The Baby Boomer “Me” Generation is
Retiring…….
Hallelujah. If there is one thing
that rings true, it is putting others and most notably our kids first. For all
the Baby Boomers who did this- this article does not apply to you. Thank you.
You are the exception. Bravo for making the world a better place. You get that
the unspoken obligation of every generation is to make it better for the next.
Starting with all the Baby Boomers who forced your kids to pay their way
through higher education when you could have helped- shame on you. “I wanted
them to value it more by earning it themselves” is just a lame excuse to cover
up a selfish agenda. The world is never a better place when others place their happiness above all else, especially
an entire generation. Kids by nature need help. Those who do not get it are at
a great disadvantage. Sure, some rise above it all, but trust me- they have no
love lost for the Baby Boomers who spent a lifetime indulging themselves at the
next generation's expense.
The irony of it all (some would say
hypocrisy). Born in 1968, I am a part of the no name generation literally
called “Generation X”. My kids are now the “Millennials”. My generation was
raised by the Baby Boomers. So what was that like? One word:
ironic. I grew up in a time where Ronald Reagan’s “war on drugs” filled
the prisons for decades based on possession of the tiniest amounts, yet
the Baby Boomers who passed such laws grew up in the Woodstock era: free
love, drugs, LSD, you name it. Forget arrests or prison, they prided themselves
on such rebellion as a badge to be proud of in the name of open-mindedness. Yet
it is they who passed the current laws where you can’t even have a social drink
without seeing highway signs that scare the piss out of you with ominous
messages of “Drink. Drive. Go to Jail.”
It was generally accepted that my
generation had to get a college degree to provide for a family. The Baby
Boomers were raised when jobs were a plenty and a blue collar father with a
high school education could raise a family of four. Speaking of which, the Boomers
experienced college tuition at rates that anyone could afford ($15 a semester
hour, are you kidding me?). Now a college degree costs more than an average
house, so kids have mortgaged their future before they even begin. Shame! Look
at Germany where higher education is free! How are we to compete worldwide and
on an equitable scale, not just the kids of the wealthy? As the Boomers got
into power, they tightened the belt in every department. A ridiculous example
would be the curfew laws in many major cities where young people can’t even be
out on the streets after a certain time after dark.
Yet the irony of it all is that the
government debt shutdowns prove there is not enough money for the Boomers’
social security, Medicare, and other services. While Generation X and the
now the Millennials have clawed for everything they have earned, we are now
being told nothing will be left for us. What goes around comes around.
It’s hard to have sympathy for the seniors with Porsches in their garages gripe
about the government when they refused to help their own kids when they needed
it most. People must reap the repercussions of their own choices. There must be
accountability in policy. “X”ers and Millennials are too busy figuring out how
to reverse Baby Boomer death knells such as unaffordable higher education and
curbing a health care and insurance debacle free for all to worry too much
about the Boomers’ retirement accounts disappearing due to a greedy,
unregulated Boomer Wall Street meltdown that started in 2008 from overvalued
mortgages and inequitable reverse mortgages that benefitted, guess who?
Many Boomers spent a lifetime indulging
themselves at the expense of their kids and future generations. The national
debt has spiraled out of control while the Boomers are grateful it is not their
generation that has to pay it back. I for one am making choices that look
forward. I view my kids’ education as a privilege and obligation I am
honored to fund, not a sacrifice. I view my future grandkids’ happiness (health
care, education, robust economy) as more important than going into more debt
for insolvent government programs that Boomers should have otherwise planned
for. Boomers have always preached with social security “there will be none left
for you.” I don’t think they realize the rest of us don’t expect it. We are too
busy focusing on contributing to a better future so our progeny won’t
experience what we experienced. The Boomers have spent a lifetime focusing on
their present. That present is almost gone. Time to look towards the new
millennium and not repeat the same mistakes. Society is not bettered focused on
itself. Time to leave it to the generation that in altruistic fashion will
certainly leave an “X” marks the spot in all the right places. Let that be the
mark of Generation “X”.
Moral of the story, as these Boomers age
into the sunset- they should expect exactly what they have given. As for
me and my husband, we thrive off sacrifice. We don’t view kids as a burden but
a gift. We could care less about Caribbean vacations if that means our kids
struggle. All 3 kids currently in college and grad school have received our
full support and they have earned excellent grades and never had to suffer due
to lack of support, a fact I am most proud of. My happiness will never ever
come before theirs. That is what each generation owes the next. As the Baby
Boomers retire, all I can say is- good riddance to the “Me” generation. I am
looking forward to righting the course of history for future generations. To
sacrifice is to live. May America learn to value again the “Giving” generation,
not the one caught up in themselves. Let history prove which one betters the
world…
A few blog pieces that reference the
Boomer “Me” Generation
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