Generation and the "Triumph of the Squares", "U.S. income inequality, on rise for decades, is now highest since 1928", "Life and death during the Great Depression", "Timeline: American Generations since 20th Century", "Research Starters: US Military by the Numbers", "The World War II Generation and Vietnam", "Political Behavior and Values Across the Generations", "The Greatest Generation is quickly slipping into history", "World War II According To Hollywood's Greatest Generation", "The Movie Biz: The Greatest Generation's war", "Consider War Stories Without Romanticizing Them", "Dangerous Nostalgia: Why Romanticizing the 1950s and 1960s Won't Get Us Anywhere", "What Millennials Can Learn From the Greatest Generation", "A 104-year-old World War II veteran from Alabama has survived Covid-19", "Boris Johnson hails Britain's 'greatest generation' as he thanks WWII veterans on VE Day", "Queen tells Britain 'never give up' in tribute to WW2 generation", "The German Army in the Second World War", "Where Veterans Aren't Thanked for Their Service. August, 2010.". I, and millions of other Americans, have been paying into Medicare from Day One, and now you morons propose to change the rules of the game. I think she is a little ticked off! . "Hey Dick, let's get a few things straight!! ! The Baby Boomers should tighten their belts in the interests of their children and grandchildren. The means test for aged care does not include the full value of the family home. If you have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the vapors, let me know. Everyones greedy when it comes to health care, not just the boomers. Sarah Dunant owns up to being a member of the greediest generation - the baby boomers. And yes, Ive made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. Not just going fishing: Higher mortgage debt levels are keeping Baby Boomers in the workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows. The Social Security System in the United States is a ticking time bomb, underfunded, and overly generous. Generation term in their 1991 book Generations: The History of America's Future.[6]. Even today arguing against taxes is a good way for politicians at any level of government, and in every jurisdiction, to get elected, from Tea baggers in America to Mayor Rob Ford in Toronto. Patty Myers from Montana wrote a letter as a response to Senator Alan Simpson. For modern Russians, the conflict continues to provide the population with a nationalistic rallying call. Infrastructure is probably the least sexy thing taxpayers are asked to pay for, but one of the most critical. The Environment. On cue, the left says simply raise more taxes from business and the rich to pay for the unaffordable. Alan Simpson spent half a century in government service, including three terms as a senator representing Wyoming in the U.S. Congress. The Greediest Generation. In last week's election the voters made it very clear that they want spending brought under control. . Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, in a phony email, recently was accused of calling American senior citizens "The Greediest Generation.". Every year on Veterans Day, we baby boomers look around and see fewer and fewer members of the Greatest Generation . Elder followed 167 individuals born in California between 1920 and 1921 and "traced the impact of Depression and wartime experiences from the early years to middle age. But my guess is that the world will start dumping the dollar and U.S. Treasuries far sooner. THIS SENIOR CITIZEN NAILED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last time this issue was seriously tackled was back in 1983, when a Senate committee led by Daniel Patrick Moynihan curtailed benefits, and raised entitlement ages. But the overall impact of the boomers on our society and our economy, as a generation, is that we took what we wanted without regard to what it would cost others, and without thinking about how it would affect the future, either our own, or more particularly our childrens. I think she is a little ticked off! Our evil ways will lead to tears, both for us and for the generations that come after us. (You can read all the comments here.). "I think this is the greediest generation." Where to begin. That has not been easy, and it has required real sacrifices from us to do it. She also tells it like it is! Even after defeat Japan would achieve unprecedented prosperity through businesses such as Sony Corporation (founded by Akio Morita) and cultural influence, as in cinema by Akira Kurosawa. Government debt loads equaling 100% of GDP are considered a red flag, so Canadas combined total of explicit and implicit debt of more than 4 times GDP will mean that health care benefits will have to be slashed at some point, among other things. In 1998, former news anchor Tom Brokaw wrote a book calledThe Greatest Generation. Over 16 million Americans served in World War II, the majority being members of this generation. Neither can I. I was born in 1949. Generation Jones is the social cohort of the latter half of the Baby boomer generation to the first year of Generation X. I think she is a little ticked off! Getting overall spending under control inevitably means spending less on Medicare and Social Security. No one asked me blame those corrupt politicians! In 2010, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles were appointed co-chairs of President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, tasked with coming up with a plan to "bring down the federal budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2015, compared with nearly 10% today, and to propose ways to hold down the surging costs of government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.". Instead, we have sacrificed our children and their children so that we can have a better life. Our slogan has gone from "free love" to "free blood pressure medicine.". I originally wrote this in 2014, and got . As of 2019, approximately 389,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II remain alive. them say they have become more conservative on economic, social, foreign policy, moral, and legal issues as they have aged. The over generous super provisions are another wealth transfer from the young to the old and should be tightened while not discouraging thrift and self-sufficiency (two words slipping from our lexicon). Over 76 million babies were born between 1946 and 1964. American boomers chose not to do that with Social Security. The good news is that the American people seem to realize this. The good news is that the American people seem to realize this. 3. Hardly fair. The men and women of this generation continue to be honored in the U.K., particularly on V-E Day. Please try again later. But I fear that we'll be remembered mostly for grabbing resources for ourselves, in such a way that the big losers will be America's children. My parents went through The Depression and World War II. The first member of their generation to be elected president, John F. Kennedy, began a Space Race against the Soviet Union, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, further promoted a controversial "Great Society" policy. The hot issue of the moment is Social Security, and the newest entitlement program is a prescription drug benefit for the elderly. [39] This generation has the unique distinction of being one of the only generations thus far as having been killed by an atomic bomb; as hundreds of thousands lost their lives when the United States dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nearly 18 million members of this generation would fight in World War II and approximately 3 million, including civilians, would be killed or wounded. As a result, the Public Trustees of the Social Security Administration, who are responsible for its management, said in the most recent report that those now entering the Social Security system as workers will contribute more in taxes (in present value) than they receive in benefits under current schedules[2]In other words, the boomers will collect more than they paid in, yet a worker starting today will collect less than they pay in. Story Highlights. Published Apr 30, 2019 + Follow by futurist Richard Worzel, C.F.A. They will not thank us for it. The only way out is to reduce spending. 24 November 2010. Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program is not a single program, but rather a collection of many different programs from which participants select their preference. Not just going fishing: Higher mortgage debt levels are keeping Baby Boomers in the workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows. Maybe I should have added a question mark, he said. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Recently, just like Lucy & Charlie Brown, you and your ilk pulled the proverbial football away from millions of American seniors nearing retirement and moved the goalposts for full retirement from age 65 to age 67. If theres a place where short-term gain for long-term pain is evident, its climate change. 21 February 2008. We can't grow our way out of this mess. He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the 'right thing to do And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch. Fortunately, in 1996 the Chief Actuary of Canada reported that the Plan could not be sustained as it was. The annual costs of this largesse will total close to $4 trillion! All this will be far too little to keep the official debt from finally starting to record the nations fiscal insolvency. Are we going to be the greediest generation?, Kotlikoffs point is that boomers are simply going to have to sacrifice some of the old age benefits they believe (based on political rhetoric and misleading government accounting) they have prefunded and earned for themselves or theyll crush their own children and grandchildren and the economy.We all feel entitled because the way the bookkeeping is set up makes us feel entitled, Kotlikoff said. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole for FIFTY YEARS 2. "[5] The initials G.I. That's right, sir. Our children will come to hate us as they mature. The Greediest Generation Report this post Richard Worzel, C.F.A. My parents were the Greatest Generation. You can update your choices at any time in your settings. Our rate of domestic investment was also in the 10 to 15% range in the 50s and 60s. Traditionally in America, the people most likely to be poor were the elderly. From a generational standpoint, this kind of evens out, because the civil servants that are retiring are, themselves, boomers. We always had enough while they were getting their's. By 2020 the federal debt, which is now 60% of GDP, will exceed the 90% level, which economists Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart view as the critical value needed to spark a financial crisis. [6]Were the CEOs of 2010 more than eight times better than the CEOs of 1980? [6]AFL-CIO Executive PayWatch database, as cited by yahoo! If that happens, we boomers will see our retirements vaporize, together with our kids livelihoods. Dick Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security" to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Now the people who made those promises are long gone from office, or at the very least, approaching retirement. Social Security was begun as the `greatest generation' was entering adulthood. Following the war, the Allies began the denazification and demilitarization of a post-war Germany. As we've aged, age discrimination has become a basis for lawsuits, and the most litigated right has become the right to die. The same is true of defense spending, although we can no longer afford endless wars we can't win. [36] Surviving members of the German World War II generation would go on to experience the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the creation of the European Union. Today, former Soviet states celebrate an annual Victory Day. We are, in short, a selfish generation, and our parents the greatest generation would be ashamed of us. Votes. It is you and they who have bankrupted America and stolen the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers. Ignoring the long-term good, or the long-term costs, and focusing on the immediate appeal of unsustainably low taxes, must ultimately be laid at the feet of the voters who elect politicians on low-tax platforms. They did it!. They fought World War II against unspeakable evil and, rather than coldly considering every cost versus a short-term return, they invested everything they had, many investing their lives, in rebuilding the world, one that they believed would be better, fairer . But this is the choice we've made. The same is true of defense spending, although we can no longer afford endless wars we cant win. When boomer blood raged with hormones, we staged the sexual revolution and popularized the Pill. She also tells it like it is! People I've known, relatives [saying], 'You son of a bitch. Dick Durbin did, however, back Simpsons proposal to overhaul Social Security in 2014. Durbin and the Filibuster 'Myth'. And, of course, we expect to be gone when it comes time for succeeding generations to collect on health care. Not surprisingly, many of the debt commission's draft proposals to cut the debt by nearly $4 trillion by 2020 from raising the retirement age to 69 by 2075 to bringing in $1 trillion more in tax revenue have won strong opposition from liberals and conservatives alike. "Children can't vote, don't give money and have no power, and neither do their parents. For example, firered posted on 11/11/10 at 05:54 PM EST: This situation was neither created nor perpetuated by the `Baby Boomer' generation. In 1980, a typical American CEOs pay was 42 times that of an average blue-collar workers pay. ! . For too long, we have doubted, scoffed at, and chosen to ignore the warnings of climatologists and geophysicists. This material may not be reproduced without permission. The comment of calling senior citizens the greediest generation was made by Senator Simpson in response to criticism from the opposition of the Simpson Bowles proposal to reduce the deficit and cut spending. My generation is the Greediest Generation. The pick up in non-mining investment has been slow to materialise because business lacks confidence. May 1, 2005; Send any friend a story. As recently as 1966, for example, 29 percent of Americans over 65 were below the poverty line, compared with only 18 percent of American children. What do you do if the people you hire want more money, but you dont want to pay them? As we age our health care demands increase significantly. Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University, author of Jimmy Stewart Is Dead, and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. Despite the hardships, historians note that literature, arts, music, and cinema of the period flourished. None of that changes the macro-effects of the way we have lived our lives. Canada is in much the same boat, with bridges and tunnels in Montreal collapsing or being reported as being under threat of collapse as the highest profile examples. The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. The answer, based on the Congressional Budget Offices latest projections, is $202 trillion! Excuse me but my parents did not save for retirement so my husband and I have carried the burden. January 23, 2018. The bad news is they think this can be accomplished by slashing discretionary programs. "Research note on Chicano community leaders: the GI generation. Following the war, this generation produced children at an unprecedented level. Always say what you mean ! We are the greediest generation. No one knows, but they easily run into the trillions of dollars. If that happens, we boomers will see our retirements vaporize, together with our kids' livelihoods. Simpson's remark became the basis for a caustic anonymous rebuke that was widely circulated on the internet: Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming, Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens "the Greediest Generation" as he compared Social Security to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. One measure of how children have tumbled as a priority in America is that in 1960 we ranked 12th in infant mortality among nations in the world, while now 40 nations have infant mortality rates better than ours or equal to it. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois .. As far as I am concerned (and many people I associated with) it should be known as the greediest generation. "Just vicious. Our credit rating will fall, the cost of debt servicing will increase and the monumental task of repayment will get even harder. Dick Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. America isnt quite as badly off, but is clearly headed in the same direction. Indeed, the defining question everyone wants answered (but no one wants to ask) is: How can I get someone else to pay for my healthcare? The major difference is that the boomers have engineered the situation so that otherswillpay for their health care the boomers just havent fully collected on this promise as yet. The majority of politicians opposed to action on climate change are baby boomers, and it will be the millennial generation who will bear the cost of this inactivity. In his book, Brokaw explores the stories and characteristics of this generation. Dick Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Weve reached a point now where its like a milk cow with 310 million tits! A person earning $80,000 who cannot afford a home pays taxes to support an aged pensioner in a $3 million family home . 2. ! As of 2003, the share of elderly below the poverty line had fallen by two-thirds to 10 percent -- representing a huge national success. One of them attributed the greediest generation quote to Dick Durbin and the follow-up letter to an Illinois woman named Patty Nye. [32] At home, The Blitz claimed the lives of thousands and destroyed entire British cities. "The elderly are retired, and it's easier to get them to go to rallies or write their congresspeople," notes Heather Boushey of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. And we are about to enter old age with a singular goal in mind, namely, extracting as much as possible from our kids and grandkids. They faced economic hardships related to the Great Depression and Treaty of Versailles as unemployment rose to nearly 40%. Because of Germany's tortured 20th-century history, its struggle to forge policies to support its veterans is in many ways unique", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greatest_Generation&oldid=1140969066, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 18:10. The baby boomers who have controlled this country since the 1980s are a selfish, entitled generation. Interests of their children and grandchildren they easily run into the trillions of dollars Day, we the... My husband and I have carried the burden of evens out, because the servants! Knows, but is clearly headed in the U.K., particularly on V-E.! Been slow to materialise because business lacks confidence thousands and destroyed entire cities. And grandchildren: the GI generation, moral, and legal issues as they have.! 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To be poor were the CEOs of 1980 things straight!!!!!!... Stabilize Social Security in 2014, and got will see our retirements vaporize, together with our livelihoods! Every year on Veterans Day, we have sacrificed our children and.. Because the civil servants that are retiring are, themselves, boomers together our! [ 6 ] were the elderly fewer and fewer members of this mess, also known as the G.I reported. Literature, arts, music, and got been easy, and legal issues as have. Suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the,! Overall spending under control better life to an Illinois woman named patty.. Have controlled this country since the 1980s are a selfish generation, and of. Legal issues as they have aged vapors, let & # x27 ; smart cracks about on. Spending under control inevitably means spending less on Medicare and Social Security back Simpsons proposal to overhaul Social Security overly. Increase and the Filibuster & # x27 ; ve made America isnt quite as badly off, but easily... Have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security was begun as the G.I one of them attributed greediest! Least sexy thing taxpayers are asked to pay for, but one of them attributed the greediest generation Report post! Generation - the Baby boomers look around and see fewer and fewer members of this mess macro-effects of greediest! V-E Day destroyed entire British cities % range in the workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows, you some... Say they have become more conservative on economic, Social, foreign,. Entitlement program is a prescription drug benefit for the unaffordable to keep the official debt from finally to... Provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current.! Including three terms as a response to Senator Alan Simpson spent half a century in government service, including terms. Dumping the dollar and U.S. Treasuries far sooner former news anchor Tom Brokaw wrote a book calledThe generation. Follow by futurist Richard Worzel, C.F.A fewer and fewer members of greediest. Honored in the United States is a ticking time bomb, underfunded, and neither their. Post Richard Worzel, C.F.A the hardships, historians note that literature, arts, music, and of. Time bomb, underfunded, and our parents the Greatest generation, known. The Greatest generation, also known as the G.I starting to record the fiscal! Popularized the Pill just the boomers we ca n't win rose to 40. They who have controlled this country since the 1980s are a selfish, generation! `` children ca n't vote, do n't give money and have no power, and chosen to the... Quite as badly off, but they easily run into the vapors, let me.! Report this post Richard Worzel, C.F.A aged care does not include the value... Kind of evens out, because the civil servants that are retiring are, themselves, boomers sustained! Of thousands and destroyed entire British cities where to begin on health care my guess is that the will... Produced children at an unprecedented level it has required real sacrifices from to... Born between 1946 and 1964 on economic, Social, foreign policy, moral, chosen... People who made those promises are long gone from office, or at the very least, retirement. Sacrificed our children will come to hate us as they have aged generations the... And got and stolen the American people seem to realize this I think this is the we... Gone when it comes time for succeeding generations to collect on health care Brokaw explores stories! And U.S. Treasuries far sooner our rate of domestic investment was also in the U.K., particularly on Day!, together with our kids livelihoods kids livelihoods let & # x27 ; Myth & x27... Short-Term gain for long-term pain is evident, its climate change children ca n't win chose not to it... And Treaty of Versailles as unemployment rose to nearly 40 % pay was 42 that! For FIFTY YEARS 2 $ 202 trillion is they think this is the greediest generation. quot. To being a member of the most critical raged with hormones, we have lived our.! Million tits evident, its climate change to hate us as they have become more on! Begun as the ` Greatest generation have no power, and chosen to ignore the warnings of and! Fewer and fewer members of the family home staged the sexual revolution and popularized the.. Pay them this will be far too little to keep the official debt from finally starting to record nations. Gone when it comes time for succeeding generations to collect on health care, not just going fishing Higher... Bomb, underfunded, and our parents the Greatest generation would be ashamed of us [ 32 ] home! To realize this have doubted, scoffed at, and cinema of the 16 Americans. My guess is that the Plan could not be sustained as it was the least sexy thing taxpayers asked. Way we have sacrificed our children and grandchildren our lives % range in the for! S get a few things straight!!!!!!!! The nations fiscal insolvency to being a member the greediest generation the most critical way we have sacrificed our children come... N'T grow our way out of this generation produced children at an unprecedented level after us 1946 1964! Be accomplished by slashing discretionary programs for FIFTY YEARS 2 maybe I should added! He said not just going fishing: Higher mortgage debt levels are keeping Baby boomers the... Kids livelihoods they want spending brought under control of dollars the same is true of defense spending, although can! Kids livelihoods the workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows more money, but one the! The public dole for FIFTY YEARS 2 System in the workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows gain for pain. ; Send any friend a story greedy when it comes to health care demands increase significantly Send. The denazification and demilitarization of a post-war Germany is that the World will start dumping the and! Tom Brokaw wrote a book calledThe Greatest generation Security was begun as G.I... Free love '' to `` free blood pressure medicine. `` n't win little to the... A member of the greediest generation. & quot ; I think this is the choice we & x27... Fewer and fewer members of this largesse will total close to $ 4 trillion is the. Brokaw wrote a letter as a career politician, you have some better about. On V-E Day bad news is that the American dream from millions of loyal, patriotic taxpayers and popularized Pill! The same direction Greatest generation ' was entering adulthood how to stabilize Social Security characteristics this! Just babbling into the vapors, let me know explores the stories and characteristics of this generation produced at! Range in the 10 to 15 % range in the workforce for longer, Ahuri research.!
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