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Keller @ Large: Baby Boomer License Plate Design Ideas

BOSTON (CBS) - Special commemorative license plates have become a popular way for the state to raise money for various funds and charities, and now a state rep from Provincetown wants to take the practice to a new level.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

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Rep. Sarah Peake testified on Beacon Hill yesterday in support of a bill directing the Registry to issue a Baby Boomer generation license plate, yours for only $30 extra on your registration fee.

The money would go to local councils on aging, appropriately enough given their struggles to fund the anticipated avalanche of demands from aging members of the "me" generation.

And the bill calls for a contest to choose a design for the boomer plates, with the winner to be chosen by a panel appointed by the state's secretary of elder affairs.

What a groovy idea!

Let me be among the first to get the ball rolling with some ideas for designs that will reflect the true contributions of the baby boomers.

Let's start with the most prominent contributions of my generation to society, the Internet and the ready availability of sushi at supermarkets and gas stations.

We could have the plate resemble a computer monitor, with a fitting maxim printed along the bottom: "A boon to predators and anonymous commenters."

Or the plate could resemble an order of sushi, with crossed chopsticks over it and a soy-colored background.

Or we could design the plate to reflect some of the more unfortunate parts of the boomer legacy.

How about a bi-partisan "Boomers in Washington" logo commemorating uncontrolled spending and unnecessary wars?

Or a "Boomers in the Media" motif with symbols representing knee-jerk bias, excessive partisanship, and indifference to facts?

A timely design would honor the outstanding performance of boomers in business and on Wall Street, with the plate number superimposed over jobs and pensions being tossed on a fire.

Yes, the baby boomer license plate is an idea whose time has come.

It's the only plate you'll ever buy with the hope it expires as soon as possible.

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.

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