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what makes you so sure it's greed? Is it because we won't hand over something you feel entitled to?
You're talking about the sandwich generation. Many boomers are taking care of ailing parents, putting kids through college, some are still supporting kids who have graduated but are unemployed or underemployed, and our savings have taken several hits over the years.
Enough with the "it's greed" tantrum, which is nothing more than an attack on us meant to manipulate. None of us here are working due to greed and we're sick of hearing that.
Try educating yourself on the subject, you might come across as credible that way.
It's not a surprise, really. People seem to get extremely bored when they're retired. Statistics also show that people who retire earlier (aged 60-70 years) end up dying earlier too. Possibly due to a lack of physical activity, in addition to daily mental challenges, in comparison to when they were employed.
When my grandparents first retired, they aged more in the years that they were retired than any other time I'd known them; they didn't seem to ever have as much energy either.
The younger generation who envy or hate us Boomers have a few choices they might make (with tongue firmly in cheek):
1. Vote for politicians who will place their agenda higher than my generation's agenda, and put mandates in at the national level (like a national mandatory retirement age) that will get us out of the workplace. Make sure undocumented workers can all vote, get them on your side, and make sure they get to the voting booths to silence my generation at the ballot box. Good luck getting there.
2. If voting doesn't work, organize a revolution and take everything over, forcing us into Retirement Camps where presumably Millennial guards can watch over us and make sure none of us gets within spitting distance of a job application. As inspiration, you might watch the 1968 movie "Wild In The Streets". Yeah, that's going to happen.
3. Get rid of Medicare and put Government Review Boards in place who will take draconian measures to make sure us oldsters get minimal medical care so we'll die off faster. You might want to even call them Death Panels. No comment on this one; some would say it's happening already.
4. Understand that the world changes, economics change, and if you want a job, you're going to have to adjust to new realities so you can compete for the jobs that are out there. Also, understand that simply being on the planet doesn't entitle you to anything; you have to earn the respect of an employer. The teachers who gave all of you awards, including the losers, didn't do you any favors. Make your expectations realistic ... but that's no fun, is it?
5. Forget the above four options, work at your little McJobs and spend your life complaining on this forum and other media about how it's all so Unfair and how those Boomers are all a bunch of Big Meanies and should just Go Away.
I had the same experience with both myself (early upbringing, I mean) and my two kids; and I blame MYSELF for listening to all the psychologists, articles and teachers about instilling self-esteem in my kids, providing them with all kinds of enrichment activities, treating them as people who needed to be reasoned with, and the importance about getting their agreement regarding chores, discipline, etc.(even when they were preschoolers!). And in return for all our love and care and attention, my two kids grew up having no respect for us at all until they left home. Conversely, even though my husband and I grew up in upper-lower "working class" families and were given almost no "extras" -- and even though our parents seemingly did not spend even an hour worrying about our "feelings", "self-esteem", etc. -- we grew up to be hard-working, responsible people who respect others (most of them, anyway).
So, yes, I do agree very much with what you wrote! (I wish I could have given another positive rep to you, but was denied.)
It was Dr. Benjamin Spock. I read his book while I was pregnant and I'm sure many of us followed that advice. We tried to do what was right and it was wrong. Our parents did a better job at raising us the old fashioned way.
Thank you so much for the rep and I love your reply also. Rep on the way!
I rep'd them for you cause it was an excellent post!
I am a late Boomer. Heck, I didn't graduate high school till 1980. I would love to see how today's 20 something's handle the early 80's recession that we had to endure. I remember HIGH unemployment, interest rates at 14%, and *gasp* I had to get into a 1971 Cutlass (without air-conditioning) and drive 1/2 way across the country by myself at 18 for a job without a cell-phone and no idea where or how I was going to live for a while. But then... yea.... we had it so easy.
Hahahaha How did we exist without the cell phones? No air? OMG.
I know it was a rant, but I just had to tell it like it is.....lol the truth of course!
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
3,997 posts, read 4,142,915 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cam1957
It was Dr. Benjamin Spock. I read his book while I was pregnant and I'm sure many of us followed that advice. We tried to do what was right and it was wrong. Our parents did a better job at raising us the old fashioned way.
Thank you so much for the rep and I love your reply also. Rep on the way!
The problem is if we had raised them as our parents had a lot of us would have gotten in trouble big time. There was nothing quite as terrifying to me as hearing mom (or grandmother as well) saying "We're off to the woodshed to find the switch." And no.. I wasn't abused! But I certainly got the message.
And North Beach... The cutlass was mint. All original not a speck of rust. Got rid of it in the late 80s And wish I still had it.
[quote=aus10;38839985]The problem is if we had raised them as our parents had a lot of us would have gotten in trouble big time. There was nothing quite as terrifying to me as hearing mom (or grandmother as well) saying "We're off to the woodshed to find the switch." And no.. I wasn't abused! But I certainly got the message.
You are so very right! My Mom used the old ... bolo paddles on our butts and we didn't think we were abused either
It's not all Millennials that are a problem. A good number of Millennials are busy working and being promoted into new positions, making more money, and are bypassing those who are complaining. How do you explain this? Could it be that it's not an entire generation holding back an entire generation? Could it be something more personal that's holding some back?
When most of us are retired, what will the excuse be then? That we waited too long and it held up their careers? How do some of you explain so many of your peers blowing your doors off in the meantime?
Both of my kids are Millennials. I didn't help them get their jobs - nobody did. They got them by applying to jobs they found online. They're not butt kissers, but they're grateful for the jobs they have and have great attitudes. Both are way ahead of where I was at their age as far as their careers are concerned. And I can say the same for many of the Millennials I've worked with.
Every Boomer in the country could retire tomorrow and it wouldn't change anything for some of you because it's not the situation that needs to change, it's you. You're the problem. Until you get that, you'll stew in your self-created misery for all time.
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