Boomers: The Real Participation Trophy Generation

[Nomad]

After today's unprecedented announcement by the Fed that it will start buying junk bonds, how can the Boomers continue to cast aspersions on ANY other generation for being "soft"? The Boomer Fed chief (b. 1953) just announced that he cares so little about market price discovery that he is happy to bail out the Boomer management of failing companies and their Boomer private equity lenders, a measure no doubt encouraged by the Boomer Treasury Secretary (b. 1962) to prop up the economy of the Boomer President (b. 1946) and save the Boomer pension funds that acted like pigs and reached for yield.

 

This is nothing short of outright theft from later born generations, who will bear the burden in the form of higher taxes, decreased public services, and heightened inflation. Meanwhile, the Boomers will be able to unload their assets at inflated prices (again, no real price discovery) and they will remain convinced the whole time that they deserved their "success." Shameful.

[Kaegi2011]

On some levels I agree.  The generation has been given enormous opportunities in the post war period, and yet so many have not set themselves up for success.  Just bailout after bailout. 

 

On the other hand, no one owns the assets forever.  Wealth is passed down through the generations (as a society, not familial).  However, with the inequalities created, as well as estate taxation, we're just getting more divided and access to opportunity is getting further apart.  On top of that, our creditors are not us, but countries like China. 

 

This is unlikely to boil over this election, but the next two... I don't know. 

[Liberty]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

[Nomad]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

Surely there is a difference between demonizing a group and pointing out that the members of said group (despite the myriad opinions of the group's individual members) have benefited immensely from enormous wealth transfers, the burden of which fall overwhelmingly on later generations?

[rkbabang]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

Yeah, the so called greatest generation brought socialism to America, every generation sucks in some way, but people aren't all the same.  I don't think you can clump people together by age and say they are all the same anymore than you can do so by race, sex, location, sexual orientation, etc.  Whatever method you use to group people, you will find that some of them suck and some of them don't.

 

[Liberty]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

Surely there is a difference between demonizing a group and pointing out that the members of said group (despite the myriad opinions of the group's individual members) have benefited immensely from enormous wealth transfers, the burden of which fall overwhelmingly on later generations?

 

Nah, it's just stupid. There are better ways to criticize the situation. This is the ineffective way.

 

Re-read it but replace "boomers" by some other group like "women" or "latinos" or "jews" or "gays" or "handicapped people" and see how treating groups of millions of people as monoliths sounds now.

[rkbabang]

Whatever method you use to group people, you will find that some of them suck and some of them don't.

 

Actually I misspoke.  whatever method you use to group people, you will find that most of them suck and some of them don't.  Because regardless of age, race, religion, IQ, location, gender, nationality, political opinions, hight, hair color, skull circumference, shoe size, favorite color or any other category you can think to put people in, most people suck.  It is those few who don't who make everything work and are worth listening to, spending time with, and learning from.

 

[mcliu]

But what about the folks that brought us WWI and then WWII.  ::)

[Kaegi2011]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

This is true.  However, the initial commentary seemed more political than anything else, and while we would all like to think tha tthe general public is thoughtful and discerning it's just not reality.  I think that the last election is more than enough to prove that point.

 

Amongst my friend group (mid 30s) this is starting to bubble up as a topic whenever conversation turns to deficits and medicare, etc.   

[Cigarbutt]

But what about the folks that brought us WWI and then WWII.  ::)

Have you read the book The Economic Consequences of Debt-financed Peace?

I would be surprised 'cause the book has been written but is still not published.

[cubsfan]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

This is true.  However, the initial commentary seemed more political than anything else, and while we would all like to think tha tthe general public is thoughtful and discerning it's just not reality.  I think that the last election is more than enough to prove that point.

 

Amongst my friend group (mid 30s) this is starting to bubble up as a topic whenever conversation turns to deficits and medicare, etc. 

 

I'd definitely agree with this. I think the young ones are beginning to wonder if they will ever own anything.

[Liberty]

But what about the folks that brought us WWI and then WWII.  ::)

 

Humans?

[Liberty]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

This is true.  However, the initial commentary seemed more political than anything else, and while we would all like to think tha tthe general public is thoughtful and discerning it's just not reality.  I think that the last election is more than enough to prove that point.

 

Amongst my friend group (mid 30s) this is starting to bubble up as a topic whenever conversation turns to deficits and medicare, etc. 

 

Young people are just future old people. The boomers were the free spirit revolutionaries in their times with the summer of love and the anti-war movement and all the drugs and rock and roll experimentation with the long hair and bell bottoms and all that. Now they're decried as the old ossified establishment. The wheels keep turning. People are people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Castanza]

But what about the folks that brought us WWI and then WWII.  ::)

Have you read the book The Economic Consequences of Debt-financed Peace?

I would be surprised 'cause the book has been written but is still not published.

 

A good synopsis

 

https://mises.org/wire/economic-consequences-peace-100-years-later

[BG2008]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

This is true.  However, the initial commentary seemed more political than anything else, and while we would all like to think tha tthe general public is thoughtful and discerning it's just not reality.  I think that the last election is more than enough to prove that point.

 

Amongst my friend group (mid 30s) this is starting to bubble up as a topic whenever conversation turns to deficits and medicare, etc. 

 

Young people are just future old people. The boomers were the free spirit revolutionaries in their times with the summer of love and the anti-war movement and all the drugs and rock and roll experimentation with the long hair and bell bottoms and all that. Now they're decried as the old ossified establishment. The wheels keep turning. People are people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Ha, this is funny and so true.  The hippies are being ripped for being leeches of society.  I can't wait till people make fun of millennial. 

[Liberty]

Ha, this is funny and so true.  The hippies are being ripped for being leeches of society.  I can't wait till people make fun of millennial.

 

Millennials have been targeted too with all kinds of stereotypes and prejudices, as if they were all the same, just like most groups. In fact, this has been going on for long enough that those who target them forgot that they age too.. I sometimes see some ranting about millennials as if they were still mostly teenagers... The young ones are Gen Z now, not millennials. Millennials are mostly about to start or raising families at this point.

 

I'm actually considered an early millennial or a late Gen X, since these tend to overlap because starting and ending points are fuzzy...

[Nomad]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

Surely there is a difference between demonizing a group and pointing out that the members of said group (despite the myriad opinions of the group's individual members) have benefited immensely from enormous wealth transfers, the burden of which fall overwhelmingly on later generations?

 

Nah, it's just stupid. There are better ways to criticize the situation. This is the ineffective way.

 

Re-read it but replace "boomers" by some other group like "women" or "latinos" or "jews" or "gays" or "handicapped people" and see how treating groups of millions of people as monoliths sounds now.

 

So you're not disputing that later generations will be paying for the current bailout largesse, spending that disproportionately benefits the Boomer demographic? Got it.

[Spekulatius]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

This is true.  However, the initial commentary seemed more political than anything else, and while we would all like to think tha tthe general public is thoughtful and discerning it's just not reality.  I think that the last election is more than enough to prove that point.

 

Amongst my friend group (mid 30s) this is starting to bubble up as a topic whenever conversation turns to deficits and medicare, etc. 

 

Young people are just future old people. The boomers were the free spirit revolutionaries in their times with the summer of love and the anti-war movement and all the drugs and rock and roll experimentation with the long hair and bell bottoms and all that. Now they're decried as the old ossified establishment. The wheels keep turning. People are people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The boomers had more fun than the Millennials will ever have.

 

If the Millennials want to change the world, they need to stop voting for grandpas to begin with.

[Kaegi2011]

I don't think looking at people's as groups (by age, gender, skin color, whatever) is productive. You'll find "boomers" of all positions and views on all this, so lumping them all together is stupid and muddies thinking rather than make it clearler. Same for any stereotypes or prejudices about millennials or Gen X or whatever.

 

This is true.  However, the initial commentary seemed more political than anything else, and while we would all like to think tha tthe general public is thoughtful and discerning it's just not reality.  I think that the last election is more than enough to prove that point.

 

Amongst my friend group (mid 30s) this is starting to bubble up as a topic whenever conversation turns to deficits and medicare, etc. 

 

Young people are just future old people. The boomers were the free spirit revolutionaries in their times with the summer of love and the anti-war movement and all the drugs and rock and roll experimentation with the long hair and bell bottoms and all that. Now they're decried as the old ossified establishment. The wheels keep turning. People are people ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

The boomers had more fun than the Millennials will ever have.

 

If the Millennials want to change the world, they need to stop voting for grandpas to begin with.

 

Couldn't agree with this more.  If people want representation and a different path they have to vote.  I think this is part of the reason why Mayor Pete was interesting this time around.