Anna Quindlen to boomers - quit clogging the promotion pipeline

I'm a big Anna Quindlen fan, and have enjoyed her columns in Newsweek for the past nine years. In the current issue, however, I was bummed to read that she is quitting that gig. I was more bummed, however, by her reasoning. She feels that we boomers are clogging up the working world and need to get out of the way to make room for the next generation.

I feel her reasoning is flawed in several ways. First is her assumption that the work/retirement progression of our parents is the proper road map for the boomer generation; graduate from college, work 40 years, retire for 15 and die.

I just don't think this is valid. Medical advancements will keep the boomer generation healthier later in life, and the nature of our work is considerably less demanding than that of many of our parents. There is no physical need for many of us to retire at 62 if we don't so choose. And people leaving college today could well live to be 100 or more. With a work career of 70 or 80 years ahead, what's the rush?