I attended a college graduation party for a friend of the family a few weeks back. Late May evenings can be mischievous, weather-wise, and it began to rain as soon as guests arrived. The event was staged to take place in a backyard but people, food, gifts and pets were quickly ushered in. I ended up having a great time, but later in the evening, as we made our way to our cars, I heard a group of men and women in their early 60s complaining about the rain.
This took me by surprise. Had these people more than twice my age never seen rain on a late Spring evening? Apparently not: I overheard one individual on a cell phone, dourly, responding to a query as to how the party was. "It rained," he said. "what do you mean, 'how was it?'"
I distinctly remember this person sipping scotch and having some laughs during the party, but yet all he could focus on was the rain. Life is full of negative experiences, but within them are opportunities to find some positive takeaway, if we really feel like looking. Nothing is entirely negative.
I am reminded of this as the debate over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) draws to a close. I have had many discussions with Boomers, Millennials and those in between who disagree with the legislation. Comparatively, Boomers are not able see the legislation as more than a magnum opus being conducted by the long arm of the government. While those who belong to younger generations, though just as ardent in their opposition, are more nimble and able to extract valuable provisions that they would be glad to see enacted if they were not part of a huge law that they are opposed to.
One of those provisions is the requirement that plans that offer dependent coverage make that coverage available to dependents up to age 26.
The Economic Policy Institute found that the unemployment rate for high school graduates was 31.1 percent over the last year (April 2011- March 2012) and for college graduates over the same period of time, 19.1 percent.
