Did you by chance see this?
In “A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Boomers Betrayed America,” Bruce Cannon Gibney traces many of our nation’s most pressing issues, including climate change and the rising cost of education, back to baby boomers’ idiosyncrasies and enormous political power. Raised in an era of seemingly unending economic prosperity with relatively permissive parents, and the first generation to grow up with a television, baby boomers developed an appetite for consumption and a lack of empathy for future generations that has resulted in unfortunate policy decisions, argues Gibney, who is in his early 40s. (That makes him Generation X.)
“These things conditioned the boomers into some pretty unhelpful behaviors and the behaviors as a whole seem sociopathic,” he said.
Not sure what this is to do with the thread topic.
But, I personally do not defend Boomers. I could care less about 'em as a group.
What I do know is that in the 60's (as in the Wave Speech I posted), the young in San Fran at least, were concentrating on pushing to make the federal government smaller. To try and get them out of their lives as much as possible. They knew Washington was staggeringly corrupt and they fought to stay as far away from it as possible.
When I was in University in the mid-late 80's, college was not quite as rebellious as that. But there definitely was an overwhelming sensation that government is bad and not to be trusted. That it was necessary to a point. But after that, the desire was for government to let you do as much as you wanted (short of obvious illegalities) and let us fix are own problems.
This feeling continued into the 90's. It was about freedom and fun with necessary responsibility (ala fiscal discipline). Don't know who is to be credited for this (boomers, the generation before that, dunno - don't really care)...but just looking at how the Western countries for years ran balanced/near-balanced budgets. Low inflation, realistic debt, governments living within their means were the norm.
You never heard of mass rallies for MUCH bigger government, unlimited debt, free this and free that, forced wealth re-distribution, etc. from the government. Sure - we wanted free 'stuff'. But any idiot knew that they were not possible within a balanced budget. So, that was that.
After 2001, it all changed. Especially after the Great Recession began.
Liberals have abandoned fiscal responsibility....completely (they were the ones who championed it the strongest in the 90's). And cons have long just given lip service to it. They claim to want small government...but when was the last time a con federal government came remotely close to a balanced the budget? They just refuse to stop spending on the military...like a drug addict. ANd their love of trickle down economics - which is a complete joke.
And now the Federal Reserve has allowed people (and the government AND corporations) to live on cheap debt.
That is why America's economy has been relatively stagnant for so long.
And America will NEVER have 4% GDP growth again for an entire year until a) the Fed ends ZIRP and QE (both are still going on in slightly reduced forms); and/or b) there is a massive correction. Enough to show the ignorant masses how incredibly foolish they have been (and let their government's be - both parties) since about 2001.
Never in my life have I seen America so ridiculously PC (even more so than the early-mid 80's) or so ridiculously out of control with debt OR so staggeringly trusting that big government can make it all better.
It is truly pathetic.
But it will end...one day.
And I welcome that day...though initially, it's going to be UGLY for quite a few people.
Well...they brought it on themselves.