Move Over Boomers -- Gen-X And Gen-Y in the Coming Decades <p>

self | 01/24/2004 | MeadsJN

[meadsjn]

My two cents.

[meadsjn]

FYI

[B4Ranch]

Good article. Thank you for taking the time to put your thoughts on the web.

[qam1]

Xer Ping

Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social aspects that directly effects Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1982) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.

Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details.  

[William Tell]

meadsjn said: "The major disconnect among the Boomers, especially the liberals, is that they are incapable of acknowledging the results of their actions. Their intentions are all that matter to them. Whenever one of their hair-brained ideas produces undesirable results, their solution is another even more hair-brained idea. "

I like this line.

The major disagreement I have with this article is the time line. I believe that half-measures will be used to patch things up and allow the socialist experiment to continue for longer than suggested here. I think that we may see thirty years before the chickens come home to roost.

Let's see what happens in Kalifornia in the near term. That will give us an inkling of how the system responds to failing socialism. So far, I am not encouraged.

[meadsjn]

Thanks. As long as the DOW is up, everyone is happy.

[meadsjn]

I think that we may see thirty years

You may be right. Then I can repost it in Spanish or Chinese.

[xrp]

What an awesome article. I personally have a very strong dislike for the politics of my parents and their peers (especially during the 1960s-1970s era) and almost all of the Gen-Xers I associate with feel the same.

I agree with the article foreseeing the demise of the Democrat Party. It is out of breath. It has no ideas. The Republicans will continue to shift left, however.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Nice work.

[meadsjn]

I agree with the article foreseeing the demise of the Democrat Party. It is out of breath. It has no ideas. The Republicans will continue to shift left, however.

It does appear that the Republicans will take over as the party for retirees. They and the AARP will be able to share letterhead.

They certainly don't act interested in the future of the younger generations.

[meadsjn]

Thanks. Maybe the next boom industry here will be welding plastic. We could repair all the Wal Mart gizmos when they break.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Or bongs. :)

[DustyMoment]

The analysis is attributed largely to the book quoted in the beginning which is based on theory.

We boomers didn't make this society on our own and to suggest that the politicians are crooks and liars is too simplistic is the fact of the matter. Selectively analyzing those parts of history that conveniently fit a theory is nice, but the real world works differently.

How will you know-it-all Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers react when you discover that YOUR politicians have learned all the pretty words that you want to hear and do different things? We boomers aren't/weren't selfish, you have to look at the whole period leading up to the baby boom through today. We tried to make things better in a world where we had no roadmap as a guide. Yes, we made mistakes; your generations will, too. Deal with it.

But, while we made mistakes, we also pushed the envelope with successes in science, exploration, the environment, education, engineering, health, etc., etc. Because of the things we did, you have computers in your rooms, PDAs that fit in your pocket, televisions that fit in your hand, DVDs, better health care, new and better medications that allow you to live longer/better lives, the Internet, better and stronger materials that allow cars to be lighter and use less fuel while providing you with greater crash protection. We have learned how to reduce our reliance on natural resources and recycle materials that means we take less away from the earth's resources; giving you more natural resources to work with. We helped bring freedom, liberty and democracy to millions of people around the world who were suffering under the tyranny of dictators and tyrants. Because of the decisions we made and the risks we took, in many places, the world is much better today than it was when we were born into it.

It is unfortunate that the passage of time has eroded the memories of people who were greatful to the Americans who brought them relief and comfort and freedom. South Koreans, French, Italians, even the British once held us in much greater esteem than they do today. We worked on an international scale to try and help rid the world of poverty and disease and, most of all, we tried to rid the world of fear.

Lofty goals? You betcha. Expensive? I'll guarantee it. But, at the end of the day, we can look ourselves in the mirror and know that we did our best to improve the world we share. Somewhere along the way, our largesse got the better of our political elite who think they have an unlimited supply of money to spend; they began robbing us all by increasing our taxes to pay for ever loftier and more expensive programs promising us that the rewards and benefits of such programs would make America and the world better and safer. They knew they were lying; we didn't. Perhaps you will do better at parsing your politician's promises because we discovered how to.

Of all the things we leave you, though, the one thing you learned well is how to whine. It's all the baby boomers fault!! They were selfish and spoiled and thought of no one else.

Unfortunately, most of us will probably be long gone and living under a mound of dirt before you understand the immaturity of those words and your attitudes and realize that it's much easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility for yourselves. It's much easier to whine and complain than to create and develop in an uncharted field.

Hopefully, your children and your grandchildren won't be like you. Hopefully, they won't blame you for all the ills of the world, but will accept the world into which they were born as a reality and deal with it.

[MotleyGirl70]

Good read. BTTT.

[meadsjn]

Just for the record, my birth year (1956) was within the Baby Boomer range. My analysis is not solely based on the "theories" of Howe & Strauss, but their writings do confirm some of my observations over the years.

We boomers aren't/weren't selfish, you have to look at the whole period leading up to the baby boom through today. We tried to make things better in a world where we had no roadmap as a guide.

The nihilistic Boomers tried their best to destroy all the best "roadmaps" we had, such as the U.S. Constitution. "Trying to make things better" with repeated "disasterous results" is one of the main points of my article.

The social programs groomed by the Boomer radicals over the past decades have resulted in the destruction of urban American families and communities and cost the nation trillions dollars. When the Boomer Democrats made their record debut in Congress in 1974, they immediately started attacking the domestic oil industry and American manufacturing industries to the detriment of millions of families. The environmental movement has resulted in the destruction by fire of many millions of acres of western forest, some of which will never recover.

we also pushed the envelope with successes in science, exploration, the environment, education, engineering, health, etc., etc.

The technology for the computer revolution and all the "modern" household technology sprang from the space race of the 1960s and the Cold War of the 1970s and 1980s, both of which were led by the aging WW-II GI generation, and both of which were protested by the Boomer hippies and yuppies.

Thanks for the bump, anyway.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

BTTT!

[Khurkris]

"Unfortunately, most of us will probably be long gone and living under a mound of dirt before you understand the immaturity of those words and your attitudes and realize that it's much easier to blame someone else than to take responsibility for yourselves. It's much easier to whine and complain than to create and develop in an uncharted field.

Hopefully, your children and your grandchildren won't be like you. Hopefully, they won't blame you for all the ills of the world, but will accept the world into which they were born as a reality and deal with it."

Well said. Unfortunately each new generation does this and thinks they are on to something new. The inherent imperfection of mankind assures this. I guess its just a stage...a learning process each generation goes thru.

[NotQuiteCricket]

The thing that irks me the most is the whole "social security" fiasco. People actually think that the government could have "saved" the money that was sent in from their paychecks. This is ridiculous. Think about how much money was sent in, and what would of happened had that money been stacked up in a vault somewhere(inflation). Privatization of social security is not the answer - scrapping the whole thing is the answer. Nanny Government should not be the person to take care of you when you get old, your children or your own savings should be what takes care of you.

[NotQuiteCricket]

But, while we made mistakes, we also pushed the envelope with successes in [snip]education [snip]etc., etc.

Yeah, education is sterling & wonderful. At all levels public education in America is boldly blazing a trail to 3rd world literacy right here in the US.

[meadsjn]

I've seen some articles posted about how few people believe Social Security will still be available for them when they retire.

It wouldn't matter much anyway. SS benefits would hardly cover the electric bill these days.

Too many Republicans have become cheerleaders just like their Democrat counterparts. It matters little if government works, so long as their team is winning.