what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

thi is the generation that is well versed in "street politics."

what do you think is going to happen when they wake up and realize the house value is not EVER coming back, the stock portfolio value are not EVER coming back, the pension is being drastically decreased, etc.?

you have a huge generation just coming in to retirement that i think believes "everything is going to be alright" in 6 months or 1 year. what is going to hapen when they wake up en masse?

my generatio would probably just break stuff and burn down houses, but what are the boomers going to do? it's only 5 or 6 years off for most.

edit: whoops, wrong fourm

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

They will self medicate...

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

.......................

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Yup. I think we can totally write off the boomers. They peaked too early, then burned out, then sold out. I do have some hope for GenX, though, especially if this guy's rant is any indication of public sentiment. Commentary in YouTube is also encouraging.

Caution: Harsh LANGUAGE :censored:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/42IUg2NXwoU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/42IUg2NXwoU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

This guy's gotta be one of us. Fess up; who is it?

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Though a lot gets said about the 'Boomers' and their selfishness the majority of them are parents, and many are by now also grandparents. Many are also looking after elderly folks too.

I think TA may be correct. There may be a lion/lioness like outrage. This is a generation that has been fleeced, one way or the other. The Great War generation were fleeced in their youth, as no other generation ever was, even the WWII generation.

But TPTB have learnt that fleeced work horses need to be culled damn quick, before you get a stampede. Cut off the prescription meds? The heat, the water. Mix with immigrants 'liberally' to divert the issues into race/religion questions.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

http://setxtrailerpark.com/bucksblog...eople-bird.jpg
http://constructionlayoutservices.co...with%20gun.jpg

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Gen X? We'll halt all paper investments. I did. You can (should) to. It doesn't matter if you can "make money" or not. It's about fuking the system without firing a shot.
Got a major bank account? Dump it and get in a smaller regional bank. Keep cash and tangibles. Refuse debt. Die with dignity when you go terminal. Repair your car. Stop trying to impress people with the dumb shit you buy.
Get your money out of the system. Stop feeding the system.
Duh.
Pass it on and the prez WILL get the change he wanted.
If you do keep feeding the system, we'll end up having to take up arms, and that's just not productive for anybody that's worth a crap.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Most will continue doing what they've been doing. They'll stick their heads farther into the sand, hoping it will all just go away !!

s

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

They'll still be better off than most everyone else around them. I'm speaking of the group that two years ago had a $700k house with $300k equity and a half million bucks in assets. Now they have a $500k house with $100k equity, and a quarter-million in assets. They're still in a better long term position than a Gen Y-er with a college degree, college debt, no job, and an obligation to pay off an $10T national debt over the next 40 years.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

How I hope you are wrong SB. But the recent reaction of my best friend has not encouraged me. She did just that. We no longer speak.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

You bite the bullet then you chew it

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

YUP!

And I also agree that the system that fattened them up they will not lose faith in - expecting another fattening on the way.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I figure that they will let their hair grow long, quit shaving, tie dye all there clothes use what ever money they have in their savings to buy a VW Bus and a butt load of pot and LSD in order to stage another Woodstock-like music festival complete with drum circles so that they can show the Man that they mean business and begine a new movement of change in society. PEACE OUT MAN!!!

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Try tapping that equity line now........see how much cash they will be able to acess.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Don't worry Max, she'll speak to you again when she pulls her head out. I've noticed some boomers can hold their breath a long time though. Be patient

s

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

No argument here, but only 1 in 100,000 think like you do....unfortunately.

I'm a boomer at 55 years. I'm glad I wised up a few years ago and have planned for and accept a simpler, more frugal lifestyle. I'm been fairly smart and have provided for my later years and my children's jump start. Taking measures now to transfer my 'wealth' out of computer digits and into farm land, equipment, metals, and preps.

Let go of the ego and live a simple life. :coolbeer:

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

She has surprised me, SB. She did real good in Hurricane Juan, she kept about 4 blocks in order, via pure common sense, for the most part.

Trouble is she now measures that hurricane as the level of all emergencies we are ever going to see up here in Nova Scotia. She refuses to see that a time could come when no one is even able or trying to get us back on the grid, clear the roads, get fuel to us, etc, etc.

She has a son of 11. That is a big part of it, I think. Mother blindness. If she wakes up it will have to be the lioness within. Right now she is too tired. She is too tired to look.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

you said it all in a few words , STOP putting your money in the banks , STOP buying into the stock market , AN we may just beat them at there GAME

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

..........

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

They'll bail out all of their children -- just like they've always done -- and then find themselves living in a four-generation household since the kids and grandkids moved back home, and they have at least one elderly parent still living.
:moon:

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I think a better question (or the next question) is "how can we profit from it, since we know its coming"?:565:

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

What's happening now.

Most of the boomers know their "American Dream" was an empty lie, and that it's currently ending abruptly. They will increasingly act irrational, some inverting the unreason towards themselves (suicide, self-destructive behavior), some lashing out (Falling Down in a few cases, general aggression in most), and others just shutting down (fantasizing that nothing's changed or becoming emotionless).

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

are posts like this serious or are they designed just to PISS US OFF?


I don't see where generation X or Y have displayed one shred of common sense more then boomers have.

While your busy worrying about what boomers are going to do when they realize their house values are not coming back you might ask yourself what the youngsters are going to do when they can not fund their privileged lifestyles with credit cards anymore.. How do you think generation x will react when they realize the fancy college education their parents went into debt for wont buy them a job at Starbucks? I imagine they will be angry and upset the same way boomers will be.

Like Mountain Man said. Boomers have the capacity of rising with a force of anger and violence you can not imagine. I love the young adults of x generation but are weenies. I worry a lot more about you not making it then us..

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

and this differs from the younger in what way?

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Chad -

This thread kinda cracks me up.

I don't remember the name of the Japanese general, who

Just after Pearl Harbor, said something like

"I fear we have awakened a sleeping dragon"

In reference to the USA.

As for boomers, I are one.

Back in the sixties, I was called

"One of them redneck hippies"

In the highly conservative Rogue River valley of Southern Oregon.

Now, I don't live in a McMansion, and I don't have a hell

Of a lot of money, and I don't play the stock market.

And I've voted the anti greedhead ticket my entire life

Whether local or national.

I knew we were screwed, for sure,

When the last chopper bailed off the roof

Of the US embassy in Vietnam.

I grow veggies.

I live on wood heat in the winter.

I know how to spin and weave.

I know pretty much all the old trades -

Carpentry, cabinet and furnituremaking,

Electrical, plumbing, metalwork,

Plus stuff like building bows and arrows,

And knowing the edible plants around.

Etc., etc., etc.

In short, knowledge is a great part of my savings.

And, yes, I live in a rural area and am

Reasonably well armed.

I am also a manager in a manufacturing company, which

Keeps the cash coming in.

Now, for generations XYZ.

The significant thing I notice is they walk in the door

Looking for a job with no trade skills

And not even enough math to read a tape,

And expect to start at eighteen bucks an hour.

This is the tragedy of the educational commons,

Come home to roost after five decades of neglect.

The other thing they don't have -

And this comes straight from their parents, how they grew up,

Is no work ethic.

We lose perhaps 50% of the 18-25 year old new hires

When they realize they are actually expected to show up @ 7:00 AM

And work 8 hours a day for 5 days a week minimum.

This generally happens within the first month.

Now, I'm not throwing rocks at them.

They got screwed from the cradle to the GED (if they got one).

So, getting back to an earlier point,

There is a pretty goddamned goodsized group of boomers

Out here who won't take

"A handful a gimme and a mouth full of much obliged"

From anyone.

By the way, which generation are you?


scyth

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Awesome monologue, scyth!

I get to rub elbows with Gen XYZ. I'm an old fart working on getting an engineering degree surrounded by mostly kids.

The engineering crowd is generally pretty good, except for some of the freshmen/sophmores that haven't washed out yet and need to. When you end up in general population with liberal arts majors and economics majors in those few required non-engineering classes you get an eye-opening glimpse of the study habits of the non-geeks. Those classes are the ones that help lift your grade point average. The GPA that got smoked by the semester when they make you take thermo, differential equations, mechanics of elastic bodies, dynamics, and electrical engineering all at the same time.

One of my favorite profs is an crusty old codger who really knows how to communicate--goes right to the throat of the communication. He runs an engineering company and has been teaching part-time about 40 years. He has some great things to say about some of the college graduates that come to him trying to get a job. Some of it's true about me, too--not having certain conversions burned into memory. I hang on his every word. He went off on politicians and journalists yesterday. At how politicians and journalists don't understand a damn thing about thermodynamics (and engines, and thermal efficiency, and the Carnot cycle), so the politicians decide that they can just legislate that cars will meet a certain number of miles per gallon, and the journalists all support that.

I love his rants. I love it when I get a prof that impresses me to the point that I want produce work that impresses as well. At least at my school it's pretty often.

Sorry about the tangent.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I did some thinking after I read this, and realized that in my earlier post I had probably fallen victim to a stereotyped notion of boomers as burn-outs and sell-outs. Just like the predominate image of XYZ generations is also heavily stereotyped as slackers, and this is probably not by accident. Much better for TPTB to have us all think of our fellow man of any age as being fat, lazy, drugged out and self-entitled. Of course, there are many who are like this or who tend this way, and they see all of the positive reinforcement that normalizes the slacker/druggie/empty-headed lifestyle, so they emulate or adopt it. So these stereotypes become the media-fed cultural "norm", and self-sufficient, strong, hard-working people are not portrayed. No, TPTB do not want us to think that we have like-minded comrades out there who would watch our backs. They'd rather have us feel isolated in a sea of slobbish sheeple. So we (or at least I) tend to forget that strong and free-minded people are actually out there. Hopefully they're out there in sufficient numbers to matter.

Mtnman, you do give me hope. I stand corrected.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

The boomers aren't the only ones screwed. We will ALL be screwed by TPTB, very soon:

http://www.shadowstats.com/article/292
http://goldforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103
http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=338927


Keep stocking up on your preps. We're heading for a really hard fall very soon.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Two guys have committed suicide where I work in the last month. One through money "troubles", one through marital stuff. One shot himself, one hung himself using the bedsheets over the bannister. Both were 50+ years old.
Both had plenty of money, but the one who killed himself over financial troubles had seen his �1m account shrink to �200k.
Plenty for most of us, and who knows what was going on in his head (no note left), but it's still two more deaths of highly intelligent men.

RIP, Jim and Walter.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Generation X (mine) is used to LIES being "truth." Most Boomers have swallowed the lies since birth. Now the fist-in-the-face reality check on those lies is arriving in the form of evaporating home equity and retirement accounts and vanishing life-long careers.

My generation is nothing to be proud of, but we're prepared to take this much more well than yours, and both of our generations will survive more readily than Generation Y (the one that came after mine, mini-me boomers - they skipped a generation - without any common sense).

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

End of Hope -

I'm interested. How are you going to "take this much well more than yours?"

Be specific.


scyth

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

The boomers took the blue pill....simple as that. After telling my mother for years that the economy was unstable, ready to collapse and the whole thing was a lie and never would last all she did for years was laugh and snicker. Now I talk to her about her 'nest egg' and 401k and she gets all depressed. She says "I dont even look anymore because I dont even want to know how bad it is getting'.......It lost at least 50% of its value last time she checked, who knows how bad it is now.

However.......when it comes to me moving my 401k out and buying physical PM's...transferring another into an IRA and buying gold and silver....when I downsized two years ago....bought a new small house outright (of course.....way to small for me, according to her.....) and bought physical assets, including PM's.....she just laughs and smirks....STILL!!! She says "you are young enough to recover from this, you never should of got out of the market, cashed your 401k...etc??? WTF???? How do you recover from ZERO?????

The faux news propaganda machine is strong with them.....blue pill makes you dreamy forever......

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

HYPER...????:111: no offense

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Barack will fix it.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Same here Conk, aaaaaaand I'm learning to be satisfied with less costly hobbies that can actually be profitable,like gardening.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I've known "the system" is a fraud since I was 17. Most of my "elders" thought me just a foolish slacker and "radical." 21 years later I am being proven right, not that my "elders" will admit it.

Those of my "elder" generations have believed in the government, believed in "democracy," believed in capitalism, believed in "the American Dream." I've known they're all damnable lies and never built my life upon those lies. I knew I'd never "retire," I knew that formal education was a scam, I've known that "mainstream" financial products were Ponzi schemes. Most boomers did build their lives upon those lies, and now their lives, at least their economic lives, are disintegrating as fast as a sand castle at high tide.

Does this make me "better" than my "elders"? No, only more attuned to reality. And my harmony with reality is making it much easier to transition to our economic future than all those who sunk most of their wealth into supersized houses, fancy cars, designer and/or trendy material goods, and "smart investments" (i.e., anything connected to a bank or bank-like entity, including the stock market). I'm both better financially and better mentally prepared for the bankopalypse.

The majority of Gen Xers I know feel/felt as I do - "the system" is one big f**king lie.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I've never expected to collect on Social Security and I've always assumed my 401k would be worthless. My real investment is in my "hobby farm". I've always known I'd have to take care of myself and family. I'll probably save my ammo for the Euthanaisia Squads the GenXers send out.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

i said my generation (x) is the stupid generation and that baby boomers are the ones well versed in street politics. i think you read me wrong. i am making fun of my generation and counting on boomers to be the ones the do something. i'm just trying to figure out what that something is. my generation won't do anything unless the electricity goes off to the xbox.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Two of the few posts in this thread that make any sense. GenXers'? Most wouldn't know a days work if it showed up at their door, and haven't been around long enough to know what freedom really is. The younger generations have for the most part been indoctrinated to think socialism is freedom and the US is a democracy. The exeptions are the few on this board and a few more.

Like Mtn. man says, if there is a revolution, it will be us who starts it. Many, many of the boomers I know have known for years now that the rainbow's end is a fantasy and have been adapting. Scaling back living expenses and realizing they will never really retire.

It's the kids in there 30's 40's and early 50's who are the bagholders. Those are the yuppie f#cks in debt over their eyeballs living in over-priced housing and driving hummers they can't afford. What worries me is when reality hits and we really need them, they'll hide in their video games that they think is reality.

I call the kids in their 30's the gadget generation. They buy gadgets they know they can't afford to have the latest, then toss it aside and buy the new model they can't afford when it comes out.

The Boomers are selfish? You gotta be kidding me. Most are still dealing with their kids' indulgences. Reality is about to hit the younger generations real hard. I hope they know or learn what they are a part of and get on board.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

This one is another dose of reality.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

i am really couting ton the boomers to be the one to kick things off. everyone i know in my generation or younger has no clue, or if they do, they don't care. if the SHTF tomorrow, 98% of them would be dead in a week. it makes me embarrased.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

At least you are on board Chad. Be who you are and hope that some of your contemporaries see, through your efforts. All of us must do that.

Re: what do you think will happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

good post..

Re: what do you think will happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Chad. sorry I misunderstood your post.. I'm a little hyper sensitive because of all the boomer bashing that has been going on. I have gen x daughters and I work with gen Xers.. I have a lot of concerns about them. My main concern is there seems to be a strong tendency within the generation to not be able to deal with reality. I really have fears how they will handle serious deprivation or violence when it comes out of the video screen into reality.

The reason I have taken prepping so seriously is because I realize how unequipped my daughters will be when things go south. Its difficult to even discuss this with them. Not because they don't realize its happening. They are very aware. They simply cant deal with it.. My thoughts are somebody better be dealing with it..

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Kind of an odd argument over which generation is the most worthless. There is good and bad in both. The exact percentage of who is sheeple, and who is aware is unknowable.

The good sign is that prepping items are being bought up. People know something is in the air. No matter your generation, I see the people on this board as allies.

Re: what do you think will happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

what do they say when you tell them about it? all of my friends refuse to even accept it. i'm interested to hear what someone who gets it, but won't act, has for a rationale. especially since their mom gets it :wink:

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I'm 38. I guess I'm a gen x. From my past 7 years of being awakened I have been told by several boomers that this is not their fight it is my generations fight. In the beginning it pissed me off. I guess Kent state didn't piss them off enough but scared them instead. To be fair in the past 1-2 years some of the boomers are realizing the fight is with all of us. As for my generation on down I worry. I do not see many of them having a clue. I don't hold it against them. Their boomer parents both had to work and they have been raised by mass media, state schools while mom and dad give them extra to make up for not being there. I have learned that we are all responsible and we are all going to have to work and fight together.I read once that "tyranny is always better organized than freedom" C. Peguy. I think the sooner the boob tube is shut down the sooner we relize what that sound is and what is coming down. I think the boomers should take in to account the differences in the media and the schools and the homes that us youngens have grown up in as to where the boomers were raised in. During the 60's protest musicians became rock stars. Now protesters are not even seen or heard and the rock stars of now are hand picked to not make the listeners think. The libraries the boomers had still had a few books of truth in them those books were long gone by the time I got there. Stepping down off the soap box.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I have great kids.. one Daughter is 25 and the other 28. We are really close. They have been weaned on this stuff. I grew up in DC during the 60 and 70s and my Mother had me marching in front of the white house at 8 years old. My friends and I grew up in an environment where there were no blinders to the body count or corruption Vietnam. We grew up knowing the Kennedy assassination was a lie, Johnston was a criminal and Nixon a corrupt liar. Kids today have lead such coddled sheltered lives that revolve around safety and make believe video games and TV they are clueless many of their parents actually experienced this stuff in real life.


My husband and I were very active in local environmental issues that threatened their health. We leaned towards the slightly militant side. Our kids grew up knowing Mom and Dad would do whatever was needed to protect them no matter where that ended. They are very aware of everything going on. They both listened to coast2 coast for several years till they couldn't take it anymore. My youngest Daughter became slightly unhinged after 9-11 and she began listening to Alex Jones. Both girls turned all this stuff off although my youngest Daughter did help with preps for a while. They could not handle it. They could not finish College, live their day to day lives and deal with it at the same time.. So to answer your question my Daughters are aware. They feel time is short and they want to live as much of a "normal" life as they can before it all goes poof. If I press the subject they both get upset and depressed. In short its my job to deal with it even though I repeatedly explained I can live not forever and they have to start to cope with reality..


I don't think my situation is totally unique. There are a whole generation of Boomers out there still protecting their kids from life. Maybe not the same way I am but in different ways.. This is why some of us boomers find these posts bashing the generation as ridiculous. We are painfully aware how vulnerable the young generation is even if they are not..

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

People really need to stop with the my generation is better equiped for whatever than your generation is BS. It's a mind-set thing, not a boomer, gen X, gen Y thing. You have people that get it and you have people that don't. All the multi generation in-fighting doesn't do anything but keep PEOPLE divided. TPTB thank you for that.

Most people in this thread can't even see that the enemy is the mind-set not the man (or woman). Lumping whole generations as selfish or lazy is just plain pea brained. Get out and educate the ones around you to the proper mind-set and quit crying about how gen whatever is better because......

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I am all with your sentiment Mtman and I am just 33. However for all the puffed out chests and claims of starting a Revolution, I just ask when. Nothing has changed in the last 30 year. Why would anyone be any more pissed now to the part of taking up arms compared to when they shoulda been pissed enough 30 years ago to do the same. What is the excuse or reason for not doing anything prior to this???

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

BRAVO!!!
+825,000,000,000 (an ode to the porkulus package)

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I just wanna fit in somewhere.:bawling:
Born in '61.
I'm just lost.

Baby Boomers<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
The United States Census Bureau considers a baby boomer to be someone born during the demographic birth boom between 1946 and 1964. The Census Bureau is not involved in defining cultural generations.<SUP>[10]</SUP><o:p></o:p>
Influential authors William Strauss and Neil Howe label American Baby Boomers 1943 to 1960.<SUP>[11]</SUP><o:p></o:p>
Many analysts now believe that two distinct cultural generations were born during this baby boom; the older generation is often called the Baby Boom Generation and the younger generation is often called Generation Jones.<SUP>[</SUP>
<o:p></o:p>
Generation Jones is a term used to describe the generation of people born between 1954 and 1965. The term is used primarily in English-speaking countries and <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on">Western Europe</st1:place>, although it is used to some degree globally.<SUP>[1][2][3]</SUP> The birth years typically used in the U.S. are 1954-1965, but these tend to vary slightly in other countries, usually starting no earlier than 1953, and ending no later than 1968.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Generation X<o:p></o:p>
In the 1991 book Generations, William Strauss and Neil Howe call this generation the "13th Generation" and define the birth years as 1961 to 1981.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

+1! Divide and Conquer. TPTB have been very successful at keeping us divided, Boomers vs. Gen X, Christians vs. Muslims, Men vs. Women, Black vs. White, Democrat vs. Republican, Liberal vs. Conservative, White collar vs. Blue collar, Dog people vs. Cat people, Ford vs. Chevy, Miller Lite vs. Bud Lite, West vs. East, American vs... Well, everybody, and so on, ad nauseam. We have been more than divided, we have been chopped, diced, julienned, pureed and fried.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

with all due respect, we ARE not the same people, not all the same groups. we're not "all in this together" in the true sense of the term.

people such as avalon and my parents are in a much different boat than her kids and i are. i have at least 30+ years to wait this it out. she and my parents may not.

the point i am trying to make is that the baby boomers have the most to lose. they have the most "lost wealth" in this whole mess. they are the group closest to retirement that needs something to be done and quickly.

people younger than myself care even less, because they have 40 or 50+ years to wait this out. we may be all in the same boat philosophically, but in practical terms, i think the boomers are the group much more like to "get some things done."

a person who is 30 can easily work for another 30 or 40 years. a person who is in their 50s or 60s cannot. for that reason, i would expect the boomer demographic to be the ones most motivated, educated, and capable of changing things.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I think a major turning point will be when the gov't locks up people's retirement funds.

Most people still want to think that they'll have most of their money to retire on, and that they can do whatever they choose with it--but at some point, the risk of people pulling all that money out at once will be too much for the govt-owned banks to bear. There will be a rules change. The law will allow you to withdraw a small monthly limit you can pull out of any retirement fund, and that's it.

There will be no more option to pull it all out, for any reason, even if you're willing to pay a penalty. They can't just increase the early-withdrawal penalty because people will see that as yet another sign of desperation on the banks' part--so the government will have to prohibit total withdrawals entirely.

The psychological impact of people losing control of everything they've worked for is going to be huge.

-end-

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

interesting. i had not considered this angle. but, it makes a lot of sense.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Best post in the entire thread.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Sorry but a large majority of boomers bought into the neo-conservative mindset. They spawned the lower taxes-- spend more-- borrow-- pay later.... trickle down economics....

How long have the screams of "dont put it on you grandchildrens shoulder to burden your waste" go on deaf ears? Well as it turns out, the spiral payment is logarithmic and not linear. I understand that it is not all boomers, and I also understand that some gen-x buy this bullschiet as well.......but they are top heavy on boomers.

Its time to pay the piper....yes we are all gonna have to pay now. And I hear these boomers crying about it all the time.....WTF, how selfish of you to know that someone would have to pay for your indulgence, and then to cry that it will include YOU!

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Seems like you are the one doing the crying. Sounds like someone who's mom and dad told him it's time he began supporting himself. You're rhetoric is emotional, not logical.

Just how old do you think the boomers are? Anyone less than about 58 is not a baby boomer. Yet, it's those under 58 who are trying to maintain the extravagance for the most part. AND who mostly pumped up this housing market to finance their toys with further mortgages.

Boomers paid in and get little if anything out, yet you are the one's whining. Stand up and be a man and quit blaming your parents.

EDIT: btw, this is what I was talking about above. When it comes time for some serious action, the last thing we need is a bunch of whiney assed crybabys hanging onto our ass and dragging us down. Man up son.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Their kids are gonna get their allowances cut (that includes the hand outs to the adult kids); have to work to earn some of their own things; bye bye new car, hello used junker; bye bye designer clothes, hello Wallmart; bye bye steak, hello hamburger; bye bye IPOD, hello go work for it; bye bye playing three different sports, hello PICK ONE sport; bye bye music lessons, hello "get a job". Bye bye yearly vacations; bye bye multiple TV's; bye bye SUVs; bye bye McMansion (if they can); bye bye multiple fancy cell phones; bye bye pension, work until you die, bye bye big weddings, hey, get married in the back yard; bye bye everyone having their OWN computer in the household; bye bye Mom and Dad paying the rent on Jr's. private apt; etc., etc.

The boomers will cut back big time, don't think a lot can't or won't do it, they will and can. The working stiffs, another matter entirely, not everyone born in the boomer years had a silver spoon in their mouths, plenty of us plastic spoons around, whereas the generation "x" and beyond have lived better than some of us plastic spoon boomers. Can't paint all boomers with the same brush, remember the pyramid, not everyone can be at the top, plenty of ditch digging boomers, their kids, well I can almost guarantee you, already know how to work; the silver spoons, entirely different matter, they are in for a big change.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Actually, Boomers birth range is from 1946 - 1964 so that would make the youngest 45.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Nope. From Dude's post above:

I was born in 64 and have never considered myself a Boomer.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I like the Generation Jones idea. I've decided I don't wanna be a baby boomer. Too young to be a hippy, go to Woodstock, or paint flowers on my VW Van.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

No it is not. It is the post WWII era boom when the boys came home and the girls were in bloom. 1952 at latest is that culture. So maybe, and I say maybe as young as 56.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I have been supporting myself since I was 17. I have had a job since I was 15. I now have grown kids in college.

Dont ASSume GW. You look foolish.

Oh and btw...my parents are the ones doing the crying right now......my mother called me from the Caribbean crying about the same 401k plan I told her to bail on years ago.....how is she gonna retire and travel???:thumb.aspx:

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

I'd just like to point out that my replies are not intended to blame another generation for anything. Just to clear up the fact that the cycle spans more than one generation. It's useless to waste time blaming each other, and accomplishes nothing.

This is now, and the awakening has begun. All we can do is go forward, no matter our age or our past. I just get a little tired of the younger crowd blaming continued over indulgence on one generation. They have, and ARE doing no better currently. It's time to drop all the blame and join together. Continued fractionation is counter-productive.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Let me tell you something GW, I have been told since I was in my 20's that social security would not be available to my generation. My parents always said dont expect it (though they fully did). I have also always argued with many boomers (family and elsewhere) about the spend more....lower tax...borrow cycle we have been in........no remorse they understood other generations would end up paying(lots of remorse now...). BUT STILL SUPPORTED THE POLICIES. Yes its multiple generations that have bought into the lies.....but it falls upon the boomers watch.

And your damn right I am mad....not because it is happening (I knew it was coming) but because the boomers (also knew it was inevitable) are upset that it is gonna effect them....

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

We will all have our roles...

Concentrate fire on the masters not the servents...

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

You may be right, but the title of this thread is "what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?"

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

59 year old boomer here. Viet Nam war was my awakening, you could say I took the "red" pill way back then. A few years ago, I sensed it was "time". I quit a $60,000 per year, high-tech job, sold my house and moved to a small town. Armed, prepped, and ready for God knows what.

A fellow boomer called me today, a gunsmith by trade, and we talked for about an hour concerning all the stuff coming down. I turned him onto efoodsdirect.com, Walton feeds, etc., water filters, water storage. We talked how our wives were coming unhinged with all the "gloom and doom" stuff we talk about and listen to.

Interesting, also today I had an acquaintance come over to see me. We talked about current events, local news, guns, etc......then he casually asked me what I thought about bank failures, and what do I think about taking one's money out of the bank. I said I thought it would be a good idea, along with storing food, arms, etc. He just kinda nodded in agreement and asked me not to reveal the nature of this conversation to anyone and quietly left. He is 79 years old.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Ain't it funny how we're scared to be so "fringe?"

When did self-sufficiency start becoming "fringe?"

Thirty-eight years old here, and my younger siblings think I'm some kind of freak for living in the country with a garden, chickens, a well, and a wood stove.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

You think 38 is an "old fart"? I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you do more than "rub elbows" with GenX. You are GenX.

Nothing wrong with that, though; so am I. :coolbeer:

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

These "cultural generation" groupings should only be used to compare what was going on when each group was growing up.

While they obviously affect personality and the forming opinions, they will affect people differently.

In addition to the culture you grew up in, there are many other factors that mold you.
Family values and religious affiliations are a biggie.
Family economic status and the situations you went through as a child are also huge.

When the wife and I were finishing college when money was tight, we watered down milk just like my Mother did when things were tight. You really could not get a credit card to run up if you did not have the income.

In the last 15 years, we've seen it all change. Money was there for everyone to borrow, even if you could not pay it back making what you are making at the time. The expectation that your salary would go up sadly did not happen for many. Instead, many are losing their jobs. And so, all your savings get drained and then you have nothing.

And now baby boomers are getting blamed? Screw ups (from an ecomonic point of view) cross all cultural generations.

When my "old" baby boomer Father in Law decided to retire 2 years ago, he accepted driving to vacation destinations (not flying) and living in his "smallish" 3 bedroom house was fine to live out the rest of his days. Well, he's back in the workforce, because the market put him a situation where he thinks his savings will fall short.

There will be a group of people in all cultural generations that will have to do with less. Will it get bad enough for enough people to start a revolution? Boy, it would have to get really bad, IMO.

Younger adults going back to live with their parents saves a lot of money. Some might consider that doing with less, but in our case, our family have some kind of synergy going. My "old" GenY boys haven't even left. I turn on the TV showing all the layoffs by the tens of thousand at large corporations and they look at me like, damn, it's bad. My recent college grad's job is at 41K a year and has no intention of moving out for a while. Well, he sometimes tells me on Friday night he's going out and he'll be home Sunday morning for church.

My "silent generation" parents are well off now (no more watered down milk), but I would not hesitate to offer to put them up, especially if one died and the other was lonely. Heck, Dad (70 years old) still runs his 10 year old business with one of my brothers as the only other employee and is still adding to his nest egg, without even watering down the milk.

If you never worked 3 jobs to make ends meet, you have not been tested. Do what you gotta do.

Jeez, this got long - sad thing, I've got a lot more I could add.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

well assuming it goes down like that....like always people will respond differently...

some will go out by suicide...
some will take out as many of their percieved or real enemies as they can...
some will become skilled, though immoral financial and survival predators as the will to survive kicks in...
some will work till they die...
some will be providers...
some will be provided for...
some will adapt quite well to a 3rd world type lifestyle...for instance do you know anyone that dropped out of society due to some event in their life...i know several and its impressive on how little they need to live...

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Yep. I might add it crosses all cultural generations.

I just talked to my 24 year old about suicide (again) related to my best friend in HS and college who graduated in EE and went to CA working for HP. Great job. Smart SOB. Rented a bedroom from a married couple. Came home one day and the house was empty and his expensive stuff was gone. He freaked and his parents had to drive him back to Illinois. 2 months at home - his gun, his bullet, his head. If you have family or friends falling on hard times, I implore you to help in any way you can.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

This is something I was thinking about after digesting this thread some today. You did a good job of posting it well.

Absolutely Dude. It's culture more than age that really seems to identify a generation. They make up names for it, which is probably more divide and conquer in a way, but it is the common events taking place on the cusp of a generation that often adds the commonly accepted standard definition.

What I do know is that blame and finger pointing is not a solution. One must abandon the self pity and do what needs done no matter how old or young, or what experience forms the generational perception. The wake up call is for everyone.

The premise of the story followed by the song. From 1980: If you care to listen.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/lFD2wZaBciY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/lFD2wZaBciY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Hear, hear!

:applause_:applause_:applause_

I absolutely agree with this, that would be the smart way to do it. Unfortunately, too many are easily tempted by credit, which is the main reason they continue to participate in the system while convincing themselves that they'll outsmart it somehow. Truth is, they just can't accept what living within their means would mean. I've had people say "Get real" when I suggest they shouldn't base their lives on being able to go into debt.

I usually respond by saying something along the lines of, "You want to get real? Cancel your credit cards, close your bank account, save PMs, buy only what you can pay for and forget your credit score."

:36_1_25:

Too much "real", I guess.

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

Everyone is going to get a check in their mail box.....a great big freaking check......this is the only thing that will calm the fear that will peak in the summer of 2009.

The dollar is toast. 2009 is the year of the system crash....a slow crash that just constantly gets worse.....

Re: what do you think will happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

a very true and sensible post.. It will have little to do with age. There will be people with all of the above reactions from all age groups..

Re: what do you think whill happen when the boomers realize they are screwed?
 

They will do what they always have done.....borrow from their kids and thier kid's kids.

The "peace" generation sure has enbraced the full force of the federal govt to make other people pay for their shit wild dreams......If the Constituion is in the way.....redefine it, ignore it...move around it.

This is the Me generation's way.