Dear Pat,
The Grey Badger wrote:
> Fact check about the French retirement rate. The "They retire at
> 60, poor widdle fingies" meme that's been blatted all over Fox
> News etc is apparently not the age of full retirement. That's 65
> like everybody else and is about to go up to 67, like everybody
> else. 60 is the age of early retirement-and-take-a-loss, just like
> us. And early retirement is usually used for people with medical
> conditions, intolerable bosses, or those who have been forced out
> of the work force by people like my own unlamented Boomer
> "Get-Rid-Of-The-Deadwood" ex-boss.
Fox News??? I actually don't listen to Fox news all that much, but
when I do these days, they're consumed with the coming election and
the expected Republican victory, like all the rest of the U.S.
mainstream media.
I really have to laugh, Pat. I'm thinking of Jimmy Carter this past
week on CNN blaming all the world's troubles on Fox News. I guess
you're in that camp, Pat, but it just makes me roll my eyes.
At any rate, on the French retirement issue, I get almost all my
information from international mainstream media sources. In this
case, I heard quite a few BBC interviews with French union members
whining because it's so unfair that they can't retire at 60.
I've criticized the BBC in the past for being so anti-American,
but this year they seem to have changed, still anti-American at
times, but anti-everyone else at other times.
As for NPR, in many ways they're the worst of all. They're way on the
left, but it's all damped down with such a heavy layer of gooey
political correctness that they rarely say anything at all.
You really should consider switching to the BBC. You'll feel
generally at home there, but at least they won't treat you like an
idiot as NPR does.
The Grey Badger wrote:
> Pat, who managed to hang in there in the teeth of the
> fire-all-the-seniors boss. Just barely.
I hear you sister. It's an unbelievably bitchy world for anyone
over 60.
John