Bruce Gibney makes an extreme anti-boomer argument in his book “A Generation of Sociopaths”, where he argues:
“[In 1978] the gross debt-to-GDP ratio was about 35 percent. It’s roughly 103 percent now — and it keeps rising. The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it. The…
Bruce Gibney makes an extreme anti-boomer argument in his book “A Generation of Sociopaths”, where he argues:
“[In 1978] the gross debt-to-GDP ratio was about 35 percent. It’s roughly 103 percent now — and it keeps rising. The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it. They habitually cut their own taxes and borrow money without any concern for future burdens. They’ve spent virtually all our money and assets on themselves and in the process have left a financial disaster for their children. We used to have the finest infrastructure in the world. The American Society of Civil Engineers thinks there’s something like a $4 trillion deficit in infrastructure in deferred maintenance. It’s crumbling, and the boomers have allowed it to crumble. Our public education system has steadily degraded as well, forcing middle-class students to bury themselves in debt in order to get a college education….[the boomers instituted] a massive push for privatized gain and socialized risk for big banks and financial institutions. This has really been the dominant boomer economic theory, and it’s poisoned what’s left of our public institutions….
I think the major factor is that the boomers grew up in a time of uninterrupted prosperity. And so they simply took it for granted. They assumed the economy would just grow three percent a year forever and that wages would go up every year and that there would always be a good job for everyone who wanted it. This was a fantasy and the result of a spoiled generation assuming things would be easy and that no sacrifices would have to be made in order to preserve prosperity for future generations. On an abstract level, I think the worst thing they’ve done is destroy a sense of social solidarity, a sense of commitment to fellow citizens. That ethos is gone and it’s been replaced by a cult of individualism. It’s hard to overstate how damaging this is. On a concrete level, their policies of under-investment and debt accumulation have made it very hard to deal with our most serious challenges going forward.”
Again you speak in generalities. You're trying to pin the depravity which this nation has descended on one singled out generation. Are the boomers you and Bruce Gibney are referring to, beneficiaries of old money? Believe it or not, I'm well read on the point you're making but you seem stuck on one generation in history. The actual decay started decades before, if you care to do the research. The Jekyll island group of the worlds richest individuals and the Fabian socialists set the stage for a great deal of what's happening today. In the 1930's Dr. Harold Rugg, a member of a group of socialist academics called the Frontier Thinkers, instituted a training program for school teachers of all grade levels. The curriculum was pure socialism bordering on communism rewriting American history and preaching class division. Sound familiar? The textbook writers and publishers fell in line. Fortunately, common sense of the day prevailed and it was soundly rejected, but not by all. The cancer was present, but had not yet metastasized. All the facts and figures you bring up are fine but don't address the roll of old money and corrupt politicians. Money buys politicians which influences favorable legislation which benefits the rich and powerful. That action didn't start in 1945, it has been going on for millennium. A great book on the underlying causes of today's chaos is, "None Dare Call It Treason" by Stormer. It was published in 1964 and was required reading in some high schools in the boomer 60's, imagine that. The hard back copy is cost prohibitive but paperback copies can be found. I feel it's a must read. Also another great read is, "The Long March" by Roger Kimball. It addresses the influence of the beat generation on societal issues of the day, brought to you by the previous generation. I'm sure there were plenty of individuals who wielded power who deserve your scorn and blame, but I contend they have existed through out time.
Hi Bob, nice post/moniker synergy.
Bruce Gibney makes an extreme anti-boomer argument in his book “A Generation of Sociopaths”, where he argues:
“[In 1978] the gross debt-to-GDP ratio was about 35 percent. It’s roughly 103 percent now — and it keeps rising. The boomers inherited a rich, dynamic country and have gradually bankrupted it. They habitually cut their own taxes and borrow money without any concern for future burdens. They’ve spent virtually all our money and assets on themselves and in the process have left a financial disaster for their children. We used to have the finest infrastructure in the world. The American Society of Civil Engineers thinks there’s something like a $4 trillion deficit in infrastructure in deferred maintenance. It’s crumbling, and the boomers have allowed it to crumble. Our public education system has steadily degraded as well, forcing middle-class students to bury themselves in debt in order to get a college education….[the boomers instituted] a massive push for privatized gain and socialized risk for big banks and financial institutions. This has really been the dominant boomer economic theory, and it’s poisoned what’s left of our public institutions….
I think the major factor is that the boomers grew up in a time of uninterrupted prosperity. And so they simply took it for granted. They assumed the economy would just grow three percent a year forever and that wages would go up every year and that there would always be a good job for everyone who wanted it. This was a fantasy and the result of a spoiled generation assuming things would be easy and that no sacrifices would have to be made in order to preserve prosperity for future generations. On an abstract level, I think the worst thing they’ve done is destroy a sense of social solidarity, a sense of commitment to fellow citizens. That ethos is gone and it’s been replaced by a cult of individualism. It’s hard to overstate how damaging this is. On a concrete level, their policies of under-investment and debt accumulation have made it very hard to deal with our most serious challenges going forward.”
I encourage you to read it here: https://www.vox.com/2017/12/20/16772670/baby-boomers-millennials-congress-debt
Again you speak in generalities. You're trying to pin the depravity which this nation has descended on one singled out generation. Are the boomers you and Bruce Gibney are referring to, beneficiaries of old money? Believe it or not, I'm well read on the point you're making but you seem stuck on one generation in history. The actual decay started decades before, if you care to do the research. The Jekyll island group of the worlds richest individuals and the Fabian socialists set the stage for a great deal of what's happening today. In the 1930's Dr. Harold Rugg, a member of a group of socialist academics called the Frontier Thinkers, instituted a training program for school teachers of all grade levels. The curriculum was pure socialism bordering on communism rewriting American history and preaching class division. Sound familiar? The textbook writers and publishers fell in line. Fortunately, common sense of the day prevailed and it was soundly rejected, but not by all. The cancer was present, but had not yet metastasized. All the facts and figures you bring up are fine but don't address the roll of old money and corrupt politicians. Money buys politicians which influences favorable legislation which benefits the rich and powerful. That action didn't start in 1945, it has been going on for millennium. A great book on the underlying causes of today's chaos is, "None Dare Call It Treason" by Stormer. It was published in 1964 and was required reading in some high schools in the boomer 60's, imagine that. The hard back copy is cost prohibitive but paperback copies can be found. I feel it's a must read. Also another great read is, "The Long March" by Roger Kimball. It addresses the influence of the beat generation on societal issues of the day, brought to you by the previous generation. I'm sure there were plenty of individuals who wielded power who deserve your scorn and blame, but I contend they have existed through out time.
Cheers