The Discrimination You Cannot Avoid

Originally Posted by MichaelRoss

That's right. There is a... form of discrimination...

I am talking about, what I call, AGE-ISM. The act of discriminating against someone based on their age, and making age an issue when it shouldn't be - and there is never a time when it should be.

People even discriminate against themselves. They reach a certain Age and figure they Now need to X - whatever X is and it could be Retire, settle down, stop playing the field, buy a home for security, whatever. But WHO says?

Michael Ross

I certainly agree with you on this topic. At the time I started my own home-based business, it wasn't even a issue at the time. But, now that I'm in my second half century, retirement looms as one of the BIG issues.

I decided to table the issue, and postpone any plans of voluntary retirement until my 97th birthday. If I'm still able to choose what I do in life at 97, I'll consider retiring then.

As an employee, the reasons for retirement are completely different, and also out of the hands of the employee. As a business owner, with no store or office outside my home, I truly determine which hours and days I work. I don't have a boss or supervisor to answer to, and haven't punched a clock in over 15 years.

My customer's will have the option of choosing to do business with someone younger, but that will occur one at a time, and many would prefer to continue with a known supplier with years of experience, rather that opting for an unknown source.

Whether I reach 97 remains to be seen. That birthday is only 42 1/2 years away for me, so check back here then to see if I'm posting my retirement notice.

In case my obituary is published before my 97th birthday, the retirement party will be cancelled.

Dennis Bevers