The Future of America is a pretty depressing headline but the alternative was “The Golden Years.” I should say up front I know nothing about these two people so everything that follows is baseless speculation. I took the photo standing in line at the local Burger King. The young (20-something?) man was showing the woman (60+) how to use the cash register. Let’s call them Opie and Aunt Bee.

A job “flipping burgers” long ago achieved cliche status and it’s nothing new to see a “senior citizen” behind the counter. As I watched the woman concentrate to figure out the register I couldn’t help thinking, “This woman is not doing this because she’s bored. She needs this job.” And she’s competing — to some extent — with people 40-50 years younger.

We’re told the jobs that built the American Middle Class in the previous century are gone or going away. Can there be enough fast food jobs (or their equivalent) for all of the young people with only a high school education and the growing army of seniors who didn’t save enough for retirement?

I didn’t see them at our local Burger King but McDonald’s has been replacing counter registers with self-serve kiosks. I’ve been thinking of “flipping burgers” as a job to be avoided but perhaps it will one day be a coveted gig.