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^If you buy everything the media feeds you, then that's your perogative. I'm part of this target "young generation" you're talking about, and I think you're tilting at windmills with this whole advertising/media topic.
The discussion, if I remember correctly, was whether or not the baby boomers ruined America for everyone else. We won't know the answer to this until the property bubble stabilizes in 10 or so years, and after the boomers consume their way through unfunded Medicaid and social security benefits.
The property bubble was the brainchild of boomers, put into motion by George W. Bush, who personifies the generation. (He also sent my generation to war for cheap oil, but that's another story). The analysis I have seen indicates that as we kept interest rates low, Gen X had to load up on debt to afford the "typical" middle class amenities, and boomers took that huge equity boost out with HELOCs to buy stuff. This claim that "Generation X bought all those houses, not Boomers," ignores the reality of what happened.
They didn't kill our country with this property bubble, but they killed our banking system, and with the help of several boomers (Bernanke, Paulson, Bush, Obama). With a few bipartisan swipes of the pen, they transferred trillions of $$ from Gen Y and Gen X's future tax dollars, so that boomers could sell their houses, their 401k's would magically reinflate, and they could retire with the standard of living they petulantly demanded.
Phase III will be all the Medicare benefits that George W. Bush signed them up for. We won't reform our broken healthcare system to any noticable degree, because Boomers want to keep these insanely expensive liabilities that they didn't pay for, and which don't really cover anyone else.
Those nice ladies holding the "Don't touch my medicare" signs at rallies? Those nice ladies are trying to rob me.
But I'm not alone in those thoughts; my dad (boomer, 1950), as well as my educators, ahve explained much of this to me as it has unfolded over the past 10 years.
The property bubble was not the result of some kind of boomer conspiracy, nor was the bank bailouts, that's the trouble with the average guy's take on politics, it gets sticky when we move away from generalizations.
The Bush admin ordered the gutting of financial regulators like the OTS, and the SEC, so that Wall Street could create lucrative fraud that would appear to expand the economy in the short term, whose colossal risks wouldn't be uncovered until some later date. Via interest rates, tax policy, and regulatory policy, he deliberately forced the economy to "run hot", so to speak.
I don't know where you draw the line for "conspiracy", but I'd say this is pretty close.. gaming the GLOBAL financial system for the sake of your generational cohorts, and their current and future voting power.
This is not just hindsight; much of these facts were available at the time, but as long as property owners are getting rich... hey, who cares? Theory of the Greater fool wins out.
The aforementioned "average guy" rationalized the housing bubble due to the "amazing resilience and robustness of the US economy.." or some sort of Phil Gramm-speak like that.
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Boomers? Gen'xers? What difference does it make that politics HAPPENS to every generation, the people of a particular age group don't run America.
Well, I can tell you that 15-year olds aren't out there "running America", making laws, but they must deal with the consequences of the decisions of those who currently do.
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Any body that doesn't know who is screwing them would be likely to fall for the notion that we can assume responsibility for all that happens in government and big corpa, simply because we are of the same age as the scum that runs those entities.
The trouble with generational generalties is evident here, the question was, did the boomers ruin America, I simply replied that they who rule also ruin, don't be misled into some kind of indefensible contempt for those in the boomer age group, tons of older folks never agreed with Bush, or the conservative view in general. Yes, a lot of young people are doing good economically, but we all know the truth of this last two decades of American debt slavery, it has come home to roost on the younger generation.
I agree with this.
I would add, however, that when other powerful individuals of your age group have made poor decisions, people claim that "It isn't their fault."
Yet, these same people line up to take credit for positive developments of their generation, like for example the civil rights movement, or internet.
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if you're working class it doesn't matter that some guy in power is the same age, one thing's for sure, he aint gonna share with you because you have the same birthday..............
We disagree here.
If you're part of a powerful voting bloc who is defined by the birthdate of its members (and by extension, whether they own houses, or rent, whether they are in college, or about to retire, whether they have substantial medical needs, or not), then you bet your ass that the guy in power is going to pay attention to your birthdate.
You have to remmeber that congress is the oversite of regulators.ust as much of the housing crisis could have been discovered earlier if democarts such as barney frank had not blocked a audit of fannie and freddie. Tyhe fact is that congress in the last decades have done everyhting they could to allow people that could affors homes buy them. Fron the help in downpolayments ;to closure in the clinton years onward. Regaltion has been lacked for decades. Then people grabbed the oportunity to use these pased programs with teh thought that they couldn't lose because many had nothing in the game and thought the worse they could do was sell at a profit.Main street knew exactly what they were doing but none wanted regualtors to interfer because they thought it was speard homeownership and wealth.As barney frank said if fannie and freddie get in touble we can always bail them out.But now they have no idea how to do that and the amount is staggering, The first thing they saw was that 25% of those refied went back into foreclosure.Bascially what it showed was that homeownership was too easy during the last deacdes and caused a bubble by driving up prices because of making it too easy to get a home financed no matter what the fiancial abiliy of the buyer to actually pay.Now waht we see is a further making it easier for people to get things by more government programs to finance those wants.The something for nothing is a false premise to start with is what p[eople have learned.
You have to remember that Boomers had already bought their primary homes and lived in them for 20 years by the time the housing bubble was in its formative stage in 2001. Gen-Xers and Millenials were the generations who were starting to raise kids and favored new homes out in the far suburbs with new schools and plenty of room for their kids to play. That's where much of the buildout has occurred in the DC area, California, and other areas where the bubble has burst.
Homeownership rates weren't going to go up further unless they focused on extending credit to the younger age groups and to minorities. Nowawadays, people in their early 20's expect to own a home almost immediately and don't expect to money down toward buying a home. The big change after 2001 was the change in HUD regulations regarding third-party downpayment contributions and the growth in government programs for downpayment assistance. As a result, the median downpayment went from 10% to essentially zero in just four years.
Perosanly I think its more likely the new generqation i thier dficit spoending under Obama are dooming the next generation to poverty for thie own benfit.never have so many been dependent on so few actaul tax payers but want so for nothing.
This question was posed on Yahoo! Well, what do you think? Did you? Post yes or no examples below. Did baby boomers ruin the chance for their kids to ever retire?
1) I think those collosal idiots who intruded upon the land of the native Americans had something to do with it.
2) The vile barbarians who intruded on the proud people in Africa and forced them into slavery here also contributed to what plagues this country. The descendents of these losers certainly didn't help this country.
3) Jim Crow laws, Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, and the other bigot Southern politicians didn't help. The entire South before Boomers arrived must've been something out of the Stone Age.
4) Conservatives, with their divisive policies, voodoo economic theories, and continuing racial intolerance certainly have hurt.
5) I think a segregated Army during WWII didn't help.
6) Severe segregation throughout the country existed before the Boomers came.
7) The fact that a village idiot like Bush can graduate from Yale speaks volumes about the structure that was in place before Boomers arrived than about Boomers. Incompetence pushed to the top because of an unearned privilege.
Boomers shouldn't be blamed for the continuing detrimental impact on this country of Conservatives, their constituents, and their supporters before Boomers arrived and now.
Ruin America? are you kidding, baby boomers created all the wealth we now have in this country. We went out into the world and changed it...in just sheer numbers alone. Think about the astronomical growh in the music industry, retail/clothing industry, television, computers, travel industry, many inventions that changed the world, all from bb's. I think when I was in my 20's the stock market (which no average person invested in) was at about 100, and now look at it at 10,000. The openness about alcoholism, child abuse, race relations, etc. which was all hidden away in the generations before us. The boomers' kids inherited a great, wealthy world...of course, not without its problems. Heck, women didn't even wear pants to school until the boomer generation went to high school. Most kids don't realize the drastic changes that took place in our society from the 1960's on. Now it's up to them to carry the torch, make their own mark in our society and world.
You know with all thsi talk 'I have to say that none of my family that is in the newer generation is anyhtiong but a tribute to our family. I have three neieces that their mopther died when one was a senior in high school and the other two in grade school. None had any moaney for college as their father never saved, All three spent 5-6 years going to college while working full time. Two are teachers;one is a pharmacist and doing well. Btter young people there entrie lifes you could find IMO.So I thnik the OP and many younger people who come to the retired forum are people that bascially made bad choices and now are having to struggle which is the way life is.
Steve Shay
Tommy Maras, a.k.a. "Inkman" was voted the King of the Hobos at Britt, Iowa's 109th Annual Hobo Convention Aug. 6. Inkman works on train cars in West Seattle and lives here, too.
Ruin America? are you kidding, baby boomers created all the wealth we now have in this country. We went out into the world and changed it...in just sheer numbers alone. Think about the astronomical growh in the music industry, retail/clothing industry, television, computers, travel industry, many inventions that changed the world, all from bb's. I think when I was in my 20's the stock market (which no average person invested in) was at about 100, and now look at it at 10,000. The openness about alcoholism, child abuse, race relations, etc. which was all hidden away in the generations before us. The boomers' kids inherited a great, wealthy world...of course, not without its problems. Heck, women didn't even wear pants to school until the boomer generation went to high school. Most kids don't realize the drastic changes that took place in our society from the 1960's on. Now it's up to them to carry the torch, make their own mark in our society and world.
What ever.
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