Date: February 4th, 2011 3:44 AM Author: peach gaped public bath
a comment from a boomer on an article talking about youth unemployment:
"I am quite disappointed in the comments here from younger people. The truth is, they have been coddled and given every possible advantage in life, and now they are whining that they need to finally work a bit in order to establish their careers. Instead of rising to the challenge, they are simply "dropping out" of the workforce. How petulant. According to studies, a college degree increases your lifetime earnings by millions of dollars, so a few thousand or even a few hundred thousand in student debt is nothing; just a drop in the bucket. But of course you can't make that money if you are like many modern youngsters who would apparently rather whine and play video games all day rather than look for jobs."
Date: February 4th, 2011 3:46 AM Author: Boyish Yapping Site Legend
they mortgaged the future of the country (the careers of the younger generations) for their own personal gain. Now they're blaming us for the fucked up position they put is in.
Date: February 4th, 2011 3:46 AM Author: Light shaky location
it's tough to come up with a single grand-scale critique of the boomers, but generally, they have always sought to shape the economic and social realities of the nation to serve their interests, to the blind exclusion of those who came afterwards. and to make matters utterly infuriating, they phrase this manipulation in moralistic terms, as through they maintain a unique bravery and wisdom, and that the struggles of succeeding generations are due to moral, ethical, or attitudinal deficits.
Date: February 4th, 2011 4:08 AM Author: Light shaky location
well, it may not have started out due to any sort of malice or ill-will at all. a lot of early boomer activity and culture was actually merged into that of the silent generation, and it was an allergic response of sorts to the social strictures of post-WWII society. with greater affluence and education and mobility came a strident call for social liberation.
the lesson of this process to the young boomers was that "society" itself had a high degree of malleability, and that the whole social structure of the prewar and WWII generations (relatively tight family units headed up by a paterfamilias that were run hierarchically within a hierarchical economic superstructure) was inherently flawed due to the way it seemed to lead to cultural repression.
instead, there was a heavy emphasis on social individualism as a way to fracture that control. and along with economic changes and birth control, boomers found themselves flinging around all over the country, dating or fucking without being on a course to marriage, and so on.
now - none of this was by any means "bad," and especially not from the perspective of personal freedoms.
but this by necessity was entwined with economics, and as boomers began to exert more economic influence, they brought along the same ideologies, which were then propagated through business schools and into management theories. this meant that employees and employers no longer needed to have long-term "relationships." instead, as individuated agents, they were both expected to seek out their own interests independently, and join up when interests converged - and "divorce" just as easily.
in this type of individuated environment, the old "track" structures of employment also began to collapse. post-secondary education became much more aggressively commoditized. commoditization overtook the finance industry.
but there wasn't much thought about how to offset the potential downsides of this changed system.
but what they could (and did) do was draft countless sweetheart laws to protect certain individual interests against various downsides. and to use the law as a cudgel to protect boomer-owned or boomer-heavy industries or interests from profit diminution.
why were copyright terms re-written in the late 90's to protect entrenched interests? why were bankruptcy laws reformed in the same way?
it's not so much that the boomers sat down and said, "Hey, we should screw the youth by entrenching ourselves and pouring debt on them!" but then again, they were never really thoughtful enough to reach that level of analysis. their analytics shat out once the effects on themselves were assessed and found to be favorable.
and that, in general, is why they have been so shitty over time.
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:35 PM Author: Lime Market Turdskin
he's not a true patriot. he would have been a true patriot if he relied on actual data for his statements. i've PWNED him with my sources as you see ITT.
Date: February 4th, 2011 4:33 AM Author: Stubborn laughsome voyeur den
the idea of general relationship mentality transferring to work environments is really interesting -- and true or not is perhaps one of the worst things that has happened to a number of professions, making once enjoyable and fulfilling jobs feel like an existential waste.
Date: February 4th, 2011 4:57 AM Author: Electric Claret Place Of Business Trailer Park
i'm sorry, but the first part in particular just seems to be a pretty but incredibly speculative pop-psychology theory. for instance, wouldn't it make more sense that the "track" structures of employment largely broke down because as benefits became more common after the heydey of unions the early 20th century, businesses came to realize that it can be be more profitable to not treat employees as long term investments (as they would increasingly be expected to pay out a hefty pension)? this is just one example and obviously also a pure guess, but in general i'd trust more economics-derived theories than some wishy washy "boomers valued personal freedom and this is why the business world evolved in such a pattern"
furthermore, it's somewhat silly to blame shifts in business school and management approaches which largely occured 25 or 30 years ago on the boomers for the simple reason that they were not that old at this point. literally the oldest boomer would only be 35 in 1980, and by that time management approaches and what was taught in bschools probably much more resembled today than 1950. these changes wouldn't have been brought about by the boomers but rather the generation predating them.
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:46 PM Author: Lime Market Turdskin
you seem mad about their gdp numbers (from $5K GDP/capita to $45K GDP/capita -- a 9-fold increase in standard of living). you seem utterly mad right now. why?
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:47 PM Author: charismatic dragon
i'm mad about what you did to this thread. i am sure you're some kind of retard shtick but what you did here is really fucking stupid and destructive to board history and discourse.
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:50 PM Author: Lime Market Turdskin
actually, believing misleading facts would hurt a lot of posters a lot more in the long-run. the propaganda machine against one of the most productive generations in history needs to be stopped. it's unnecessary and irresponsible
basically, boomers built machines and processes that automated everything. it replaced manpower with machines. we're consuming more than we ever have. our poor is richer than any other generation's poor -- by FAR
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:57 PM Author: charismatic dragon
next time, try to express your view, simplistic and reactionary though it may be, in a way that does not inhibit others' ability to express theirs, or their ability to enjoy the discussion.
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:58 PM Author: Lime Market Turdskin
i would love to have people enjoy a discussion, provided that it's not filled with propaganda that distorts and discredits one of the most productive generations in our history.
Date: July 12th, 2011 1:00 PM Author: charismatic dragon
well, hopefully next time you will enter into a discussion like a normal thinking person instead of yelling and throwing things like a child. for a good example of how to do so, see ohnoes' posts in this thread.
Date: February 4th, 2011 3:56 AM Author: peach gaped public bath
perfect. this is going to be a page called "Why do you hate boomers?" on youthanize.org. below your comment, some incriminating graphs. followed by "HTH".
Date: February 4th, 2011 3:50 AM Author: exciting immigrant organic girlfriend
they're terrible because they're so divided, and have been since their childhoods...the hippies and the ARE country types. that division has stayed with them their whole life, and has festered, and now manifests itself in the current total polarization of society and government and lack of leadership when it comes to the pressing issues of the future. they're so divided and fundamentally at odds with each other that they can't address the problems that are going to fuck us over.
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:35 PM Author: hairraiser grizzly new version
They are. They're incredibly reverent to their ideologies. So calcified that they simply don't listen and can't compromise. Moderation doesn't exist. Obama is a business-killing socialist to are-country boomers and nothing (not even his actions to the contrary) will change their mind.
Date: July 12th, 2011 12:39 PM Author: Lime Market Turdskin
umm, obama is a fierce free trade advocate, like all of your non economically-illiterate democrats (including krugman, delong, and sachs), not to mention 99.99999999999999% of all economists in the world. please quit being retarded.
::went to college when school was 2-3k per year and could be paid for with summer job money::
::went to law school under the same circumstances::
::to the extent college became a joke, set the boomer policies that made it so (participation ribbons for all; everyone should go to college; no dumb questions/people; bitchtits soft majors espousing one group or the other is oppressed; emphasized feeling over counting/discovering/observing)::
::worked many fewer hours than youngs as technology has made most high paying jobs (all professional service jobs, most middle management and higher industry jobs) 24/7/365 efforts::
::grew up and worked in one of the greatest periods of growth and prosperity one country has ever experienced in the history of the world::
::didn't save enough for retirement::
::instead bought a used Porsche Boxter and shitty vacation house in Florida which is now 300k underwater::
::passes healthcare law that has effect of youth subsidizing olds (pre-medicare age olds) health insurance::
::refused to subsidize their parent's health insurance in the manner they're demanding of their kids (healthcare debates of 86 and 93)::
::refuses any and all changes to social security and medicare::
::refuses any tax scheme that would pay for same (even with help from youngs)::
::demands younger generations pay for all + interest -- all while knowing younger generation won't get their levels of benefits, if they get anything.::
::Intentionally drives economy off cliff because assume only people that will still be around when it hits the hard rock bottom are kids and grandkids ::
::refused to ever fucking grow up (see, e.g., all the ads aimed at boomers, often for ED medication, portraying 50+ year old boomers in rock bands, surfing, and rock climbing; the many offices around the country where the greatest generation and the under 40 workers wear suits and the boomers wear rumpled polos and khakis in order to stick it to the man).::
::refused or were incapable of raising kids because they were overgrown children themelves (with a totally cool corvette!)::
::to the extent kids were raised, they were raised to be trophies for the boomer's happiness/contentment/bragging. Another way to oneup Tim Jones next door::
::are on pace to die penniless; they had the greatest wealth of any american generation and are projected to pass on the least to their kids and heirs::
Date: July 12th, 2011 2:31 PM Author: wild diverse piazza psychic
My father in law is a good example of why boomers can be so infuriating. Went to a ttt, got mediocre grades, got first jerb at big 5 firm straight out of college. Worked there until he was 55 when he was forced to retire and take his multiple $100k/year pension. Built 2 million+ dollar homes to relax in for the balance of his life. Thinks VERY highly of himself and that his success is the result of being a brilliant and gifted human being. Doesn't understand why I live like a poor when I work in biglaw.