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Nope they seem to have dojne alright . Its the welfare society that can't take care of themselves yet want to live well that has ruined this country. It doesn't work well when 50% pay nothing to run the country.Its like the healthcare debate now;many want others to pay for their healthcare plus their own. In the meantime they pay for internet access;cellphones and want to save their money to party. Those that are elible for medicaid get heathcare already plus hosuing assistance;food stamps and even heathcare for theirchildren. Its sucking the system dry to keep adding more and more[eople that should be helping pay but many either dropped out fo school;didn't bother to learn a trade that can earn a living( which means a skill someone will apy for) or are just lazy.Some thought that they could so into teh 21st cnetury using a screwdriver to assmble things that their grandfther and father did in times past even though they were told constantly they couldn't.They endup competing with a chinese peasant at that skill level is the truth.
Yes they are, not by their own fault but by the sheer numbers they present. For example Pensions and the 401k. Thirty years ago employers provided Pensions but the actuarial monster presented by the retirement of the baby boom was more than those in power were willing to accept. So there came the 401K which relieved the Employer of the actuarial responsibility under ERISA and put the onus on the individual. But again if forty percent of Boomers listen to one advisor it creates an enormous swing in the amount of money being moved. The Wall Street insiders have played this one like a champ robbing them over and over.
The Federal Reserve, and it's owners. The iron rule of oligarchy assured that large corporations would arise to destroy the American economy. Baby Boomers were raised by parents who had increasing living standards due to technology. However, the fiat money system eventually strangled the economic growth and coerced their Government to create regulations to stop innovation. The last innovative run was the computer revolution. There is nothing left because every industry regulated by Government becomes an oligarchy of crony capitalism. This assures failure of the industry. You can see this in the auto industry which has been all but killed by Government regulation. I don't blame the selfish baby boomers as this collapse was put into motion in 1914.
I think we all get a turn at being the hope of tomorrow as very young children, the spoiled and ungrateful as teens, the irresponsible and lazy as young adults, "the man" in middle age (per the younger generation) and screw-ups who still won't listen (per the older generation), the ones to blame going into retirement and the greatest generation as elderly. Ahh, the circle of life!
Of course, we rarely want to include ourselves in these categories since they are primarily not very pleasant but it seems to be the trend. I remember my grandparents talking about my parents generation and my parents say pretty much the same about my own. History tells me that my grandparents were treated much the same as well. The way it's shaping up, I've got a feeling my generation won't be saying anything new with regards to our children or our parents either.
The Boomers have had several cans of whup-a$$ opened on them in this forum, some of it justified.
When not navel-gazing, we have spent so much time either being young or trying to recapture our youth.
We went from making a difference to making a profit, but we did some good along the way.
We invented Yuppies, but gave the feminist movement a lot of momentum.
We did not write civil rights legislation, but we lived the results in classrooms.
Men like Daniel Ellsberg truly helped end the Vietnam war, but it was youth protests, youth distrust of government, that fueled the anti-war movement.
Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring, and others invented Earth Day, but in terms of environmental awareness and sustainability, this generation has done some good: cleaned up rivers, brought back organic farming and natural animal husbandry.
And so on.
We Boomers talk about ourselves so much.
The Boomers have been sort of a bridge between the WWII people and Generations X and Y.
My problem with the baby boomer generation is that it seems as though they were happy to rely on the laurels of their parents.
The baby boomers parents fought WWII, sent men to the moon, built the greatest auto indurstry in the United States, and many other accomplishments.
However, what did the boomers do? I can think of little that they accomplished on their own, other than the PC. The PC is huge, don't get me wrong, but that is just one aspect of our lives.
I think there are characteristics of "boomers" which are positive and others which are not. On the positive side, our generation:
1. Sought and obtained advanced education.
2. Was interested in high technology and ushered in the computer age.
3. Cared about the environment. (global warming, air pollution, water quality)
4. Was active in political and civic affairs.
Unfortunately, a number of negative characteristics also define the boomers. Here are just a few of these:
1. Were too greedy. This must be broken into subpoints to fully understand it.
a. Allowed the difference between the wealthiest people in this country and the poorest to become ever greater.
b. Stood by while 15% of the population became unable to afford health insurance.
c. Pushed salaries for money managers, business advisors, physicians, and lawyers to obscenely high levels.
d. When it came down to it, really only cared about themselves and their kids. The rest of the country did not matter.
2. Despite participating in politics were completely willing to let bad presidents make dumb foreign policy decisions. Iraq should never have been invaded and if we had the money we spent there, the financial bailout would not look nearly so daunting a proposition. Nor should George W. Bush ever have been allowed to destroy the reputation of this country abroad the way that he did.
3. Cared too much about music, style, youthful looks, and appearance. This detracted from time we could have spent caring more substantive things.
4. Seemed to expect that age-old problems like racism or poverty could have instantaneous solutions. When we didn't get them we either became disillusioned, gave up, or moved on to other things.
There are alot of reasons why the state of affairs in America is what it is. It would be wrong to assert that any one generation is responsible. However, what I go back to is the way things work in the military. Usually, if there is a question about responsibility for a problem if something goes wrong is "who was on watch?". No question that given our ages and positions of responsibility that our generation--the baby boomers--were on watch. In that sense we are morally responsible for at least the deterioration in our country that has occurred in the last 25 years.
If not, who do you think is? Is it just human nature to be all screwed up and not "evolve" gracefully if that is what you call it?
Its not a b.b. problem...its a mankind problem . Each succeeding American generation brings with it a greater degree of apathy toward core morals and values and the propensity toward rebellion escalates. Sin is what The Bible calls it and its destructive as we have seen in just the last 40 years. This is Americas greatest problem, not the economy or health care reform. Human Beings DEVOLVE in that sense. There is only one real solution but the Country by and large dont want it and that is : Give God his rightful place in the Country and personal lives. Without God, immorality increases and narcissitic philosophies deepen.
Last edited by RVlover; 09-02-2009 at 07:59 AM..
Reason: added
My problem with the baby boomer generation is that it seems as though they were happy to rely on the laurels of their parents.
However, what did the boomers do? .....
Well, they were the generation that pioneered Americas favorite pastime today : Sexual Hedonism. (Has that been a good contribution ? Depends on ones sexual mores I reckon. When you look at the true fallout from it, it is anything but praise-worthy ) .
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