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Look nat6bthe life style they have lead that has lead to their own ruin. Look at dropout rate;thier still believig tht c=screwdriver jobs a chinese preasnt can do or that the most important thing is your cell phone or how good you are at computer games. Not all but a good per cenatge. Why haven't they changed the economyis the biggest question like past generation to adapt. Ceretainly the dropout rate;teen pregeancy rate;wnatiung wentitlements and free stufff at a age when they should be their o most independent and self reliant says alot.Look nat their heroes ;drugged out ;spoiled vrats that do nothig but party.The party is am afraid is over.Time to take over and make your way leaving the bommers to retire like they did their parents.
There is a lot of truth in this. We are extending childhood again. It is not a good thing.
But those who are wondering how they'll pay the cell bill when mom and dad stop should also consider this. EVERY generation has that run into the wall moment when reality hits. Every generation deals eventually, some well, some not. But when that comes its time to forget that mom and dad might have been too indulgent and stop blaming. Blame will get you a headache but not an apartment or an income. When that moment comes its time to let it go and reevaluate things. Is that job which pays a little over minimum "good enough" when there is no income? Do I really need this video game? What does "need" really mean?
I had my reality moment, and yes, mom and dad were too smothering. But I'm not blaming them for any failures I have in my life. That is MY responsibility as it is based on MY choices.
If this generation can't figure out that personal responsibility is what matters more than what someone else did then they are in a really hurtful place, either now or later. I hope they can since one of them is mine and he's there now.
The problem is the trust fund is just an obligation on future tax payers, not real assets. When we draw from it the debt goes from off budget to on budget debt, no real money changes hands.
There really are no "real assets", the value of all assets depends on future productivity. But the social security trust is essentially just an accounting mechanism, but how could it be any other way? Its not like you can save grains, cash, etc instead. Nor is putting the money into other securities in more attractive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hilgi
If history is any guide the boomers will voluntarily give up on some entitlements (read Generations by Straus & Howe) but I don't see Gen X & Y coming together, Gen Y are very much into big government solutions where X are more DIY.
I see no reason to believe boomers will give up anything. Also, I have read that book and its filed in my "pseudo-scientific gibberish" section. I'd much rather look at the collective attitudes of the boomers than rely on some unscientific theory of generation cycles. Every time generational issues come up, the reactions are the same. Boomers are completely unsympathetic to the problems faced by both Gen X and Y. Why would they suddenly shift attitudes?
Gen X and Y are pretty different, but they both have an interest in rolling back some of the boomer entitlements. Why would they not come together to deal with this common threat?
If this generation can't figure out that personal responsibility is what matters more than what someone else did then they are in a really hurtful place, either now or later. I hope they can since one of them is mine and he's there now.
This generation will figure out that personal responsibility is the way to make the best of matters. But this will have ramifications, for example as the boomers age don't expect to find much aid from Gen Y and X. They will gladly remind you of your personal responsibility.
The boomers pretend as if they are a self-made generation and as a result have under-invested in their children. This under-investment will come back to haunt them not only economically but socially as well.
LOL. I used to see that poster at the department I went to college during undergrad. NASA poster..." your attitude determines your altitude". Funny thing about that " attitude-centric" success mantra garbage is that the Space shuttle program is now shut down, leaving a generation of children and young adults with a dead dream and no heros. How about that for an irony........'cause nobody busts their hump for 10 years to get the braggin' rights at being the guy who designed the 415th screw on the automated mini-rover that lands on planet who-gives-a-f%ck, people do remember buzz Aldrin though....
Just to expand a little more on the pun behind the saying; the saying not only uses the rhyme between the words attitude and altitude, but also makes a reference to the instrument used in aircraft/spacecraft to indicate the aircraft's attitude in pitch and roll; the "attitude indicator" or "artificial horizon". The short and skinny of it is that we use negative and positive angle indications on the attitude indicator to measure the magnitude of said pitch. Positive angles indicate the nose-up regime, negative values reflect nose-down. The idea thrown by the pun is that a "positive" angle results in a climb, which everything else being equal increases your "altitude".
What the stupid saying fails to warn the dupes who believe such garbage is that a "positive attitude" can kill you just as easy as a "negative attitude". There is such a thing as stalling, at which point attempting to increase the pitch in hopes of retaining altitude actually aggravates your rate of fall. The same can be said about life. A gratuitous positive outlook on life can lead you to become "optimism-biased", at which point you might as well walk around with a revolver and a bullet in one chamber, your odds of winning or dying are about as certain as that.
Here's a better one from the book of the grounded. "If you try and fail, don't give up. Try again.....and if you fail, then quit, don't be an idiot." But universities wouldn't get as many incoming freshmen (read rent) with the "your odds of becoming the astronaut we pay to speak to you on opening day are not good at all" approach to the truth.
Attitude determines your altitude is as much an entitlement-based philosophy as blaming your lousy parents for screwing up the country is. People still fail every single day in this country and clicking their heels ain't helping them one iota. So as one who understands the internal joke behind the saying and the community from which it originated, spare me.
Seems you missed the point by a mile. Altitude does not necessarily mean accumulating wealth or many materials things. Mother Theresa did not have much material possessions but she reached other types of heights in life. That's what I mean by altitude. Have you read the "The credit belongs to..." by Teddy Roosevelt? I venture to guess you will have as much a negative attitude on it based on what you just wrote if you read it. A possitive attitude is a good motivator. It does not assure success in everything life. However, it is a motivator that encourages many people to keep struggling and not just sit down and whine about how bad life is. The difference between you and I is that I can see the same glass as half full and you as half empty. I venture to guess that example is also some bad philosophical view, I spare you, take care.
There really are no "real assets", the value of all assets depends on future productivity. But the social security trust is essentially just an accounting mechanism, but how could it be any other way? Its not like you can save grains, cash, etc instead. Nor is putting the money into other securities in more attractive. ?
Very true, that is the worry, it depends on future productivity and a lot of indicators lining up properly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by user_id
I see no reason to believe boomers will give up anything. Also, I have read that book and its filed in my "pseudo-scientific gibberish" section. I'd much rather look at the collective attitudes of the boomers than rely on some unscientific theory of generation cycles. Every time generational issues come up, the reactions are the same. Boomers are completely unsympathetic to the problems faced by both Gen X and Y. Why would they suddenly shift attitudes?
Gen X and Y are pretty different, but they both have an interest in rolling back some of the boomer entitlements. Why would they not come together to deal with this common threat?
For the last 18 years Strauss & Howe (Strauss is dead now) have been doing a lot of looking at collective attitudes and so far they have been right on. http://www.lifecourse.com/ Their follow-up book the Fourth Turning (1998) now reads like a newspaper. Some people like their work, Al Gore gave every member of congress a copy of Generations back in 93ish.
I think were framing the issues wrong with the boomers, it is not about helping X&Y but leaving a legacy. Deep down the boomers still want to save the world and if they feel like changes they make will leave a positive legacy for their grandkids and for posterity, they are more willing to help. I brought this up to my Boomer in-laws and they light up when you talk about leaving the world a better place.
I hope X&Y work together but the Millennials (Y) seem to follow collective authority much more than the Xers. If the Xers can gain enough political power they can become the authority but I don’t see the boomers letting that happen.
Thanks for ****ty, second rate country we'll inherit! You did an amazing job managing & squandering the most prosperous time America has ever experienced, and in the process stealing from future generations
Sorry but it wasn't all of us . You can thank the communist beatnics ,hippies fems for it .
But even more so you can thank the so caled religious people who did nothing while they destroyed it for us all .
The parents of the boomers saved at extraordinary rates as they were scared due to the Great depression. When this occurs families start investing that savings (or let it collect interest in a savings account) and with compounding these families begin to become very wealthy (even if they don't make a lot at their job). The boomers were then born into an era where these parents preached of the hard times they endured but due to the wealth of Americans, most boomers didn't understand or think anything could get that bad again.
When you are born into a situation where life is great, and you can buy things WITH CASH that most others around the world only dream of, then you keep the good times rolling. Eventually the cash ran out, because MOST (not all) of the boomer generation only understood how to spend and not save, like their parents did.
This is only cyclical, no need to get upset. We will now become those "parents of the boomers," and once we've paid off debts and become wealthy (not indebted with lots of "stuff) then our kids or grandkids will enjoy that wealth. Most likely, they will do the same thing the "boomers" did and squander the money. I don't want to get to in depth but there are some pretty good statistics that back this up (plus it's just obvious if you look around and see how "rich kids" act compared to their parents that were "self-made millionaires"). You will notice that the parents live very simple lives while those "rich kids" live very extravagant lives, because that's all they ever knew.
So this cycle will happen again. America is fine and will prosper well into the future. It's nothing to get bent out of shape over, just start saving and make sure you pay off your debts (if you have any).
No America will not proser into the future ! We are nothing even close to the people we use to be . We use to be united .
Just for reference, in the 2008 presidential election, the youngest group of voters went by the largest margin of any group for Barack Obama. Your reward: an anti-prosperity agenda and massive borrowing for you to pay back later.
You can begin to fix your mistake by voting for Republican congressional candidates in 2010, to dethrone Nancy Pelosi.
In the meantime, make your own prosperity, whiner.
I'm a boomer and I can tell you the kids right .
He may have voted for obama, but who sent him to the indoctrination place . Who first allowed sickos to teach them about sex and immorality ? Who wanted more and sacrificed their kids to have it ? Who raised these pitiful weaklings [ not all and not this poster far as I know ] ?
Not talking about the few women who did it right got married had to work to support their kids , they are products of the others .
Seems you missed the point by a mile. Altitude does not necessarily mean accumulating wealth or many materials things. Mother Theresa did not have much material possessions but she reached other types of heights in life. That's what I mean by altitude. Have you read the "The credit belongs to..." by Teddy Roosevelt? I venture to guess you will have as much a negative attitude on it based on what you just wrote if you read it. A possitive attitude is a good motivator. It does not assure success in everything life. However, it is a motivator that encourages many people to keep struggling and not just sit down and whine about how bad life is. The difference between you and I is that I can see the same glass as half full and you as half empty. I venture to guess that example is also some bad philosophical view, I spare you, take care.
Mother Teresa was a martyer wh was supported by thers in the church .
We have to work for a living .
Possitive attittude is a luxuary when you have a job . Hard to be possitve in a very negtive environment .
Man, this troll thread was an absolute success. Thanks for the entertainment!
-P.S. - i don't dislike boomers, only the 1% who call the shots in america and did a bad job at it.
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