Elsewhere, on Electra Street across from Hamed Centre, Wasim Abdulmotaleb wondered whether air-conditioned lifts could also be brought to the nearest pedestrian tunnel.
“If inside the underpass we have a lift, then no problem,” the Bangladeshi sales clerk said.
Mr Abdulmotaleb, 26, admitted to jaywalking regularly, jogging to the central divide and squeezing through a hole in the fence facing the Hamed Centre. He was among one of at least 159 people observed doing the same thing, while 193 people crossed safely underground in the same hour.
A Dh200 (US$54) fine for jaywalking from several months ago has not deterred him, nor has an injury to a friend who was struck by a car crossing the same road last week, breaking a bone in his foot.
Convenience outweighed risk when it came to business, he reasoned.
“When I am under shift and I have a customer calling me, only I know that I have to open quickly, quickly,” Mr Abdulmotaleb said.
Norm Labbe, the managing director of the Emirates Institute for Health and Safety, pointed out that “attractive underpasses” do exist, such as those along the Corniche. Even so, many people often forego safety to spare themselves a few steps.
The underpass on Electra Street is only about 60 paces from the Hamed Centre entrance.
“If you were to do a survey, it would likely reveal that pedestrians simply don’t want to put in the effort of a couple more steps,” said Mr Labbe, who has worked as a traffic safety consultant for the Abu Dhabi Police. “They’re willing to risk their lives and also put vehicles in jeopardy because they want to take the short cut, and there’s a whole mindset that needs to be changed.”
That also means exercising caution when recognising pedestrians’ rights of way. Although zebra crossings are meant to be designated spots for people to walk through safely with the flow of traffic, drivers rarely acknowledge them.
Over the course of an hour at a zebra crossing on Airport Road, not one vehicle stopped to allow any of 67 awaiting pedestrians to walk through. One van slowed down to allow a group of eight to proceed.
Down the street, on both sides of the zebra crossing, The National saw 57 jaywalkers.
Sabith Abdullah, 27, from India, mused that the legal crossing was essentially as perilous as jaywalking.
“You can cross because there is zebra marks, but nobody stops,” he said, shielding his eyes from the sun as cars whizzed by. “If the cars see this line, they should stop or slow down. They do not.”
Road policing and enforcement could help correct some poor driving habits, but Mr Labbe stressed that traffic safety was a two-way street. Pedestrians should behave responsibly too, he said.
“Can we just put the blame on drivers? Not really,” he said. “You can be a very safe and conscientious driver and still encounter dangers on the roads several times throughout your journey to and from home, from pedestrians darting in front of you to other unsafe drivers.” [rc]
mkwong@thenational.ae
© Copyright of Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates / The National / Weekender / July 11, 2009
Running risks to save a few steps
Matt Kwong
Pedestrians dash across a busy road in the Tourist Club area. Stephen Lock / The National
Outside Abu Dhabi Mall, a Bangladeshi man yanks an errant jaywalker back as a crush of lorries thunders by. A Lebanese mother races through the traffic with a baby stroller, then struggles to mount the high pavement at the other end. An elderly woman briefly considers crossing alone, amid screaming car horns, before scurrying behind a group of labourers.
And all the while, a steel footbridge nearby – designed to provide safe passage for the jaywalkers risking their lives below – appears conspicuously unused.
In the streets of Abu Dhabi, pedestrian infrastructure appears to do little to dissuade people from darting through high-speed traffic. Yesterday The National monitored a footbridge, an underpass and a zebra crossing, and found pedestrians routinely ignoring the safer passageways.
In one hour outside Abu Dhabi Mall, only 80 people climbed the stairs to use the steel footbridge; 134 preferred to make a mad dash across six lanes.
Kussai al Najjad, the manager of Ettihad Antiques Gallery across from the mall, sees the scene every day.
“Look at these ones now,” he said, pointing out a group of women sprinting across the road with bags of groceries. “This is so dangerous. Why does nobody use the bridge when it is right here?”
Mr Najjad, 33, of Syria, said he had witnessed at least two accidents at the crossing in the past two months.
“Maybe 10 days ago, one lady – she was driving and she hit a guy who was stuck in the middle trying to cross the street,” he said. “I saw he was lying on the street, with blood. Then the police came.”
Mr Kussai acknowledged that although he makes a habit of using the bridge, doing so could be arduous for others.
One employee with the Abu Dhabi Co-operative Society noted that it would be impossible for him to carry grocery trolleys up and down several flights of stairs to customers’ cars. He obtained a permit from the police allowing him to cross the intersection legally if he is pushing a trolley.
Omar Farook of India said he jaywalked because he suffered from back pain and could not climb too many steps.
“I wait for signal and I cross this way, because this bridge is too far,” said Mr Farook, 40. “Sometimes I feel sick and this is bad for my back.”
Jane Hernandez, 50, from the Philippines, walks to the mall for weekly grocery shopping. She began using the bridge several months ago after seeing a lorry mow down a jaywalker.
“It was really horrible. I saw one Filipina, she was hit by a big trailer. I heard she had three operations,” Mrs Hernandez said. “It’s easier to cross here [at the bridge] because I’m afraid of the cars going by very fast.”
Like others, she complained that the bridges were not accessible enough, especially for pedestrians who were often hauling shopping bags while they cross.
Col Gaith al Zaabi, the director of the Ministry of Interior’s traffic department, said in April that municipalities needed to do more to protect pedestrians and should take a far tougher stance against drivers and jaywalkers who flouted the law.
Surveillance cameras should be installed in underpasses, as many women were too scared to use them, particularly at night, he said.
Col al Zaabi, who oversees traffic in the emirate, also called for underpasses and bridges to be made accessible to people with special needs.
In a bid to encourage more people to use the overpasses, Abu Dhabi Municipality announced this week it would install automatic lifts in several bridges, including the one overlooking Abu Dhabi Mall.
Elsewhere, on Electra Street across from Hamed Centre, Wasim Abdulmotaleb wondered whether air-conditioned lifts could also be brought to the nearest pedestrian tunnel.
“If inside the underpass we have a lift, then no problem,” the Bangladeshi sales clerk said.
Mr Abdulmotaleb, 26, admitted to jaywalking regularly, jogging to the central divide and squeezing through a hole in the fence facing the Hamed Centre. He was among one of at least 159 people observed doing the same thing, while 193 people crossed safely underground in the same hour.
A Dh200 (US$54) fine for jaywalking from several months ago has not deterred him, nor has an injury to a friend who was struck by a car crossing the same road last week, breaking a bone in his foot.
Convenience outweighed risk when it came to business, he reasoned.
“When I am under shift and I have a customer calling me, only I know that I have to open quickly, quickly,” Mr Abdulmotaleb said.
Norm Labbe, the managing director of the Emirates Institute for Health and Safety, pointed out that “attractive underpasses” do exist, such as those along the Corniche. Even so, many people often forego safety to spare themselves a few steps.
The underpass on Electra Street is only about 60 paces from the Hamed Centre entrance.
“If you were to do a survey, it would likely reveal that pedestrians simply don’t want to put in the effort of a couple more steps,” said Mr Labbe, who has worked as a traffic safety consultant for the Abu Dhabi Police. “They’re willing to risk their lives and also put vehicles in jeopardy because they want to take the short cut, and there’s a whole mindset that needs to be changed.”
That also means exercising caution when recognising pedestrians’ rights of way. Although zebra crossings are meant to be designated spots for people to walk through safely with the flow of traffic, drivers rarely acknowledge them.
Over the course of an hour at a zebra crossing on Airport Road, not one vehicle stopped to allow any of 67 awaiting pedestrians to walk through. One van slowed down to allow a group of eight to proceed.
Down the street, on both sides of the zebra crossing, The National saw 57 jaywalkers.
Sabith Abdullah, 27, from India, mused that the legal crossing was essentially as perilous as jaywalking.
“You can cross because there is zebra marks, but nobody stops,” he said, shielding his eyes from the sun as cars whizzed by. “If the cars see this line, they should stop or slow down. They do not.”
Road policing and enforcement could help correct some poor driving habits, but Mr Labbe stressed that traffic safety was a two-way street. Pedestrians should behave responsibly too, he said.
“Can we just put the blame on drivers? Not really,” he said. “You can be a very safe and conscientious driver and still encounter dangers on the roads several times throughout your journey to and from home, from pedestrians darting in front of you to other unsafe drivers.” [rc]
mkwong@thenational.ae
© Copyright of Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC
IRELAND: An age of living adventurously
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DUBLIN, Ireland / Irish Times / Life & Culture / July 10, 2009
LIFE FEATURES: A new generation of people are redefining what it means to be older in Ireland, and playing a more active and vibrant role in their communities, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL
EIGHTY-NINE-year-old Joe Daly has been working in his bicycle shop in Dundrum, Co Dublin for the past 58 years. Every day he cycles the five kilometres to and from work, as well as making it home and back for lunch. His working day is nine to six, Monday to Saturday, and he takes his holidays in the Isle of Man for the annual TT motorcycle road race. Sometimes, he brings the bike along and goes for extended cycles on the racetrack.
Daly is part of an increasing population of active older people in Ireland, who are proving that old age and inactivity are not exclusively mutual. By virtue of their increased mobility and longevity, many older Irish are now challenging the rest of society to redefine our somewhat dated views of the ageing process and its implications. Older people, in other words, are doing it for themselves, for longer.
“You do slow down when you get older, but you have to keep going,” says Daly. His business has also been at the mercy of modernity, as the centre of Dundrum has undergone several facelifts over the past half-century. “My shop Joe Daly Cycles opened in 1951, and about 18 years ago they put a road through it and moved me further down the road,” he says.
“Then many years later when they were building the Luas, they put another road through me. I had a legal battle with the county council, and they had to accommodate me, so I’m still where I was many years ago, right beside the new Luas Bridge.” The key to Daly’s active survival, he says, is keeping busy and not allowing inactivity take hold. “I get up at 7.15am every day. I could easily sit there and look at television and not do anything but it’s important to keep the brain active. Cycling keeps me fit. I’m in reasonably good health, but like everybody else I have a few aches and pains. This shop is almost like a museum now, there are very few of us left in Dundrum. Please God, I’ll be here for another few years yet.”
Over in Headford, Co Galway, ninety-year-old Mary Forde has just finished a computer class for the day, having bought herself a laptop recently. “I’m getting to grips with the internet. It’s a powerful device,” she says, “and of course I love playing the games.” When Forde’s husband died 24 years ago, she was determined to keep as active as possible and not allow herself to become isolated. “I was born on a farm and worked in the country until I was in my mid-30s. Then I married my husband and moved to Headford, where we ran a bar. I pulled pints for over 30 years. When my husband died, I decided to close the pub and take life easy. I used to play bingo but the bus has stopped so I don’t play that any more. I play the accordion, and every Sunday I listen to music at home for hours.”
Mary Forde at the Solas Resource Centre in Headford Co Galway. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy
Four elderly citizens started the computer class with Forde. She’s the only one who lasted the distance. “The internet and the e-mail I found hard but I have it mastered now,” she says. “For other older people I see no reason why they shouldn’t pick it up. It’s a wonderful tool. I think older people are far more active nowadays than they were when I was younger. Back then, once the women reached 70 years of age, they sat in the corner and didn’t move. Life was over for them effectively. I don’t feel old, to be honest. I feel the same as I did when I was 60. I keep fit and very active, which is important. The secret to it I think is not to have any worries. I decided a few years ago not to worry about anything and to pass everything off and it has worked.”
Advances in healthcare in the past decades have meant that life and mobility don’t end at 65. The very public show of strength from older Irish people in recent months, in response to Government plans to limit medical-card eligibility, demonstrated that a new generation of vocal and active older people are emerging. Yet they still live, for the most part, in an ageist society. One man I spoke to, who is in his 90s and still working, didn’t want to be named, as he does some work for a government department, and he fears it will be stopped if he were too public about it. “In the current economic climate, people don’t want to hear about an old bastard like me still working with so many young people out of work,” he says by way of explanation.
Gerard Scully, a spokesperson for Age Action Ireland, says that older people have always felt discriminated against, despite their best efforts. “This hasn’t suddenly become an issue in the past year. We have a tradition in employment of people retiring between 60 and 66 years of age and thereby freeing up the job for younger people. There’s a feeling that once a person reaches the age of 66, the job should be given to someone starting out. During the Celtic Tiger years, when the number of jobs was more than people, society was starting to come around to the idea that older people could continue to make an economic contribution to society. I think that has gone by the wayside now, and older people are more reluctant to look for or be given work.”
Eilis Murray, a coordinator with Friends of the Elderly, is inclined to agree, and says that agencies working with older people have also had to change their outlook to reflect a more active older population. “We notice that on our day trip and events, elderly are looking for more active pursuits, such as an afternoon’s shopping or a walk around tourist sites and so on. Due to advances in healthcare, older people are living longer and are more active. There are still huge challenges around the point in life when independence is threatened though. Yet, what we’re seeing is the demand from older people for activities is increasing and older people are starting to assert themselves as vibrant and contributory members of their communities, especially in cities.”
One of those vibrant city older people is Mary McNicholas, who lives in Dublin and last March became Ireland’s oldest tandem parachute jumper at the age of 77. A retired primary school teacher, since finishing her career she has spent five years living in Manhattan and accompanied her grand-daughter on high-thrill rides to Disneyland and other entertainment resorts. She says there was a noticeably different attitude to ageing in America, and she has adopted many of her positive lifestyle practices from there.
“When I lived in America, I joined a gym and I was one of the youngest there,” she says, “Every morning I attended there would be a queue of people outside waiting for it to open at 5.30am. Many of them would be complaining that it didn’t open at 5.15am. I can’t imagine that happening in Ireland. I got into that active habit and carried it on when I came home.”
Approaching her 50th wedding anniversary, McNicholas wanted to do something special to mark the occasion and surprise her husband, Walter. “I went on a huge slide in Tenerife with a 90-degree drop called the Kamikaze. After that, I started thinking about doing a parachute jump. My son contacted the Irish Parachute Club in Edenderry, and last March I did the jump from an altitude of 13,000 feet. The next oldest person to do it before me was 71 years old. I was scared going up, but all I had to do was overcome the fear and hop out of the plane.”
Mary McNicholas shortly after her parachute jump.
Later, McNicholas presented her family, the majority of whom had no knowledge of her jump, with a video of her exploits. “My husband knew I was daft but I don’t think he could quite believe it,” she says. With plans currently in place for another similar feat, McNicholas says maintaining an active and youthful outlook is the key to cheating old age.
“You have to get up early in the morning and grab the day. I was up at half five this morning when I went for a walk. There’s no point sitting around waiting for things to happen.” [rc]
© 2009 irishtimes.com
DUBLIN, Ireland / Irish Times / Life & Culture / July 10, 2009
LIFE FEATURES: A new generation of people are redefining what it means to be older in Ireland, and playing a more active and vibrant role in their communities, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL
EIGHTY-NINE-year-old Joe Daly has been working in his bicycle shop in Dundrum, Co Dublin for the past 58 years. Every day he cycles the five kilometres to and from work, as well as making it home and back for lunch. His working day is nine to six, Monday to Saturday, and he takes his holidays in the Isle of Man for the annual TT motorcycle road race. Sometimes, he brings the bike along and goes for extended cycles on the racetrack.
Daly is part of an increasing population of active older people in Ireland, who are proving that old age and inactivity are not exclusively mutual. By virtue of their increased mobility and longevity, many older Irish are now challenging the rest of society to redefine our somewhat dated views of the ageing process and its implications. Older people, in other words, are doing it for themselves, for longer.
“You do slow down when you get older, but you have to keep going,” says Daly. His business has also been at the mercy of modernity, as the centre of Dundrum has undergone several facelifts over the past half-century. “My shop Joe Daly Cycles opened in 1951, and about 18 years ago they put a road through it and moved me further down the road,” he says.
“Then many years later when they were building the Luas, they put another road through me. I had a legal battle with the county council, and they had to accommodate me, so I’m still where I was many years ago, right beside the new Luas Bridge.” The key to Daly’s active survival, he says, is keeping busy and not allowing inactivity take hold. “I get up at 7.15am every day. I could easily sit there and look at television and not do anything but it’s important to keep the brain active. Cycling keeps me fit. I’m in reasonably good health, but like everybody else I have a few aches and pains. This shop is almost like a museum now, there are very few of us left in Dundrum. Please God, I’ll be here for another few years yet.”Over in Headford, Co Galway, ninety-year-old Mary Forde has just finished a computer class for the day, having bought herself a laptop recently. “I’m getting to grips with the internet. It’s a powerful device,” she says, “and of course I love playing the games.” When Forde’s husband died 24 years ago, she was determined to keep as active as possible and not allow herself to become isolated. “I was born on a farm and worked in the country until I was in my mid-30s. Then I married my husband and moved to Headford, where we ran a bar. I pulled pints for over 30 years. When my husband died, I decided to close the pub and take life easy. I used to play bingo but the bus has stopped so I don’t play that any more. I play the accordion, and every Sunday I listen to music at home for hours.”
Mary Forde at the Solas Resource Centre in Headford Co Galway. Photograph: Joe O'ShaughnessyFour elderly citizens started the computer class with Forde. She’s the only one who lasted the distance. “The internet and the e-mail I found hard but I have it mastered now,” she says. “For other older people I see no reason why they shouldn’t pick it up. It’s a wonderful tool. I think older people are far more active nowadays than they were when I was younger. Back then, once the women reached 70 years of age, they sat in the corner and didn’t move. Life was over for them effectively. I don’t feel old, to be honest. I feel the same as I did when I was 60. I keep fit and very active, which is important. The secret to it I think is not to have any worries. I decided a few years ago not to worry about anything and to pass everything off and it has worked.”
Advances in healthcare in the past decades have meant that life and mobility don’t end at 65. The very public show of strength from older Irish people in recent months, in response to Government plans to limit medical-card eligibility, demonstrated that a new generation of vocal and active older people are emerging. Yet they still live, for the most part, in an ageist society. One man I spoke to, who is in his 90s and still working, didn’t want to be named, as he does some work for a government department, and he fears it will be stopped if he were too public about it. “In the current economic climate, people don’t want to hear about an old bastard like me still working with so many young people out of work,” he says by way of explanation.
Gerard Scully, a spokesperson for Age Action Ireland, says that older people have always felt discriminated against, despite their best efforts. “This hasn’t suddenly become an issue in the past year. We have a tradition in employment of people retiring between 60 and 66 years of age and thereby freeing up the job for younger people. There’s a feeling that once a person reaches the age of 66, the job should be given to someone starting out. During the Celtic Tiger years, when the number of jobs was more than people, society was starting to come around to the idea that older people could continue to make an economic contribution to society. I think that has gone by the wayside now, and older people are more reluctant to look for or be given work.”
Eilis Murray, a coordinator with Friends of the Elderly, is inclined to agree, and says that agencies working with older people have also had to change their outlook to reflect a more active older population. “We notice that on our day trip and events, elderly are looking for more active pursuits, such as an afternoon’s shopping or a walk around tourist sites and so on. Due to advances in healthcare, older people are living longer and are more active. There are still huge challenges around the point in life when independence is threatened though. Yet, what we’re seeing is the demand from older people for activities is increasing and older people are starting to assert themselves as vibrant and contributory members of their communities, especially in cities.”
One of those vibrant city older people is Mary McNicholas, who lives in Dublin and last March became Ireland’s oldest tandem parachute jumper at the age of 77. A retired primary school teacher, since finishing her career she has spent five years living in Manhattan and accompanied her grand-daughter on high-thrill rides to Disneyland and other entertainment resorts. She says there was a noticeably different attitude to ageing in America, and she has adopted many of her positive lifestyle practices from there.
“When I lived in America, I joined a gym and I was one of the youngest there,” she says, “Every morning I attended there would be a queue of people outside waiting for it to open at 5.30am. Many of them would be complaining that it didn’t open at 5.15am. I can’t imagine that happening in Ireland. I got into that active habit and carried it on when I came home.”
Approaching her 50th wedding anniversary, McNicholas wanted to do something special to mark the occasion and surprise her husband, Walter. “I went on a huge slide in Tenerife with a 90-degree drop called the Kamikaze. After that, I started thinking about doing a parachute jump. My son contacted the Irish Parachute Club in Edenderry, and last March I did the jump from an altitude of 13,000 feet. The next oldest person to do it before me was 71 years old. I was scared going up, but all I had to do was overcome the fear and hop out of the plane.”
Mary McNicholas shortly after her parachute jump.Later, McNicholas presented her family, the majority of whom had no knowledge of her jump, with a video of her exploits. “My husband knew I was daft but I don’t think he could quite believe it,” she says. With plans currently in place for another similar feat, McNicholas says maintaining an active and youthful outlook is the key to cheating old age.
“You have to get up early in the morning and grab the day. I was up at half five this morning when I went for a walk. There’s no point sitting around waiting for things to happen.” [rc]
© 2009 irishtimes.com
GERMANY: Thriving in the Recession - Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
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BERLIN, Germany / Spiegel International / July 10, 2009
THRIVING IN THE RECESSION
Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
By SPIEGEL Staff
Things are changing for Germany's aged. On one hand, their influence is growing and, controversially, they got the biggest pension increase in more than a decade last week. On the other hand academics are calling for a rethink on retirement, arguing that the old must work longer and harder.
This summer's biggest winner is not the sweet, young, bikini-clad thing frolicking on the beach. No, this summer's biggest winner is an elegant, older woman with white hair and glasses who laughs long and often. Because for Ulrike Mascher, 70, the past few months have gone extremely well. Since last October, Mascher, a former member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has been the head of the Sozialverband VdK, Germany's largest pensioner lobby group. Her influence has grown tremendously since she assumed the position. "Even our press releases get more attention now," she says.
'Life after 65 is about so much more than adult diapers': Former model Christa Höhs started her own agency, specializing in older models. The charming men and women her agency represents now appear in ads for everything from skin creams to tourism to garden furniture. Quirin Leppert
In one such press release, issued on April 27, Mascher called for a "protective umbrella for retirees." Within hours of the release, Labor Minister Olaf Scholz had held a hurried press conference in which he promised not to cut pensions, "not next year and not in the years after that."
In uttering these words, Scholz suspended a mechanism that is almost as old as the Federal Republic of Germany. Until now, pensions have been linked to wages, and because wages threaten to decline, now that many Germans are working reduced hours, pensions would normally also be headed downward.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück railed against that promise this week, saying "I have great doubts whether this is the right signal to send to the next generations. Those really affected (by the economic crisis) are the 25 to 35 year olds who may want to have children soon," Steinbrück said. "We should be worrying more about this generation." Steinbrück also noted that while other Germans had to worry about hanging onto their jobs, pensioners have never had it better.
It's true. Last week German retirees got the biggest boost in their pensions in more than a decade. From July 1, retirees in the West received a 2.4 percent increase, while those in the states of the former East Germany were getting a 3.4 percent hike in pension benefits. "It's certainly a start," says a cheerful Mascher.
It's more than that though, it is an historic victory. And retirees haven't even had to do very much to get their pension increase. There were no major demonstrations, no rallies. All it took was a few words and politicians snapped to attention.
The old folks have never been this powerful. Twenty million German men and women are older than 60 and they make up one third of all voters. And their influence will only grow especially when the baby boomers -- those born in the 1950s and 60s -- start retiring, around 2015.
Warning: Catastrophic Consequences of Aging Population
An older patient gets a medical check up. Some doctors believe that in old age, maintaining mental dexterity can be a question of fitness. DPA
Demographers and economists have been warning of the consequences of this for years. They wonder how an aging society can survive in an internationally competitive economy and predict all kinds of catastrophe. Fritz Beske, an economist in the northern German city of Kiel, has calculated that the costs of the German healthcare system will rise dramatically within the next 40 years, despite expected advances in medicine. According to Beske, the compulsory health insurance contribution could rise above 40 percent.
But there are also surprisingly optimistic messages from other quarters. Human beings, say some researchers, are intellectually and physically capable of working much longer than society currently expects them to. It stands to reason that, if older people remain productive longer, then they will also be paying into the pension and health insurance system for longer. So the social welfare system, and its funding, is not as endangered as one might think.
Leading this new movement are well-known academics such as Heidelberg-based gerontologist Andreas Kruse, who heads the German government's gerontology commission, and Axel Börsch-Supan, an economist in the southwestern German city of Mannheim. Their conclusions are becoming more and more interesting to a wide range of industries, including German automakers, lawyers, architects and advertising professionals.
Almost every week, there's a meeting held in Germany to address questions arising in an era in which older members of society are no longer treated as second class citizens, simply drawing benefits from the sidelines. Questions like: How can companies become more inclusive of their older workers? What products do older people want to buy?
Businesses Look Into The Future -- and It's Elderly
A worker at BMW's Dingolfing plant takes time out from making cars to do a bit of exercise. BMW also provides older workers with a padded floor --because it is easier on the joints and spine, areas where most of the men here are already having problems after many years of strenuous physical work. Photo: Quirin Leppert
One gets a glimpse of this future in Hall 43 at auto manufacturer, BMW's Dingolfing assembly plant, about an hour's drive out of Munich. Erich Bloch, 48, is stretching in front of a set of wall bars. He does the exercises once a day; they were recommended by his physical therapist. But he also does them because they make him feel better and add a little color to his working life. "The diversion is good for your mental health," he said. [rc]
Click here to read more of this SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL feature
PART 1. Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
Part 2: The Next Generation Must Work Until They Are 70
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2009
BERLIN, Germany / Spiegel International / July 10, 2009
THRIVING IN THE RECESSION
Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
By SPIEGEL Staff
Things are changing for Germany's aged. On one hand, their influence is growing and, controversially, they got the biggest pension increase in more than a decade last week. On the other hand academics are calling for a rethink on retirement, arguing that the old must work longer and harder.
This summer's biggest winner is not the sweet, young, bikini-clad thing frolicking on the beach. No, this summer's biggest winner is an elegant, older woman with white hair and glasses who laughs long and often. Because for Ulrike Mascher, 70, the past few months have gone extremely well. Since last October, Mascher, a former member of parliament for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has been the head of the Sozialverband VdK, Germany's largest pensioner lobby group. Her influence has grown tremendously since she assumed the position. "Even our press releases get more attention now," she says.
'Life after 65 is about so much more than adult diapers': Former model Christa Höhs started her own agency, specializing in older models. The charming men and women her agency represents now appear in ads for everything from skin creams to tourism to garden furniture. Quirin LeppertIn one such press release, issued on April 27, Mascher called for a "protective umbrella for retirees." Within hours of the release, Labor Minister Olaf Scholz had held a hurried press conference in which he promised not to cut pensions, "not next year and not in the years after that."
In uttering these words, Scholz suspended a mechanism that is almost as old as the Federal Republic of Germany. Until now, pensions have been linked to wages, and because wages threaten to decline, now that many Germans are working reduced hours, pensions would normally also be headed downward.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück railed against that promise this week, saying "I have great doubts whether this is the right signal to send to the next generations. Those really affected (by the economic crisis) are the 25 to 35 year olds who may want to have children soon," Steinbrück said. "We should be worrying more about this generation." Steinbrück also noted that while other Germans had to worry about hanging onto their jobs, pensioners have never had it better.
It's true. Last week German retirees got the biggest boost in their pensions in more than a decade. From July 1, retirees in the West received a 2.4 percent increase, while those in the states of the former East Germany were getting a 3.4 percent hike in pension benefits. "It's certainly a start," says a cheerful Mascher.
It's more than that though, it is an historic victory. And retirees haven't even had to do very much to get their pension increase. There were no major demonstrations, no rallies. All it took was a few words and politicians snapped to attention.
The old folks have never been this powerful. Twenty million German men and women are older than 60 and they make up one third of all voters. And their influence will only grow especially when the baby boomers -- those born in the 1950s and 60s -- start retiring, around 2015.
Warning: Catastrophic Consequences of Aging Population
An older patient gets a medical check up. Some doctors believe that in old age, maintaining mental dexterity can be a question of fitness. DPADemographers and economists have been warning of the consequences of this for years. They wonder how an aging society can survive in an internationally competitive economy and predict all kinds of catastrophe. Fritz Beske, an economist in the northern German city of Kiel, has calculated that the costs of the German healthcare system will rise dramatically within the next 40 years, despite expected advances in medicine. According to Beske, the compulsory health insurance contribution could rise above 40 percent.
But there are also surprisingly optimistic messages from other quarters. Human beings, say some researchers, are intellectually and physically capable of working much longer than society currently expects them to. It stands to reason that, if older people remain productive longer, then they will also be paying into the pension and health insurance system for longer. So the social welfare system, and its funding, is not as endangered as one might think.
Leading this new movement are well-known academics such as Heidelberg-based gerontologist Andreas Kruse, who heads the German government's gerontology commission, and Axel Börsch-Supan, an economist in the southwestern German city of Mannheim. Their conclusions are becoming more and more interesting to a wide range of industries, including German automakers, lawyers, architects and advertising professionals.
Almost every week, there's a meeting held in Germany to address questions arising in an era in which older members of society are no longer treated as second class citizens, simply drawing benefits from the sidelines. Questions like: How can companies become more inclusive of their older workers? What products do older people want to buy?
Businesses Look Into The Future -- and It's Elderly
A worker at BMW's Dingolfing plant takes time out from making cars to do a bit of exercise. BMW also provides older workers with a padded floor --because it is easier on the joints and spine, areas where most of the men here are already having problems after many years of strenuous physical work. Photo: Quirin LeppertOne gets a glimpse of this future in Hall 43 at auto manufacturer, BMW's Dingolfing assembly plant, about an hour's drive out of Munich. Erich Bloch, 48, is stretching in front of a set of wall bars. He does the exercises once a day; they were recommended by his physical therapist. But he also does them because they make him feel better and add a little color to his working life. "The diversion is good for your mental health," he said. [rc]
Click here to read more of this SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL feature
PART 1. Germany's Increasingly Powerful Seniors
Part 2: The Next Generation Must Work Until They Are 70
© SPIEGEL ONLINE 2009
SOUTH AFRICA: Zuma to spend Mandela Day with the elderly
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa / Independent Online / July 10, 2009
President Jacob Zuma will spend Mandela Day with the elderly, the Social Development Department said on Friday. Zuma would attend an outreach programme for elderly people from across the country, in Ivory Park, Gauteng.
The programme would honour South Africa's first democratic president Nelson Mandela by highlighting government services to the elderly, the department said in a statement.
Mandela would celebrate his 91st birthday on July 18.
In his state of the nation address, Zuma called on South Africans to spend 67 minutes of their time on July 18 serving their communities.
This was to celebrate the 67 years Mandela dedicated to serving humanity and fighting for peace, justice, development and freedom.
Zuma would visit Mandela on his birthday before attending the event in Ivory Park. - Sapa [rc]
© Independent Online 2005
CAPE TOWN, South Africa / Independent Online / July 10, 2009
President Jacob Zuma will spend Mandela Day with the elderly, the Social Development Department said on Friday. Zuma would attend an outreach programme for elderly people from across the country, in Ivory Park, Gauteng.
The programme would honour South Africa's first democratic president Nelson Mandela by highlighting government services to the elderly, the department said in a statement.
Mandela would celebrate his 91st birthday on July 18.
In his state of the nation address, Zuma called on South Africans to spend 67 minutes of their time on July 18 serving their communities.
This was to celebrate the 67 years Mandela dedicated to serving humanity and fighting for peace, justice, development and freedom.
Zuma would visit Mandela on his birthday before attending the event in Ivory Park. - Sapa [rc]
© Independent Online 2005
USA: Is Facebook Aging Gracefully?
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NEW YORK, NY / ABC News / Technology & Science / July 10, 2009
As Facebook Grays at the Temples, Younger Users Make Room for Parents and Grandparents
By Ki Mae Heussner
At first, Rod Buchignani just circled Facebook, eyeing it with curiosity, wondering if he should partake.
He joined last year, but the 64-year-old northern Californian kept it at arm's length, thinking it belonged to younger generations.
"I wanted to get a flavor of what it was all about," he said. "It didn't appeal at the time because there were a lot of younger people and I didn't do too much with it."
My, how times have changed.
Rod Buchignani, a 64-year-old retired educator, is one of a growing number of Facebook users over the age of 55. (Handout)
Now, about a year later, as more of his friends and family have joined, Buchignani shares photos, posts updates two or three times a week and regularly exchanges messages with other members.
"I feel like he's on it more than I am nowadays," quipped his 21-year-old daughter Claire.
Although it started as a college site, restricted to only those with ".edu" at the end of their e-mail addresses, Facebook has grown into a mammoth social mainstay. Facebook has publicly acknowledged that it has graduated well beyond its roots, revealing that the fastest-growing demographic was those 35 years old and older.
Seniors and Boomers Could Overtake High Schoolers
According to the digital marketing firm iStrategyLabs, the number of users 55-years-old and older grew about 500 percent in the last six months alone. Using demographic estimates disclosed by Facebook to advertisers, iStrategyLabs determined that the 55+ crowd could soon overtake high schoolers.
Out of the nearly 72 million Facebook members in the U.S., as of July 4, the marketing firm said about 5.9 million are 55 years old or older, while about 7 million are 17 and younger. And in the same time period that saw remarkable growth for the oldest demographic, the youngest demographic grew by just 24 percent.
Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategyLabs, acknowledged that part of staggering growth came from the fact that the older demographic started from much smaller user base. But he thinks the political and economic climate had a hand in propelling the growth.
"Facebook played such a large role in this election," Corbett said. Hearing it mentioned by news organizations, activists and party leaders time again likely led them to wonder "What is this Facebook thing? Why is everyone talking about it?" he said.
"Then compound that with the economic environment," he said. People out of work might have felt the need to stay current while looking for opportunities, he said, and those still employed might have been compelled to stay connected with peers to secure a safety net of opportunities in case their luck changed.
As the demographics of Facebook shift, he pointed out, the dynamics of families, friend groups and work environments are shifting as well.
Facebook: All Age Segments Are Growing
Aside from the estimates it provides to advertisers, Facebook does not publicize raw data on user demographics. And some have said that because user data fluctuate over time, comparing information from just two dates doesn't necessarily present an accurate picture.
"Facebook has more than 200 million users around the world and we continue to see growth in all age segments, including people over age 55, in high school and college," Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker told ABCNews.com in an e-mail. [rc]
Click here to continue
Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures.
NEW YORK, NY / ABC News / Technology & Science / July 10, 2009
As Facebook Grays at the Temples, Younger Users Make Room for Parents and Grandparents
By Ki Mae Heussner
At first, Rod Buchignani just circled Facebook, eyeing it with curiosity, wondering if he should partake.
He joined last year, but the 64-year-old northern Californian kept it at arm's length, thinking it belonged to younger generations. "I wanted to get a flavor of what it was all about," he said. "It didn't appeal at the time because there were a lot of younger people and I didn't do too much with it."
My, how times have changed.
Rod Buchignani, a 64-year-old retired educator, is one of a growing number of Facebook users over the age of 55. (Handout)
Now, about a year later, as more of his friends and family have joined, Buchignani shares photos, posts updates two or three times a week and regularly exchanges messages with other members.
"I feel like he's on it more than I am nowadays," quipped his 21-year-old daughter Claire.
Although it started as a college site, restricted to only those with ".edu" at the end of their e-mail addresses, Facebook has grown into a mammoth social mainstay. Facebook has publicly acknowledged that it has graduated well beyond its roots, revealing that the fastest-growing demographic was those 35 years old and older.
Seniors and Boomers Could Overtake High Schoolers
According to the digital marketing firm iStrategyLabs, the number of users 55-years-old and older grew about 500 percent in the last six months alone. Using demographic estimates disclosed by Facebook to advertisers, iStrategyLabs determined that the 55+ crowd could soon overtake high schoolers.
Out of the nearly 72 million Facebook members in the U.S., as of July 4, the marketing firm said about 5.9 million are 55 years old or older, while about 7 million are 17 and younger. And in the same time period that saw remarkable growth for the oldest demographic, the youngest demographic grew by just 24 percent.
Peter Corbett, CEO of iStrategyLabs, acknowledged that part of staggering growth came from the fact that the older demographic started from much smaller user base. But he thinks the political and economic climate had a hand in propelling the growth.
"Facebook played such a large role in this election," Corbett said. Hearing it mentioned by news organizations, activists and party leaders time again likely led them to wonder "What is this Facebook thing? Why is everyone talking about it?" he said.
"Then compound that with the economic environment," he said. People out of work might have felt the need to stay current while looking for opportunities, he said, and those still employed might have been compelled to stay connected with peers to secure a safety net of opportunities in case their luck changed.
As the demographics of Facebook shift, he pointed out, the dynamics of families, friend groups and work environments are shifting as well.
Facebook: All Age Segments Are Growing
Aside from the estimates it provides to advertisers, Facebook does not publicize raw data on user demographics. And some have said that because user data fluctuate over time, comparing information from just two dates doesn't necessarily present an accurate picture.
"Facebook has more than 200 million users around the world and we continue to see growth in all age segments, including people over age 55, in high school and college," Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker told ABCNews.com in an e-mail. [rc]
Click here to continue
Copyright © 2009 ABC News Internet Ventures.
UK: The great public-sector pension rip-off - Dodging the bill
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LONDON, England / The Economist / Leaders / July 10, 2009
It is time to recognise the full costs of public-sector pension schemes to the rest of us
JOIN a private-sector company these days and you will be very lucky if you get a pension linked to your final salary. In Britain almost three out of four companies that retain such schemes have closed them to new employees. The cost of paying such benefits, which are partly linked to inflation and offer payouts to surviving spouses, is simply too high now that many retirees are surviving into their 80s.
Illustration by Belle Mellor
Yet most new public-sector employees in Britain and America continue to benefit from pensions linked to their salaries. The pension costs facing the public sector are roughly the same as those facing the private sector; their employees are likely to live just as long. But because of the presumed largesse of future taxpayers, governments seem under much less pressure to reduce their pension costs. In 2005 a reform package in Britain raised the retirement age for new state employees, but still left existing employees able to retire at 60.
Perhaps the real reason why public-sector pension costs have not been tackled is that the full bill has never been revealed to taxpayers. Calculating the cost of a pension scheme depends on two key assumptions. The first is the potential longevity of the employees; the second is the discount rate applied to future benefits. The higher the discount rate, the smaller the liability appears to be. There is a lot of debate about the right discount rate to use, but the conservative approach is to take the cost of government borrowing. Use that rate, and the liability of American state and municipal pension schemes may be $3 trillion—three times the value of all the authorities’ existing debts. In Britain the liability adds up to 85% of GDP.
Even if that figure overstates the problem, there is little doubt that governments are understating their pensions liabilities. When workers in Britain are transferred from the public to the private sector, they are entitled to keep their pension rights; employers who take them on find that their pension costs are around double those estimated by the public sector. The fudge seems likely to continue. A consultation document sent out by the British government suggested that, rather than raising taxes or cutting spending, local authorities should fall short of fully funding their pension liabilities in the short term.
Public affluence, private penury
There may be an argument for giving some public-sector workers, such as the police or the armed services, higher pay and benefits in the form of pensions. But the cost should be fully accounted for. Today’s opaque pensions system is unfair to private-sector workers, who suffer a triple whammy. First, most are now enrolled in riskier defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, where payouts depend on investment performance. Second, employers make smaller contributions to DC schemes than to final-salary plans, so pensions are likely to be lower. And third, as well as shouldering more of the burden for their own retirement, private-sector workers pay for public-sector pensions via their taxes. There is, in effect, a hidden transfer from private-sector workers to their public-sector peers. In Britain it may amount to as much as 30% of pay.
When the full costs become apparent, taxpayers may demand reform. Cutting costs is not easy: the bulk relate to promises already made. But raising the retirement age for public-sector workers in order to reflect increased life expectancy would be a start. Moving to DC pensions for new entitlements, or to a cheaper version of a defined benefit scheme (such as an average- rather than a final-salary pension) would also help. The greying of the American and British populations will inevitably involve some costs. It would be unfair if the burden was borne disproportionately by private-sector workers. [rc]
Read related report PENSIONS are expensive to provide. People are living longer...
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009.
LONDON, England / The Economist / Leaders / July 10, 2009
It is time to recognise the full costs of public-sector pension schemes to the rest of us
JOIN a private-sector company these days and you will be very lucky if you get a pension linked to your final salary. In Britain almost three out of four companies that retain such schemes have closed them to new employees. The cost of paying such benefits, which are partly linked to inflation and offer payouts to surviving spouses, is simply too high now that many retirees are surviving into their 80s.Illustration by Belle Mellor
Yet most new public-sector employees in Britain and America continue to benefit from pensions linked to their salaries. The pension costs facing the public sector are roughly the same as those facing the private sector; their employees are likely to live just as long. But because of the presumed largesse of future taxpayers, governments seem under much less pressure to reduce their pension costs. In 2005 a reform package in Britain raised the retirement age for new state employees, but still left existing employees able to retire at 60.
Perhaps the real reason why public-sector pension costs have not been tackled is that the full bill has never been revealed to taxpayers. Calculating the cost of a pension scheme depends on two key assumptions. The first is the potential longevity of the employees; the second is the discount rate applied to future benefits. The higher the discount rate, the smaller the liability appears to be. There is a lot of debate about the right discount rate to use, but the conservative approach is to take the cost of government borrowing. Use that rate, and the liability of American state and municipal pension schemes may be $3 trillion—three times the value of all the authorities’ existing debts. In Britain the liability adds up to 85% of GDP.
Even if that figure overstates the problem, there is little doubt that governments are understating their pensions liabilities. When workers in Britain are transferred from the public to the private sector, they are entitled to keep their pension rights; employers who take them on find that their pension costs are around double those estimated by the public sector. The fudge seems likely to continue. A consultation document sent out by the British government suggested that, rather than raising taxes or cutting spending, local authorities should fall short of fully funding their pension liabilities in the short term.
Public affluence, private penury
There may be an argument for giving some public-sector workers, such as the police or the armed services, higher pay and benefits in the form of pensions. But the cost should be fully accounted for. Today’s opaque pensions system is unfair to private-sector workers, who suffer a triple whammy. First, most are now enrolled in riskier defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, where payouts depend on investment performance. Second, employers make smaller contributions to DC schemes than to final-salary plans, so pensions are likely to be lower. And third, as well as shouldering more of the burden for their own retirement, private-sector workers pay for public-sector pensions via their taxes. There is, in effect, a hidden transfer from private-sector workers to their public-sector peers. In Britain it may amount to as much as 30% of pay.
When the full costs become apparent, taxpayers may demand reform. Cutting costs is not easy: the bulk relate to promises already made. But raising the retirement age for public-sector workers in order to reflect increased life expectancy would be a start. Moving to DC pensions for new entitlements, or to a cheaper version of a defined benefit scheme (such as an average- rather than a final-salary pension) would also help. The greying of the American and British populations will inevitably involve some costs. It would be unfair if the burden was borne disproportionately by private-sector workers. [rc]
Read related report PENSIONS are expensive to provide. People are living longer...
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009.
EUROPE: Forget climate change, ageing populations are the real problem
.
LONDON, England / The First Post / July 10, 2009
Old man Europe must find a way to keep up
with the younger populations of Asia, Africa
& America
By Richard Ehrman
FIRST POSTED JULY 8, 2009
Perhaps it is because we are so preoccupied with climate change that we pay so little attention to another form of change – this time demographic – which is also creeping up on us. Already, Europe's people are older than any other continent's and its fertility rate, at 1.5 children per woman, is way below replacement level. Across the continent deaths outnumber births. At the same time life expectancy is increasing, so much so that 19 out of the world's 20 oldest countries, in terms of population age, are European:
• In 1950 there were 5.5 million people aged over 65 in Britain. Now there are more than 10 million, and in twenty five years time there will be over 15 million. But the number of people of working age, who will have to support them, is likely to stay roughly the same at a little over 40 million.
• The British birth rate has been below replacement level since the mid-1970s, yet our population is not just growing but rocketing. By 2030 it is projected to increase by 10 million to over 70 million. By 2050 it is projected to reach 75 million
• This is mainly because net immigration into this country over the last decade has been running at 200,000 a year, sometimes even more. Allowing for the 200,000 people who also leave the country annually, we have recently been taking up to half-a-million migrants a year – the highest in our history.
• Without immigration, the population would rise to just 64 million by 2030, mainly as a result of people living longer, before slowly declining. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe the big worry is what will happen when populations fall.
• The Russian population is already dropping at the rate of 10,000 a week, thanks to a very low birth rate and reduced life expectancy after the collapse of Communism. In 2000 there were 148 million Russians, by 2050 this is projected to fall to 116 million.
• In Germany they live longer, but a birth rate of just 1.4 children per woman and comparatively low immigration means their population is also projected to fall - by 12 million between now and mid-century.
• Countries with very low birth rates and emigration, rather than immigration, will shrink even faster. By 2050 Bulgaria is projected to lose 30 per cent of its population, Ukraine and Belarus nearly 25 per cent apiece, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania roughly 20 per cent each, Croatia 15 per cent and Hungary 10 per cent.
• It had been thought that Italy and Spain would also shrink because of their very low birth rates. But immigration into both countries has recently been even higher than it is here. Between 2000 and 2005 net immigration averaged 500,000 a year in Spain and 350,000 a year in Italy. As a result the populations of both are now expected to level peg, but this will not stop them ageing dramatically. By 2050, a third of all Italians are expected to be pensioners.
Around the world, by mid-century the UN reckons that there will be over a billion more Asians, just under a billion more Africans, 200 million more Latin Americans, 130 million more North Americans – and some 40 million fewer Europeans. [rc]
The Power of Numbers –
Why Europe Needs to Get Younger
By Richard Ehrman
Published by Policy Exchange and the
University of Buckingham Press.
Price £12.99
© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden
LONDON, England / The First Post / July 10, 2009
Old man Europe must find a way to keep up
with the younger populations of Asia, Africa
& America
By Richard Ehrman
FIRST POSTED JULY 8, 2009
Perhaps it is because we are so preoccupied with climate change that we pay so little attention to another form of change – this time demographic – which is also creeping up on us. Already, Europe's people are older than any other continent's and its fertility rate, at 1.5 children per woman, is way below replacement level. Across the continent deaths outnumber births. At the same time life expectancy is increasing, so much so that 19 out of the world's 20 oldest countries, in terms of population age, are European:
• In 1950 there were 5.5 million people aged over 65 in Britain. Now there are more than 10 million, and in twenty five years time there will be over 15 million. But the number of people of working age, who will have to support them, is likely to stay roughly the same at a little over 40 million.
• The British birth rate has been below replacement level since the mid-1970s, yet our population is not just growing but rocketing. By 2030 it is projected to increase by 10 million to over 70 million. By 2050 it is projected to reach 75 million
• This is mainly because net immigration into this country over the last decade has been running at 200,000 a year, sometimes even more. Allowing for the 200,000 people who also leave the country annually, we have recently been taking up to half-a-million migrants a year – the highest in our history.
• Without immigration, the population would rise to just 64 million by 2030, mainly as a result of people living longer, before slowly declining. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe the big worry is what will happen when populations fall.
• The Russian population is already dropping at the rate of 10,000 a week, thanks to a very low birth rate and reduced life expectancy after the collapse of Communism. In 2000 there were 148 million Russians, by 2050 this is projected to fall to 116 million.
• In Germany they live longer, but a birth rate of just 1.4 children per woman and comparatively low immigration means their population is also projected to fall - by 12 million between now and mid-century.
• Countries with very low birth rates and emigration, rather than immigration, will shrink even faster. By 2050 Bulgaria is projected to lose 30 per cent of its population, Ukraine and Belarus nearly 25 per cent apiece, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Romania roughly 20 per cent each, Croatia 15 per cent and Hungary 10 per cent.
• It had been thought that Italy and Spain would also shrink because of their very low birth rates. But immigration into both countries has recently been even higher than it is here. Between 2000 and 2005 net immigration averaged 500,000 a year in Spain and 350,000 a year in Italy. As a result the populations of both are now expected to level peg, but this will not stop them ageing dramatically. By 2050, a third of all Italians are expected to be pensioners.
Around the world, by mid-century the UN reckons that there will be over a billion more Asians, just under a billion more Africans, 200 million more Latin Americans, 130 million more North Americans – and some 40 million fewer Europeans. [rc]
The Power of Numbers –
Why Europe Needs to Get Younger
By Richard Ehrman
Published by Policy Exchange and the
University of Buckingham Press.
Price £12.99
© Copyright Dennis Publishing Limited licensed by Felden
UK: 'I'm blessed with a certain amnesia,' says Leonard Cohen
.
LONDON, England / The Guardian / Culture / Music / July 10, 2009
After his comeback to performing and Hallelujah's unlikely chart domination, Leonard Cohen has had a remarkable year. He talks to Jian Ghomeshi about love, death and taking risks
By Jian Ghomeshi
Leonard Cohen performs at the Manchester Opera House. Photograph: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage
What have you learned from being back on stage?
Leonard Cohen: I learned that it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I've been grateful that it's going well. You can't ever guarantee that it's going to continue doing well, because there's a component that you really don't command.
What component is that?
LC: Some sort of grace, some sort of luck. It's hard to put your finger on it - you don't really want to put your finger on it. But there is that mysterious component that makes for a memorable evening. You never really know whether you're going to be able to be the person you want to be or that the audience is going to be hospitable to the person that they perceive. So there's so many unknowns and so many mysteries connected - even when you've brought the show to a certain degree of excellence.
In 2001, you said to the Observer that you were at a stage of your life you refer to as the third act. You quoted Tennessee Williams saying: "Life is a fairly well-written play except for the third act." You were 67 when you said that, you're 74 now - does that ring more or less true for you still?
LC: Well, it's well written, the beginning of the third act seems to be very well written. But the end of the third act, of course, is when the hero dies. My friend Irving Layton said about death: it's not death that he's worried about, it's the preliminaries.
Are you worried about the preliminaries?
LC: Sure, every person ought to be.
Let me come back to the beginning of the first act. This was a brand new career for you that started in your 30s. How fearful were you of starting a second career?
LC: I've been generally fearful about everything, so this just fits in with the general sense of anxiety that I always experienced in my early life. When you say I had a career as a writer or a poet, that hardly begins to describe the modesty of the enterprise in Canada at that time - an edition of 200 was considered a bestseller in poems. At a certain point I realised that I'm going to have to buckle down and make a living. I'd written a couple of novels, and they'd been well received, but they'd sold about 3,000 copies. So I really had to do something, and the other thing I knew how to do was play guitar. So I was on my way down to Nashville - I thought maybe I could get a job. I love country music, maybe I'd get a job playing guitar. When I hit New York, I bumped into what later was called the folk-song renaissance. There were people like Dylan and Judy Collins and Joan Baez. And I hadn't heard their work. So that touched me very much. I'd always been writing little songs myself, too, but I never thought there was any marketplace for them.
Some people would think it's ironic to go into music to make money, given that it's not necessarily the most lucrative of professions for most artists.
LC: Yeah, I know. In hindsight it seems to be the height of folly. You had to resolve your economic crisis by becoming a folk singer. And I had not much of a voice. I didn't play that great guitar either. I don't know how these things happen in life - luck has so much to do with success and failure.
People talk about the fact that you've written songs that you've almost grown into as you get older. How did starting a career in your 30s inform what you were writing?
LC: I always had a notion that I had a tiny garden to cultivate. I never thought I was really one of the big guys. And so the work that was in front of me was just to cultivate this tiny corner of the field that I thought I knew something about, which was something to do with self-investigation without self-indulgence. Just pure confession I never felt was really interesting. But confession filtered through a tradition of skill and hard work is interesting to me. So that was my tiny corner, and I just started writing about the things that I thought I knew about or wanted to find out about. That was how it began. I wanted the songs to sound like everybody else's songs.
You say you've always been fearful of everything. When did you give yourself permission to think of yourself as, and call yourself, a legitimate singer and musician?
LC: You cycle through these feelings of anxiety and confidence. If something goes well in one's life, one feels the benefits of the success. When something doesn't go well, one feels remorse. So those activities persist in one's life right to this moment.
Have the women in your life been a source of your strength or weakness?
LC: Good question. It's not a level playing ground for either of us, for either the man or the woman. This is the most challenging activity that humans get into, which is love. You know, where we have the sense that we can't live without love. That life has very little meaning without love. So we're invited into this arena which is a very dangerous arena, where the possibilities of humiliation and failure are ample. So there's no fixed lesson that one can learn, because the heart is always opening and closing, it's always softening and hardening. We're always experiencing joy or sadness. But there are lots of people who've closed down. And there are times in one's life when one has to close down just to regroup.
Are there times when you've lamented the power that women have had over you?
LC: I never looked at it that way. There's times when I've lamented, there's times when I've rejoiced, there's times when I've been deeply indifferent. You run through the whole gamut of experience. And most people have a woman in their heart, most men have a woman in their heart and most women have a man in their heart. There are people that don't. But most of us cherish some sort of dream of surrender. But these are dreams and sometimes they're defeated and sometimes they're manifested.
Do you think love is empowering?
LC: It's a ferocious activity, where you experience defeat and you experience acceptance and you experience exultation. And the affixed idea about it will definitely cause you a great deal of suffering. If you have the feeling that it's going to be an easy ride, you're going to be disappointed. If you have a feeling that it's going to be hell all the way, you may be surprised.
Do you regret not having a lifelong partner?
LC: Non, je ne regrette rien. I'm blessed with a certain amount of amnesia and I really don't remember what went down. I don't review my life that way.
Even in the face of a very successful record that you made in 1992, The Future, do you think dealing with depression was an important part of your creative process?
LC: Well, it was a part of every process. The central activity of my days and nights was dealing with a prevailing sense of anxiety, anguish, distress. A background of anguish that prevailed.
How important was writing to your survival?
LC: It had a number of benefits. One was economic. It was not a luxury for me to write - it was a necessity. These times are very difficult to write in because the slogans are really jamming the airwaves - it's something that goes beyond what has been called political correctness. It's a kind of tyranny of posture. Those ideas are swarming through the air like locusts. And it's difficult for the writer to determine what he really thinks about things. So in my own case I have to write the verse, and then see if it's a slogan or not and then toss it. But I can't toss it until I've worked on it and seen what it really is.
What do you consider your darkest hour?
LC: Well I wouldn't tell you about it if I knew. Even to talk about oneself in a time like this is a kind of unwholesome luxury. I don't think I've had a darkest hour compared to the dark hours that so many people are involved in right now. Large numbers of people are dodging bombs, having their nails pulled out in dungeons, facing starvation, disease. I mean large numbers of people. So I think that we've really got to be circumspect about how seriously we take our own anxieties today.
How much do you reflect upon your own mortality?
LC: You get a sense of it, you know - the body sends a number of messages to you as you get older. So I don't know if it's a matter of reflection, I don't know that implies a kind of peaceful recognition of the situation.
Is there a way to prepare for death?
LC: Like with anything else, there's a certain degree of free will. You put in your best efforts to prepare for anything. There are whole religious and spiritual methodologies that invite you to prepare for death. And you can embark upon them and embrace them and give themselves to you. But I don't think there's any guarantee this could work, because nobody knows what's going to happen in the next moment.
Are you fearful of death?
LC: Everyone has to have a certain amount of anxiety about the conditions of one's death. The actual circumstances, the pain involved, the affect on your heirs. But there's so little that you can do about it. It's best to relegate those concerns to the appropriate compartments of the mind and not let them inform all your activities. We've got to live our lives as if they're not going to end immediately. So we have to live under those - some people might call them illusions.
Let me ask you about Hallelujah, because it's been an interesting year for Hallelujah - it took on a new energy. A song that you wrote in 1984, and it appeared at No 1 and No 2 on the UK charts, and your version was also in the top 40. What did you make of that?
LC: I was happy that the song was being used, of course. There were certain ironic and amusing sidebars, because the record that it came from which was called Various Positions - [a] record Sony wouldn't put out. They didn't think it was good enough. It had songs like Dancing to the End of Love, Hallelujah, If It Be Your Will. So there was a mild sense of revenge that arose in my heart. But I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it, and the reviewer said "Can we please have a moratorium on Hallelujah in movies and television shows?" And I kind of feel the same way. I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it.[rc]
• This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted for the Canadian broadcaster CBC. Leonard Cohen plays Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, tomorrow, and the Liverpool Arena on Tuesday. Leonard Cohen Live in London is out now on CD and DVD (Sony).
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
LONDON, England / The Guardian / Culture / Music / July 10, 2009
After his comeback to performing and Hallelujah's unlikely chart domination, Leonard Cohen has had a remarkable year. He talks to Jian Ghomeshi about love, death and taking risks
By Jian Ghomeshi
Leonard Cohen performs at the Manchester Opera House. Photograph: Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage
What have you learned from being back on stage?
Leonard Cohen: I learned that it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. I've been grateful that it's going well. You can't ever guarantee that it's going to continue doing well, because there's a component that you really don't command.
What component is that?
LC: Some sort of grace, some sort of luck. It's hard to put your finger on it - you don't really want to put your finger on it. But there is that mysterious component that makes for a memorable evening. You never really know whether you're going to be able to be the person you want to be or that the audience is going to be hospitable to the person that they perceive. So there's so many unknowns and so many mysteries connected - even when you've brought the show to a certain degree of excellence.
In 2001, you said to the Observer that you were at a stage of your life you refer to as the third act. You quoted Tennessee Williams saying: "Life is a fairly well-written play except for the third act." You were 67 when you said that, you're 74 now - does that ring more or less true for you still?
LC: Well, it's well written, the beginning of the third act seems to be very well written. But the end of the third act, of course, is when the hero dies. My friend Irving Layton said about death: it's not death that he's worried about, it's the preliminaries.
Are you worried about the preliminaries?
LC: Sure, every person ought to be.
Let me come back to the beginning of the first act. This was a brand new career for you that started in your 30s. How fearful were you of starting a second career?
LC: I've been generally fearful about everything, so this just fits in with the general sense of anxiety that I always experienced in my early life. When you say I had a career as a writer or a poet, that hardly begins to describe the modesty of the enterprise in Canada at that time - an edition of 200 was considered a bestseller in poems. At a certain point I realised that I'm going to have to buckle down and make a living. I'd written a couple of novels, and they'd been well received, but they'd sold about 3,000 copies. So I really had to do something, and the other thing I knew how to do was play guitar. So I was on my way down to Nashville - I thought maybe I could get a job. I love country music, maybe I'd get a job playing guitar. When I hit New York, I bumped into what later was called the folk-song renaissance. There were people like Dylan and Judy Collins and Joan Baez. And I hadn't heard their work. So that touched me very much. I'd always been writing little songs myself, too, but I never thought there was any marketplace for them.
Some people would think it's ironic to go into music to make money, given that it's not necessarily the most lucrative of professions for most artists.
LC: Yeah, I know. In hindsight it seems to be the height of folly. You had to resolve your economic crisis by becoming a folk singer. And I had not much of a voice. I didn't play that great guitar either. I don't know how these things happen in life - luck has so much to do with success and failure.
People talk about the fact that you've written songs that you've almost grown into as you get older. How did starting a career in your 30s inform what you were writing?
LC: I always had a notion that I had a tiny garden to cultivate. I never thought I was really one of the big guys. And so the work that was in front of me was just to cultivate this tiny corner of the field that I thought I knew something about, which was something to do with self-investigation without self-indulgence. Just pure confession I never felt was really interesting. But confession filtered through a tradition of skill and hard work is interesting to me. So that was my tiny corner, and I just started writing about the things that I thought I knew about or wanted to find out about. That was how it began. I wanted the songs to sound like everybody else's songs.
You say you've always been fearful of everything. When did you give yourself permission to think of yourself as, and call yourself, a legitimate singer and musician?
LC: You cycle through these feelings of anxiety and confidence. If something goes well in one's life, one feels the benefits of the success. When something doesn't go well, one feels remorse. So those activities persist in one's life right to this moment.
Have the women in your life been a source of your strength or weakness?
LC: Good question. It's not a level playing ground for either of us, for either the man or the woman. This is the most challenging activity that humans get into, which is love. You know, where we have the sense that we can't live without love. That life has very little meaning without love. So we're invited into this arena which is a very dangerous arena, where the possibilities of humiliation and failure are ample. So there's no fixed lesson that one can learn, because the heart is always opening and closing, it's always softening and hardening. We're always experiencing joy or sadness. But there are lots of people who've closed down. And there are times in one's life when one has to close down just to regroup.
Are there times when you've lamented the power that women have had over you?
LC: I never looked at it that way. There's times when I've lamented, there's times when I've rejoiced, there's times when I've been deeply indifferent. You run through the whole gamut of experience. And most people have a woman in their heart, most men have a woman in their heart and most women have a man in their heart. There are people that don't. But most of us cherish some sort of dream of surrender. But these are dreams and sometimes they're defeated and sometimes they're manifested.
Do you think love is empowering?
LC: It's a ferocious activity, where you experience defeat and you experience acceptance and you experience exultation. And the affixed idea about it will definitely cause you a great deal of suffering. If you have the feeling that it's going to be an easy ride, you're going to be disappointed. If you have a feeling that it's going to be hell all the way, you may be surprised.
Do you regret not having a lifelong partner?
LC: Non, je ne regrette rien. I'm blessed with a certain amount of amnesia and I really don't remember what went down. I don't review my life that way.
Even in the face of a very successful record that you made in 1992, The Future, do you think dealing with depression was an important part of your creative process?
LC: Well, it was a part of every process. The central activity of my days and nights was dealing with a prevailing sense of anxiety, anguish, distress. A background of anguish that prevailed.
How important was writing to your survival?
LC: It had a number of benefits. One was economic. It was not a luxury for me to write - it was a necessity. These times are very difficult to write in because the slogans are really jamming the airwaves - it's something that goes beyond what has been called political correctness. It's a kind of tyranny of posture. Those ideas are swarming through the air like locusts. And it's difficult for the writer to determine what he really thinks about things. So in my own case I have to write the verse, and then see if it's a slogan or not and then toss it. But I can't toss it until I've worked on it and seen what it really is.
What do you consider your darkest hour?
LC: Well I wouldn't tell you about it if I knew. Even to talk about oneself in a time like this is a kind of unwholesome luxury. I don't think I've had a darkest hour compared to the dark hours that so many people are involved in right now. Large numbers of people are dodging bombs, having their nails pulled out in dungeons, facing starvation, disease. I mean large numbers of people. So I think that we've really got to be circumspect about how seriously we take our own anxieties today.
How much do you reflect upon your own mortality?
LC: You get a sense of it, you know - the body sends a number of messages to you as you get older. So I don't know if it's a matter of reflection, I don't know that implies a kind of peaceful recognition of the situation.
Is there a way to prepare for death?
LC: Like with anything else, there's a certain degree of free will. You put in your best efforts to prepare for anything. There are whole religious and spiritual methodologies that invite you to prepare for death. And you can embark upon them and embrace them and give themselves to you. But I don't think there's any guarantee this could work, because nobody knows what's going to happen in the next moment.
Are you fearful of death?
LC: Everyone has to have a certain amount of anxiety about the conditions of one's death. The actual circumstances, the pain involved, the affect on your heirs. But there's so little that you can do about it. It's best to relegate those concerns to the appropriate compartments of the mind and not let them inform all your activities. We've got to live our lives as if they're not going to end immediately. So we have to live under those - some people might call them illusions.
Let me ask you about Hallelujah, because it's been an interesting year for Hallelujah - it took on a new energy. A song that you wrote in 1984, and it appeared at No 1 and No 2 on the UK charts, and your version was also in the top 40. What did you make of that?
LC: I was happy that the song was being used, of course. There were certain ironic and amusing sidebars, because the record that it came from which was called Various Positions - [a] record Sony wouldn't put out. They didn't think it was good enough. It had songs like Dancing to the End of Love, Hallelujah, If It Be Your Will. So there was a mild sense of revenge that arose in my heart. But I was just reading a review of a movie called Watchmen that uses it, and the reviewer said "Can we please have a moratorium on Hallelujah in movies and television shows?" And I kind of feel the same way. I think it's a good song, but I think too many people sing it.[rc]
• This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted for the Canadian broadcaster CBC. Leonard Cohen plays Mercedes Benz World in Weybridge, Surrey, tomorrow, and the Liverpool Arena on Tuesday. Leonard Cohen Live in London is out now on CD and DVD (Sony).
© Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
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