The farmers, truckers, those prepared and the otherwise industrious and hard working people will be demonized and blamed if there are food shortages.
Taxes, input costs and eminent domain will increase or new rules and excuses will emerge to crimp, bankrupt or shut down independant farmer. “Its for the chirren and greater good, you know!” Thats a sure thing.
I’ll still roll those dice, even with all that. What other choices do we have, living in the city and going on the dole? Not a chance.
I have to start by saying I’m a younger boomer, so my experiences are not the same as those 10 years older, however a clarification. INFLATION: As a young driver, I lived through the oil inflation/stagflation crisis. Before 1973, I could fill my large gas tank for under $10. By the late 70’s, not only did that same tank cost over $25 to fill, the state only let you buy gas ever other day because of shortages. In my first job as an analyst, I discovered that at over 12% differential inflation, I couldn’t do strategic planning for large projects because the ONLY thing I knew for absolute certain was that my cost projections would be wildly wrong, even for short term projects. My first mortgage was 12% - and I had a good deal. Meanwhile realtors assured us we should buy a more expensive house because prices were going up so quickly. Realizing that our paychecks were not going up nearly as fast, we said no thanks and bought something we knew we could afford on one salary.
However, what was different for the Silent and Baby Boomer generations is that a poor white farm boy or a working class kid could work their way through college and go from poverty to solidly middle class with a professional job by their early 30’s. For the older contingent, skilled labor jobs paid a solid middle class income. And with civil rights in the 70’s, women and minorities started doing the same. I had more disposable income in my early 40’s – before kids – than I had later in my career. I left graduate school in 1975 with a masters and NO DEBT. The younger staff I supervised all had college loans. Tuition at my undergrad school, and theirs, had doubled since I started college. It became harder and harder for a poor kid to work their way through college and the mad scramble for “better credentials” so that those without the right social background could prove their worthiness was just hitting stride.
Boomers who were affluent as children will probably NOT remember the financially turbulent 70’s because an affluent, powerful (locally) family shielded young people from much of the impact. Us poor farm kids, on the other hand, saw a wave of government-driven hard times for older friends and family still trying to stay on the land. I remember being surprised at how little affluent city-raised peers noticed the hard times. Indeed, in Houston in the 90’s some of the oil patch turmoil hit the older Silent men (mostly white men) who were told they weren’t getting with the newer business practices. They were replaced by boomers.
So if you’re talking to boomers, remind them of the oil embargo and stagflation and 12% mortgages. And ask them how they personally were impacted AND how they saw other, less fortunate people impacted.
So we’re close to the same age (younger boomer?). Supposedly the boomer’s rampage ended in 1964? Are we on the same wavelength? No, you’re apparently older than I. Mom stated she left me in a carriage on the sidewalk when JFK was shot to run into her friend’s place to watch the news on a little fuzzy B&W TV.
I wasn’t driving during the oil crisis, but do recall it.
So now you’re discussing my father’s background.
I was a little late graduating in 1989 w/ a BSBA, (NO DEBT). (you know, girls, climbing, caving, backpacking, bartending, etc. takes time away from school). With the booming computer/software industry and a couple CC classes in the mid-80s, I was set job wise until the H1B Visas/off shoring took over the industry (and I stayed with that many years working a full day shift and up many hours at night instructing off-shore contractors who were 12:30 hours ahead of the States). Eventually, management didn’t care about how good you could code, only about how quickly you could half-ass your code.
Life’s not easy for anyone. It’s not handed to you on a silver platter. It takes time and effort to get ahead. Sometimes you need to move, sometimes you need to take classes and adjust your lifestyle.
Actually, the main reason I engaged you was that you missed something: Watching Walter Cronkite on the Tube along with the KIA’s and MIA’s in Vietnam. In the latter wars, I don’t recall the tally shown on the TV, but the stats were there. The dead are in Arlington and the walking wounded among us. Some never quite recover mentally. I recall in elementary school, mom told me so-and-so’s dad was killed in Vietnam. The kid was in class the next day. In one case he had to run out of the room in tears, we all were mourning his family. In other cases, no major outbreaks, but the rest of the class knew who’s dad was killed. Stressful for families (all families).
I always think that “late boomer” thing in context of my mother who is that… that when boomers hit working age, as you describe, it goes first come first served especially for most wanted jobs and government jobs that are not replaced until someone retires or literally dies. So later boomers had scrappy jobs often, even with some degree and degrees were harder to get.
Second one is that no matter the economic crash, some city folks dont feel a thing. So they spread this notion “nothing happened” simply because they didnt feel anything.
I still see same “not getting newest thing” but it is simply companies want to fire older seniors and take younger ones for salary and pension requirements but young folks always think they are so great themselves. Another structural thing in west.
One thing about boomers is it showed via economic crashes, degree or not, doesnt matter if you are unlucky ones without job. Degrees dont pay bills, jobs do, even scrappy ones.
So Im hoping population (global) decline happens as it is only thing reversing these problems.
There are always only so many “good jobs” around. We are way past needing “growth”. Well if you can find giant new oil wells then it is possible.
(But looking how US goes after folks trying to invent cheap or free energy, I dont think even US wants to find them)
I’m glad I’m not the only one that sees population growth as the major underlying driver to our economic and resources problems.
We no longer have cheap oil, so growth is no longer possible. Destroying more resources to produce useless consumer goods so the top 5% gets richer is insane. We will wish we had those resources that went to “toys” and planned obsolescence landfill items when we actually need them to feed people.
People over 60 pushing for the young to have more babies so those babies can live as slaves to support the non-productive elderly is really dystopian. Perhaps we should rethink the current practice of more affluent elderly using social security to support a life of leisure, travel, summer and winter homes, etc. while grandkids can’t even afford to buy a home.
Yup. Its always frosted my behind that snowbirds take their money and spend it in other countries. A vacation is fine, 6 months less a day (so they can keep their govt benefits) is crap.
To my mind money leaving the country should be subject to sales tax.