I need to watch that. both of my parents were born in 46. married at 22, divorced at 32. dad goes onto to make a bundle negotiating defense contracts, mom spends rest of life doing better than most but still bitter as hell. probably a pretty common Boomer love story. also a recipe for making a Gen Xer. lol.
The End of the American Dream
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I need to watch that. both of my parents were born in 46. married at 22, divorced at 32. dad goes onto to make a bundle negotiating defense contracts, mom spends rest of life doing better than most but still bitter as hell. probably a pretty common Boomer love story. also a recipe for making a Gen Xer. lol.
i think you are correct that that is a pretty common boomer story
There's got to be an offensive joke in there somewhere.
I’m a little ahead of the boomer generation, but I agree the 50’s and 60’s were a great time to become adults. The economics is easy to understand. The social fabric was also much different. While we grew up with Cold War nuclear threats, that was never as real as the doomsday barrage of climate change, constant violence, drugs, institutional paternalism, ongoing social divisions, and race hustling kids must absorb and process today.
I agree with some of this but the social contract had to be rewritten to include more people starting in the 50s and 60s. Not to mention the US quickly started losing its post-war industrial edge. 60 years on, we're still trying to figure it out. as dumb as they are right now, kids of today won't be beholden to our old grudges (they seem to hate everyone).
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I agree. Now there is a difference between abuse and discipline. In my view it is very healthy for a child to think about their behavior because, "Dad, might kill me". Now kill is not literal, but you understand what I am saying. There were times when my kids were growing up that their mother said for them to do something and there was no reaction. When I saw that all I had to do was raise my voice a little because they knew they should get up and obey their mother.
Bow, appreciate the thoughtful response.
Just want to add grandparents who step up to the plate and help single Moms.
Unfortunately they sometimes don't live close by. However when they do, they can be baby sitters, role models, and provide financial help.
Financial help can include a 529 college savings plan.
i'll tell you cold. i just logged onto the school app where pics are posted and there's my little guy sitting at the table with all his little buddies. big grin. ahhhhh i love seeing that. i don't recognize that shirt. what's it say. hard to tell. Big. Big. what's under it. Bro. Big Bro
....i feel so weak
Time to move on. Just make the relationship as peaceful as possible for your son.
When my daughter was younger we still lived in Indy and were considering a Catholic elementary school (St. Christopher's for those playing at home) and saw the prices for one kid, two kids (same), then three (discount), four (like 1/2 off), then 5+ was free for each add'l kid. Only a Catholic school could promise such things.
A little old school probably but i chuckled.
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Yeah, the bennies that the Greatest Generation bestowed upon themselves have since become bennies bestowed on their children.
And they maintain a stranglehold on the congressional purse strings. I'm guessing a majority of reps are boomer age.Boomers killed it. They've ruined restaurants, holidays, and now the free world.
"Boomers have quite simply been the biggest beneficiary of a “massive wealth transfer,” wrote the BofA team led by Ohsung Kwon, echoing Dalio’s observation that trillions of wealth flowed from the public to the private sector thanks to government policy since the 1980s, when boomers were in their prime working years. BofA pointed to the ballooning government debt—from 31% of GDP to 120% during that period—and the 10-year Treasury yield shrinking from 12% to 4.6% today (it’s actually 4.9% as of press time)."
The ‘great wealth transfer’ isn’t $72 trillion but $129 trillion, BofA says—and the government gave most of it to baby boomers
Boom! Government policy has really enriched a certain generation of Americans—ones who have been in power for decades.finance.yahoo.com
Boomers were the beneficiaries of a post war economic boom and they milked it dry.
No, it was the Boomers parents who took care of themselves, voting in Medicare and turning Social Security into a full fledged retirement program.
Agree.
Many of the so-called government welfare programs such as Medicare/ Medicaid and Social Security increases were passed when Boomers were just kids.
These programs and increases were passed with both Democrat's and Reuplican's. support during the Cold War.
Passed to prove a capitalist democracy could help its citizens as well, or even better, than the promises of communism.
But they paid rather proportionally. Boomers have had the benefit of massive tax savings (lower rates), a stable economy and less war than ever thanks to their parents kicking Russia’s ass.
luckily lifespans are falling rapidly, so all the poor people boomers made will suffer for a bit less
The original “American Dream” was not a dream of individual wealth; it was a dream of equality, justice, and democracy for the nation used in the early 1900s The phrase was repurposed by each generation, until the Cold War, when it became an argument for a consumer capitalist version of democracyfor so many, and a solution. Get a stoker who makes money. All of you posters WITH SONS impress upon them the importance of marrying an earner. @IUCrazy2 you're big into marriage. make sure all your boys marry the right type of girl. career girls. oh and move to a school district with good schools. 12 years of "free" education.
we also see the downside of single moms and dads etc with poverty and crime. i think marriage and staying married would cure much of what ails this country
irony is not lost....
The "American Dream" costs far more than most people will ever earn
The cost of raising kids, buying a home and achieving other traditional milestones today far exceeds a typical worker's earnings, one analysis finds.
It was the dream of equality of opportunity. Opportunity. You left that out. This version of Dems have bastardized that too into outcomes.
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Nicely put.
I liked this post and Hondo’s. Hondo is right. The American Dream is also making the assumption people will put in the effort necessary to achieve as much as they desire. That desire might be modest. Or it might not. But the opportunity is shared by all who agree to put in effort.
Amassing wealth in our capitalistic society is how families move within the socioeconomic strata. Mostly due to effort. And discipline. But also equality of opportunity.
We’ll never fix the fact that some folks start on 3rd base. And we won’t ever take it away from them either. No matter what anybody says. Because the engine of capitalism still runs the country. And people gotta own shit to make that happen.
So if you can’t lower the ceiling you should make sure it damn well raises the floor. The boomer’s parens understood this. Many grew up during the Depression. They’re no dummies. Nobody wants to see that again.
Ahh yup
The American Dream ™️
The American Dream trademark is owned by the Proctor & Gamble Company.
Haha
This is gay. What a progressive, socialist interpretation of the "American dream". Eat Kale fool.
It was a great time to grow up if you didn't mind living in a 3BR 1bath ranch house and going to apply for a job and find a couple hundred others applying for the same job. No internet. But there were a lot of cool cars then. Music was outstanding, too.
The '70s were no picnic, with price controls, inflation, and then stagflation under Carter.
We boomers grew up in a time of innocence that's not there anymore.
Something, something...no birth control....something something....profit.
OMG. I'm GenX, but still want to grab every little shit that says this out of context by the collar and just shake the shit of of them. First time my son did this, I was more angry at him than when he told me we should elect Bernie as president. Spent a night with bourbon contemplating my failure as a father and plotting a course to fix my broken child.
There was an old boy in Evansville just passed away in November at 107 years old. Served in Europe during the war. He had in his possession what appears to be a picture of Hitlers bunker that either he or someone with him took. Very very interesting.
That truly was the greatest generation. It’s hard to fathom what they went through and what our world would look like now had they failed. We’ll not see their like again.
Was Evansville resident Thurman Carnal in Hitler's bunker? Looks like it.
The late Thurman Carnal of Evansville left a behind a tantalizing mystery in the form of faded black and white photographs.
Watch Ww2 on Netflix. Sooooo goodThere was an old boy in Evansville just passed away in November at 107 years old. Served in Europe during the war. He had in his possession what appears to be a picture of Hitlers bunker that either he or someone with him took. Very very interesting.
That truly was the greatest generation. It’s hard to fathom what they went through and what our world would look like now had they failed. We’ll not see their like again.
Was Evansville resident Thurman Carnal in Hitler's bunker? Looks like it.
The late Thurman Carnal of Evansville left a behind a tantalizing mystery in the form of faded black and white photographs.
I routinely tell my daughter her generation (Z) is the weakest in human history. Ponder it. There's still hope for the geriatric millenials but I really feel GenX is the last great generation.
Of course, I'm of GenX, so there's that.
I was born in 85 but refuse to be categorized as a millennial. I'm in that place where my experiences were much different than my sisters who were born in the early 90's. I was in college before I even had a cell phone.
II don’t think the American Dream is much different than dreams of anybody. The difference for us is the means by which we can achieve it. Which is we are largely left to our own devices as we engage in the “Pursuit of Happiness”.
The dream mostly consists of things Like contentment, satisfaction etc.. For me that is family, friends, and profession I mostly enjoyed. However, the things that made the dream possible for me are in turmoil, either by direct frontal attack, or by benign neglect. We have become way too self-referential in our relationships, too accepting of live and let live, and too accepting of individual conduct that causes social and economic instability. That adversely affects everyone’s pursuit of happiness. We like to measure the dream in terms of wealth, but I think the dream is really centered in our relationships and common culture. .
as harry hondo noted i think that dream has changed to one of economics and home ownership. i understand and agree with your points but the definition or perception has evolved/devolved. owning a home. owning land. it's part of who we are as a country i think. settlers.
My wife is a teacher. In her school, multiple fresh out of college teachers have quit mid semester. Not at semester end or end of the school year. Mid semester.
I’m certain teaching is a hard, thankless job. Unfortunately a lot of jobs are like that. Will Gen Z be able to do the hard jobs? Will they just quit? I’m seriously concerned about it. Seeking things to get offended by and finding criticism triggering is not a path to career success in any field.
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Hm. When you hear people say “I’m living the dream,” what do you think they mean?
I agree with your point in this way. We use Money and wealth as life’s scorecard because that is how we think. But I don’t think that measures a satisfied life.
