Saturday, January 01, 2005
SSN and the "Boomers"
A reaction to the old man's post.
I will give that much of liberalism and idiotarianism cannot be blamed on his generation. The generation before created the Social Security Program. Our generation is stupid enough to buy that the ice caps are melting while Gore is giving a global warming speech on the coldest day in New York City in 50 years.
I'll also give him that voter turnout is worse in our age group than it was for theirs when they were in the same demographic. I agree with Goldberg that low voter turnout for the college-age folk is a good thing. So it was a bad thing that all of those hippies voted back in the day. Logical, no?
Thirdly, you cannot blame the Great Society or the New Deal on the Boomers. FDR and LBJ were born a long time before my parents were. Mostly this can be blamed on the lame economic theory that many political decisions were made with.
That being said, the generation that holds power has to have some accountability. And outside of Bush's strident pursuit of the terrorists, their's is a pretty meager record. They are responsible for increased divorce rates, dissolution of the family (obviously I'm not talking about my own), affirmative action, racializing everything, feminzing everthing, the peace movement, radical liberalism, and hippies. I stress HIPPIES.
I can't run for Senator or President because of my age. I am precluded, Constitutionally. I don't have a problem with this, but that draws lines as far as what generation is accountable for what, in stark, demographic numbers.
The only other response I have is judging the young adult generation prematurely. Yes, Gates and Bush have had much success and made fundamental changes to the way we view the world. Kirk over at Limpidity, brought up the point that we may be the first generation in the history of this country that are not better off, economically, than the preceding one was. There are arguments that we are lazy and selfish, but one can't deny that the tax burden on us is cumbersome compared to our grandparents; and when the "Boomers" retire, that tax rate will become punitive.
Compromise is needed on the Social Security issue. Only greedy AARP types can deny that. Split the difference. Shut it down. We can't blame each other (especially conservatives and libertarians) about the hole that has been dug. It has not gone back one generation, but probably three. What chaps my ass is 55 year old people who won't compromise. If their benefits will be cut by 2% they freak the fuck out. An open and honest discouse is needed on this matter, and my feeling is, let's write off what we have paid into it and they can take a 50% cut.
End of my response.
Individ had very good response, him being a "Boomer" himself, to the "Goading" post.
Update: Zendo Deb also has an interesting perspective on this. Of course, none of us are economists, but I can balance my checkbook, which I think Krugman has to outsource.
I will give that much of liberalism and idiotarianism cannot be blamed on his generation. The generation before created the Social Security Program. Our generation is stupid enough to buy that the ice caps are melting while Gore is giving a global warming speech on the coldest day in New York City in 50 years.
I'll also give him that voter turnout is worse in our age group than it was for theirs when they were in the same demographic. I agree with Goldberg that low voter turnout for the college-age folk is a good thing. So it was a bad thing that all of those hippies voted back in the day. Logical, no?
Thirdly, you cannot blame the Great Society or the New Deal on the Boomers. FDR and LBJ were born a long time before my parents were. Mostly this can be blamed on the lame economic theory that many political decisions were made with.
That being said, the generation that holds power has to have some accountability. And outside of Bush's strident pursuit of the terrorists, their's is a pretty meager record. They are responsible for increased divorce rates, dissolution of the family (obviously I'm not talking about my own), affirmative action, racializing everything, feminzing everthing, the peace movement, radical liberalism, and hippies. I stress HIPPIES.
I can't run for Senator or President because of my age. I am precluded, Constitutionally. I don't have a problem with this, but that draws lines as far as what generation is accountable for what, in stark, demographic numbers.
The only other response I have is judging the young adult generation prematurely. Yes, Gates and Bush have had much success and made fundamental changes to the way we view the world. Kirk over at Limpidity, brought up the point that we may be the first generation in the history of this country that are not better off, economically, than the preceding one was. There are arguments that we are lazy and selfish, but one can't deny that the tax burden on us is cumbersome compared to our grandparents; and when the "Boomers" retire, that tax rate will become punitive.
Compromise is needed on the Social Security issue. Only greedy AARP types can deny that. Split the difference. Shut it down. We can't blame each other (especially conservatives and libertarians) about the hole that has been dug. It has not gone back one generation, but probably three. What chaps my ass is 55 year old people who won't compromise. If their benefits will be cut by 2% they freak the fuck out. An open and honest discouse is needed on this matter, and my feeling is, let's write off what we have paid into it and they can take a 50% cut.
End of my response.
Individ had very good response, him being a "Boomer" himself, to the "Goading" post.
Update: Zendo Deb also has an interesting perspective on this. Of course, none of us are economists, but I can balance my checkbook, which I think Krugman has to outsource.
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