I love this. Love it. I don't even know where I fall (the sandwich generation is what they call us, born in 1974) but I am so sick of hearing boomers whine. Salaries are down, the environment is a hellscape, civil rights are eroding and they are whining. Stop. Seriously.
Even though my older, wiser self says “Just walk away”, there are some questions for Mr. Fawcett.
The first is: within the next couple of decades all of the boomers will die off. What happens to all of their accumulated wealth? At some point all of that fortuitous property value will become cash. Where will that go? Perhaps to children and grandchildren? Or will you refuse that ill-gotten wealth and insist that it all go to charity?
Second: property value is not the same as income, although one can sell the house and live off the proceeds. For a while. Instead of leaving it to the children. (see above.) Also, let’s not confuse “Assessed value” with “Equity.”
Third: I could very easily point a big finger at all of the Silicon Valley (and Silicon Valley North) geeks and dot-com guys that make way, way more money than I ever will. There’s a really BIG pool of Millennial cash sloshing around, so I now declare that all Millennials are now rich.
Fourth: I don’t consider Donald Trump a “Baby Boomer”. I consider him an extreme asshole. Besides, the Trump kids are Millennials, if you know what I mean.
Fifth: No question that global warming is going to hammer all of us very hard, and I’m the first to admit that I expect to be gone before the worst of it, but lets keep in mind that our generation invented all of the clean water legislation, environmental regulation, automobile pollution controls, and pretty much the entire environmental movement. And seatbelts and airbags. It’s fair to say that you have no idea how utterly bad things were sixty years ago. Yes we’re moving backwards, especially in the US, but we’re still a lot better off than we were.
You say “power is finally starting to flow into the hands of other people, and they’re going to use it in ways that may make you uncomfortable.” That’s not true. I am incredibly happy to see thousands people in the streets, willing to battle police and military to make changes, and who are prepared to stand up for what they feel is right. And I am hopeful about electoral politics precisely because of some of the young (compared to the old 60 year old guys) candidates who are being elected and generally really pissing off the Old Guard. I can’t think of anyone my age in politics that is really contributing much of value. I'm even pretty pleased with the mythic profile enjoyed by Antifa.
What I do mind though are stereotypical shots at whole demographics that ignore the real and serious underlying issues in favour of name calling.
“I’m also sympathetic to the idea that we need to build bridges between the generations, and break down the misconceptions that we often have of each other.” I’m having a hard time believing that, given the level of condescension expressed in your piece.
“Boomers like Mr. Rueger also need to understand that the plural form of the word anecdote isn’t data.” Seriously? That’s how you talk to somebody you want to see things your way?
You don’t get to define what contribution a generation of people gets to make or refrain from making to wider society. But you can seek to persuade them, something I’m not sure you’re up to if this is what you’re bringing to the table. Especially considering that if Boomers are as well off as you say (and I’m not arguing with you on that point), then they don’t need to give a damn what any of the rest of us think unless they want to.
So pick: if they’re persuadable, then speak to them in a way that’s likely to win them over and achieve the outcomes you want. If they’re not, then who exactly is it that’s whining again?
I recall reading a study which pointed out that in the 70s it took about 5 years average income to pay for a house. Now it’s something like 14 years here in the Calgary area. “Poor, poor, pitiful me.” should not be our theme song.
As evidenced by my earlier comment, what you said, and in particular the way you said it, really pushed some buttons for me. Since having some time to think about it further (and with some help from Line Editor, who it seems know how to handle a complaint email), I’ve realized that my anger at your piece resulted from my reading your criticism of Boomers as a group as criticism of seniors as a group.
That wasn’t a valid inference, and as much as I’m still pretty on the fence about what you had to say, I’d like to be able to approach discussions of this topic a bit more intelligently the next time around. If you’re open to it, I’d like to ask for your help with that.
Do you know of a good online posting that effectively addresses the issue of criticism of the Boomer generation being construed as ageist by default? I know I’m not the only one who’s had that reaction in the larger public conversation, so I assume some quality deconstructions have been written. I just don’t know where to start. Seeing as this isn’t your first foray into this discussion, I’m hoping you do.
I love this. Love it. I don't even know where I fall (the sandwich generation is what they call us, born in 1974) but I am so sick of hearing boomers whine. Salaries are down, the environment is a hellscape, civil rights are eroding and they are whining. Stop. Seriously.
Even though my older, wiser self says “Just walk away”, there are some questions for Mr. Fawcett.
The first is: within the next couple of decades all of the boomers will die off. What happens to all of their accumulated wealth? At some point all of that fortuitous property value will become cash. Where will that go? Perhaps to children and grandchildren? Or will you refuse that ill-gotten wealth and insist that it all go to charity?
Second: property value is not the same as income, although one can sell the house and live off the proceeds. For a while. Instead of leaving it to the children. (see above.) Also, let’s not confuse “Assessed value” with “Equity.”
Third: I could very easily point a big finger at all of the Silicon Valley (and Silicon Valley North) geeks and dot-com guys that make way, way more money than I ever will. There’s a really BIG pool of Millennial cash sloshing around, so I now declare that all Millennials are now rich.
Fourth: I don’t consider Donald Trump a “Baby Boomer”. I consider him an extreme asshole. Besides, the Trump kids are Millennials, if you know what I mean.
Fifth: No question that global warming is going to hammer all of us very hard, and I’m the first to admit that I expect to be gone before the worst of it, but lets keep in mind that our generation invented all of the clean water legislation, environmental regulation, automobile pollution controls, and pretty much the entire environmental movement. And seatbelts and airbags. It’s fair to say that you have no idea how utterly bad things were sixty years ago. Yes we’re moving backwards, especially in the US, but we’re still a lot better off than we were.
You say “power is finally starting to flow into the hands of other people, and they’re going to use it in ways that may make you uncomfortable.” That’s not true. I am incredibly happy to see thousands people in the streets, willing to battle police and military to make changes, and who are prepared to stand up for what they feel is right. And I am hopeful about electoral politics precisely because of some of the young (compared to the old 60 year old guys) candidates who are being elected and generally really pissing off the Old Guard. I can’t think of anyone my age in politics that is really contributing much of value. I'm even pretty pleased with the mythic profile enjoyed by Antifa.
What I do mind though are stereotypical shots at whole demographics that ignore the real and serious underlying issues in favour of name calling.
BR
“I’m also sympathetic to the idea that we need to build bridges between the generations, and break down the misconceptions that we often have of each other.” I’m having a hard time believing that, given the level of condescension expressed in your piece.
“Boomers like Mr. Rueger also need to understand that the plural form of the word anecdote isn’t data.” Seriously? That’s how you talk to somebody you want to see things your way?
You don’t get to define what contribution a generation of people gets to make or refrain from making to wider society. But you can seek to persuade them, something I’m not sure you’re up to if this is what you’re bringing to the table. Especially considering that if Boomers are as well off as you say (and I’m not arguing with you on that point), then they don’t need to give a damn what any of the rest of us think unless they want to.
So pick: if they’re persuadable, then speak to them in a way that’s likely to win them over and achieve the outcomes you want. If they’re not, then who exactly is it that’s whining again?
I recall reading a study which pointed out that in the 70s it took about 5 years average income to pay for a house. Now it’s something like 14 years here in the Calgary area. “Poor, poor, pitiful me.” should not be our theme song.
Hello Max,
As evidenced by my earlier comment, what you said, and in particular the way you said it, really pushed some buttons for me. Since having some time to think about it further (and with some help from Line Editor, who it seems know how to handle a complaint email), I’ve realized that my anger at your piece resulted from my reading your criticism of Boomers as a group as criticism of seniors as a group.
That wasn’t a valid inference, and as much as I’m still pretty on the fence about what you had to say, I’d like to be able to approach discussions of this topic a bit more intelligently the next time around. If you’re open to it, I’d like to ask for your help with that.
Do you know of a good online posting that effectively addresses the issue of criticism of the Boomer generation being construed as ageist by default? I know I’m not the only one who’s had that reaction in the larger public conversation, so I assume some quality deconstructions have been written. I just don’t know where to start. Seeing as this isn’t your first foray into this discussion, I’m hoping you do.
Best,
Jeremy