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The best thing that can happen to the millennial Generation (the only one I care about) is for the economy to stagnate of keep declining until they're in the work force. The reasoning being is that if the economy stagnates til then, they'll have the same ground floor opportunity that the WWII Generation experienced as they entered the work force, just as the Depression was starting to end.
I feel the Gen X-ers got royally screwed due to the fact that the needed correction in the economy was forestalled to benefit the Boomers. The correction that happened in 2008 should have happened in the early 90s(ie. Read Batri Rava's book the Depression in 1990, written in 1987). Because the economy was artificially propped up all that time, the Gen X-ers got stuck having to pay a lot for a house that was over-priced and ended up living through the most painful bout of inflation and economic uncertainty in generations.
The bottom line is, if you have kids born after 2000, I'd love to know what your rationale for wanting the economy to go anywhere before your kids are old enough to benefit from it.
Great point - the boomers have sucked the life out of America. I remember 20 years ago listening to them going on about how they can't stop Social Security because Boomers had been paying into it for 20 years... and now I have paid into it for 24 years... and their response is "well, too bad"... as a generation, they are selfish. When their old folks homes are overrun and overcrowded and their kids are too busy trying to feed their grandchildren and they're complaining... "well, too bad".
Of course, until they die out or stop voting, they'll still have the most power, due to their numbers. Our children and THEIR children will be stronger. But I don't think they should expect to be thanked for what they put their own children through.
Great point - the boomers have sucked the life out of America. I remember 20 years ago listening to them going on about how they can't stop Social Security because Boomers had been paying into it for 20 years... and now I have paid into it for 24 years... and their response is "well, too bad"... as a generation, they are selfish. When their old folks homes are overrun and overcrowded and their kids are too busy trying to feed their grandchildren and they're complaining... "well, too bad".
Of course, until they die out or stop voting, they'll still have the most power, due to their numbers. Our children and THEIR children will be stronger. But I don't think they should expect to be thanked for what they put their own children through.
Well, you bring up the point about the Boomers screwing it up for the rest of us...what you don't mention is that their parents are actually the ones to blame for not using enough birth control!
Most of our debt problems are related to an ageing population due to the big families of the early 50s. The population explosion caused a strain on resources and then feminism came about and doubled the workforce while not actually doubling the jobs. Those two factors are what caused our economy to have the issues it has had, it's got very little to do with the policies of the past few presidents. Though I will caveat that the Reagan cut of the Capital Gains tax has directly contributed to the widening gap between rich and poor...
The children born after 2005 are called the "Homeland generation" or the "New Silent generation". History cycles itself on an 80 year basis. So the generation after the Millennials are on par with the Silent generation who were born between the mid 1920s and the early 1940s. The Millennials are on par with the "GI generation" who were born between 1901 and 1925. Just like the GIs born in the late 1900s to the mid 1910s came of age during the Great Depression, the Millennials born in the late 1980s to the mid 1990s are/will be coming of age during the "Great Recession".
If history continues to cycle itself, the 2020s will be a decade of strengthening economic "recovery", then the 2030s-2040s will be an era of economic prosperity as the 1950s-1960s were. If this happens, then this means that today's children and babies may come of age during a time of economic growth that the Silents enjoyed in the 1950s.
Great point - the boomers have sucked the life out of America. I remember 20 years ago listening to them going on about how they can't stop Social Security because Boomers had been paying into it for 20 years... and now I have paid into it for 24 years... and their response is "well, too bad"... as a generation, they are selfish. When their old folks homes are overrun and overcrowded and their kids are too busy trying to feed their grandchildren and they're complaining... "well, too bad".
Of course, until they die out or stop voting, they'll still have the most power, due to their numbers. Our children and THEIR children will be stronger. But I don't think they should expect to be thanked for what they put their own children through.
I guess being a Boomer, the economy is my fault. Hmmm, I served in the military for 20+ years, worked in the civilian world another 20+ years and retired, with, I might add, a very nice nest egg and pension. My children all have Master's degrees, paid for, in cash, by yours truly. No student loans. Two sons are serving in the military. All were given nice weddings, not extravagant, but nice. They were each given a monetary gift to help alleviate their down payments on homes, and I am now paying tuition for two grandchildren in private schools.
I don't expect my children to take care of us, should we become unable to care for ourselves; there is money put aside for that purpose.
AFA SS, I just heard from the media that the people collecting today, will never collect as much as we paid into it. If the government hadn't decided to use SS as their own personal slush fund, maybe there would be money for future generations. So, If working hard, serving my country, providing for my family and heirs, is sucking the life out of America, pray tell, what did I do wrong?
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I guess being a Boomer, the economy is my fault. Hmmm, I served in the military for 20+ years, worked in the civilian world another 20+ years and retired, with, I might add, a very nice nest egg and pension. My children all have Master's degrees, paid for, in cash, by yours truly. No student loans. Two sons are serving in the military. All were given nice weddings, not extravagant, but nice. They were each given a monetary gift to help alleviate their down payments on homes, and I am now paying tuition for two grandchildren in private schools.
I don't expect my children to take care of us, should we become unable to care for ourselves; there is money put aside for that purpose.
AFA SS, I just heard from the media that the people collecting today, will never collect as much as we paid into it. If the government hadn't decided to use SS as their own personal slush fund, maybe there would be money for future generations. So, If working hard, serving my country, providing for my family and heirs, is sucking the life out of America, pray tell, what did I do wrong?
.
Because now I and my fellow millennials are crippled beneath student loan debt and a poor job market with very little promise of returns on our investment. I went to college, medical school and I am a doctor now and I have debt that will enslave me at least into my early 30s. And most are not that lucky. What vestige of the "American Dream" do we have anymore? My parents and grandparents didn't pay for my school and they shouldn't have to. But their generations made this nice little mess for us. Yes, the government squandered and squanders, but we allow it. Boomers set this in motion.
Because now I and my fellow millennials are crippled beneath student loan debt and a poor job market with very little promise of returns on our investment. I went to college, medical school and I am a doctor now and I have debt that will enslave me at least into my early 30s. And most are not that lucky. What vestige of the "American Dream" do we have anymore? My parents and grandparents didn't pay for my school and they shouldn't have to. But their generations made this nice little mess for us. Yes, the government squandered and squanders, but we allow it. Boomers set this in motion.
I guess we're also responsible for the shortage of doctors...I can't get into see a doctor for three weeks so end up going to a urgent care clinic. Prescriptions? It's the Boomers fault that the pharm companies charge people in the US high prices because we pay for their research?
The cost of college and medical school is not boomers fault. Blame that on the greedy, selfish schools, with their high priced administrators and professors whose English is all but gibberish. It is not the boomers fault your education cost so much $$, when it is the same education I received for a hell of a lot less.
Blame the cost of your property taxes on the zealous unions that demand more and more benefits and salaries for teachers, police, and state workers. The unions served their purpose many years ago and have priced themselves right out of the market. They are also one of the reasons jobs are outsourced. Is that the Boomers fault?
I am not to blame because you CHOSE to get into that debt. I CHOSE to work my own way through college and pay for my children's education and they worked summers to contribute also. I did not get into credit card debt like so many young people today, because they have to have the newest gadget out, have cell phones that have large monthly bills, go to concerts that cost big bucks, buy a house when I couldn't afford one, have a new car, dress in expensive rags, etc. No I and my children, lived within our means.
AFA the government, I am totally fed up with them. They resolve NOTHING. I did not allow the government to dip into Social Security Trust Fund for their own use. I still do not understand your point that the Boomers are to blame for this mess...
Because now I and my fellow millennials are crippled beneath student loan debt and a poor job market with very little promise of returns on our investment. I went to college, medical school and I am a doctor now and I have debt that will enslave me at least into my early 30s. And most are not that lucky. What vestige of the "American Dream" do we have anymore? My parents and grandparents didn't pay for my school and they shouldn't have to. But their generations made this nice little mess for us. Yes, the government squandered and squanders, but we allow it. Boomers set this in motion.
Wait a minute, let me get this straight...
You're complaining about having to pay off student loans until you're in your early-30s? Did you REALLY expect to make half-million per year with NO investment?
No Boomer set that in motion. Nobody put a gun to your head and forced you into debt. You CHOSE to go to college and med school. You CHOSE to incur and amass that debt, because you considered it a worthwhile investment. Now you're blaming my generation for your personal debt.
In fact, had you been of college age in the early 1960s, you would NEVER have become a doctor, because the student loan programs didn't exist. It's a program that his been in place for over 45 years now, and it is there to help people like YOU get a college education that, prior to that time, was not available to you.
I'll offer you the same advice I've given my daughter, who is paying off her student loans: Quit whining and do it.
Last edited by Big George; 08-13-2012 at 07:18 PM..
Great point - the boomers have sucked the life out of America. I remember 20 years ago listening to them going on about how they can't stop Social Security because Boomers had been paying into it for 20 years... and now I have paid into it for 24 years... and their response is "well, too bad"... as a generation, they are selfish. When their old folks homes are overrun and overcrowded and their kids are too busy trying to feed their grandchildren and they're complaining... "well, too bad".
Of course, until they die out or stop voting, they'll still have the most power, due to their numbers. Our children and THEIR children will be stronger. But I don't think they should expect to be thanked for what they put their own children through.
So what you're saying is that the 80 million Baby Boomers who have worked most of our lives, paid taxes, bought and/or built homes, paid more into Social Security than we'll ever get out of it, and are now heading toward retirement, have "sucked the life out of America"?
I'd like to suggest some "old math" for you. I was working full-time, and going to college full-time, when I was 18. There has never been a time, since then, when I've not worked full-time. If I wait until 70 to retire - which I fully intend to do - that will mean I will have paid 15% of my income EVERY YEAR into Social Security for over 50 years. That's a FAR cry from the "20 years" you claimed.
The problem is NOT the Baby Boomers. The problem is that our government has spent all the money that was supposed to have been saved - and then some. In fact, our last 2 Presidents have spent us into the hole so badly that our country will likely NEVER recover. We are NOT following some "generational cycle." Our spending/debt is out of control, and it is eventually going to destroy us.
Great point - the boomers have sucked the life out of America. I remember 20 years ago listening to them going on about how they can't stop Social Security because Boomers had been paying into it for 20 years... and now I have paid into it for 24 years....
That's not why you're getting short-changed. It's because the gov't has dragged its feet about correcting the problem. The solution is simple, but there's no political will to fix it, or there's political gridlock. The top 10% (roughly) get Social Security checks they don't need or even particularly want (this, based on conversations with such people). One option would be to not pay out to those people. In the past this has been considered unthinkable, but things that were previously off the table are now on the table, due to the pending crisis. Another option would be to eliminate the earnings ceiling that determines how much people will pay into the system. Again, the top 10% don't get taxed fully for Social Security. Either of those options would save SS. Our leaders are failing us.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 08-13-2012 at 10:51 PM..
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