7400:441/541-001 Family Relationships: Middle & Later Years
Instructor: Prof. David Witt

Part IV - Transitions at Work & at Home in Early Old Age

After a lifetime of work many Americans begin to think about retirement - often too late to actually prepare for the event financially, especially with a volatile economy at work nibbling away at savings. Preparation for leaving work not only includes financial planning (something Americans are woefully uneducated about), but also entails "psychic" planning, a change in identity and social status, and behavioral changes as well.

President Lyndon Johnson, after several decades of public service, in congress and ultimately as chief executive of the U.S., retired from office in 1968. As the story goes, LBJ was unable to adjust very well to life as an ordinary citizen. As president, he was responsible for more social legislation than any other president to date, even surpassing the work of FDR in terms of legislating fairness to the disenfranchised. He also escalated the war in Viet Nam to historically destructive levels. LBJ was at the center of virtually every social and political firestorm that occurred during his time in office. Retiring to the ranch in Johnsonville, LBJ would arise early and assemble the ranch hands, housekeepers, and other service folk to assign duties, get progress reports, and plan for the day's activities. He behaved almost exactly as he did while in office, issuing orders and taking reports under advisement, just as he did in the White House. He died in August 1973.

This is often the case with many Americans, especially men, who fail to transition between the work that has defined them for so many years, and a new life of other activities and concerns. Why is this such a difficult time?

Your text briefly (too briefly, perhaps) mentions the idea of the "liberal work ethic" as a partial culprit for our failure to leave the world of work and earning. This concept deserves some definition, so here goes.
An "ethic" is simply a belief that guides our behavior and thinking. The term encompasses right conduct and good living. Thus, a "work ethic" would mean that earning and doing productive work is the way people should live. The rule guides not only individual choices in behavior and action, but also guides public thinking, political policy generation, and even the passage of laws to govern society.

Americans think themselves to be fiercely pragmatic and practical. Pragmatism is, perhaps, the only uniquely American philosophy. Ideas that do not have a practical, productive use. Work, then, is a pragmatic idea that has enormous value. Retirement, on the other hand, violates the idea of work unless the retiree has earned enough on their own to fund their life. This means, that entitlements, such as any policy that could be deemed social welfare, is not pragmatic and voilates the work ethic. The text sums it up - "U.S. policy makers and voters alike maintain a ... convenient fiction that poverty is not an economic misfortune but a moral failure" on the part of the poor.

In practical terms, this actually means that anyone, regardless of their circumstances, that cannot live independently and without financial assistance, has serious peroanal shortcomings - a moral deficit of resources. This kind of thinking has driven the U.S. Old-Age Policy engine, dividing "entitlements" into two distinct groups of services: Social Insurance that workers can purchase through regular contributions to retirement in the future, and Social Assistance that only goes to the very poorest among us. Those who ask for social assistance have to also take the status of one who has demonstrated that they lack the requisite "right stuff" in terms of moral fiber.

Like any social norm, support for adherence cannot come from policy makers alone, but has to be supported in a socially integrated way - there has to be institutionalization of the norm/value. Thus, not only does the government base policy on these values (the social security administration for example), so does the educational institution (you pay for the education you receive - you actually buy it), the economy (you earn with you deserve - market forces keep your wages in line with your talents and service), and even religion.

For its part, religion is a player in support of the work ethic.If you work hard, and obey God, you will get what you deserve. If you don't work hard, then what you get is bupkis (i.e., nothing, zero). Max Weber pointed this out early in the history of social science with his treatise "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism". He noted that prior to the first reformation of the church (beginning in the 1600s), the church was the sole perveyor of righteousness, determining salvation or damnation through its authority. One of the outcomes of the reformation was the rise of Protestantism, which effectively fractured the Catholic church's stronghold on faith into several pieces, some of which came to be termed protestantism (most notably Calvinist, Presbyterian, Lutheran branches).

With doubt cast on church leaders' abilities to determine redemption, people bound to find other signs that they were living a life that would lead to acceptance into heaven. One strong indication of a righteous life would be success in business - capitalism. Thus, the most successfull would be lead to see their way into heaven guaranteed if they could show continued progress toward the amassing of wealth. For these thinkers, wealth did not mean an opulent or wasteful life, but one of asceticism

Since this idea of plowing profits back into a business enterprise fit perfectly into a growing belief in the principles of capitalism, these highly compatible religious and the economic ideals became married (this is all happening during the 1700-1800s). Coupled with the industrial revolution at the end of the 19th century, and the exploration of new worlds for purposes of mining natural resources, the stage was set for a social revolution involving rewarding those who work the hardest. Of course, the definition of hard work was maintained and modified by those who were the most successful in their fields of work.

The hard working become the rich sooner or later, and the gatekeepers of economic and financial success. With the rise of the middle class comes distinct social class systems. The rich make the rules, so the story goes, and the rules always favor the rich. This kind of circular reasoning is self-serving and difficult to dismantle, though many have tried to do so with logic, science, and persuasion.

What does this all have to do with retirement and life after moving away from the world of work?
It means that, with the deck stacked against them, most people will not likely be allowed to retire without suffering severe social and financial losses.
Anyone who has made the financial blunder of giving to family members that which they needed to conserve for their own use in later life are prone to fall into or near poverty by the time they get old. Anyone who suffers the costs of maintaining a difficult child, or a family member with severe health or physical problems, is likely going to have to work longer before stopping. Women whoo place their own participation in the paid labor force behind the more immediate needs of their families will be in trouble.

The issue of race gets quickly becomes problematic in discussions of work and reward. Only the most unaware or bigoted among us would deny the existence of racism in social policy. Simply to deny that racism exists allows the policy maker to be free to think in work ethic terms exclusively. Issues about opportunity that occur prior to outcomes at the end of life are often not included in "entitlement" discussions or policy-making. In practical terms, racism is a factor in our thinking about the future.

We’ve discussed caring for our aging parents as their adult children. Aside from the sheer emotional stance that it is our duty, what are some real concerns you can see in providing care for them. Include not only the financial aspects of their care, but the toll such caregiving can take on the adult child’s life (one’s own family life, parenting, marriage, and retirement).

Feelings of mastery and psychological well-being are as important to people in late life as any other time in life. Often, mastery and psychological well-being becomes dependent on the assistance that is available from others. With later life characterized by a myriad of health declines (in visual acuity, physical strength, reaction time, memory, and so on) each of which can do damage to one’s sense of mastery and well-being, what are some practical exercises that can help maintain self-esteem and a feeling of capability. Think back to your 2^nd exam question about identity, why is it important to nurture family relationships now, while still young.