David Simmonds

It has been well-documented that the 20th century was America’s century. Or at least it has been since the end of WWII, about the time the first wave of boomers were born. We began the year 2000 as the lone super power with an economy that was the envy of the world. But there were cracks in the foundation and the past eight years have seen these cracks morph into rapidly expanding sinkholes. And there aren’t enough life-jackets to save everyone.

With a disasterous, unlawful war that is eating up $3 billion per week, our unfunded goverment obligations now total some $57.3 trillion, or about $500,000 per household. Now consider, the average household net worth is about $70,000. I’m no math genius, but how do you get the money to pay the bills? The typical American household is broke and in debt. Eventually, these numbers come home to roost and when it does America will not be the same place as it was when we grew up. Indeed, it is not now. Our country is in decline at the time that many of us are about to retire. Much of the world is catching up and there’s only so much to go around.

The oil producing countries, with the tacit approval of some in our government, have been orchestrating the largest transfer of wealth in the history of the world, from oil-users to oil-owners. At the start of the war a barrel of oil was $24.00, now it is heading towards $200.00. A gallon of gas will soon be $5.00. George Bush has just returned from Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly asked his old business friends for a price break. They told him to pound sand. Do you feel a shift in power here? Yeah, me too.

Let’s face it, most Americans are going to have to change their lifestyles and priorities in the next few years, if not right away. You better start making long term plans now. You can hunker down and hope for the best, or you can lift your head and look farther down the road, the road heading south, and find an area of Mexico that you think you might enjoy. Whatever money you have will go 30-100% farther in Mexico, depending on where you live and what your requirements are. Start your search now, or prepare for a life you had not imagined.

Yes, I believe that America will someday rebound from the pendulum swing. But it will take time, maybe a few decades, and some of us don’t have that much time left.

David Simmonds

There was a recent Wall Street Journal story describing the number of boomers who are now borrowing money to live day-to-day. The content of the story isn’t as suprising as that it was in the WSJ, a once-reliable publication now owned by far right-wing idiot, Rupert Murdoch. They usually don’t report bad news under GOP leadership.

The AARP study reveals that one in 10 middle-aged and older Americans are borrowing money to pay their bills and to help out family members who need financial help. With spiraling gas and food prices this is a trend that is sure to worsen. Virtually everyone around my age that I personally know is worse off than they have been for years, and I’m talking about mostly professionals with higher educations. And do you know what they are asking me? “Tell me more about moving to Mexico. We need to find a way to live well on the money we have left.” I live in San Diego, a pretty conservative town, and many of my friends vote Republican. But most of them are voting for Obama in November because they are seeing the results of three decades of policies that have benefitted corporate America instead of its citizens. But just as is took many years to get to where we are, it will take many more to fix the problems that got us here. And that’s why they ask about Mexico: they want to live well for less money…now.

So, I tell them what I know to be true. I tell them that they have bought all the toys, eaten at all the restaurants, taken the cruises and the Vegas runs, and look where they are. Those things were fun, but think back about your life. When were you truly the happiest? Usually they will admit to a time in life when they didn’t have the money to buy all the toys, take all the cruises. A time when contentment was a walk on the beach or the woods, a good conversation, changing diapers and quiet evenings with the family. And I tell them that that life can be recaptured, and I tell them about Mexico.

David Simmonds

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the United States has changed a lot in the past 30 years, and I’m not talking about the ubiquitous presence of everyman computers and super-sized cheeseburgers. I make no apologies for my feelings…I’m a boomer who grew up in a better time, and I don’t like what has happened. Quite simply, there has been a  covert war waged by the mega-corporate-class against We The People, and big business has won.

Maybe we can reverse course and return to being the country we were for 200 years, but it will take some time, decades, and people my age may not be around to see it happen. So we boomers need to figure out how to live our next 20 - 30 years in a way that we had envisioned, in an environment where a sense of community prevails, where a catastophic illness won’t bankrupt us, where our neighbors don’t live their lives in irrational fear of…whatever the government tells us is fearful. Yeah, we got hit by a criminal group of box-cutter weilding fanatics, but the way we have reacted as individuals, so unlike Pearl Harbor, has produced a society where we are now one or two more attacks away from martial law. Indeed, most Americans will demand it if that happens. They will agree to anything, including relinquishing their previously non-negotiable civil liberties, for the right to mindlessly stare at their TV’s every night, behind bolted doors, secure  and accepting of the new America. But it can’t happen here? Ha…don’t bet on it.

Back to what to do…where do you find a place to live the life you thought you would have before the disappearing pensions and unaffordable health care? I will be spending the next few months writing in this blog, explaining to anyone who will listen  what has happened in the United States and why moving to Mexico is your best option. There are probably other countries that would be as good, but Mexico is the place I know best. I have been traveling and sometimes living in Mexico for 40 years (I’m 58). I have seen pretty much the entire country, north to south, east to west. I know the challenges and the benefits of trying life south of the border. Keep checking in at this web site and pass it on to others who might benefit. And for those who will email me with accusations of being unpatriotic and a quitter, save the energy. I still vote, write to my representatives, and donate money to causes I support. And you should, too. I want my country, the U.S., to be  a better country than it has become. Choosing to live in Mexico does not mean relinquishing your duties as a citizen. It is an option to live a better life…it will take my kids’ generation (they are 13 and 9) to turn things around.