The generation before the boomers ("greatest") had a tough time going through the depression and WWII. But after that their quality of life rose substantially i

The generation before the boomers ("greatest") had a tough time going through the depression and WWII. But after that their quality of life rose substantially into the 1970s. Since then it's mostly plateaued. It was the greatest generation who turned their back on progressive taxation and properly funding state affairs in the late 1970s - but it has been the boomers who mostly reaped the benefits.