We are currently enduring the worst Congress in American history and it’s packed full of Baby Boomers who are no better at compromising than a 3-year old on methamphetamines, and comprehend internet privacy and drone laws just as well.
So the Baby Boomers inherited the most robust manufacturing force on the planet and then sold them off overseas to trim the fat off their balance sheets. And by “the fat” I mean our middle class.
And the Baby Boomers say that WE are the lazy generation? If you figure Baby Boomers were born between 1946-1965, and the age minimum to be eligible for the House of Representatives is 25, and 30 for the Senate, it becomes easy to see which generation is responsible for creating the debt.
Boomers inherited a vast system of interstates built by their parents and now, a generation later, 67,000 bridges are “structurally deficient” and they complain how the highways are too congested with the young people that they made.
Boomers grew up seeing the Civil Rights Act enacted and President Kennedy putting a man on the moon as he boldly promised.
Unfortunately the Baby Boomers weren’t able to replicate such paradigm shifts of civility or ambition.
Boomers grew up in a country that was ascendant toward becoming the world’s first Superpower, and instead of taking the ball and running it, they handed it off to China.
After jacking up the price of a college education, Baby Boomers started for-profit colleges and predatory education loans for our generation, which temporarily lined their pockets at the expense of America’s future both domestically and on the global commercial stage. Since 1978 compensation for CEOs has risen 725%, while the growth in worker compensation has risen only 5.7% in that time (making our income inequality WORSE than Ancient Rome’s). After having their balls plated in brass, the Baby Boomers are blaming this generation for not contributing very much to the economy.
The greatest irony from the worst generation is their inexorable refrain that we are, “losing traditional America”, which is to say, “Things used to be better”, and they are exactly right- things used to be far better before they were handed the keys.
The above comes from an article found here. It is the extended complaint, backed with figures, of one of the people who is going to have to try to fix what we have wrought. It is a very good condemnation of our generation’s fix on having things without sacrifice. Thus, we went for disposable income by ignoring putting aside money to keep the infrastructure of this country maintained. We maximized the profits of owners by selling of our manufacturing capacity to other countries because we could save money on labor. Thereby, we stiffed our own workforce and supported overseas slave labor.
Finally, we became so accustomed to having our own way that we became unable to compromise for the good of the country, and have pretended that we are taking principled stands. If there were a theme song for this generation it would be the Burger King theme song, “Have it your way …” It is especially ironic that Burger King, itself, is stiffing the entire USA by making a paper transfer to Canada to avoid taxes. There are few better icons of the babyboomers than Burger King.
I would agree with the author of this article that the USA, nay the world, will be a far better place when our generation drops the reins of leadership. Unfortunately the great country we were given is not what we will be passing on, but rather a worn, weak version of the same. Our legacy will be that of long-running wars in which no one won, a debt that is nigh unto impossible, an infrastructure that will need desperate fixing, and a bunch of whining complaints about how it is someone else’s fault.
Careful. You might be developing a case of Gen X “cynicism” (a description I’ve heard and read often enough). 😉