Boomer, not Millennials, Screwed America

[calamity]

“The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it."

That’s the argument Bruce Gibney makes in his book A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America. The boomers, according to Gibney, have committed “generational plunder,” pillaging the nation’s economy, repeatedly cutting their own taxes, financing two wars with deficits, ignoring climate change, presiding over the death of America’s manufacturing core, and leaving future generations to clean up the mess they created.

They also raised the Millennials, typically as grandparents after their X Gen kids abdicated parental responsibility, probably because their Boomer parents never taught them any. And, that by itself proves the Boomers are America's worst generation.

 

[Rexedgar]

“The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it."



They also raised the Millennials, typically as grandparents after their X Gen kids abdicated parental responsibility, probably because their Boomer parents never taught them any. And, that by itself proves the Boomers are America's worst generation.

From the “Greatest” to the worst in successive generations.........

 

[calamity]

From the “Greatest” to the worst in successive generations.........

I used to wonder if the Boomers weren't getting a bad rap...but, twenty years later, I am beginning to think they maybe got a big break.

 

[Rexedgar]

I used to wonder if the Boomers weren't getting a bad rap...but, twenty years later, I am beginning to think they maybe got a big break.

Disclaimer; I am one. Guilt by association. I have said for a long time that during the Boomers adulthood, participation trophies came to be. Soccer games were not scored because we couldn’t have losers. Children weren’t shown much in the way of consequences for their actions. Parenting generally got terrible. Self-esteem was prioritized. Failure was removed as a learning tool, so that when failure was experienced in RL, it became devastating. Not sure about “safe spaces” I thinks that’s on a later group......

 

[Nickyjo]

Horse****. Boomers helped in the civil rights movement, stopped a tragic war in Asia, promoted enviornmental regulation, changed consciousness on gender issue, helped farmworkers, etc. We also produced the Manson family. Same goes for probably every generation.

 

[jnug]

The simple truth of it is that we as a country have been frittering away the once in a millennium advantage of having been on the winning side in a war that left the entire rest of the world in rubble without having a single bit of US property damaged outside of Pearl Harbor. But of course we as a country of the mid-twentieth century thought that had something to do with American Exceptionalism blah blah blah. The only thing we were truly exceptional at was consuming world assets at a ghastly rate and we still doing it!

So this "phenomenon" predates the boomers. The "greatest generation" certainly did nothing to suggest that they truly understood the scope of the advantage they had coming out of 1945. If they did, they would not have begun the process of consuming ourselves into oblivion....handing that aspect of American life down to future generations in the process.

 

[jnug]

Before I forget, the Marshall Plan was the last truly good idea we had, self serving as it was.

 

[Greenbeard]

The Boomers’ primary wealth-building strategy requires housing to become increasingly unaffordable for Millennials.

The Boomers’ disinterest in doing anything to address risking health costs for decades means Millennials will shell out far more for the Boomers’ health expenses than they paid in for the prior generation.

The Boomers’ affinity for giving themselves tax cuts instead of investing in our infrastructure and future will require Millennials to play decades of catch-up, while dealing with both the Boomers’ public debt and their own personal heavy student debt burdens that’ve become the price of admission to the workforce.

And the Boomers’ inaction on and exacerbation of climate change means Millenials can look forward to spending their twilight years in a world that would be only vaguely recognizable to their parents and grandparents.

I’d say there are some grounds for intergenerational grievance.

 

[jnug]

The Boomers’ primary wealth-building strategy requires housing to become increasingly unaffordable for Millennials.

The Boomers’ disinterest in doing anything to address risking health costs for decades means Millennials will shell out far more for the Boomers’ health expenses than they paid in for the prior generation.

The Boomers’ affinity for giving themselves tax cuts instead of investing in our infrastructure and future will require Millennials to play decades of catch-up, while dealing with both the Boomers’ public debt and their own personal heavy student debt burdens that’ve become the price of admission to the workforce.

And the Boomers’ inaction on and exacerbation of climate change means Millenials can look forward to spending their twilight years in a world that would be only vaguely recognizable to their parents and grandparents.

I’d say there are some grounds for intergenerational grievance.

There is absolutely grounds for intergenerational grievance. But you have to go back to the greatest generation for the roots of this mess.

Not only did we come out of 1945 with a self important air when in fact we were spared by an accident of geography more than anything else.

Then that WW2 generation never heard about getting help for their many ailments and maladies. Lots of mothers that were stark raving maniacs driven more so having hysterectomies without hormone replacement. Fathers simply leaving their families to these mad-women as they went off to work off the family mortgage. Neighborhoods were a hidden swarm of domestic violence with everybody thinking that this is just how its supposed to be.....isn't it?? For example does anybody really think those guys coming from from WW2 were not a bit loopy? Heck they were at least as loopy if not more so than troops coming home today.

Once we discovered "therapy" and there was widespread deployment without the stigma attached to it (about 1970) we went overboard with it which led to participation trophies and school teachers that had no means to control students on and on and on. That was a big mistake. But it could have and should have been predicted as a backlash to a generation of hidden domestic violence that was extraordinary for its depth and scope.

But through it all from 1945 onward, no matter how crazy we were societally the one constant has been consumption at an ungodly rate.....and that is in fact what has brought us to this cliff edge were we are actively participating in crapping in our own nests. Gotta' keep consuming. Its the great American way certainly since 1945. Frankly, that is what a rejection of human impact on Climate Change is for one....crapping in our own nests.

 

[markjs]

The simple truth of it is that we as a country have been frittering away the once in a millennium advantage of having been on the winning side in a war that left the entire rest of the world in rubble without having a single bit of US property damaged outside of Pearl Harbor. But of course we as a country of the mid-twentieth century thought that had something to do with American Exceptionalism blah blah blah. The only thing we were truly exceptional at was consuming world assets at a ghastly rate and we still doing it!

So this "phenomenon" predates the boomers. The "greatest generation" certainly did nothing to suggest that they truly understood the scope of the advantage they had coming out of 1945. If they did, they would not have begun the process of consuming ourselves into oblivion....handing that aspect of American life down to future generations in the process.

Excellent point, and mirrors my own thought on it. We have so many "hawks" and war mongers, because nobody in the country who hasn't been shipped out to it, has a clue what war is about, myself included.

 

[Skeptic Bob]

In the generational battle kind of threads I always like when the older generation tells the younger generation how lazy or irresponsible they are when it was that older generation that raised them to be that way.

 

[markjs]

There is absolutely grounds for intergenerational grievance. But you have to go back to the greatest generation for the roots of this mess.

Not only did we come out of 1945 with a self important air when in fact we were spared by an accident of geography more than anything else.

Then that WW2 generation never heard about getting help for their many ailments and maladies. Lots of mothers that were stark raving maniacs driven more so having hysterectomies without hormone replacement. Fathers simply leaving their families to these mad-women as they went off to work off the family mortgage. Neighborhoods were a hidden swarm of domestic violence with everybody thinking that this is just how its supposed to be.....isn't it?? For example does anybody really think those guys coming from from WW2 were not a bit loopy? Heck they were at least as loopy if not more so than troops coming home today.

Once we discovered "therapy" and there was widespread deployment without the stigma attached to it (about 1970) we went overboard with it which led to participation trophies and school teachers that had no means to control students on and on and on. That was a big mistake. But it could have and should have been predicted as a backlash to a generation of hidden domestic violence that was extraordinary for its depth and scope.

But through it all from 1945 onward, no matter how crazy we were societally the one constant has been consumption at an ungodly rate.....and that is in fact what has brought us to this cliff edge were we are actively participating in crapping in our own nests. Gotta' keep consuming. Its the great American way certainly since 1945. Frankly, that is what a rejection of human impact on Climate Change is for one....crapping in our own nests.

My own granfather was drafted to the air corps in 1944 and didn't get to Europe till 45 after the fighting ceased, but he was cleaning up concentration camps. He came back angry bitter and distured. He recovered eventually and overall was a good man. The years after the war though, he was not a nice guy.

 

[Unitedwestand13]

My own granfather was drafted to the air corps in 1944 and didn't get to Europe till 45 after the fighting ceased, but he was cleaning up concentration camps. He came back angry bitter and distured. He recovered eventually and overall was a good man. The years after the war though, he was not a nice guy.

What kind of person comes back from seeing the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and remain positive about the nature of humanity?

 

[Rexedgar]

In the generational battle kind of threads I always like when the older generation tells the younger generation how lazy or irresponsible they are when it was that older generation that raised them to be that way.

My theory re. parenting is that as a parent, you can raise your children how you wish, but at some point you have to “release them into the wild,” where peer pressure works on them and other parent’s measures blend with yours......

 

[jnug]

What kind of person comes back from seeing the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and remain positive about the nature of humanity?

Not only was it an utter bloodbath every day they were over there....they came back with all of the ailments the contemporary soldier comes back with and no care of any consequence for them. How many of them carried massive guilt complexes just for surviving and a likely death wish to go with it.

My dad went D day to VE day and was unable to deal with any of it after coming home. Just put it in some deep dark place where he did not dare to go.

 

[Skeptic Bob]

My theory re. parenting is that as a parent, you can raise your children how you wish, but at some point you have to “release them into the wild,” where peer pressure works on them and other parent’s measures blend with yours......

But I argue that the older generation started them down that particular path, consciously or subconsciously, when raising them. And it makes sense. If you grew up with a really hard life, most parents want to spare their children from all those same hardships. But it was those hardships that made the parents who they are and molds their ethics and values and behavior.

ETA: the most well adjusted member of my family is my firefighter cousin who is beyond awesome. The most compassionate, kind and happy man you could ever meet. He is also the child of the most messed up and failed member of our family, who went to prison and died young. He grew up having to do for himself and make his own way. A horrible childhood, no doubt. But he emerged the best of us.

I think we are falling into a dangerous cycle. The more technology advances and the more comfortable and provided for we all are, the worse people we will become. Hopefully I am wrong and we go more the Star-Trek route.

 

[Rexedgar]

But I argue that the older generation started them down that particular path, consciously or subconsciously, when raising them. And it makes sense. If you grew up with a really hard life, most parents want to spare their children from all those same hardships. But it was those hardships that made the parents who they are and molds their ethics and values and behavior.

How old is the axiom, “spare the rod, spoil the child?” (This in no way condones child abuse.)

As stated, I am a middle Boomer, (1952). I experienced many disappointments that served me well when I encountered set-backs as an adult. No offspring just because I didn’t want any. As a parent, I think you need to expose your child to as many different things as possible and let them fail so they are prepared for the inevitable failures encountered in RL. I get blowback often as I have no first hand parenting experience, only three step-children in my first marriage. Still one of my pleasures is people watching, can learn much from watching....

 

[Skeptic Bob]

How old is the axiom, “spare the rod, spoil the child?” (This in no way condones child abuse.)

As stated, I am a middle Boomer, (1952). I experienced many disappointments that served me well when I encountered set-backs as an adult. No offspring just because I didn’t want any. As a parent, I think you need to expose your child to as many different things as possible and let them fail so they are prepared for the inevitable failures encountered in RL. I get blowback often as I have no first hand parenting experience, only three step-children in my first marriage. Still one of my pleasures is people watching, can learn much from watching....

I have two kids and I agree with your assessment.

 

[jnug]

But I argue that the older generation started them down that particular path, consciously or subconsciously, when raising them. And it makes sense. If you grew up with a really hard life, most parents want to spare their children from all those same hardships. But it was those hardships that made the parents who they are and molds their ethics and values and behavior.

ETA: the most well adjusted member of my family is my firefighter cousin who is beyond awesome. The most compassionate, kind and happy man you could ever meet. He is also the child of the most messed up and failed member of our family, who went to prison and died young. He grew up having to do for himself and make his own way. A horrible childhood, no doubt. But he emerged the best of us.

I think we are falling into a dangerous cycle. The more technology advances and the more comfortable and provided for we all are, the worse people we will become. Hopefully I am wrong and we go more the Star-Trek route.

Personally I am waiting for that Dr McCoy Star Trek instant cure thingy he carries around. No back surgery for me until they invent that thing.

 

[Bullseye]

“The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it."



They also raised the Millennials, typically as grandparents after their X Gen kids abdicated parental responsibility, probably because their Boomer parents never taught them any. And, that by itself proves the Boomers are America's worst generation.

Who's Bruce Gibney? Oh, and how old is he? :lamo

 

[RetiredUSN]

“The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it."



They also raised the Millennials, typically as grandparents after their X Gen kids abdicated parental responsibility, probably because their Boomer parents never taught them any. And, that by itself proves the Boomers are America's worst generation.

Are you talking about all the boomer liberal burnouts from the 60's that ended up taking over tertiary education?

Boomers also went through a period in the 70's and early 80's that was just as bad as millennial faced a few years ago.

They didn't inherit anything but a closing factory.

 

[poweRob]

“The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it."



They also raised the Millennials, typically as grandparents after their X Gen kids abdicated parental responsibility, probably because their Boomer parents never taught them any. And, that by itself proves the Boomers are America's worst generation.

Boomers inherited:

1. A booming economy
2. Strong unions
3. One parent working easily supplied for the family without a credit card
4. Debt free or cheap college
5. Cheap healthcare

Boomers then:

• Stole their parent's retirement by inventing vulture capitalism. Closed down and/or stole pensions and pushed most everyone remaining into 401k's for wall street to steal with their boom and bust cycles that they call "market corrections."
• Then created a debtors society so that they could bilk future generations while simultaneously stealing from past generations' retirements.

Everything that the boomer generation was handed on a silver platter, they turned around and told the following generations that it was unaffordable and can't be done.

 

[calamity]

Boomers inherited:

1. A booming economy
2. Strong unions
3. One parent working easily supplied for the family without a credit card
4. Debt free or cheap college
5. Cheap healthcare

Boomers then:

• Stole their parent's retirement by inventing vulture capitalism. Closed down and/or stole pensions and pushed most everyone remaining into 401k's for wall street to steal with their boom and bust cycles that they call "market corrections."
• Then created a debtors society so that they could bilk future generations while simultaneously stealing from past generations' retirements.

Everything that the boomer generation was handed on a silver platter, they turned around and told the following generations that it was unaffordable and can't be done.

This.

We will see it play out live in SS and Medicare. The Boomers will pick those services clean and simultaneously vote to end them--after the grandfather clause covering them runs out, of course.

 

[Greenbeard]

Everything that the boomer generation was handed on a silver platter, they turned around and told the following generations that it was unaffordable and can't be done.

Self-awareness and humility aren’t things the Boomers are known for, particularly when they’re mocking Millennials for aspiring to that which the Boomers took for granted.

 

[Lovebug]

Opinions...everyone got one or two or more. It is all good. Running with one like it is gospel, not so much.