A woman came into my store and asked, "Do you have a senior discount?" I politely told her that we did not and offered her our rewards program. She left the counter and I did not pay it another thought for the rest of the day. Later that night, I remembered her question and wondered to myself about the tendency for our more, er, mature members of society to want to save money every chance they get. Sure, it is a wonderful thing to save money, but to openly ask for discounts? That would never cross my mind.
Why should seniors feel entitled to pay less than you or me just because they have lived more years? Aren't they lucky for having lived so many years when the rest of us have no idea how many we have left? Being cheap has long been a commonly recognized trait of seniors. Why is this the case? One reason could be that many who are in their 70's or older have lived through the Great Depression. Learning from a young age how to get by with practically nothing will leave a deep-seeded sense of never having enough. They are always looking to save as much as possible, never knowing when the economy will go bad.
Gregg Easterbrook, in his book The Progress Paradox, makes the case that things are better now than ever before because incomes have risen so dramatically while the real price of goods has fallen sharply. When seniors were younger this was not the case and the type of comfortable, luxurious lifestyle that even the middle class so commonly enjoy these days was only attainable through extreme hard work and severe spendthrifty behavior. Even once life is comfortable with fewer expenses, the feeling that nice things can only be attained while scrimping for every penny possible never subsides.
Older people also tend to be far more cranky than your average younger person. Why is this? I have three explanations. First, with so few years left to live, seniors feel a pressing need to get everything as fast and as easy as possible so as to continue living their lives the way they want instead of wasting time doing such things as waiting in lines and being civil. Second, their life has been difficult having lived through such difficult events as the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Too much exposure to difficult times tends to make one angry and embittered. Lastly, it is difficult for most seniors to navigate the strange new world of technology and global commerce. It is frustrating to have to live in a world you do not understand among other people with whom you cannot relate.
Are these tendencies something that comes naturally as you advance in years or are they a result of the time during which they lived? Will things be differently for the younger when they get older? Currently it is probably a combination of both. Certainly there are things that will be common with many future generations of oldsters. Frugality will arise where there is a drop in steady income, even if there is ample money saved in retirement accounts. Crankiness will ensue as they feel the clock ticking more and more loudly. As for the gawd awful combinations of clothes? Well, considering the dress habits of young people these days, I would bet that would continue long into the future.
I would surmise that many of the traits exhibited by the current generation of the elderly, and joked about by the young, are simply more pronounced as a result of the aforementioned events which transpired during their lifetimes. They are crankier, more frugal, and poorer dressers than future generations are likely to be. Yet we can expect to be the same way someday. Then, we will have to hear the whispers and joking behind our backs as the young whippersnapper punk kids make fun. Just as soon as we turn up our hearing aids.
Why should seniors feel entitled to pay less than you or me just because they have lived more years? Aren't they lucky for having lived so many years when the rest of us have no idea how many we have left? Being cheap has long been a commonly recognized trait of seniors. Why is this the case? One reason could be that many who are in their 70's or older have lived through the Great Depression. Learning from a young age how to get by with practically nothing will leave a deep-seeded sense of never having enough. They are always looking to save as much as possible, never knowing when the economy will go bad.
Gregg Easterbrook, in his book The Progress Paradox, makes the case that things are better now than ever before because incomes have risen so dramatically while the real price of goods has fallen sharply. When seniors were younger this was not the case and the type of comfortable, luxurious lifestyle that even the middle class so commonly enjoy these days was only attainable through extreme hard work and severe spendthrifty behavior. Even once life is comfortable with fewer expenses, the feeling that nice things can only be attained while scrimping for every penny possible never subsides.
Older people also tend to be far more cranky than your average younger person. Why is this? I have three explanations. First, with so few years left to live, seniors feel a pressing need to get everything as fast and as easy as possible so as to continue living their lives the way they want instead of wasting time doing such things as waiting in lines and being civil. Second, their life has been difficult having lived through such difficult events as the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Too much exposure to difficult times tends to make one angry and embittered. Lastly, it is difficult for most seniors to navigate the strange new world of technology and global commerce. It is frustrating to have to live in a world you do not understand among other people with whom you cannot relate.
Are these tendencies something that comes naturally as you advance in years or are they a result of the time during which they lived? Will things be differently for the younger when they get older? Currently it is probably a combination of both. Certainly there are things that will be common with many future generations of oldsters. Frugality will arise where there is a drop in steady income, even if there is ample money saved in retirement accounts. Crankiness will ensue as they feel the clock ticking more and more loudly. As for the gawd awful combinations of clothes? Well, considering the dress habits of young people these days, I would bet that would continue long into the future.
I would surmise that many of the traits exhibited by the current generation of the elderly, and joked about by the young, are simply more pronounced as a result of the aforementioned events which transpired during their lifetimes. They are crankier, more frugal, and poorer dressers than future generations are likely to be. Yet we can expect to be the same way someday. Then, we will have to hear the whispers and joking behind our backs as the young whippersnapper punk kids make fun. Just as soon as we turn up our hearing aids.
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