It happened in 1970

[virginprune]

I was born in 1954, does this make me a baby boomer? I certainly don't fit any of the allusions in the above article. I was born working class from parents who both worked to make ends meet. I worked for 45 years, paying into a state pension that I may or may not receive going by the current economic and political climate. Younger people blame my generation for all the woes of the world, when in fact it has been the ideology of right wing governments, rewarding the few to the detriment of the rest, that has brought us where we are today. In the UK, it was a prime minister in her seventies ( too old to be a baby boomer ) who started to dismantle our manufacturing industry and selling off the country's assets to the lowest bidder. This destructive ideology was continued under a prime minister in his forties ( too young to be a baby boomer ).

I could not afford to buy my first property until in my forties, managed to upgrade from a flat to a house in my fifties, which I have now sold to finance my retirement. If successive governments had put aside all the pension payments for what they were designed for instead of stealing it into general taxation, then much of this anger from the younger generation regarding state pensions would not arise. 

I have done nothing wrong, all I have done is live in my times and made the best of it. I believe Mr Reboot should consider this before casting assertions on a whole generation.

Edited January 30, 2017 by virginprune

[jpbago]

3 hours ago, Reboot said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/11/05/baby-boomers-are-whats-wrong-with-americas-economy/?utm_term=.9ce52bfe7666

 

http://www.superseventies.com/worstgen.html

 

OK, blame it on me. I did all of those things and enjoyed every minute of it. Wish that I could do it again.

[mogo51]

I maintain my position having read most of the articles, the 'superseventies' is just a 'bitch' session.  I was born in 1951 and lived in an ex army camp for 6 years before my parents (both worked by the way) were able to rake up a deposit for a 'housing commission' (government) home in what was then the 'wild west' of Sydney, Australia.  My father walked 2 miles a day to get a train for another 1.5 hrs of travel to get to work.  Several years later, he was offered a job that was only an hour away from home.

Both my parents worked all their lives, my two sister and I looked after ourselves.  I went to work at 15 years of age, as did my sisters.  My ex wives worked and we never had the luxury of a 'one breadwinner family'.  I a large section of my generation are the same.

When my father died I received $6000au.  My mother has been in a nursing home for 25 years and has advanced Alzimers.  When she dies, I will get $15k if I am lucky.  

I did not cause the so called 'climate change' or 'global warming' depending on how they feel - it was 'big business' and they are still doing it.  Whether this is a genuine issue, is still subjective.  But my personal view is that pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere does not help, but I am more inclined to believe it is part of the global history of weather changes.  So will Generation X and whatever alphabet we are up to now, own any responsibility for this also??  

My point is the worker or middle/lower income people of my era, are no more responsible than the current generation that are in the same group!  

If you are going to lay blame, then it is not the 'Indians' who caused the drama, but the 'big chiefs', who were at it long before the 'baby boomers' were even thought of!!!

 

Edited January 30, 2017 by mogo51

[intrepid]

34 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

I maintain my position having read most of the articles, the 'superseventies' is just a 'bitch' session.  I was born in 1951 and lived in an ex army camp for 6 years before my parents (both worked by the way) were able to rake up a deposit for a 'housing commission' (government) home in what was then the 'wild west' of Sydney, Australia.  My father walked 2 miles a day to get a train for another 1.5 hrs of travel to get to work.  Several years later, he was offered a job that was only an hour away from home.

Both my parents worked all their lives, my two sister and I looked after ourselves.  I went to work at 15 years of age, as did my sisters.  My ex wives worked and we never had the luxury of a 'one breadwinner family'.  I a large section of my generation are the same.

When my father died I received $6000au.  My mother has been in a nursing home for 25 years and has advanced Alzimers.  When she dies, I will get $15k if I am lucky.  

I did not cause the so called 'climate change' or 'global warming' depending on how they feel - it was 'big business' and they are still doing it.  Whether this is a genuine issue, is still subjective.  But my personal view is that pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere does not help, but I am more inclined to believe it is part of the global history of weather changes.  So will Generation X and whatever alphabet we are up to now, own any responsibility for this also??  

My point is the worker or middle/lower income people of my era, are no more responsible than the current generation that are in the same group!  

If you are going to lay blame, then it is not the 'Indians' who caused the drama, but the 'big chiefs', who were at it long before the 'baby boomers' were even thought of!!!

 

Well said!

 

[davewe]

On 1/29/2017 at 3:22 PM, Reboot said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/11/05/baby-boomers-are-whats-wrong-with-americas-economy/?utm_term=.9ce52bfe7666

 

http://www.superseventies.com/worstgen.html

 

I've had this debate with a couple younger people before. I never get it. I never made the money my father did (with inflation accounted for of course) and there was no way I could raise a family on one income, as he and his father did. The fact is, it wasn't until I'd past 50 and gotten divorced that I could do anything more than just break even with the bills.

Every generation makes mistakes, accidentally or intentionally, and we certainly did. It's more than possible that future generations will pay for those mistakes just as we paid for some of the mistakes of our parents and grandparents.

All this said, this is the best time of my life. To a large degree I lucked out. I look at many of my peers who are broke, have to work till they are dead or close to it, are divorced with no prospects, etc. And of course in the end their kids will put them in homes.

Me? I saved like a demon between 54 and now so that I would have a decent retirement. I discovered travel, discovered the Philippines and discovered my wonderful wife. Life is good. I wish I could convince more people my age and younger that life can really be good, but as the cliche goes, "you can lead a horse to water..."

[mogo51]

1 hour ago, davewe said:

I've had this debate with a couple younger people before. I never get it. I never made the money my father did (with inflation accounted for of course) and there was no way I could raise a family on one income, as he and his father did. The fact is, it wasn't until I'd past 50 and gotten divorced that I could do anything more than just break even with the bills.

Every generation makes mistakes, accidentally or intentionally, and we certainly did. It's more than possible that future generations will pay for those mistakes just as we paid for some of the mistakes of our parents and grandparents.

All this said, this is the best time of my life. To a large degree I lucked out. I look at many of my peers who are broke, have to work till they are dead or close to it, are divorced with no prospects, etc. And of course in the end their kids will put them in homes.

Me? I saved like a demon between 54 and now so that I would have a decent retirement. I discovered travel, discovered the Philippines and discovered my wonderful wife. Life is good. I wish I could convince more people my age and younger that life can really be good, but as the cliche goes, "you can lead a horse to water..."

Yes Dave, well written and the sooner the current generation realise it is just a big merry go round and there is 'no right or wrong' then they will just get on with it, like we had to do.

[Jack Peterson]

11 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

there is 'no right or wrong' then they will just get on with it, like we had to do.

 AH!But will they? Many here including Mine are just too well Looked after by Doting parents.

 Today's Youth have never known Real hardship, not even in the Mountains Still it can be he who shouts loudest will be Heard.

In my Youth with 5 Brothers and when dad was at home it was First up Got the Holeless docks and the best bacon.

[earthdome]

In 1970 I was a skinny 14 year old in my freshman year of high school. Now I am a skinny 61 year old with a growing pot belly in my fourth year of retirement.

[mogo51]

16 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

 AH!But will they? Many here including Mine are just too well Looked after by Doting parents.

 Today's Youth have never known Real hardship, not even in the Mountains Still it can be he who shouts loudest will be Heard.

In my Youth with 5 Brothers and when dad was at home it was First up Got the Holeless docks and the best bacon.

Whilst I did not do it 'really hard' and in those days, I had a good life, but I made it good myself.  I never stopped playing sport and loved every  day of it.  

But I was certainly not spoon fed and had to do my bit in the house etc.  My dad was a hard man, my mother much the same, but we all survived and had a good time mostly.

As you say Jack, it is a different world today!!!

[Jack Peterson]

6 minutes ago, mogo51 said:

As you say Jack, it is a different world today!!!

 Certainly is. I really can't see it getting any better in the foreseeable future either & you know What, I blame the PARENTS

,  even though, I resemble that remark