Baby boomers are what's wrong with America's economy

[pmv]

You realize this thread is talking about a group collectively, right? So yes, you can absolutely blame America as an entity for foisting Trump on the world. Why on earth couldn't you? People seem to be unable to separate individuals from the actions of a group.

As far as a group goes from a governance standpoint the baby boomers have been an unmitigated disaster.

I'm not a baby boomer...I would say I find myself defending boomers about 1/3 of the time, and defending Millennials the other 2/3s.

But my gripe about the whole generational-conflict thing, is that it seems to be regularly used as a smokescreen to avoid talking about the divisions that cut across generations.

In particular, affluent, middle-class, white younger people will blame everything on baby-boomers, as a means of ignoring the groups they are part of that are even more 'responsible', in a collective sense, for the ills they are complaining about. They are trying to get their fellow, less well-off, Millennials to not look at them.

Worse, some rich white older people who created most of these problems, will also go on about how awful their fellow baby boomers are, getting younger people riled up about the problems _they_, the most privileged of the older generation, created, but diluting the blame by spreading it onto the less fortunate of that same generation.

The other thing is, the post-war boom in the US started much earlier, and went on longer, than in most of Europe. So maybe your boomers had it a bit easier for longer. Plenty of baby-boomers here barely even noticed the supposed 'good times', if they happened to be working class.

And I still am not sure a young middle-class white American Millennial now would, for example, really want to swap places with a black American in the 1960s.

 

[jmagg]

Maybe we should give free icecream to boomers. All they can eat. Probably cheaper to kill them off with sugar cream then pay for them to shit their pants.

I accept that offer.

 

[Perknose]

I'm not a baby boomer...I would say I find myself defending boomers about 1/3 of the time, and defending Millennials the other 2/3s.

But my gripe about the whole generational-conflict thing, is that it seems to be regularly used as a smokescreen to avoid talking about the divisions that cut across generations.

In particular, affluent, middle-class, white younger people will blame everything on baby-boomers, as a means of ignoring the groups they are part of that are even more 'responsible', in a collective sense, for the ills they are complaining about. They are trying to get their fellow, less well-off, Millennials to not look at them.

Worse, some rich white older people who created most of these problems, will also go on about how awful their fellow baby boomers are, getting younger people riled up about the problems _they_, the most privileged of the older generation, created, but diluting the blame by spreading it onto the less fortunate of that same generation.

The other thing is, the post-war boom in the US started much earlier, and went on longer, than in most of Europe. So maybe your boomers had it a bit easier for longer. Plenty of baby-boomers here barely even noticed the supposed 'good times', if they happened to be working class.

And I still am not sure a young middle-class white American Millennial now would, for example, really want to swap places with a black American in the 1960s.

Thank you for the more reasoned, less hysterical, and far less tribally divisive perspective.

 

[Perknose]

This is way different.

Not nearly as different as you seem to wish to believe.

Baby boomers knew SS was going bust for 30 years and did nothing about it because they got theirs. Any big issue in the past 30 years has been punted down the line to the next generation.

Baby boomers? You mean, politicians focused on the short term and ignored the long term effects, as they have done, generation after generation after generation.

Look, I could get down the divisive mud pit with you and list all the advantages you have inherited from those who came before, but I'd be playing the same stupid, ugly, short-sighted game of envy and division and scapegoating that you presently are.

Your free ice cream offer, however? Enticing! At our very next International Plenum of the Geezers Ascendant triple secret confab, we shall consider it!

 

[ivwshane]

This is way different. Baby boomers knew SS was going bust for 30 years and did nothing about it because they got theirs. Any big issue in the past 30 years has been punted down the line to the next generation.

Stop being a generationist! The fact that their generation, the largest in history, voted for politicians that supported policies that were short sighted and damaging to this country and future generations is everyone's problem and laying blame on those who are actually responsible only furthers their resolve in screwing over other generations. Really what we should be doing is giving them hugs and coddling them even more so to shield them from their own horrible decisions.

Do you feel better about yourself now perknose?



/s

 

[crashtech]

It is convenient to have a scapegoat. Boomers are the last generation that can comfortably rely on receiving their full benefits from a SS system that still has a trust fund. The ultimate "fygm," as some posters are fond of saying.

 

[Moonbeam]

False.

What would a backward primitive like you know? You seem to think that the imbecilic generational bigotry you practice has a place in the future. There are a bunch of people now posting in this thread that are decades and more, more advanced than you are. You're a fucking idiot bigot even in your own day, to borrow some words from the primitives.

 

[ivwshane]

It is convenient to have a scapegoat. Boomers are the last generation that can comfortably rely on receiving their full benefits from a SS system that still has a trust fund. The ultimate "fygm," as some posters are fond of saying.

No, you can't blame boomers for electing politicians who were short sighted and supported failed policies, they were tricked into voting for them in the same way trump supporters were bamboozled by trump.

Who could have known that voting responsibly was so hard?




/s

 

[Snarf Snarf]

Decades of relentless right wing agitprop have had an effect, no doubt.

Couple that with an intrinsic belief that you support the party of god loving Christians everywhere and you can convince them to vote against their own religious principles as long as you scorn homosexuality, abortion, and breaking the laws of man.

My dad voted for Trump, he was an illegal Mexican immigrant, and disagrees with him on almost every policy point that he holds. Why did he vote this way? Because he's a Republican, that is how he identifies himself, and the liberals with their pro-gay and public spending propaganda are eroding the Christian values of this country.

When I manage to get him to stop talking about left and right, or party politics, I find out that he supports more corporate regulation. He even proposed that corporate margins should be capped at a maximum % annually and the rest of the money beyond that point should go into salary increases and benefits for employees not board members, and this should be federally mandated. An idea I told him is incredibly left stance for him to have, and that his party fundamentally believed the opposite of what he did. There are these rare moments where he stops thinking of himself as a Republican and strictly as a citizen, in these moments we agree almost unilaterally on how to move forward as a country.

All people are capable of reaching this level, the problem with The Boomer's is that identity politics has become a religious model to them. They are indoctrinated into a cult of self preserving piece of shit cowards who refuse to solve the problems they have caused (I'm talking about congress, not the actual generation), and only wish to pass it on to a new generation to deal with. For a generation that glorifies hard work so much, they really hold their elected officials to a different standard than they do to themselves. The last 20 years of GOP politics has been full of obstructionist grand standing on social issues, under the guise that the right is preserving the moral integrity of our nation, while simultaneously lining the pockets of their big business campaign backers. The damage done is going to take 2-3 generations to fix, if we can ever really fix it, some of the damage may be permanent.

It's time the younger generation of American's put their money where their mouths are though, we have little hope of changing an entire generation of people and how they view the world. Promote change locally, at all levels of government. If you're unsatisfied with the direction we're heading in, support the younger generation of representatives that are willing to tackle the difficult issues instead of dodge them and hand them off to your children. If none exist, support grass roots movements to find our next generation of leaders. The Boomer's are right about one thing at least, and that's the future generations are going to have to find their proverbial boot straps to fix this mess we're in, and whining on the internet is cheap and doesn't get much results.

 

[crashtech]

No, you can't blame boomers for electing politicians who were short sighted and supported failed policies, they were tricked into voting for them in the same way trump supporters were bamboozled by trump.

Who could have known that voting responsibly was so hard?




/s

I think it's even easier than that, apathy combined with a general tendency to procrastinate or "kick the can down the road" just about covers it, plus the toxicity that surrounds any attempt to reform SS seals the deal. The cure would be pretty simple, just raise the rate to 7.5% But no one has the will to implement it.

 

[JSt0rm]

What would a backward primitive like you know? You seem to think that the imbecilic generational bigotry you practice has a place in the future. There are a bunch of people now posting in this thread that are decades and more, more advanced than you are. You're a fucking idiot bigot even in your own day, to borrow some words from the primitives.

You should read the article.

 

[Perknose]

Do you feel better about yourself now perknose?
/s

I feel relatively just fine about myself. I have dedicated my life to the idea of inclusiveness and social justice for all, including foregoing more lucrative opportunities in order to devote myself to full time political activism during the nightmare of the Reagan 80s.

But . . you are blaming me? Holding me to account? That I somehow need your snide little shit post to "feel better about myself?" Wow. Just . . . WOW. This is how the stupid, shallow ugliness of division metastasizes, right before our eye folks. The weak minded and the corrosively envious all clamber on board. Throw the Jew down the well!

Exactly what personal or political decisions and actions that I have made throughout my life that you know personally would you like to point you such that you can blame me?

But, yeah, go ahead and jump on the bandwagon of divisive hate and blame.

Divide and conquer. This is how the pogrom gains steam, folks.

 

[JSt0rm]

I feel relatively just fine about myself. I have dedicated my life to the idea of inclusiveness and social justice for all, including foregoing more lucrative opportunities in order to devote myself to full time political activism during the nightmare of the Reagan 80s.

But . . you are blaming me? Holding me to account? That I somehow need your snide little shit post to "feel better about myself?" Wow. Just . . . WOW. This is how the stupid, shallow ugliness of division metastasizes, right before our eye folks. The weak minded and the corrosively envious all clamber on board. Throw the Jew down the well!

Exactly what personal or political decisions and actions that I have made throughout my life that you know personally would you like to point you such that you can blame me?

But, yeah, go ahead and jump on the bandwagon of divisive hate and blame.

Divide and conquer. This is how the pogrom gains steam, folks.

Nobody is blaming you. As a whole the generation failed to be good stewards of the treasure that was left for them. you have guys like @pcgeek11 who dont care about anything that happens after they are dead. And he isnt the only one. When you have a large population group that is around the same age and feels tis way you end up with destructive policies.

 

[crashtech]

I thought P&N was all about gross generalizations. I suppose JSt0rm should choose a more popular and palatable generalization next time, like throwing righties down the well.

 

[JSt0rm]

I mean not 1 boomer that has come into this thread has addressed any of the points laid out in the article. Thats pretty alarming. I bet not 1 boomer even read the article and instead had a knee jerk reaction to the idea that they arent great.

 

[ivwshane]

I feel relatively just fine about myself. I have dedicated my life to the idea of inclusiveness and social justice for all, including foregoing more lucrative opportunities in order to devote myself to full time political activism during the nightmare of the Reagan 80s.

But . . you are blaming me? Holding me to account? That I somehow need your snide little shit post to "feel better about myself?" Wow. Just . . . WOW. This is how the stupid, shallow ugliness of division metastasizes, right before our eye folks. The weak minded and the corrosively envious all clamber on board. Throw the Jew down the well!

Exactly what personal or political decisions and actions that I have made throughout my life that you know personally would you like to point you such that you can blame me?

But, yeah, go ahead and jump on the bandwagon of divisive hate and blame.

Divide and conquer. This is how the pogrom gains steam, folks.

I'm not blaming you nor is anyone in this thread blaming you what they are blaming is the generation you belong to as a whole.

Unlike the scapegoating of minorities the baby boomer generation was a majority and a majority of them voted for policies that helped them and typically screwed other generations.

So thank you for being a good boomer but it doesn't give everyone else much comfort in knowing that you are a minority.

 

[FIVR]

Eventually they will get so old that we can boss them around and take their stuff and they'll be so old and out of it that they won't be able to fight back. It'll be hot and polluted but at least we'll all be rich and stuff. Old people suck

 

[JSt0rm]

Eventually they will get so old that we can boss them around and take their stuff and they'll be so old and out of it that they won't be able to fight back. It'll be hot and polluted but at least we'll all be rich and stuff. Old people suck

This isnt about old people. This is about a specific generation that is a problem because they can vote themselves anything. They literally think they had it hard and all the kids these days have it easy and are lazy. This is called being out of touch with reality.

 

[JockoJohnson]

I am not going through the article item by item because it is an opinion piece. So most of it can be debated. But two topics stick out to me (there are others but I am lazy). One is that "boomers burned so much fossil fuel" and the other is that current young generation has to work for more years.

First, what the F$!# else were they supposed to do? Were electric cars around as an option? People drive back then, people drive today. Today, there are more fuel efficient alternatives. The writer comes off as a smug asswipe.

Second, people have to work past the current retirement age because people live longer...beside maybe not having enough in SS. There are many factors why people have to work past 67...poor saving plans is one. The retirement age should be raised.

These are all my opinions, just like the rant that you call an article.

 

[JSt0rm]

I am not going through the article item by item because it is an opinion piece. So most of it can be debated. But two topics stick out to me (there are others but I am lazy). One is that "boomers burned so much fossil fuel" and the other is that current young generation has to work for more years.

First, what the F$!# else were they supposed to do? Were electric cars around as an option? People drive back then, people drive today. Today, there are more fuel efficient alternatives. The writer comes off as a smug asswipe.

Second, people have to work past the current retirement age because people live longer...beside maybe not having enough in SS. There are many factors why people have to work past 67...poor saving plans is one. The retirement age should be raised.

These are all my opinions, just like the rant that you call an article.

So then if the retirement age needs to be raised why wasnt it raised for the boomers?

 

[JockoJohnson]

So then if the retirement age needs to be raised why wasnt it raised for the boomers?

Because it would be a little late to force this onto them. Maybe if they were given advanced warning 10 or more years ago, proper planning could occur. This is Change Management. Can't just up and change something last minute like that.

Besides, the age will never be raised because people will bitch and moan, no matter how young or old. Politicians from either side will take advantage of it and mock their opponents for daring to suggest raising the age.

 

[JSt0rm]

Huh? We have known about this for 30 years.

 

[JSt0rm]

10 years ago was 2007. Are you saying we didn't know this would be a problem in 2007?

 

[FIVR]

This isnt about old people. This is about a specific generation that is a problem because they can vote themselves anything. They literally think they had it hard and all the kids these days have it easy and are lazy. This is called being out of touch with reality.

My parents are boomers and they aren't so bad. They're liberals who live in california though...


Old people in general seem to be the problem. I don't think the "greatest generation" were actually that great. Killing people in wars isn't great. But I guess, if you want to target boomers... then I agree they are awful for the most part.

 

[Victorian Gray]

I feel relatively just fine about myself. I have dedicated my life to the idea of inclusiveness and social justice for all, including foregoing more lucrative opportunities in order to devote myself to full time political activism during the nightmare of the Reagan 80s.

But . . you are blaming me? Holding me to account? That I somehow need your snide little shit post to "feel better about myself?" Wow. Just . . . WOW. This is how the stupid, shallow ugliness of division metastasizes, right before our eye folks. The weak minded and the corrosively envious all clamber on board. Throw the Jew down the well!

Exactly what personal or political decisions and actions that I have made throughout my life that you know personally would you like to point you such that you can blame me?

But, yeah, go ahead and jump on the bandwagon of divisive hate and blame.

Divide and conquer. This is how the pogrom gains steam, folks.

Kids these days...