OT - Grumpy Old Man Thread

[847badgerfan]

I'm at the end of the boomers - born 1962

my parents had it better than my grandparents
I had it better than my parents
my daughters had it better than I did
I'm not convinced young people today have it worse than any other generation

1967. My wife 1961.

My grandparents had it better than my parents. They were immigrants and worked their asses off to buy properties and make other investments.

My dad was lazy and expected too much from his government. He also squandered much of the above. My Ma should have stood up but that was not the way back then.

I have it way better than my parents - I'm self-made and not at all lazy.

My kids are doing great and will likely have it better than me when they get to my age bracket.

Look at us! A sample size of two!

[847badgerfan]

We have our first trillionaire.  He's not a boomer.

Not a boomer.

An immigrant.

[MrNubbz]

We have our first trillionaire.  He's not a boomer.

W/O looking - Elon,CCP member, Vlad Putz or a Saudi Shiek. But Vlad is a boomer generation

Edit just looked it up poor poor Bezo/Larry Page gonna have to slum it

[Honestbuckeye]

The older I get and look around at my fellow Millennials, the less I disagree with any of this.

(As a Millennial myself, I now look back on the confrontational style of fathering my Dad raised us brothers with and can appreciate it more than ever. His Judgement Day terms taught us responsibility, authority, and gave us a vision for the future.)

Notice the college comment is bold-ed; I want to make a point about how certain virtues get passed down and eventually corrupted through successive generations.

Millennials were raised by Boomers who were raised by the Greatest Generation (born roughly 1900 – 1929). Their value in home ownership and education, and specifically a college education, is a very pronounced throughline for all three generations.

After their service in WWII, the men of the Greatest Generation benefited immensely from the GI Bill of Rights (Servicemen's Readjustment Act) created in 1944. Title II of the GI Bill created the Tuition Assistance that allowed millions of WWII veterans to start college, many of whom became the first of their family line to graduate college. Title III created the low-interest home loans allowing WWII veterans to own homes. In tandem, both articles of the GI Bill created a Middle Class unprecedented in terms of size and wealth. By 1972, the American Middle Class was the wealthiest it would ever be. In my opinion, the GI Bill is the most successful social program ever passed into American Law.

Attaining a college education worked out very well for the Greatest Generation, so well that college education (and home ownership) was passed on as high virtue to their children, the Boomers. A college education also worked well for the Boomers, and in turn, Boomers likewise passed this on as a virtue to their Millennial children.

As separate Generations, we both grew up believing in College Education. To accommodate, the college system has since WWII expanded to accommodate anybody and everybody who takes up this belief, no matter a student’s lack of academic ambition or qualification. Quantity over quality has resulted in bogus degrees, bloating the post-graduate ranks, and indebting millions for decades. Too many Millennials are now burned by the very education system that they were raised to believe in, and we’re grumpy about it.

Great post.  Some evidence and facts!  Wow

[MikeDeTiger]

As separate Generations, we both grew up believing in College Education. To accommodate, the college system has since WWII expanded to accommodate anybody and everybody who takes up this belief, no matter a student’s lack of academic ambition or qualification. Quantity over quality has resulted in bogus degrees, bloating the post-graduate ranks, and indebting millions for decades. Too many Millennials are now burned by the very education system that they were raised to believe in, and we’re grumpy about it.

Brother, you have no idea.  

[OrangeAfroMan]

We have our first trillionaire.  He's not a boomer.

I guess that negates everything.  Sample size of one wins again!  Some of you are statistically homeless.

[Honestbuckeye]

Thanks for not being badge or HB.  Actually looking at it and not just blindly dismissing it because you don't like it. 

The intergenerational theft part is akin to those immigrants who got in and strongly support closing the border behind them.  I got mine, fuck you all who haven't.
It's very fair to specify how boomers had advantages but don't understand how they've evaporated over time and then treat every succeeding generation as lazy.
But I'd argue the "hyperbolic" part isn't so, because like no other generation before them, the boomers have actively and purposely closed the door behind them - it wasn't just a natural, innocent progression of circumstance.  They got "smart" about influencing policy.  They got the turbo-boost of CU. 

Admittedly, part of it is that people can live longer and/or able to live actively deeper into their lives.  That was an inevitability with the boomer bulge of population.  But they've really taken advantage of it.  Instead of the natural/previous downturn arc of late life meaning you do less/retire and give way to the next generation, boomers have held fast and clung tightly to the reigns of power/wealth. 
But again, fault can be assessed of their proactive me me me attitude when it comes to money.  Somewhere along the way, ethics gave way to dollars.  Not for each individual (OF COURSE), but for so many of the power brokers, money is the #1 priority.  Now sure, in our society, money is reeeeally important, but it was never the #1 priority for bulk of upper class (insert 'yeah, but' Carnegie/Rockefeller sample size here).  Maybe it's just a feeling and not the actuality, but in the past, ethics would give way to incremental financial gain...maybe because it was the right thing and maybe because of a pushback from the masses. 
But enough boomers in power/great wealth have realized they can say 'fuck the masses' because they don't have any actual power.  Enough entities have consolidated and enough corporations dominate their specific industries that the masses don't really have a way to fight back.  And boomers have actively worked to make that even more true. 
It's never enough.  Boomers are financial hoarders.  It's a sickness.  Millionaire...not enough.  Billionaire...not enough.  We're going to have our first trillionaire soon....not enough.  And these people treat taxes like ebola.  Taxes.  The money all of us normal people pay because we have actual traditional jobs.  Like saps.
Again, you don't have to say they're evil or selfish - maybe everyone would do the same in their same situation.  But to deny the numbers and facts isn't really helpful, either.  To ignore it is...cowardly.  We can say this situation is happening without demonizing them or putting our heads in the sand.  One thing this group is poor at, myself included, is avoiding one end of the spectrum or the other.  We all know most of the truth lies in the middle, but we still fall into the 'yeah huh' vs 'nuh uh' back-and-forth.

Have boomers clung onto their wealth and set things up to keep it?  Yes.  Have previous generations done that?  Maybe, but not to this extreme.  If you want to be super courteous, you could just say they're the best at it.  Cool.  That doesn't help all of the generations after them, though.  Doesn't help a young couple get a starter house that doesn't exist anymore.  Doesn't help the purple district that has been gerrymandered. 

But let's not put our heads in the sand, as some here automatically do when there's any criticism of boomers, the military, or the president (either party).

WHO says I do or do not agree with. 
I am dismissing it for the same reason I ( and probably anyone reading it) this post is hogwash:
sweeping generalizations with Zero to back it up. 
it is your opinion.  It is laughable that you say “facts”. 😂.  What facts have you presented?

[OrangeAfroMan]

This isn't about hating on boomers, it's about math.  

But it's like a blizzard of snowflakes in here.

[Honestbuckeye]

I guess that negates everything.  Sample size of one wins again!  Some of you are statistically homeless.

Try presenting one single statistic, fact, or some evidence. You never do

[OrangeAfroMan]

WHO says I do or do not agree with. 
I am dismissing it for the same reason I ( and probably anyone reading it) this post is hogwash:
sweeping generalizations with Zero to back it up. 
it is your opinion.  It is laughable that you say “facts”. 😂.  What facts have you presented?

You're not super great at giving things you disagree with a fair shake.  I'll leave it at that.

[Honestbuckeye]

This isn't about hating on boomers, it's about math. 

But it's like a blizzard of snowflakes in here.

Fuzzy, invisible math that’s in your head apparently

[betarhoalphadelta]

Such as?

You don't think Boomers created any demographic or historic advantages for those coming behind them? Am I correct here?

I think people who have owned businesses and created wealth for themselves, and others, have a far different perspective.

Here are some examples: https://247wallst.com/personal-finance/2025/02/08/7-financial-benefits-baby-boomers-got-that-well-likely-never-see-again/

[Honestbuckeye]

You're not super great at giving things you disagree with a fair shake.  I'll leave it at that.

Not at all. But I’m especially not good when someone presents a bunch of bluster and bullshit with nothing to back it up and then tries to pretend it’s factual. That is your pattern.

[bayareabadger]

Many say the "WE" generation (boomers) are about to pass a huge generational chunk of wealth to the  "ME"  (you know- today's youth, look at me, I want a trophy for participation, look at my nose ring and purple hair).

Ok, one joke. 

Do Boomers or Gen X have to own inventing participation trophies? We’ve been told millennials received them, so who owns the process of conceiving of them and handing them out?