Posted on 07/12/2008 8:49:48 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Study: Baby Boomers Are Gloomiest Generation
POSTED: 9:01 am EDT July 12, 2008 UPDATED: 9:42 am EDT July 12, 2008 NEW YORK -- A new study by the Pew Research Center found 66 percent of baby boomers find it harder to get ahead now than in 1998. It also found that 86 percent say it's harder to maintain their standard of living than just five years ago. We talked to boomers in Brooklyn.
"There just seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel."
As they approach their golden years, baby boomers like Ros Aaron are worried -- not just about their own futures, but about their kids'.
"I don't know what's gonna be for them," Aaron said. "Jenna's graduating in four years. At least Leanna has eight years before she has to worry."
She's far from alone. The study found that 66 percent of boomers find it harder to get ahead now than in 1998 -- more frustration than any other age group.
And 86 percent of baby boomers say it's harder to maintain their standard of living than just five years ago.
"We asked a lot of questions," said D'vera Cohn of the Pew Research Center. "Are they satisfied? Will their income go up? And they said, 'No it won't'."
(Excerpt) Read more at wnbc.com ...
“A nation of whiners.”
Darn right. This Gen X'er won't be paying your greens fees and Lasik surgery!
They have no one to blame but themselves. Their quest for a government-run, publically funded utopia has brought us to where we are.
ANd “We talked to boomers in Brooklyn.”
people from New York should know they were screwed-
elected Hitlary? Rangle?
Come on, these Rats are just plane stupid.
Gramm was right. This country has become a nation of whiners.
But "the Gloomiest Generation" ever? People who went through the Great Depression could be pretty morose. They just had different ways of working it out.
meant plain-
But now looking at this... maybe plane,
as to -”flying out of that hell hole” makes sense
“But “the Gloomiest Generation” ever? People who went through the Great Depression could be pretty morose. They just had different ways of working it out.”
My grandma worked it out by never throwing away bread bags or cool whip containers, because she figured she could find some use for them.
The only use I could see was a cluttered mess in her cupboards.
She always bought dollar clothes at garage sales or the thrift shop.
She would ask us what we paid for various items of clothing and then get furious if we gave honest answers.
We eventually learned that the correct answer was “these pair of jeans? oh they cost me $2 grandma!”
Some of us have been kickin' and screamin' as we've all been dragged along--just as loudly as you're doing and for a much longer time! It's really tough to have to be lumped into that group when many of us (just look at the FReepers in that group!!!) were raised in a responsible manner!!!
SUNG:
Is that all there is, is that all there is
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is
I am a babyboomer. Call me a whiner if you wish. My life is good. I live at a standard my parents and grandparents never dreamed possible. But the status quo is unacceptable. The nation has been invaded by millions and millions of illegal invaders. The boy in the White House says his administration has a strong dollar policy, but the facts are the dollar is dreadful. It has contributed mightily to the soaring price of oil. It has allowed American companies like Budweiser to be priced so cheaply in dollars, Europeans are paying premiums American companies could never afford. The country has been sold out by both parties and the country has not only been invaded but it is up for sale. Whatever success I have had in my life has a lot to do with the very very sound education that I got in public school, an education that could not be had today in our public school system which is a rotten mess. I resent what Phil Gramm said because he is no conservative, he is an elitist. If Ronald Reagan were alive today, he would be telling it like is, and it would not be whining because Reagan was not only a conservative but a populist. How much of a populist was he, well let me tell you, he had so many people in the other party supporting him that they had a name for them, Reagan Democrats. Today, the elitists in the Democrat Party like Teddy Kennedy, have taken Republicans like Jorge and Juan and formed the elitist Teddy Kennedy Wing of Republican Party. Call me a whiner, for pointing out what the status quo is, and how unacceptable it is to this conservative.
Whiners? Let’s see - if you’re involved in the stock market, traveling Europe, buying gas, buying food, looking at your electricity bill and your career is over I don’t think this is what most people would call whining. I think they are being accurate and they’re not indicating they want some government entitlement. Who cares about tax breaks if the dollar is worth crap!
Baby boomers can work. I plan to slow down but not retire. Park the RV...it’s not the end of the world if you can’t travel 9 months out of the year.
The only use I could see was a cluttered mess in her cupboards.
She always bought dollar clothes at garage sales or the thrift shop.
She would ask us what we paid for various items of clothing and then get furious if we gave honest answers.
We eventually learned that the correct answer was “these pair of jeans? oh they cost me $2 grandma!”
I knew people like that too. It's funny now that you can put it into perspective, but was frustrating at the time. Good people, but they came from a very different world.
I remember going into the drugstore with my brother to read comics when I was a kid and the druggist starting to hover: "Are you going to buy that? Are you planning on buying anything?" There's a lot that's wrong with today, but it is nice that kids can go into a bookstore nowadays and just browse.
I was thinking the same thing. When in the absence of any real problem the boomers will invent one.
My wife and I are in the same boat with you ( 61 & 60 ). It is a reflection on how you were raised by your parents .
I’m a baby boomer. I’ll be 55 exactly one month from tomorrow.
Can I sign up for free handouts yet?
*****sarc*********
Boomers are gloomy because they have the pre-Ted Kennedy/Jimmy Carter/John McCain/Harry Reid/Nancy Pelosi/George Bush years as a reference point and comparison to today’s Lib/Rino Politically Correct, pandering, socialist, one-world-wannabe nanny state.
When we see the freedoms, traditions and culture of America that politicians have already destroyed and what lies in wait with politicians like Reid, Pelosi, McCain, Obama and the myriad of under-qualified replacements waiting their turn to slop at the trough it is difficult not to be gloomy sometimes.
America now has “leadership” scrapped off the underside of the bottom of the barrel with no relief on the horizon.
All ya gotta do is look where they took the survey. BROOKLYN! Guaranteeeeeed to be Dems. Nough said.
Hey you could have signed up at 50.....AARP and other senior discounts.
There is a big difference between baby boomers and our grandparents.. My grandmother also went thru the depression. Americans today really do not know what hunger, being without and survival is. We are spoiled, myself included. My grandmother was not a waster. She recycled everything. Times were hard all her life. When she was in her 70-80s she still worked for Goodwill. She didn’t make much money but she was around “bargins” I never, once heard her complain about her life though. She would tell me stories but more in the way of reporting than how bad she had it. Several times when I would whine about how hard things were she would sternly tell me to toughen up. No complaing allowed around her.
I can identify with you memories, I am not much of a whiner partly do to Grandma living with us. It is what it is....deal with it and be content in all things. Being grateful for what you have.
First thing needs to happen is to turn off the G#$#!*@d cable and network news. And then stop reading the NY Times, WaPo, LATimes, et al. The Drive-By Media has managed to convince a large segment of the US populace of how ‘bad’ things are. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Uh huh. I’m a baby boomer too but I can’t relate with them. I’m kind of an odd one I guess.
It’s discouraging that the portion of our retirement portfolio that was invested in stocks has had substantial losses over the past year. But we are confident that the stock market will come back and in the meantime we’re just going to work harder and longer to make sure the money is there for retirement.
We feel blessed that we like our jobs and are healthy enough to continue doing them for many years to come, if we want.
Others who may not like their jobs and are counting the days until retirement or are in ill health may have a gloomy outlook. But if you like your job and have your health, keep on keepin’ on and thank the Lord.
it’s a nation thats being attacked constantly with propaganda about how bad we are,how racist we are,how greedy,lazy,etc, because we got a republican president,it’s always been that way,far as I know. The barrage of negative garbage and lies has grown into a syndrome, maintained by the media,supported by our educational and government institutions and financed by foreign entities,especially old soros
A war for oil? $5 gasoline? A tanked stock market? For all these things, thank the Boomers who prevented nuclear plants from being built across America and Europe.
It’s a pathetic generation, with notable exceptions.
The current batch, with all its flaws, sure is doing a fine job in Iraq.
I’m pretty excited about paying into Social Security -— maxed out a few months ago -— although under Obama, I apparently will have to keep paying -— and I WON’T GET A PENNY.
Social Security has turned into a wealth transfer from the productive to the unproductive -— just like every other gubmint give-a-way.
yes - it always helps when you are reminded of their hardships to put your own “complaints” in perspective.
I’ve been whining alot lately about my upcoming winter heating oil bills.
But even that doesn’t come close to what our grandparents suffered.
Sure, something -— understanding we created a problem and can’t leave older people in a lurch.
I have maxed out on SS contributions since leaving the military.
Everytime I use on the the “check your rate of return” calculators, I get a negative return! I would do WAY better in a passbook savings account, let alone letting me roll it into my own business.
Oh well, what’s $30K a year or whatever it is, but my kids’ college education going to help people who vote Democrat (I pay the “match” -— as everyone does, but doesn’t see it on their pay check.)
Xer Ping
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
Sadly the BB’s were, spoiled, pampered, protected, and given everything by the Greatest Generation and with their [BB’s] aging SHAME and self-reliance slowly but surely vanished into history.
Too many warnings on stuff we buy because some IDIOT proved that he/she can actually hurt themselves by drying their hair in the shower, etc.
Food has to have contents spelled out (if anyone cares to read them) because eating food may make you fat or you may get high blood pressure.
I can't cut a juniper (*&^%$#@ cedar) tree that is rubbing on the roof shingles if it is 8" diameter at 4' above the ground. The golden cheeked warbler uses the bark for its nests. Those trees nor the bird is native to our area.
I could rant about this all day long. I am happy with my life, but the dipsticks in DC have made my life miserable.
I could rant about this all day long. I am happy with my life, but the dipsticks in DC have made my life miserable. The above reply was intended for you too.
Just who did they ask? I am not a whinner but a realist. If one lives their life never thinking of tomorrow and tomorrow comes....I know that we probably won’t be able to retire until long past when my parents did because the cost of living always goes up and a fixed income doesn’t. I’m a late boomer though born the night of the first Kennedy Nixon debate. :)
I agree that we need to keep things in perspective and be willing to work hard for everything we have. I also believe that America was set up on the model that govt should be unrestrictive enough that we can go out and make our own success, not expect the govt to figure out what our needs are and then give us things.
I know my husband and I have worked for everything we have. I know my Dad did too (a baby boomer) who just retired but with a very small home and a very small pension.
Part of what has made our country the richest in the world is our huge middle class. A middle class that would not exist if the masses just accepted living like peasants the way the elite would love and the way it was in the past here. So, I get a little suspicious whenever I see articles and such that try to frame the average American worker as having “the entitlement mentality”, being lazy, or “whiners”. The entitlement mentality people are those unwilling to work for everything they have or expect more in return than what they are worth. The average American works very hard.
We don’t need to be figuring out ways to lower our standard of living. The swindlers would love nothing more. We need to be figuring out ways to maintain and increase our standard of living. That is and has been the American way. It’s why our history for the longest time was one in which those trying to advance themselves came here. The wolves came here and the sheep stayed at home to be poor. Of course, now we have those wanting free housing, food stamps, etc coming here.
Point is, the sheep can all go somewhere to live and be poor. We Americans aren’t going back to being peasants no matter how much the filthy rich think they can brainwash us with guilt trips about being “whiners”. It didn’t work in the past and won’t work today. Some things about being an American hasn’t changed and one of them is the refusal to be exploited by the rich and powerful.
If you live where you must buy heating oil then being concerned about affording it , isn’t whining IMO. Now if you were upset about the price of gas cramping your winter vacation to Florida and that all the RV parks along the way have upped their prices........:’)
That quest reached its legislative peak when the so-called Greatest Generation was in power. The vast majority of Boomers were teenagers when Medicaid, Medicare, and the large increases in Social Security were enacted in the 1960’s.
Well, I can’t disagree with that. Many older democrats are living in a time warp and actually believe that their leadership stands for the middle class. They haven’t in a long time. I think the younger democrats are driven by their liberalism, whereas the older ones are driven by a false notion that the democratic party still stands up for worker’s rights and fairness.
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