For the Baby Boomers who've actually managed to save, and have a nice pile of US dollars sitting in the bank, looking forward to a nice retirement where they can buy the things they want and need to buy (like even healthcare or gas), and do the things they want to do (like travel), well, here's the news:
Ben Bernanke has just ruined your hopes and dreams. Ben Bernanke hates you.
He's destroyed the purchasing power of the US dollar, while at the same time conspiring with the Bureau of Labor to publish a laughably incorrect and understated CPI so that your social security COLAs are a joke and so that you can't see the true loss of purchasing power of your dollars.
OK, that was bad enough, right? Well, sorry to pile on, as I think it sucks what's happening, but I've got a bit more bad news...
The United States is bankrupt, and can't afford to pay out the benefits that you've been promised. So get ready for drastic cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. And get ready for that prescription drug plan to disappear.
Oh, I hate to do it, but one more piece of bad news for the day, and again, don't blame the messenger, I'm just passing on the news, that's what we do here you know..
The value of your home has just crashed. You should have sold.
November 10, 2007
I've got some really bad news for the Baby Boomers (and remember don't blame the messenger)
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136 comments:
Well, the Baby Boomers are not getting any sympathy from me. Bunch of selfish and irresponsible a$$holes.
I've got my money in the bank. Got CD's giving 5.41% APR (and not at Countrywide bank).
This is not great, since inflation is always higher than a bank will pay to its customers, but it helps keep the money from sliding as much as it would under the mattress. Gold might not be a safe bet. The dollar might do something crazy like stabilize. Then Oil and Gold would recover (somewhat). I think there is no safe bet these days, and safety is what I’m looking for. I think that sh!t is going to happen and I want to preserve wealth, not try to build it by making potentially risky decisions.
"Bunch of selfish and irresponsible a$$holes"
You forgot Materialistic!
I think a more important question to ask is *why* should younger generations help fund the baby boomers retirement, be it trough taxes or by paying inflated prices for their assets.
I say, let them eat cake.
Yep, going to get a lot more expensive for those Boomers! Boomers are selfish, and deserve what they get for their myopia.
Every dog has his day, and now it's time for Gen X to rule the roost.
Home values have crashed, yet rents keep rising. Funny how that works.
Don't bet against America.
Sure things are looking grim at the moment, but after the housing thing passes, the credit card-induced bomb smoke clears, everyone comes to grips with the energy scarcity issues which will be hitting like a category 5 typhoon by then, and one honest administration has a chance to set fair policies in place, ecerything will be coming up roses.
All this generalizing and groaning about "boomers" is unproductive and unfair.
"should younger generations help fund the baby boomers retirement"
it amazes me that many people deny this fact! as a "progressive," I don't support unions because I see pensions as a pyramid scheme and pyramid schemes fail. i.e. over at ben's boring blog, he noted that unions were getting mad at countrywide and the paradox was sweet: they liked oversized returns during the boom but, now-- during the bust, they're declaring war on the orange man.
I really can't understand why people don't see pensions as placing the next generation in hock w/o its permission. Honest judges should void all pension agreements since they were passed w/o consent of the people who had to pay them.
the next 20/30 years should be quite interesting! perhaps the well-to-do will move to tax-free-countries where they're free...
We'll always have American Idol...
I am a baby boomer born in 52. I grew up playing in the street in the Bronx went to Woodstock and returned to my draft notice waiting for me. I stood on 4 hour gas lines for 10 gallons in the 70's and lived through Jimmy Carter. I used pay phones for work and paper and pen for schedules. I have contibuted my share to society and ask for nothing in return and would not like to be lectured by a generation who don't have a clue to hardship.
Generational Warfare Dead Ahead
What do you mean "benefits which you've been promised"? I have been working and paying taxes for 35 years. You make it sound like a gift.
I like the way you clowns believe that you are not a passenger on the Titanic. If the "boomers" are ground into dust then what hope do you have for a future?
You aint watching a movie or video this time, youre actors in this tragedy.
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Gen X & Y Slackers?
Not me.
All I ever get from the boomers is blame the messenger
Folks, I'm just telling you how it is, and how it's gonna be, so you can get ready
Housing was a ponzi scheme - we all see that now
Social Security, medicaid and medicare are an even BIGGER ponzi scheme - and you should see that by now
Yes, boomers, you paid into the scheme. But you want to take out much much more than you paid in, and that's not gonna happen. You didn't have enough kids to keep the scam going. The ponzi scheme is over. We're out of dough.
So stop bitching, and get ready.
The value of your home has just crashed. You should have sold.
TRUE THAT!
I was going to send this missive to my parents, but then I realized that they like 90% of baby boomers have saved almost nothing. I am 24 and I'll have more saved for retirement than my parents next year (yeah, I'm sort of extreme). Thanks to HP, I sold it July and have been playing the shorts.
I can't believe the stupidity of some of the posters on this site. Gen X'ers will rule the roost...come on. Don't you realize that the demographics of the boomers will crush them. As long as there is a ballot box, this country will always have those with the numbers and feeling "they are due" controlling the direction. That said, the pickin's are still going to be meager compared to today's retirees.
"I have contibuted my share to society and ask for nothing in return and would not like to be lectured by a generation who don't have a clue to hardship."
I suppose you also walked uphill both ways in snow to school! But thanks for asking for nothing in return Grampa Simpson.
To all you Boomers, you reap what you sow. You wanted to tune out, bring down the establishment. You have systematically pissed off the next generations after you with your self centered behavior. You had everything, you inherited everything from your over indulgent parents, and you pissed it all away.
Go ahead and call us slackers or lazy, the fact is, you will have to start getting used to kissing our asses after the way you have been taking it all, and rubbing our noses in it. If you were polite, and less selfish people, maybe we wouldn't have this visceral disgust with your entire generation.
"We hope we die before we get old"
Please let THAT be soon!!
You didn't pay nearly enough in taxes to justify what you think you'll be getting.
Baby boomers get the Slow Puncture.
"What do you mean "benefits which you've been promised"? I have been working and paying taxes for 35 years. You make it sound like a gift."
Obviously you have not paid enough taxes because pension funds are underfunded, social security is underfunded and government debt is ballooning.
That's the problem with Boomers; they think they know it all but most haven't got a clue.
Yes, I'm Gen-X and I haven't suffered but the difference between my parents and I is that I know I've been lucky, that I'm going to suffer. As for my parents, it hasn't even crossed their minds that maybe they haven't paid their fair share.
Even charities are having the darndest time finding volunteers. Boomers just want to have fun: "I've done my work, I raised my 1.5 children and now it's me time."
Keith,
The boomers (I'm one) aren't crying, they'll find a way to adapt to whatever the future holds. I guess I'd be p*ssed too if all my generation had to show for it was Paris, Britney and text messaging.
mrmx,
Well run pensions are NOT a bad thing. In my industry our pension is fully funded with a 26 billion dollar surplus. Which, by the way, continues to grow yearly.
We pay $0 to social security, why should we, the facists will just steal it anyway, but we also don't collect s.s.
On average our retirees collect aprox. $3,000 a month. A well run and funded pension fund is a good thing. Good luck with your 401k when the U.S. stock market crashes. Me? I have no such worry, we are diversified in overseas markets and currencies.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/68638
old people need to vote for Ron Paul too if they have any brains left whatsoever.
this site must have the highest % of sanctimonious, self-important ass bags on the internets. Congrats!
I'm with me in oc!
CD's are the only place I feel safe with my coins. My IRA custodian/advisor said a week ago to get into the market. I know they say timing is irrelevant but how much would I have lost in this past week? How about next week?
It's like going to Vegas and rollin the dice. I never gamble, never bought a lottery ticket, and don't plan on playing the market either. Point being all these get rich quick schemes are rigged to take money from enough players to support the house.
I have assumed Social Security would not be there for me. Even if it is, the pittance paid will be negligible. So by planning accordingly I don't need to be paid back for my forced contributions.
As for you boomer bashers you will someday be in the same boat. Get ready!
What do you mean "benefits which you've been promised"? I have been working and paying taxes for 35 years. You make it sound like a gift.
You probably did work hard all your life, you were promised those benefits, and they were taken out of your salary. But guess what? You also let the goverment build up a massive deficit.
The goverment was a fool for borrowing so much money, but you were a greater fool by lending it to them.
RE: The United States is bankrupt, and can't afford to pay out the benefits that you've been promised.
Like the proverbial line of dominoes, the collapse of the US economy is quickly picking up speed.
Here is an ARTICLE written by a man who believes that last week's 4% decline of the stock market has set off a chain reaction of margin calls, sell-offs, more margin calls, more sell-offs and so on.
The article goes on to predict that there will be severe bloodletting next Monday and Tuesday as the latest margin calls become due.
Will next week see the beginning of a 50% decline of the stock market? As always, we will have to wait and see.
V.L.
you know, i originally subscribed to this blog because i thought it might help me to get actual news about the housing market. now i've learned that this blog is all about talking about the same points over and over in a sensationalist manner. thanks anyway. let me know if you decide to start posting NEW news.
As a Gen Xer I would say that many people of my age group have also fallen for the greed and materialistic lifestyle that many blame the Baby Boomers for. I know of many who are literaly a paycheck away from losing their homes/cars, everything! This correction will hurt everyone, regardless of age. But since Baby Boomers are a large group, I do not hope for their demise because we will be down the rapids without a paddle.
Hey boomers.... Has your generation ever not been in a terminal state of pissiness?
The country's a mess and you guys still won't take any responsibility. what was the quote in esquire?
"I've spent my whole life swimming behind that garbage barge of a generation. They ruined everything they've passed through and left me in their wake."
"I have contibuted my share to society and ask for nothing in return and would not like to be lectured by a generation who don't have a clue to hardship."
I am proud to be a boomer...1959
when I was young I would cut grass, wash cars and shovel driveways of snow....Good luck trying to find any kid today that would EVEN THINK of doing those things....
Thanks X-Box..."Mom /Dad I need some more money"
Let's not blame all boomers. Let's only blame those who voted for Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Bush II: Iraq Boogaloo.
GWK, you have a great point, thank you.
I myself see this Gen X gang as being much worse then Baby Boomers. Much more spoiled, lazy, out-of-touch with reality, selfish, not to mention extremely stupid and yet vain at the same time.
Realtor's assistant charged with murder
http://tinyurl.com/2dtvszCelebrity
gwk said...
I am a baby boomer born in 52. I grew up playing in the street in the Bronx went to Woodstock and returned to my draft notice waiting for me. I stood on 4 hour gas lines for 10 gallons in the 70's and lived through Jimmy Carter. I used pay phones for work and paper and pen for schedules. I have contibuted my share to society and ask for nothing in return and would not like to be lectured by a generation who don't have a clue to hardship.
--------------------------
Hardship? You aint seen nothing yet. Your generation, NOT YOU PERSONALLY, but your generation has been the most selfish generation ever and has benefited the most. You grew up in a time when America was at its peak, housing was plentiful, prices were resonable, kids could actually play outside without parental supervision and you could actually raise a family on one income. And all your generation did was protest, complain and say "dont trust anyone over 30." All you A-holes were liberals back in the 60's and now that you're older, MANY of you have become Conservatives or what's called "NEO-Cons" because of course it makes sense to be conservative, to horde all your cash as you acquire it in your later years(Greedy bastards).
Well I, a generation Xer say to your Boomer generation:
"FU%K YOU!"
Don't bet against America.
Sure things are looking grim at the moment, but after the housing thing passes, the credit card-induced bomb smoke clears, everyone comes to grips with the energy scarcity issues which will be hitting like a category 5 typhoon by then, and one honest administration has a chance to set fair policies in place, ecerything will be coming up roses.
All this generalizing and groaning about "boomers" is unproductive and unfair.
That's a whole lot of hurdles we have to get through. Just saying we will get through it doesn't make it so. There will be a lot of pain before it's over and we will learn some very valuable lessons.
Agree about the comments against boomers. Is David Crisp a boomer???
Home values have crashed, yet rents keep rising. Funny how that works.
You are an ignorant troll... F#CK OFF!
New Flash: Neutron Bomb Alert : Boomers have moved out of Home Depot and are now found in numbers keeping their obese shape up at Weggmans. The news media is wrong that they will live longer than the greatest generation. The Boomers are the fatest generation, and fat people do not live longer as a group. SS collects enough money to pay of benefits until 2017. Then it does not collect enough to pay all benefits. Since congress has spent money for SS for decades there is no trust fund, only IOU's for future tax increases. Only then will generation X "get it." According to the Comproller of the USA, Medicare will be bankrupt way before SS. SS can be fixed by raising taxes above the 90K mark. Of course, for Bush, all taxes on the rich are anathama, so its much better to let the masses gamble in Wall Street Casino, and good luck on your retirement and healthcare (HMMM What Would Jesus Do For the Masses.) I think Boomers will fare ok. Since they can not stop spending, they will work till they drop. I already see old people working at Weggmans.
Things look ugly for the dollar and the US right now, but those of you looking to the Euro as a stable currency are delusional.
Europeans have systematically failed to reproduce and within a generation will have been supplanted by a hostile population of Muslim immigrants. The Euro is having a moment in the sun, but the long-term fundamentals are not pretty. Demography is destiny.
Don't under-estimate the Boomers. They always find a way to get what they want. The largest and most educated generation in history.
These Flower Children are not just here in America, but all over the world. The world is aging, mainly due to the baby boom that ocurred worldwide after WWII.
Yes, the housing market and credit markets are crashing, but we have seen this movie before. The boomers see this as a minor blip on their way to nervana.
As to SS and Medicare etc...a large number of boomers are not even planning on this being there for them at retirement.
Heres the bottom line - the Boomers, a generation too big and too smart to fail.
Apropos of generational warfare, from the Economic Times of India, 10/30/07:
"George Orwell remarked that: 'Every generation imagines iself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it'".
True dat. As a certified Boomer, I confess that we thought our parents' generation was a bunch of spineless idiots, willfully complicit in racism, militarism, sexism and blind, stupid conformity.
If, per Keith's suggestion, we Boomers had had a lot more children, then we would have been accused of selfishly overpopulating the planet or, at least, this country (zero kids here).
I'm not particularly defensive. My generation has an enormous amount of self-centeredness to answer for. But anyone who thinks that any particular generation has a monopoly on heroism (or its obverse, cravenness and selfishness) is out of his or her freaking mind.
By the way, our good friend Casey Serin--he's not a Boomer, is he?
Let the gunfire begin. :- )
let's stay on point - our govt. is f*ck'd...the US is bankrupt and our $ is going down the drain. We all use $ here, have investments and have been wise to the outragous pillaging by the credit markets and the fed.
Stick together bloggers. The real issue is that being smart w/ your $ over the years may not pay off. And that is scary. I think we all have known for a while that SS and Medicare etc are running out. The question is where did this $ go? Don't flame me on that. We know that too.
Right now we should have some dialogue on strategy. Yes Gold is good right now, but at what price do you need to sell? What is the next move then? Preserving $ right now is a moving target, like none I have experienced- w/ 20 years investing experience.
I am sort of cool with my own situation, but the overall picture is looking more and more of a financial "Iraq" for those of us in the "know". I live in the US and am not planning on leaving...is saving money now going to become Extreme chess playing?
The US dollar will strengthen; there aren't many who have saved dollars rather than real estate or stocks.
If you believe the dollars will become worthless, you should buy more real estate.
Deflation is starting, just about now.
This current Genreation Y is the "I WANT IT NOW" generation. They have the attention span and cognitive skills of a fruitfly. They have a need for immediate gratification and loathe hard work. Many of them majored in Women's Studies or some sort of useless ethnic studies program. while China and India are chirning out engineers, we are churning out Chicano Studies graduates.
I think anyone would have a hard time making the case that Gen X or Gen Y are any better than the Boomers.
They're not.
They're lazier, they're even more materialistic, they're way more ignorant (has something to do with not reading newspapers), and they were born with a sense of entitlement. Not everyone of course, but when you look at the generations as a whole, that's how I size 'em up.
My hope? That Gen Z - kids in school now, kids of Bush2, the Iraq Debacle, the Housing Crash and the Rise of India/China, that those kids will be the ones to pull America's head out of its ass.
It'll be pretty late by then. But Gen X and Gen Y appear hopeless. And the Boomers will just try to take as much from X Y and Z before they die.
fall down go boom said...
Don't bet against America.
Sure things are looking grim at the moment, but after the housing thing passes, the credit card-induced bomb smoke clears, everyone comes to grips with the energy scarcity issues which will be hitting like a category 5 typhoon by then, and one honest administration has a chance to set fair policies in place, ecerything will be coming up roses.
All this generalizing and groaning about "boomers" is unproductive and unfair.
November 10, 2007 12:20 PM<<<<
don't bet against america you say...
you have two choices. either vote for ron paul and help him change things peaceably if possible or
it is open rebellion and that means a hot rebellion....
do you not think there is reason why all these americans have guns....they know something is wrong.......they smell it......they are not sure what is happening, but they know....so they buy the guns and they buy the guns and they buy the ammo , etc etc etc...for they know that someday it will be necessary to do something about all of this that talking about it, cannot do and that is to take it from those who have stolen it, just like they did one time over 200 years ago...same game , different name..
I've said it before, I'll say it again: anyone who jokes about how lazy Gen-X is on an internet forum is pissing into the wind. Boomers might have invented TCP/IP, but it was Gen-X who commercialized the internet and all the services you take for granted. Google? Amazon? eBay? All created by Gen-X. It's "lazy" Gen-Xers who worked 80 hour weeks in internet startups. Largely because there were few other career options available after the boomers outsourced all our other industries to China right as we were entering the job market. We didn't have the unions or the job security that boomers took for granted. And that's just the prelude. That's what we did during our 20s and 30s, the age when the boomers were still playing hippy.
When the SS ponzi scheme was created by FDR in the 1930's, there were 6 workers for every retiree. Now there are 3 workers for each retiree. Soon it will be 2 for each retiree. Also, the required age to collect SS benefits back then was 65, which was way past the average lifespan. today, it is still 65, which is way below the average lifespan. Yet the idiot liberals keep clinging on to this failed ponzi scheme, draining money from todays workers into their pet ponzi scheme that is much worse than the RE ponzi scheme.
Quote: Social Security, medicaid and medicare are an even BIGGER ponzi scheme - and you should see that by now
My response: Take out Social Security disability benefits, take out Medicaid. Or, what ever programs that exists for the poor. Then expect a dramatic increase in robberies, theft, B&E, vandalism, rape, murder....
People do weird things when there's no place to live, and not enough food to eat. Think of it this way: A good welfare system is good crime prevention.
I was born in '72 and waited in the same gas lines as the rest of you -- in a beat-down Chevy station wagon with my stoned-out unemployed parents.
I'm 35 this year and have been working since I was 13. Screw you if you think all the Gen-Xers are text-messaging Britney Spears fans. Stupid me, I guess I forgot to sign up for my trust fund.
-PM
I am a "latter day" boomer... born at the end of the boom (1963), and in many ways I feel closer to the next generation (X and Y) than I do to the boomers...
A few observations:
Many of the boomers (including myself) did not have it so well. Although I grew up in a middle class home, we basically lived in poverty by today's standards. I remember the Viet Nam war protests, and the anti-establishmentarians, and quite frankly did not care much for them.
What was most sad to observe was watching people older than I making incredibly stupid financial decisions. The get rich quick schemes came and went, and devastated many. Have the baby boomers been selfish? Answer: absolutely. But selfishness is common to all of us. Were the baby boomers pampered by their parents? In comparison to what is typically done today, the answer is an emphatic NO.
I am concerned that many of the Gen X and Y kids these days have NO IDEA how bad things are going to get. Blaming it upon the boomers is short-sighted. We ALL share in the blame, even the Gen X and Y folks. We have pampered the next generation to the point that they have no concept of what it is like to suffer. All of us have been in a state of denial for too long. The chickens are coming home to roost.
To all of you Gen X and Y kids, I say this... Try to avoid the temptation to scapegoat the older generation. Try to learn from them as best as possible. Humanity is sick, the best that you can to is to try do better. Try to have compassion on the older folks, because many of them are going to suffer terribly. The way that a nation cares for its elderly is a reflection of that nation as a whole.
Don't assume that most of the baby boomers lived a posh life... Many of them were raised in poverty, and then many of them fell for the siren song of riches, making all of us once again poor.
Jason said...
I've said it before, I'll say it again: anyone who jokes about how lazy Gen-X is on an internet forum is pissing into the wind. Boomers might have invented TCP/IP, but it was Gen-X who commercialized the internet and all the services you take for granted. Google? Amazon? eBay? All created by Gen-X. It's "lazy" Gen-Xers who worked 80 hour weeks in internet startups. Largely because there were few other career options available after the boomers outsourced all our other industries to China right as we were entering the job market. We didn't have the unions or the job security that boomers took for granted. And that's just the prelude. That's what we did during our 20s and 30s, the age when the boomers were still playing hippy.
November 10, 2007 6:02 PM<<<<<
feel better now???
we are very proud of you gen x boys and girls....yes we are...
Bitter Renter said...
Home values have crashed, yet rents keep rising. Funny how that works.
November 10, 2007 11:55 AM
-------------
My LL cut 100 USD of the asking rent and was just happy to find a tenant in the off season. I checked the rental rates in the area on www.rentometer.com and even before the 100 USD cut the rent she was asking was below market average. She could undercut the competition because she's owned the place for 20 years and did not ATM HELOC the place. Dumb@$$
Maybe dumb@$$ is including the following feeble attempts to juice tenants as rent inflation:
Fliptard turned floplords, in order to make the rent competitive back out the HOA/CONDO fees. I called one of them on the carpet by saying, so the rent is really X (advertised rent + condo fee)? He said no and I said OK lets draw up a lease listing only the rental amount, he refused and it still sits empty months later. Other floplords fabricate fees for every little thing, move in fee (yet the condo association does not charge such a fee) service call fees, etc. These people obviously will not do squat in terms of maintaining the property as they are unable to service the note. Let them default and return their units back to the housing stock at REO discount pricing to keep the drive toward afford-ability going!!
I can and will use geographic arbitrage to retire. There are places on the Indian Ocean where my rapidly deflating dollar can still give me a wonderful lifestyle.
See you on the beach in Goa.
http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jan/15retire.htm
http://talkingretirement.com/index.php/weblog/sendthis/retiring_in_goa/
Let's not be stupid!
The U.S. government will NEVER default on it's obligations! If worse comes to worse, it will simply inflate it's way out.
You will always get your social security check, but it might only fill up your gastank or buy a few bags of groceries.
This is hilarious and sometimes one must laugh.
Please take a monment for your very own Bendover Ben moment.
FMW
Ben Bernanke Music Video
Here is a Columbia Business School (CBS) spoof of Ben Bernanke's appointment as Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, based on "Every Breath You Take" from The Police Synchronicity Album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipJTqCbETog
I was born in early 65 and can't figure out who I am. I save 20% of my salary and rent. However I feel that I paid into social security and I deserve it. I am only asking for a fair return on investment no more.
I don't agree with the way it was handled but I also didn't get a vote. I just got told to pay and had no choice other than jail in the matter.
Now ask me if I will ever have a check land in my mailbox. Because my answer is I have a better chance of a UFO landing on my mailbox than a check landing in it.
Fasten your seatbelts because soon - of all things: the decapitaded head of the Statue of Liberty comes tumbling down the street. Literally according to Hollywood:
http://tinyurl.com/2c2pkt
I am proud to be a boomer...1959
when I was young I would cut grass, wash cars and shovel driveways of snow....Good luck trying to find any kid today that would EVEN THINK of doing those things....
Thanks X-Box..."Mom /Dad I need some more money"
YOU RAISED THEM!!!!
I feel great, anonymous boomer. We're in for some rough times, but I'll be facing them at my peak. The best time for it. And I'm surrounded by a cohort of hard working, cynical individuals who've already revolutionized the world once. We'll get this shit fixed up, get the country back to sanity, and have plenty of time left to enjoy the products of our labors.
Meanwhile, the boomers will be hitting their declining years during the worst of the badness.
Poetic justice, really.
"As to SS and Medicare etc...a large number of boomers are not even planning on this being there for them at retirement"
SS represents over 50% of revenues for something like 65% of retirees. And 2/3 of boomers have less than 100K in net worth.
Do your homework before you blurt out nonsense.
"It'll be pretty late by then. But Gen X and Gen Y appear hopeless. And the Boomers will just try to take as much from X Y and Z before they die."
Yeah but Gen-X and Gen-Y will be pushing their wheel chairs to the ballots.
The Battle of Sprawlingrad is raging...
The encirclement is complete, welcome to the kessel.
Those that are surrounded are beginning to turn on each other. You have been abbandoned by your leaders. They have given exile to the traitors, treasonous, sabateurs and thieves.
Try to flee, do so quietly, do not arrouse suspicion, for you know not where the enemy lies. Find yourself a nice safe place where you can remain while the Battle of Sprawlingrad continues.
I am a baby boomer born in 52. I grew up playing in the street in the Bronx went to Woodstock and returned to my draft notice waiting for me. I stood on 4 hour gas lines for 10 gallons in the 70's and lived through Jimmy Carter. I used pay phones for work and paper and pen for schedules.
Ohhhh, you poor thing Baby Boomer. You had to use pen and a notepad, went to Woodstock, and had to "stand in line" to get gas. Wow, that's hardship.
I tell you what, why don't you get some more HELOCS out of your housing ATM and go by crap from China at your local evil Wal-Mart, just to cheer you up, ok? But take the huge gas guzzling SUV to fit your huge fat ass, because it's much more comfortable and you deserve it. After all, you Baby Boomers are entitled to all.
Meanwhile, young soldiers (GEN X and Y) are dying in a phony war that Baby Boomers created to make money.
I can and will use geographic arbitrage to retire. There are places on the Indian Ocean where my rapidly deflating dollar can still give me a wonderful lifestyle.
Same here, have been preparing for many years, including buying property. There's a whole and better world out there to live/retire, much better than this third world cesspool run by shady groups. I refuse to be a brainwashed puppet.
And the Boomers show their ugly face, once again. Whining that they had to cut grass, wash cars, use pen and paper, use a pay phone. Hey, I'm a Gen X and I did all that for living and even much tougher stuff, while putting myself through college, since my selfish Baby Boomer parents were gambling the assets away.
One question to Boomers: Which generations do you think are getting killed or losing their limbs in a daily basis in Iraq (war created by Boomers), while you are shopping at Wal-Mart? I rest my case.
I hope there's a hell because all of you, Baby Boomers that pushed for this bloody and unnecessary war, will burn in it.
Once again, you state the issues fairly clearly and vehemently. More power to you !
If people dont follow the adjusted monetary base, the Temporary Market operations etc of the fed, why should they, this is sloooowww moving and they have better things to do in life, but even if they don't, that conversation between Jon Stewart and Alan Greenspan( lots of videos are available on the net). To paraphrase:
Stewart: Basically you screwed the savers.
GreenSpan: that's the way it turns out but that's not the way to think of it.
That's what the man said. No kidding, honest, God's truth.
People must read all this stuff, especially the prudent, careful ones, who, unfortunately, IMO are liable to be gullible about the govt. and whose interests it truly serves. Listen to Bernanke to what he told Congress: the dollar...blah.. blah.. in the medium term will be sound.
He didn't quote a value, he DID suggest a timeframe - its not 6 weeks, its not 6 months, its probably not 2 years IMO. In the meantime the US$ crashes and you lose money ( if you don't believe you lose money when the US$ drops, and Bernanke actually suggested this crap in Congress - but if you believe this, I suggest you read about the devaluation of the UK pound in 1968(7?) and Harold Wilson, PM of Britain actually going on TV saying - the Pound in your pocket will stay the same. That was a lie.
Bernanke actually dares to peddle the same lie.
-K
Bush = Boomer
Bernanke = Boomer
Cheney = Boomer
Lereah = Boomer
Paulson = Boomer
Toll = Boomer
Mozillo = Boomer
55'ers raised you, wiped your butts, persevered through your "me" generation, paid for your educations and paid taxes you 20's good for nothings. You are so selfish that you'll raise even more selfish kids and they will hate you worse than hate us. Kinda ironic!
RE: you know, i originally subscribed to this blog because i thought it might help me to get actual news about the housing market.
*******************************
You should also check out the main comments located on TOP of the main HP home page. Good advice - updated views.
This inter-generational warfare/whinefest is a fool's game, a pasttime for puppets and fools.
There's a class of people who are accumulating wealth and power at an alarming rate, and they know that their interests are the same whether they be boomer, Gen-Xer, whatever. (If this weren't the case, they wouldn't be doing everything they can to roll back the estate tax.)
And then there's the rest of us, getting screwed, feeling scared, and pointing the finger at each other, while those who understand what the real game is sit back and laugh.
Greed, stupidity, selfishness, myopia, and a fast-buck mentality are sins that undeniably span demographic groups any way you care to slice them, sad to say. But, thank god, so do industriousness, entrepreneurialism, self-discipline, frugality, charity, and plain good sense.
The generational thing is a red herring. Let's keep our eyes on the ball, people!
Baby Doomers will move in with their own children.
Gonna take that Last Free Ride.
Good to see the Boomers crushing their kids with student loan debt
Graduates are buried by debt
It's no small thing to make it to the top of one of U.S. News and World Reports' college lists. But the folks at Seton Hall University aren't exactly celebrating their No. 1 national ranking for student-loan debt.
Sixty-one percent of students graduating from the South Orange campus have to pay back student loans -- the average totaling $37,724, according to America's Best Colleges 2008. The numbers are high but they are not an aberration. Nationally, nearly two-thirds of graduates of four-year schools have debt, according to the Project on Student Debt. That debt load averages $20,000.
Ron Paul isnt a boomer. What do you call the generation before the boomers?
Good point, Ron Paul is a member of The Greatest Generation
Then expect a dramatic increase in robberies, theft, B&E, vandalism, rape, murder....
Think of it this way: A good welfare system is good crime prevention.
Yet another stupid liberal idea. Pay protection money to the lazy scum of society so they don't attack us. Since when is rape and vandalism a crime for money? Since when should lazy people be rewarded at the expense of those who work? How about we ship these scum and people like you to Iran and see how much welfare and compassion they have for thugs and hoodlums.
pungens said:Europeans have systematically failed to reproduce and within a generation will have been supplanted by a hostile population of Muslim immigrants. The Euro is having a moment in the sun, but the long-term fundamentals are not pretty. Demography is destiny
---------------------------
okay then, with all the muslims europe will become IRAN
And America will become...
MEXICO
Oh Ya, I have faith in the PESO, I mean the DOLLAR
I consider my generation about the same level of aholes as the 60's generation that just will not die and shut the f up. The upside is the rest of the world is a much bigger dogpile. Child labor, radical islam, dictators.. this only exists in crap hole countries where celebrities like to visit. Yeah you Kevin Spacey. Anyone waiting to see what ratings lions and lambs get? That prune Redford cracks me up. What a dumb fVck.
"hurin said...
I think a more important question to ask is *why* should younger generations help fund the baby boomers retirement, be it trough taxes or by paying inflated prices for their assets.
I say, let them eat cake.
November 10, 2007 11:27 AM
"
That's called BLOWBACK, and it will happen over the next few years.
Bitter Renter said:"Home values have crashed, yet rents keep rising. Funny how that works".
Hey, bitter renter, rents stopped going up here in Alameda-
Here's an article about the rental market from yesterday's Alameda Journal~
Titled: Renter with pick of patch go for well-maintained properties.
A changing real estate market usually results in a shift in the rental market. Property that they are unable to sell, which may lead to a rental inventory surplus. With more rentals on the market, owners should consider the following strategies to keep their units occupied.
BE COMPETITIVE: Owners should be competitive with rent. Be reasonable with your expectations and do your homework on rents for similar properties in your area. A desirable tenant will most likely not choose a property at a higher rent if they can obtain a similar property for less. Plus, the longer a property sits vacant, the less appealing it may seem to prospective tenants.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT: Prospective tenants should have a good first impression of both the outside and inside of the property. Does the property have agood curb appeal? This alone can be a show-stopper. Make sure your property is inviting. Is the landscaping well maintained? Does the exterior paint look fresh? It may be time to paint the interior, update the flooring, appliances and lighting. Ask yourself, "would I want to live here?" If your anser is no, them it is probably time for some updating.
"Many factors determine how quickly a property wil rent in this highly competitive market," said Ellen Purdy, property mamager for Harbor Bay Realty in Alameda, which has provided property magement services for more than 20 years. "Selecting well qualified tenants is our primary goal to give owners the best return on their real estate investments."
Wow, the tide has now officially changed here in the bay area. Now, landlord/homeowners can not expect renters to pay a premium any longer on rental properties.
The recession is here.
"Obviously you have not paid enough taxes because pension funds are underfunded, social security is underfunded and government debt is ballooning.
That's the problem with Boomers; they think they know it all but most haven't got a clue."
You NAILED that one !!!
"what do you call the generation before the boomers"?
answer: the old farts
For the record, in responses to anonymous comments calling me an "ignorant troll" and a "dumba$$", I quote from the June, 2007 issue of Apartment Manager, a publication of the (Portland, Oregon) METRO Multifamily Housing Association (I have a copy right in front of me):
"Average rent was up 6 percent in 2006 and according to Jerry Johnson, a principal with Johnson Gardner, average rent will be up 8.5 percent in 2007 and another 6 percent in 2008."
I don't make ignorant dumba$$ assertions without documentation. I come prepared.
Gen X and Gen Y, get over yourselves . . .you can't characterize and stereotype an ENTIRE generation. That is lazy and vapid.
You sound bitter and angry and looking for someone to blame, and its easy to blame the generation before you, and pretend that your generation is priceless and perfect.
The most selfish, politically unaware, materialistic, credit driven, FB's I know, however . . . are not Boomers, they are everyone.
If you have parental issues, seek therapy maybe, because blaming all of society's ills on all people over 55 is not a valid argument.
Sometimes this blog really gets ridiculous and I need to go back to patrick.net for some actual intellectual thought.
V.L. said:"Will next week see the beginning of a 50% decline of the stock market? As always, we will have to wait and see."
50% sounds scary, is that your personal feeling? Nothing wrong with it, I'm just courious how you arrived at this figure. I agree with you, that the market is definitely overdue for a correction.
Like you said, we'll have to wait and see...
Purchasing and owning gold delivers a financial middle finger to Ben.
..."because of course it makes sense to be conservative, to horde all your cash as you acquire it in your later years(Greedy bastards).
Well I, a generation Xer say to your Boomer generation:
"FU%K YOU!"
Probably most boomers save their money because they know they'll be supporting your loser ass for the next 50 years, yet somehow their greedy. Get a job, quit playing your loser video games, save your money and try to actually sleep somewhere better than your mom's basement. After all, as yen carry trades unwind, the cost of those video games will just keep going up. Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite.
Boomers:
-have fun being excluded from the good hospitals because those which provide adequate care won't take medicare.
-hope you like being lonely because all your LAZY gen X/Y kids don't give a f.
-hope you have guns, because you will need them to stay in your house when the medical bills and property taxes are due
-hope you enjoy your bloated salaries now, because soon companies will realize that a LAZY gen X/Y will do a better job for less pay-
Thanks for the 9 trillion.
People do weird things when there's no place to live, and not enough food to eat. Think of it this way: A good welfare system is good crime prevention.
==================
Prison camps are cheaper than welfare and remove the trash from polite society.
An equally disturbing problem is that the g** d*** baby boomers spawned and raised a bunch of delusional, self-entitled twenty-dumbthings that went out and borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars that cannot realistically be paid back. (see debtkid.com)
Everyone on here sounds like these problems are uniquely American. They are not. Europe and Japan have far bigger problems ahead of them when it comes to aging populations. The U.S. is at least holding steady at roughly 2 kids per couple. Europe and Japan are closer to one. And as far as debt goes, Japan has a national debt far worse than the U.S., roughly 1.3 times GDP as compared to .65 for us.
Europe has a far bigger housing bubble that is just beginning to deflate.
The day of reckoning is coming for the entire world.
The solution for the baby-boomers who didn't save enough for retirement is simple. Put them in government dormitory style housing with little health care.
"I have contibuted my share to society and ask for nothing in return and would not like to be lectured by a generation who don't have a clue to hardship."
so you never took a single dollar in your life? or a drop of oil?
"If the 'boomers' are ground into dust then what hope do you have for a future?"
since medical care spikes at "end of life," many believe that w/o a mass die off, taking care of the elderly will destroy the planet. so, to ensure the future, some believe that the government will unleash a specially designed influenza virus that will cull the population.
"I myself see this Gen X gang as being much worse then Baby Boomers. Much more spoiled, lazy, out-of-touch with reality, selfish, not to mention extremely stupid and yet vain at the same time."
human nature doesn't change, only the circumstances... at least that's what wise philsophers say.
"Well run pensions are NOT a bad thing."
there's no such thing as a "well run pension" since you're robbing peter to pay paul.
if hedge funds crash, etc..., watch out below!
pension funds are a religion where people believe that a dollar invested today will keep its value and even be worth more in the future. as you know, we have a lot of "ron paulers" around here who know what's happening to the dollar. and, people are predicting that europe will crash next... i.e. "diversification" is a marketing term since everything is interconnected!
the problem with the boomers is that the rich and skilled can retire while the less skilled cannot and, unfortunately, that workforce can't deliver the medical care you want, etc... so what value does your money have?
when the population is growing, this isn't a problem....
Anon 4:33 said: "You grew up in a time when America was at its peak, housing was plentiful, prices were resonable,..."
Prices were reasonable? I tried to save for a car, wile the price of the car kept rising. It was not possile, but i was a new Mustang that sold for $3,000 full price.
Anon 4:33 hasn't noticed inflation yet? Or should I have said Have you "not seen" inflation yet? Life's hard, then you die. Boomers have been the first generation with spare time on thier hands, from thier hard work, and from the hard work of all the generations that came befor them. The Social Security plan was setup to be fair and self-funding. Shit happens. Birth rates chage, life expectancies change, the dolar chages. Let's see how the next generations dal with living 50 years after thier jobs end.
let's tell the truth: No gen y or x' er is going to be pushing any baby boomer to a ballot box. I 've come to realize this baby boomers diapers are gonna be changed by some yet to be born illegal alien.
"I am proud to be a boomer...1959
when I was young I would cut grass, wash cars and shovel driveways of snow....Good luck trying to find any kid today that would EVEN THINK of doing those things....
Thanks X-Box..."Mom /Dad I need some more money"
"
HAHAHA SUCKER!
We sophisticated Gen X'ers are too busy selling CDO garbage to your pension plans, and 401ks, and shorting real estate rather than mowing lawns....
snicker.
There are good points from everyone here. After reviewing all the comments I have concluded-
WE'RE SO SCREWED!!!
I hope to be a warlord and make boomers and GenX hip hop scum fight to the death in my gladiator pit.
I may not agree with every comment posted on this website but it is really refreshing to know that there are actually people out there who THINK. Sometimes I feel as if I'm surrounded by idiots who care only care if there truck is lifted high enough or if the "C" is big enough on their Coach purse. A questioning mind is so refreshing
Don't baby boomers pass on their wealth to their children if they have anything when they die?
By the way some of the gen. X and Y writers that post on this Blog must of had child abusing baby boomer parents that were on drugs all the time .The hate is alarming .
Most generations screw around until they get a little older than they become more conserative .
I think the younger generations are pissed off because they do not have the same opportunties for jobs as perhaps baby boomers had for a couple of decades while this nation was expanding . I think we can blame the corporations in part for that and the fact that in the last 10 years the balance scales in favor of Corporation greed has undermined employees in America .
If a person has a good job and the ability to get ahead ,than they don't get into generation warfare talk .
Gen x and y often times talk so much in survival terms that it leads me to believe that they have alot of fear about the future .In fact ,some act like they have to get rid of the baby boomers in order for them to survive .
Gen x and y seems to want the baby boomers to die off young in spite of the advances that medical science made to create longer life spans .
At least Gen. X and y knows that government SSI benefits will be reduced so you have a much longer time span to prepare for it . There are some baby boomers that are just getting a clue that they won't get as many benefits and they won't get the money they thought from real estate either .
Its really a bitter pill to have retirement benefits you planned on pulled at a later age in life because you don't have the options like you do when your younger .
You young people act like there isn't life after 40 and you have a mistaken idea about the value of a human even after they are older .Look at all the grandma and grandpa's that take care of grandchildren for their offspring .
All generations will suffer if America doesn't get their act together ,but it doesn't do any good to envy or blame another generation .
The last time I checked, all generations took part in the fake real estate boom from 19 year olds to 80 year olds .
All generations can change the course of America and save the American way of life if we work at solving the real problems in America instead of getting brainwashed by Corporate America or some other greedy entity that is ripping off middle America.
BOOMER sucks.
BOOMSLANS rules.
BOOMER will get boomed in the kazoo because they are too fat. They eat all those doughnuts sitting on their kazoo watching rerun of Dallas all damn day long.
Remember: BOOMER sucks !!!
"Sometimes this blog really gets ridiculous and I need to go back to patrick.net for some actual intellectual thought."
Patrick K. is really cool and his news links are great. Too many of the posters there are George Clooney wannabes. Smug, Ohhhh so clever and smart. The truth is that they drone on forever going back and forth about inanities. Please go back there and stay there.
Anon: "Since when should lazy people be rewarded at the expense of those who work?"
Reality is more complicated then the simple formula "not enough income = lazy" might suggest. Look around and see what also can happen to non-lazy people, by all kinds of reasons. Use your imagination. Also understand that a society that nobody cares for each other, is doomed to disintegrate.
Hey I was born in 63 but don't considor myself a Boomer - hell, my Dad didn't even go to Vietnam (he was a Chem. Engineering student & got deferred)!!!
I don't think anyone Born in the '60's is a Boomer - we had NOTHING to do with WW II - our paernts did!!
I guess we are on the Cusp of Gen X!!!
This post is great.
Reading the comments, it is pretty obvious that intergenerational warfare is building. And corporate America is not helping.
For example, in Canada, a CEO of a Blue Chip company is creating a two tiered system which he says is to better serve his employees:
1. Defined benefit for Boomeres, DC for younger employees.
2. Fixed schedules for the Boomers and flexible ones for the younger ones.
The problem is that the DC will give the young less guarantee and the flexible schedule really means the graveyard shift and a 3 days in the row week.... really good when you are trying to raise kids!
Then you have the Boomer politicians trying to unfreeze tuition fees so that students will end up with even more debt.
In the final analysis, what everyone must realize is that you can print all the money in the world and give it all to the Boomers but it does not change the fact that we young ones won't be enough. If we're not enough and properly skilled, all those printed dollars will just create inflation. Basically the more dollars we give the Boommers the more salary increases we will get.
Let's face it, the one with the Gold rules and more than 2/3 of Boomers have no money. Workers will have more to say than those with no money.
The Boomers have created a society that rewards youth. Most are still clinging on to it with plastic surgery, refusing to age. In a few years when they realize they can't beat nature, they'll try to convince the world that old age is beautiful but it'll be interesting to see how fast that catches on. The industrial world has only been good to 1 generation of old age people and that's because we hit 5 workers per retiree.
If the Boomers try to squeeze the younger gneration, they will lose because the entire world will be in dire need of skilled workers. There will be hundreds of millions of young Muslims ready to work but will they be skilled enough?
On another note, if students graduate with 50-100K in debt they won't be able to buy Boomers overpriced houses.
I'm Gen-X. I've been lucky. I'm greedy but aren't we all when we come to realize that resources are getting scarce. Most Boomers around me don't get it. My Mom swan in the River when she was a kid. It's totally polluted now. You can't by a house without finding a buried oil tank and becoming liable for the environmental damage. I had luch with my ex-boss not along ago, a Boomer, and when I expressed these frustrations all he had to say was how lucky he was he wouldn't be around when the shit hit the fan.
In the end, I know that millions will be vying for my hands. They better respect me or I'll choose voluntary simplicity.
I don't blame the Boomers for what they've done because I believe we are a product of our times. I would have probably done the same. What I do deplore is that most of the ones around me actually think they worked hard for what they have. Most don't even think that genetics and being born in Canada has anything to do with it. It's like they are totally oblivious to the fact that the Western world has become what it is today by exploiting the environement, people and the rest of the world.
And the rest of the world is gaining clout, resources are getting scarcer.
I'm Gen-X. I've been lucky. I'm greedy but aren't we all when we come to realize that resources are getting scarce.
================================
Kid, that's a boomer idea. No such thing as scarce resource. For monkeys, dogs, lions maybe but the concept of scarcity doesnt apply to human beings. Cognition and reason are the real resources human's use to accomodate a growing population.
Of course we baby boomer can get all the benefits we have promised ourselves! All you young basters have to do is to work six hours per day for us, then six hours per day for the rest of government, then however many hours per day for yourselves!!
Why does generation X and Y fight wars when the Baby Boomer cry was "Hell No We Won't Go" to Vietnam, "make love, not war." If you went to Vietnam, hats off to you, for the majority of Boomers, you make me sick. Hopefully, this perverted, fat, protesting generation of old people will die off quicker than they thought. I am tired of this generation of overgrown children.
They're [Gens X and Y] lazier, they're even more materialistic, they're way more ignorant (has something to do with not reading newspapers), and they were born with a sense of entitlement.
Hate to break this to you, Keith, but you're full of baloney.
Gen X and Y both earn far less than the Boomers did, in real dollars, at this point in their careers.
We invented blogging, Internet new media, and most of the technologies that allow people to keep on top of this crash. We popularized the online media that is displacing obsolete newspapers -- I mean, why pride yourself on reading out-of-date printed information from the big-whore press when you can read real analysis online in real time?
Lazy?
Come on.
X'ers have been working 10 to 12 hour days ever since we entered the workforce. Many, in their 40s, have never taken a real vacation in their lives.
Boomers invented the 35 hour work week, long vacations, "tenure" determining one's position in the company, and they run all the big stupid labor unions. Xers have always been working harder, working longer hours, and doing so for less while paying more for every essential item from food to shelter.
It's not even close. Boomers had the biggest bonanza in history, and are the first generation to leave massive debt, a wrecked economy, and limited opportunities behind them. Even in their twilight of work years, they ruined the labor market and forced Xers to innovate in order to find work.
If you don't believe that, just go talk to some X'ers sometime about the hours they work -- and then listen to some self-righteous Boomer go on and on about how he worked "ten hours of overtime per week and saved every penny."
Well we don't get paid overtime, assholes, and since you saved every penny, you can pay for your own friggin' retirements.
Keith,
Youre begining to sound just like
Hjalmar "Horace Greely" Schacht. Maybe we should all invest in companies like IG Farben? That would make us some money, right?
If that's the case then you need to find yourself an Adolf Hitler to do all your dirty work.
Money is political fiction. Get us another FDR and we can build out of this collapse overnight.
Hey I was born in 63 but don't considor myself a Boomer - hell, my Dad didn't even go to Vietnam (he was a Chem. Engineering student & got deferred)!!!
============================
I was born in the late 1950's tp two teenage parents (no WWII vets in my family) and I have no personal affinity with the boomer generation. I missed all the massive drug orgy rock concerts, couldnt care less about the music, and I think that their economic policies absolutely stink.
My biggest gripe is getting lumped in with these turds.
"Sometimes this blog really gets ridiculous and I need to go back to patrick.net for some actual intellectual thought."
Patrick K. is really cool and his news links are great. Too many of the posters there are George Clooney wannabes. Smug, Ohhhh so clever and smart. The truth is that they drone on forever going back and forth about inanities. Please go back there and stay there.
November 11, 2007 9:58 AM
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Wow, you really made my point for me. Thanks. And no, I'll surf wherever I please, Mr. "can't take it".
Uncle Sam signs Uncle Ben's paychecks. If Uncle Sam needs to turn his $9 trillion dollar debt into a $9 hundred million dollar debt, Uncle Ben gets busy. So what if the rest of the wealth gets transferred to the oil producers? After all, George gave him the job.
"Wow, you really made my point for me. "
Exactly, actually YOU just proved my point.
See, you don't get it. I'm done commenting on this. Your clueless.
Feel free to come associate with we low life intellectual retards anytime you like. Maybe you can learn us some of your high breeding.
Anonymous said...
55'ers raised you, wiped your butts, persevered through your "me" generation, paid for your educations and paid taxes you 20's good for nothings. You are so selfish that you'll raise even more selfish kids and they will hate you worse than hate us. Kinda ironic!
November 10, 2007 8:53 PM<<<
ha ha ha. i like to watch them on jay leno when he does his man on the street interviews. such stupidity is beyond reason.
I'm Gen-X. I've been lucky. I'm greedy but aren't we all when we come to realize that resources are getting scarce.
================================
Kid, that's a boomer idea. No such thing as scarce resource. For monkeys, dogs, lions maybe but the concept of scarcity doesnt apply to human beings. Cognition and reason are the real resources human's use to accomodate a growing population.
Tell that to the Vikings or the ones on Easter Island.
I agree with you in theory but in practice mankind has been fighting for resources since the beginning of times and I doubt it will change in my lifetime.
Tell that to the Vikings or the ones on Easter Island.
I agree with you in theory but in practice mankind has been fighting for resources since the beginning of times and I doubt it will change in my lifetime.
November 11, 2007 10:20 PM
There are 6.5 billion people on the planet. So there is no such thing as "fixed carrying capacity" or "fixed resources".
Why do you insist on being a schmuck?
There are no problems that man cannot solve.
Anonymous said:
Since when should lazy people be rewarded at the expense of those who work?
They shouldn't. People who earn the lowest wages often work the hardest, at the suckiest jobs.
At work I have to deal with an endless parade of walking social problems. I'd love to see you try doing my job and then see if you can call me lazy.
I just want to make the point that baby boomers have been paying in to SSI for up to 45 years and the Greatest Generation was and still is supported by the baby boomers contributions .
For many years that the baby boomers were working they paid higher tax rates than the younger generations have ever paid ,but you Gen.X and Y's don't know anything about 50 to 70% fed tax rates for years .
Do you realize how much money grows in 40 years of paying SSI ? In truth, if the contributions that were made by most baby boomers was put in a 5 to 10% CD account it would of been a bigger retirement than the government is actually paying . Baby boomers were told that we had to pay it for retirement and people relied on it .We paid for our parents retirement SSI without complaint .
Also ,the younger generations have this idea that Medicare is paying all the medical costs for older people . Most middle and upper class older people on medicare have to have a supplement plan , they pay co=pays and have to pay monthly fees for medicare along with the supplement plan .The average older couple is paying $300 to $500 a month for just your average medical care and people are paying much more if they have
some serious medical needs .
Alot of conditions today are treated by shorter hospital stays and medications and the medicare benefit on medications leaves alot to be desired ,unless you have a supplement you pay for .Why are medical costs so high should be the question ,rather than how can we get rid of baby boomers .
My health insurance supplement went up 8% this year . Older people on fixed incomes are getting killed by inflation .So,don't think that the older people don't pay alot of their monthly budget toward their own health care. We all know that the government lies about inflation so they don't have to raise the social security payment .
Anybody that doesn't get benefits that are promised has grounds for being upset .
Baby boomers will be pushed out of their jobs in alot of cases , so they might not have the option to work longer than 65 .
I really wish that I would of known at 30 that the government wasn't going to honor their obligations . In my case, I saved during my working years ,so I won't starve , but I know some baby boomers that would starve if they don't get their social security ....they paid into for 40 years .
Also I have noticed that the younger generations seem to envy people who have built up wealth ,like their parents . Do you realize how many years it takes to build up some wealth ? So what if some baby boomers are planning on traveling in their retirement ,it creates jobs in the travel business . Wait until you finally get to retire after years of working and you might have a few years before you get sick to enjoy yourself .
You younger people forget that just because a person is retired doesn't mean they don't spend money and money spent by older people creates jobs also .
Why do I have to defend the fact that baby boomers deserve to live and get their SSI .I suppose you Gen x an y people think that the generation that fought World War II and went through the Great Depression don't deserve shit either and they all should be laid to rest ,so you guys can have more ,in spite of the fact that you have a America because of that generation, who went through hell .
"I just want to make the point that baby boomers have been paying in to SSI for up to 45 years and the Greatest Generation was and still is supported by the baby boomers contributions ."
Are you stupid? Don't you get it that what you just described is the very definition of how a ponzi scheme works.
Ponzi schemes fail once there are not enough new suckers to pay into the system, and since you failed to have enough children, well...
Are you stupid? Don't you get it that what you just described is the very definition of how a ponzi scheme works.
Ponzi schemes fail once there are not enough new suckers to pay into the system, and since you failed to have enough children, well...
FDR's social security program was/is no ponzi scheme (moron).
What actually happened is 40 years ago the United States adopted the post industrial society.
That's the issue, you idiot.
The post industrial society must go.
We boomers didn't create the retirement funding crisis - the WW2 generation did that in the 60s and 70s, handing out a huge retirement windfall to themselves at our expense. People from that generation got big payouts after paying into the system at much lower tax rates in the 50s and 60s. We boomers spent most of our working lives and are still spending our peak earning years paying the highest FICA and Medicare rates ever. We have the misfortune to be the first generation that will get back less from these systems than we paid in, yet because of that the crisis is somehow is all on us? Sheesh.
"""
Gen X and Gen Y, get over yourselves . . .you can't characterize and stereotype an ENTIRE generation. That is lazy and vapid.
""" - anon @ November 11, 2007 12:09 AM
I see what you did there. The question is did you?
Two workers to support each retiree. Essentially this puts my husband and I on the hook for an extra child. So perhaps we'll have one less child. Leaving yet fewer future workers to support us in our old age. Whee...
Anyone who thinks today's financial problems are caused by Boomers is an idiot feeding at the propaganda trough. That makes as much sense as thinking the 20 & 30 somethings are gonna save us.
What's lead up to our current mess began long before the IRS and Fed were sneaked by the populace in 1913 (for you historically challenged non-Boomers, that's PRE-Boomer - got it?).
Boomers didn't create the mess this country's in (and the gen X & Y'ers aren't gonna get us out of it, so don't flatter yourselves). For that, you can thank the Europeans that infiltrated the Colonies way back when and made sure our young country had a "proper banking system". It's been downhill ever since.
This is one pissed off Boomer who's worked hard all his life, never taken any handouts but has watched as millions of deadbeats, illegals, politicians and government workers scam the system.
I've been bent over the barrel by the government sucking so much of my wages that I have little hope of remaining financially independent (but then that's also part of their plan).
And by way of thanks, I'd like to wish them all an eternity in hell.
I have a friend that is retired that was informed that his pension Benefit, that he worked at a Company for 35 years for ,is going to be reduced by 20% This guy gets this news while he also gets nailed by inflation every year .
Everybody thinks the other guy or generation is selfish or irresponsible . Truth is that humans are selfish and self-serving
We have a bloody history book because one set or group of people decided that another group of people didn't deserve to live or keep their wealth .
Laws were set up in America to protect the individual .Social programs were set up to protect society and the individual .SSI benefits were set up to keep older people from starving on the street in older age .SSI was a forced program because people just don't save for retirement. At the time they set up SSI the average person died within 5 years of retirement ,so medical science has expanded lifespans . So maybe more forced programs need to be enacted because of longer lifespans ,but its clear that people have to prepare more for having longer retirements or work longer .
I think one of the reasons why people in general are attracted to investment schemes like real estate or the stock market is because of the fear of proverty . I guess women have a fear of being a bag lady when they are old.
But, SSI is underfunded and the problem needs to be addressed .
I remember when I was really young I would talk to my friends about the people on SSI that we were supporting from our paychecks ,but the thought at the time was that it was OK because one day we would need the benefit in old age . At that time friends would debate the concept of having the government run the Social Security system and maybe it would be better to change the system ,(these talks went on over 40 years ago ).The government always assured people that SSI would be there . Everytime the Senators/Congress/Presidents tried to address the social security issue, somehow other problems trumped the social security issues of the future (most likely because it was always years in the future ).
So, if the government defaults on their obligations of SSI benefits ,than there will be alot of blood in the streets .
I think they will raise the age to be able to collect on SSI to maybe 70 . They are already taxing SSI more than they use to ,plus every year they take more out of the SSI check for the medical payment for medicare . It goes without saying that inflation is killing the older people .
Maybe there will come a time when some older people will be put in dorms or trailers by the government,who knows ,I can't predict the future .This world is changing everyday ,but I hope every generation is kind to each other.
Anonymous said:
No such thing as scarce resource.
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If housing isn't a scarce resource, why did it get so expensive? Why are rents in Portland going up 6% last year, 8% this year, and 6% next year? If oil is not a scarce resource, why is it approaching $100 a barrel?
Anonymous said:
Boomers had the biggest bonanza in history
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The most I've ever earned in a year is $17,000. You call that a bonanza?
Where is it written that BBers are selfish rotten people. Yeah, maybe those on Wall St. that manipulate the markets & government without shame day after day.
The reason my generation had fewer children is because of economics,& better life for our children. I personally didn't relish the thought of having to go to work everyday and face a litter of children at 5pm. Having 2 children was enough of a responsibility for my husband and I.
Yes, I'm financially secure now, but it took a lot of self discipline,pinching pennies, saving for a rainy day, but it paid off.
My son's are in their 30's, make decent money, but charge like there is no tommorrow. They have to have it, because their neighbor has it.
Now, what future will they have 30 years from now. Maybe they can eat their 60" TV. Who knows? Talk about a wasteful and materialistic generation that is the embodiment of self-love and pity, GEN X.....
If housing isn't a scarce resource, why did it get so expensive? Why are rents in Portland going up 6% last year, 8% this year, and 6% next year? If oil is not a scarce resource, why is it approaching $100 a barrel?
November 13, 2007 5:12 AM
Youre another victim of Econ 101. You assume current housing prices have something to do with "supply and demand".
They ran up the price for housing because their financial system is broken and they are trying any stop gap measure (regardless of the resulting harm) in an effort to keep it afloat awhile longer.
This housing mess is 100% manipulation by greedy Wall Street bankers and their minions in the population at large. They've used the boomers inherent greed to bankrupt them.
"There is no problem that man cannot solve".
The generation that allowed this country to be ruined has been dead and gone for fifty years. That was the generation that allowed (1) direct election of senators, (2) the income tax, (3) the Federal Reserve, (4) the war on drugs, and (5) Socialist Security.
F*ck those dead b@stards.
Hey Boomers, go fight your war in Iraq.
We Gen X and Y will stay here to run the country from now on.
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