"The Worst Generation"

[DaveW]

Figured we could have a thread re: "The Worst Generation" aka the Baby Boomers, IMO you can trace most of our problems: Trump getting elected, terrible tax plan, poor health care in this country, continued racial tensions, terrible environment, housing market collapse of 08 directly on this generation.

Fortunately this 'problem' will solve itself more and more over the next 15-25 years.

[DaveW]

Also the worst generation falling once again for 'trickle down' economics is laughable, in addition to Trump having dementia, I almost feel like anyone over 65 has it as well. Literally does nobody have a memory of what happened last time?

'trickle down' economics is like cat nip to the worst generation, just like Rodan and Fields and advocare is catnip to bored/dumb millenials.

[Craig Arko]

Yes, because insulting people fixes everything.

[DaveW]

 

Yes, because insulting people fixes everything.

Telling the truth is insulting people? Who voted for Trump? Who continues to fall for the 'trickle down economics' nonsense time and time again? Who has stood ideally by all these years while unjust after unjust war has taken place?

Hmm, that's funny, because people seem to bash 'lazy' millennials all the time and I don't hear people crying about that.

Those lazy millennials that fought (and won) for LGBTQ rights, who have been fighting (and winning) to end the prohibition on harmless Marijuana (and thus releasing thousands of non violent offenders from prison) and who have been fighting (and bringing awareness) to major issues across the globe including workplace sexual harassment, police brutality, equal pay, minimum wage pay, universal health care, 'electric cars/AI', lowest teen birth rate in history etc.

 

Notice, nowhere did I say ALL baby boomers are too blame, there are PLENTY that do good and have done great things, the problem is the majority of them have created the largest issues this country (and world in some aspects) have to deal with today.

Thanks for higher education costs.
Thanks for crappy mass transit/infastructure

Thanks for the crappy environment

Thanks for all of the high rates of suicide and PTSD from a bunch of unjust wars.
Thanks for no more social security by the time anyone under the age of 45 (currently) retires in the future.
Thanks for creating work atmospheres and industries where predators like Matt Lauer, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Bill Cosby, Jerry Sandusky, Al Fraken could openly assault women and nothing would be done.

Thanks for the housing market crash.
Thanks for the super sweet 'war on drugs'
Thanks for the Muslim Ban
Thanks for the made up 'war on Christmas'
Thanks for the patriot act
Thanks for no more net neutrality
Thanks for zero sex education in schools
Thanks for standing by the Catholic Church after decades of child abuse. 
Thanks for nothing Baby Boomers!

Best generation has the worst generation, it only makes sense that the worst generation gives birth to the best generation (part 2) to clean up all this mess! 

[drjim]

The biggest issue our country faces is how many resources the Boomers will expend as they die. The debt they've been piling on future generations will pale in comparison to what they are about to do over the next 20-30 years.

[Squirrel]

 

The biggest issue our country faces is how many resources the Boomers will expend as they die. The debt they've been piling on future generations will pale in comparison to what they are about to do over the next 20-30 years.

They'll suck SS and Medicare dry.

[DaveW]

Three letters Boomers need to heed and memorize as they enter their twilight years:

D
N
R

At least that will help some of the burden, last thing we need is more hopeless cases costing hospitals up to 2 million (each) being hooked on life support for no reason for years on end.

[Bark's Lounge]

I think almost everyone and everything is to blame for our current and probable future outcome. As far as the Baby Boomers are concerned, The group that represented the counter culture movement failed and they became junkies or weirdos and raised their children poorly, foolishly believing in a impossible utopia, when that dream became an apparent failure, they were either impoverished and stuck to those youthful principles or they used their college education and sold out to the corporate world... hence the 80's and the BB group that would follow them.

 

I really blame a majority of this **** on technology. Whether it be social media, reality Television, the Media,  etc., etc. The United States of America is a country of "Haves" and "Have Nots". It moved too fast for the "Have Nots" and they lost themselves in the dumbing down realm of reality TV and really bought into. As for the others - Most of them have gotten lazy, and they just cozy up to the news channels or websites that agree with their beliefs.

 

I love technology for the most part, but it seems to have influenced the citizens of this country to abandon critical thought and compassion for our fellow citizens.

 

I now believe we are a self obsessed people, who have divided into different tribes, with a blindness or rebellious middle finger to cohesiveness among the whole.

[Craig Arko]

I really blame a majority of this **** on technology. Whether it be social media, reality Television, the Media, etc., etc. The United States of America is a country of "Haves" and "Have Nots". It moved too fast for the "Have Nots" and they lost themselves in the dumbing down realm of reality TV and really bought into. As for the others - Most of them have gotten lazy, and they just cozy up to the news channels or websites that agree with their beliefs.

 

I love technology for the most part, but it seems to have influenced the citizens of this country to abandon critical thought and compassion for our fellow citizens.

 

I now believe we are a self obsessed people, who have divided into different tribes, with a blindness or rebellious middle finger to cohesiveness among the whole.

You’re going to really love it when The Singularity hits. You should be young enough to see that.

 

Here are some resources for pre-coping:

 

https://ieet.org

 

http://longnow.org

 

https://futureoflife.org

[nicksaviking]

It seems to me there are two different issues here. I understand (somewhat) asking why so many Boomers are supporting such flat out selfish and awful policies and politicians. 

 

It seems kind of unfair to blame them for not being dead and wasting tax dollars though. Their use of resources and services has a lot of similarities to the arguments against immigration, which is largely liberal supported.

 

And yes, I know the comeback is "At least the immigrants are working!", but let them be the hypocrites, not us.

[nicksaviking]

 

You’re going to really love it when The Singularity hits. You should be young enough to see that.

Here are some resources for pre-coping:



http://longnow.org

 

 

The Long Now Foundations long-term thinking tagline is just the best, I am totally going to start writing the current year in five digit form!

 

The Long Now Foundation was established in 01996 to foster long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years.

 

 

[ashbury]

The Long Now Foundations long-term thinking tagline is just the best, I am totally going to start writing the current year in five digit form!

 

The Long Now Foundation was established in 01996 to foster long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years.

They need to add a comma if they want to be taken seriously here in 02,017.

[DaveW]

 

It seems to me there are two different issues here. I understand (somewhat) asking why so many Boomers are supporting such flat out selfish and awful policies and politicians. 

 

It seems kind of unfair to blame them for not being dead and wasting tax dollars though. Their use of resources and services has a lot of similarities to the arguments against immigration, which is largely liberal supported.

 

And yes, I know the comeback is "At least the immigrants are working!", but let them be the hypocrites, not us.

I'm blaming them on their selfish policies and by really setting up future generations in a tough spot.

I don't blame them for 'not dying' 

I do blame them for knowing that this 'not dying' thing would come home to roost and doing NOTHING in the last 25 years to actually figure out how to build in safeguards with social security etc

 

[ashbury]

As for the topic, every generation complains about the no-account youth representing the future and the worthless old fogies who are holding everything back. In every generation, enough youthful idealists get disappointed and become curmudgeons, giving the next emerging elder cohort its reactionary tinge. There was the Generation Gap in the 1960s-70s, and even Plato was caught complaining stereotypically about the young'uns of his day. This is absolutely nothing new.

[nicksaviking]

 

As for the topic, every generation complains about the no-account youth representing the future and the worthless old fogies who are holding everything back. In every generation, enough youthful idealists get disappointed and become curmudgeons, giving the next emerging elder cohort its reactionary tinge. There was the Generation Gap in the 1960s-70s, and even Plato was caught complaining stereotypically about the young'uns of his day. This is absolutely nothing new.

 

I agree, except the population disparity is new and part of the problem. The younger generations don't have the percentage of votes to cancel out the older generations like they traditionally have had nor the bulk income to support them.

 

The Greatest Generation = Just so, so horny. Give it a rest already Grandpa.

[drjim]

 

I agree, except the population disparity is new and part of the problem. The younger generations don't have the majority of votes to cancel out the older generations like they traditionally have had nor the bulk income to support them.

 

Yup. People living this long with this much political clout that have passed on so many hard decisions to the next generations is not a common phenomenon.

[Mike Sixel]

Dave is not the first to say this. My generation followed a generation willing to fight in World war two. There are a lot of problems, and a lot of boomers voting to keep those problems alive. I don't think it is a generation, though. I think it is decades of underfunding education and propaganda that are the real issues

[ashbury]

The Greatest Generation = Just so, so horny. Give it a rest already Grandpa.

If by GG you mean those who served in WWII, well, most of them are around 90 and up, and have given it a rest already.

[Champuckett]

Agreed with the OP, and you will continue to see more people speaking about this topic, but I don't think the primary or even secondary reason we should be concerned has to do with the amount of money they are taking through government programs, although these are certainly important concerns.

 

When you take a look at the level of corruption we now have these days, in all industries including government, you may begin to ask questions 'how did we get to this point, or 'why was nothing or not enough done to address this?', or "who is responsible?' The generation that brought us George W. Bush, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton as our "leaders" and representatives of that generation and to the rest of the world are not exactly the best we could have hoped for, but does begin to answer some of these basic questions.

 

The burden and weight of these problems now lies with the post-baby boomer generations, and they are not exactly shining examples of excellence either, but there are movements within these younger groups beginning to acknowledge and counter all of these problems that grew unimpeded for far too long. Whether or not any of these movements will be successful remains to be seen, but I'm hopeful they will be.

[Doomtints]

 

Figured we could have a thread re: "The Worst Generation" aka the Baby Boomers, IMO you can trace most of our problems: Trump getting elected, terrible tax plan, poor health care in this country, continued racial tensions, terrible environment, housing market collapse of 08 directly on this generation.

Fortunately this 'problem' will solve itself more and more over the next 15-25 years.

 

Also unfortunate -- Gen X seems to be mostly comprised of dead air. As a group we've done nothing, our parents are still controlling our experience. 

 

It's all up to the Millennials and Centennials now.  

[TheLeviathan]

 

I love technology for the most part, but it seems to have influenced the citizens of this country to abandon critical thought and compassion for our fellow citizens.

 

I now believe we are a self obsessed people, who have divided into different tribes, with a blindness or rebellious middle finger to cohesiveness among the whole.

 

Don't worry Bark, we've only decided social media should adjudicate sexual harassment and unacceptable sexual behavior.  I'm sure it'll turn out well.

[Doomtints]

Social media has made the more aggressive among us believe there are no consequences for lying, and particularly no consequences for attacking people with lies. As participants in an online forum, we have all seen this for years.

 

This has started to become dangerous, however.

[Musk21]

Saw this tweet today from @MyLittleBloggie (Former MPR News blogger Bob Collins) and thought it was pretty accurate:

 

MyLittleBloggie‏ @MyLittleBloggie

 

The Greatest Generation took enormous pride in seeing the next generation have a better life than they did.  Baby Boomers resent the possibility and fear that the next generations will have something they didn't. So they make sure it won't happen.

7:39 AM - 15 Dec 2017

[drjim]

Saw this tweet today from @MyLittleBloggie (Former MPR News blogger Bob Collins) and thought it was pretty accurate:

 

MyLittleBloggie‏ @MyLittleBloggie

 

The Greatest Generation took enormous pride in seeing the next generation have a better life than they did. Baby Boomers resent the possibility and fear that the next generations will have something they didn't. So they make sure it won't happen.

7:39 AM - 15 Dec 2017

I think it is more selfishness than malice. I'm hoping the Gen Xers and Millenials can do better.

[ashbury]

 

Saw this tweet today from @MyLittleBloggie (Former MPR News blogger Bob Collins) and thought it was pretty accurate:

 

MyLittleBloggie‏ @MyLittleBloggie

 

The Greatest Generation took enormous pride in seeing the next generation have a better life than they did.  Baby Boomers resent the possibility and fear that the next generations will have something they didn't. So they make sure it won't happen.

7:39 AM - 15 Dec 2017

I think it's an apples-to-oranges comparison, of one generation in their 20s and 30s raising kids, and another generation in their 60s and 70s contemplating what one contemplates in retirement. Getting kids off their lawns, mostly.

[Craig Arko]

I'm happily supporting the next generation (actually maybe two removed) to get to Mars, the outer moons, and study the origins of the Cosmos. One can do better things with one's time and money.