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Part of the boomers prosperity included placing burdens on future generations. Their generation also mismanaged this country.
It's no different than a CEO of a corp loading the company up with debt in order to boost the short term equity price so that he can profit from his stock options. Meanwhile, the company is screwed for the medium and long term.
You could say the same thing about the generation that ran our country into the ground in the 20's and 30's, or the generation that tried to split the country in half, giving us the Civil War, or the generation of in power during the 1760's that failed to keep the colonies together under the crown in peace, resulting in a bloody revolution before that.
Yet after each disaster came a period of great prosperity, technological innovation and new ideas, all made possible because the old was wiped out and a new societal contract brought to bear.
See the pattern? We'll get through this. Once the pipe is clear, turds flush fast and the bowl will be scrubbed clean; in the end we younger folks will find ourselves growing old in shining times.
Later on, our grandkids will have a nasty habit of flushing their bras and weed down the toilet too and the cycle will begin anew.
You could say the same thing about the generation that ran our country into the ground in the 20's and 30's, or the generation that tried to split the country in half, giving us the Civil War, or the generation of in power during the 1760's that failed to keep the colonies together under the crown in peace, resulting in a bloody revolution before that.
Yet after each disaster came a period of great prosperity, technological innovation and new ideas, all made possible because the old was wiped out and a new societal contract brought to bear.
See the pattern? We'll get through this. Once the pipe is clear, turds flush fast and the bowl will be scrubbed clean; in the end we younger folks will find ourselves growing old in shining times.
Later on, our grandkids will have a nasty habit of flushing their bras and weed down the toilet too and the cycle will begin anew.
Again. Not quite.
You're looking at a very narrow sliver of history. In the histories of many other great civilizations a span of a few hundred years is not all that great. Events such as a Civil War or an economic depression are par for the course.
Why will it proceed in your way when it could just as well proceed like it did during the dark ages in Europe which lasted for centuries or the decline of Imperial China or any other number of great civilizations/empires.
Sooner or later, like any great civilization/empire, the US will succumb to history. History portends that the period of decline will be lengthy. That's just how things go.
What's interesting about the US is that the rise was very quick. It took only about 80 years. If the US bucked the trend on the rise, it can do so on the decline as well.
Maybe a Civil War will solve our problems. How many are up for it? lol There are solutions but few are willing to implement them. That's the problem.
You're looking at a very narrow sliver of history.
Why will it proceed in your way when it could just as well proceed like it did during the dark ages in Europe which lasted for centuries or the decline of Imperial China or any other number of great civilizations/empires.
Sooner or later, like any great civilization/empire, the US will succumb to history. History portends that the period of decline will be lengthy. That's just how things go.
What's interesting about the US is that the rise was very quick. It took only about 100 years.
We are a very different dynamic; it all boils down to our perceptions of time and our place in time. Imperial China and midevil Europe saw the passage of time as cyclical in nature; we see it as a linear progression. The individuals of those old cultures saw themselves as a mere tiny fragment of a larger and far more important whole; we understand ourselves as individuals who are entitled to try to improve our lot in life and are involved in a more or less friendly competition with our countrymen (not to mention a "not so friendly" competition with the outside world).
Those are two very different ways of looking at the world and will result in very different generational patterns; The old way promotes stasis; castes, people who were born and died behind the plow and never even contemplated anything more their whole lives. Change comes slow and traditions rule; consequently one generation is very much like the next.
Our world view on the other hand creates a pattern of generational interplay which creates a boom, disillusionment, self-serve and then disaster cycle that is clearly seen since the time our particular worldview was formed in Rennisance Europe.
I see nothing to suggest we are gonna go backwards to the ancient way of understanding the world and our place in it...
You can't deny the fact that the boomers were born kind of lucky.
Walk of fthe street and get 14/hr factory jobs in the 70's. 30k/year in the 70's lol. Decent money I'd say. Add the pensions and benefits and any shclub off the street who wanted to work was making around $25/hr all inclusive compensation.
Nowadays, the standard is 15/hr for college grads with no pension and no benefits.
Can't blame some for complaining.
As a boomer who was looking for work in the 70's I can tell you that your numbers are off. When we got married in 1972 we were struggling. By 1975 we were bringing in a whopping $7k a year and felt damn lucky to have it. We went through gas shortages that made it difficult to find gas to buy, let alone being able to afford to buy it.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, do you know anyone that is waiting for a draft notice to be called to go to war? Didn't think so...
Nowadays, who are business savvy wouldn't even be able to start one because there's literally no funding. Go try to take out a business loan for a new establishment. Unless you put up heavy collateral you ain't getting anything. On the other hand, why would you put up heavy collateral when the rule is you will most likely fail before you succeed. Are you going to risk it?
Things were no different in the past, banks rarely provide seed capital to businesses. Banks want to deal with secured loans or provide loans to businesses with a history of good cash-flow.
Its a rule that most will fail before they succeed? Its amazing to what degree this urban myth gets repeated.
Anyhow, business isn't for everyone, but not because of some changes that have occurred in the economy. Some people just plain suck at business...and some people will create an endless list of excuses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wawaweewa
It's not so easy in good times to start a business. Let alone during the ****show we have now.
This is off point as well, the best time to start a business is during a recession, ideally right before it bottoms. This may seem counter-intuitive, but not if you think in terms of GDP growth and competition. When a recession bottoms many competitors have self-destructed which makes room for new businesses right when the economy starts to grow again. On the other hand in "good times", established businesses are the most powerful and barriers to entry are the highest.
You can't deny the fact that the boomers were born kind of lucky.
I'm one of those boomers who is inclined to agree with you up to a point. IMO, luck is a realtive term. Compared to more recently born generations, we-the-boomers were relatively lucky, but then we were forced agasint our wills to risk our lives and limbs in the Viet Nam fiasco and have our lives put on hold while mighty big brother drafted us to fight that dirty war. You guys don't have to deal with the draft and you don't have soldierhood forced upon you, so that is somewhat of a trade off. You can still go to war if you choose to do so, but big brother ain't making you do it....at the risk of prison time...should you refuse to toe the line.
Additionally, to a certain degree, luck is a factor that is attracted or repelled in accordance with ones attitude. If you keep lookin for scapegoats and keep playing the blame game, your probablity of attracting good luck is greatly diminished.
Last edited by CosmicWizard; 06-24-2011 at 12:31 PM..
As a boomer who was looking for work in the 70's I can tell you that your numbers are off. When we got married in 1972 we were struggling. By 1975 we were bringing in a whopping $7k a year and felt damn lucky to have it. We went through gas shortages that made it difficult to find gas to buy, let alone being able to afford to buy it.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot, do you know anyone that is waiting for a draft notice to be called to go to war? Didn't think so...
Wah, wah, wah...
Having been to war and came back (Injured)
I have something to say to the passage in bold:
"And?"
There were plenty of ways to avoid it if you really wanted it... Just ask Slick Willy.
There were plenty of ways to avoid it if you really wanted it... Just ask Slick Willy.
Guys like Slick Willy and his good buddy George W were able to keep their *sses safe. But those guys had conncetions up the wazoo. It wasn't that easy to avoid the war for the common man. You and the rest of your generation have a choice. We didn't. You guys are gettin screwed financially, we got screwed by HAVING to give up several years of our lives playing soldier. For the present time anyway, you have a choice in the matter.
There were plenty of ways to avoid it if you really wanted it... Just ask Slick Willy.
I guess you don't really know the situation as it was in the sixties, many more troops were on the ground in those days, a ton more, not very many were "volunteers" either, the draft was a common worry for so many young guys in those days, we got our greetings in the mail and it was off to the crapper in Asia. More guys died in the first year than all the deaths in the middle east theatre of late, it was NOT easy to get out back then, you mentioned Clinton but that's not to say he was the "average" guy. You're reaching here more than a bit......
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