I’m approaching a milestone birthday, my 70th. This is a time for contemplation, satisfaction, and adjustment. I feel fortunate indeed.

For many years I’ve asked interns and honor students, “Has anyone told you this is the best time of your life?” They always respond, “Yes, everyone says that.”

I’ve always assured them that, unless struck by lightening or some functional equivalent, everyone is wrong. I predicted that their future is most likely to be even better than their present.

Most healthy, honest people with wholesome habits and a modicum of ambition could reasonably expect to live well. America generally rewarded these attributes. If their sector collapsed, they would find good alternatives.

Human capital, especially character, is always a scarce resource. That’s why good families are so important; they inculcate positive values.

There’s an important caveat to my optimistic projection of students’ futures. If they chose to work in an economic sector whose institutions distort wages upward, airlines and auto manufacturing for example, a reckoning will sometime come. Consider Butte and Detroit.

People generalize from personal experience. Hence, my prediction was biased by mine. And this increase in satisfaction is clearly true for me—and I believe most of my friends.

In general, for even moderately successful healthy individuals, satisfaction with life increased with age. The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reported: “Those who study happiness and contentment—not only psychologists but economists, sociologists, and biomedical scientists as well—should note that satisfaction with life changes with age for a great many people.” Tom W. Smith of the University of Chicago reported that: “In general, job satisfaction increases with age.”

I believe these findings are especially applicable in Bozeman, “fun hog central.” Ours is an especially attractive environment, one filled with wholesome recreational, cultural, and social service opportunities.

Alas, athletic abilities decline with age—and so should expectations. A recent Wall Street Journal article “Older, Wiser, Slower” had a clear message; exercise, while important to good health, isn’t the fountain of youth. As we age we must reduce our competitive urge. The alternative is tissue damage or even death.

I’ve accepted my limitations and rejoice in remaining abilities. Due to injuries, I can no longer run or play racket sports—and can just meet the Smoke Jumper pull-up minimum. I biked 1,000 miles this summer, but when riding to church, a smiling, slightly chubby girl easily passed me on a mountain bike. That’s okay; I still enjoy all my rides.

Why, in general, are older people more satisfied? One important reason is that we are rarely disappointed. With experience, we reduce expectations, especially of bureaucratic organizations and politicians.

They learn that bureaucracies dependent on politicians, and those who rely on these agencies for services, can be especially demoralizing, even toxic. It is no accident that the term “bureaucrat” caries a crust of derision in nearly all languages.

An ever-greater proportion of America’s society and economy is organized and controlled via politics. We’re losing more than innovation and efficiency. A different set of attributes will be rewarded, few if any related to good character. Consider the politics of Wall Street and Chicago—their contagion oozes out.

Due to political pressures, dishonesty, and short time horizons of politicians, America has monumental, unsustainable debt. Politicians gain by transferring wealth from the productive to contributors and the less productive. We surely face higher taxes, perhaps a VAT, and a declining dollar. The future isn’t as it was.

Still, life here is good indeed, and will become relatively better than elsewhere. I’d like to explain this in future columns but, like my chin-ups, they will be fewer.

For over a decade, FREE has produced a weekly column. Now, perhaps we’ll have one every third week. (However, we’ll place commentaries on FREE’s website each Wednesday.) I thank our readers for thoughtful comments and celebrate other opportunities. Time is my scarce resource; I’ll treasure it.