GIVE ME A BREAK INDEED!

John Stossel, ABC News reporter and erstwhile host of 20/20, has made a career out of rubbing people the wrong way and saying the unpopular thing--and a successful career it has been, too. I wonder what he would say if his bosses said to him, "John, we don't want the myths debunked anymore. Be more politically correct." Would he say his famous by-line, "Give me a break?" And would he perfectly OK if they fired him for doing what he does best?

I ask because last Friday, on what was a rather good episode of 20/20--I don't blame those elephants for going crazy at all!--he ended the show on a sourest of sour notes--defending companies that fire people above a certain age just because they can--not because of poor job performance or because their age matters to the work, but because they want someone younger, someone they can pay less and boss around more. Clearly, as long as John has a following, ABC will hold onto him, but it would be perfectly alright if they did fire him--or so he says. He believes that companies should be able to do whatever they want in terms of hiring and firing and if they want younger or prettier men and women, then they should have the right to terminate anyone who doesn't fit the bill. Thus DJs above a certain age--who are known for voice alone and were still doing pop music--were able to be fired, and Stossel ridiculed the lawyer who argued it was unfair and inappropriate. An advertising executive who turned 50--out, so they could hire a younger edition. Stossel felt that laws against age discrimination unfairly tie the hands of employers and hamper creative business practice.

Well, John, I guess you've learned nothing with age and maturity. I guess you're no more subtle or sophisticated or patient. You have exactly as much energy as you did in your 20s and you don't have any fear of losing your income and insurance--probably because you've been overpaid for so many years that by now you're set for life. I'm sure you'd be perfectly happy to be robbed of your retirement and your pension, thrown out just before you're vested, and that you'd be happy to have to work for lower pay, perhaps not even in your chosen and proven profession. If you have college-aged kids, it wouldn't bother you at all to explain why their plans for the education you promised them are shot. As long as businessmen get to do what they want, who has any moral obligation to take care of people who've lived up to their end of the bargain? Why should anyone have an expectation to reap the hard-won rewards they've depended on for later years when they maybe really aren't able to work?

John Stossel may be good at playing Devil's Advocate, and his rants are certainly good fodder for discussion. But only when one is in a secure position can one afford such smugness. When you've been in the shoes of the discarded, the underpaid and under appreciated, then such comments do rankle and seem to condone the rather poor behavior our society has displayed in recent years. This country has long undervalued its senior citizens, but now it's starting to discard its middle-aged workers as well. Jobs that folks spent years training for, requiring expensive advanced degrees, are now being offered to kids with little experience or training, just to save the bucks. This means not only that more qualified and experienced folks are out of work--and with little chance of obtaining equal positions--but that the quality of the product or service is bound to be reduced merely by the basic lack of experience that comes with time. It is a fact--with age comes experience and experience does help. Granted, it is not the be-all-and-end-all, and I'm not implying that there's no talent among the youth. And I would love to have the energy I had 30 years ago, when I felt indestructible. But there is no worse feeling than spending years to train, hone and develop your craft, only to have it taken away from you, not for anything you've done wrong, but because someone younger and cheaper is available.

So good luck, John, at staying at the top. Maybe you should keep an eye peeled over your shoulder, just in case.

Give me a break, indeed!