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On wealth distribution
Between 1979 and 2009, the richest 5 percent of American families saw their real incomes increase 73 percent while the poorest Americans saw their real incomes decrease by 7 percent.
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That's interesting, but totally useless data. If you are a healthy person and in the "poorest Americans" category, you got what you deserve.
By the way, why do you care what the richest 5% make?
I think the whole Baby Boomer vs GenY argument is flawed. You're not comparing apples to apples if you ask me. Take someone who was born in the middle of GenY, lets say someone born in 1985 who is now 27 years old. Now, let's take someone who was born in the middle of the Baby Boomer era, lets say 1954 who is now 58 years old.
Are these two individuals going to have the exact same experiences at 27 years old? No way. This hypothetical Baby Boomer was 27 years old in 1981. What was the world like in 1981?
The Soviet Union was still a rival to the USA
Nobody knew what a NINJA loan was
No Internet (No City Data either)
Racial demographics were very different (most states were much more homogenous than today)
Stem cells weren't discovered yet
People still actually thought Uncle Sam gave a crap about them (LOL)
Made in China was only a minor novelty
Financial derivatives were non-existant
Employers were kind of loyal to their employees, sort of
Private spaceflight was unheard of
Home computers cost as much as some cars and had computing power measured in kilobytes.
Cell phones were an extreme luxury. Some households had no phones at all!
Now compare this to what a 27 year old faces today. I haven't even started on all the differences between the 27-year-old of 1981 and the one in 2012 and we already have a huge experiential gap. Was society necessarily more tolerant and friendlier in 1981? Probably not. It wasn't more stable either. I think the USA as a geopolitical entity probably hit its prime in the 1950s-1960s and started to decline in the 1970s. To me it was inevitable; I won't discuss here why but it should be obvious that even in 1981 people could see problems worsening. I think the real problem is leadership that either doesn't want to deal with problems or can't deal with them. A lot of tension has been building up in the USA for a long time and I think the Baby Boomer vs GenY pissing match is a side effect of it. In my opinion I think the USA as a nation is unsustainable; I wouldn't be surprised if it split apart into several pieces in the next decade or so. I think arguments like Baby Boomers vs GenY also might be a nation's way of distracting itself from more serious problems, or at least something that should be addressed first.
Last edited by fireandice1000; 05-09-2012 at 01:25 PM..
Reason: Grammer goof
Everyone doesn't need 4+ years of college to be successful.
My wife and I lived in an efficiency with our firstborn till I got my head out of my arse and went into the police academy. Our kitchen consisted of a hotplate and one of those little boat fridges.
We both had jobs, we didn't have much, still don't, and we consider ourselves successful. Raising decent human beings is my idea of success. It's all a matter of what you value. (hint--it's not what you can buy).
It's not a mystery.
But a college degree confers SOCIAL STATUS and for this generation that is important maybe MORE important that actually having a damn skill.
Baby Boomers were given a great country on a silver platter by the generation that birthed them. They could've worked and afford school at the same time. They grew up in the most prosperous era in US history. Most Baby Boomers could've owned their own homes and cars without any type of education. Can millenials do that? It's impossible. Baby Boomers are by far the most entitled generation in US history. However, they made things worse for their children's generation.
Well over the years the citizens of this country have handed it over the Corporations, Bankers, and Politicians. One can't squarely blame the boomer generation, but they were the generation of political leaders in place that have been progressing in this direction.
Their goal is Globalism. The Politicians haven't worked for the people for decades run by the Hegelian Dialectic left-right paradigm kicking the can slowly forward. The mass media instead of providing a checks and balances, has been working for special interests.
So I guess one could mostly square the blame on the Boomers for not paying attention to this, getting informed, and correcting it before it got to this point. Nixon took us off the gold standard in the early seventies introducing a 100 percent fiat currency. The fed Reserve is a Private bank currently printing this fake money into hyperinflation mode. For decades production industry has been moving overseas. A strong dollar allowed us to get fat (<<literally) off the fruits of other peoples labor for a while. Of course the obesity has caused all kinds of secondary health related costs (paid by Medicare of course). Now that is dwindling to nothing, and we have to production base to fall back upon.
So basically these 'special interests' have been slowly taking the resources away from the people and giving to their buddies. America doesn't produce things anymore (the source of real wealth). Most of the agriculture-rich land is owned by the Government. Small business has crawled to a stand still while corporation jobs have blossomed.
There has been years of sleeping at the wheel, and we are about to see the chicken come home to roost. America is finished. Can't blame the kids that's for sure.
Its always the conspirtacy of the bankers ;the corporations etc. Since the mid 60's its the wealth sharers that have resulted in disfunctional parts of this society. Tese types have always whined that a conspiracy is holdig them back when they need to look in the morror and think about the decisions they have amde i their lifetime.
Elderly whiny ass ******* like you voted Republican for decades, killing American industry, offshoring the jobs your generation got fat on. No problem voting for right wing scumbags who kept taxes low and ran debts high so you could have your cake & eat it too. You have NO place to speak and insult younger people who have to deal with the America you killed, the Boomers killed the America the Greatest Generation handed to them.
What a steaming shoveful of horsecrap!!!
Baby boomers are NOT the "America Killers". That title is left to you freeloaders who have your collective heads stuck in your computer screens, your iPods, and your Twitter and Facebook accounts,...while fully expecting working Americans to give their hardearned money to the government to provide for your "cradle to grave" mentality. The younger generation prefers to b**** and whine rather than work.
Baby boomers are NOT the "America Killers". That title is left to you freeloaders who have your collective heads stuck in your computer screens, your iPods, and your Twitter and Facebook accounts,...while fully expecting working Americans to give their hardearned money to the government to provide for your "cradle to grave" mentality. The younger generation prefers to b**** and whine rather than work.
Not going to bother getting into some debate, but what jobs?
Last I checked the kids coming out of College with even graduate/professional degrees (Lawyers even) are out of work.
These people aren't playing around on their Ipod, twitter account whatever as they're loans go into default. They are looking for Jobs. They aren't there.
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