5 ms·

We'll have to wait and see for the current generation 'steals from itself' but the baby boom generation have definitely screwed themselves. Other than the few u

by kreek 16y ago

We'll have to wait and see for the current generation 'steals from itself' but the baby boom generation have definitely screwed themselves. Other than the few unlucky souls who went to Vietnam the baby boomers lived through an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity and all they have to show for it is a mountain of debt.

gaius 16y ago
Debt? What they have are assets (real estate priced out of the range of their kids) and pensions (gold-plated final salary, paid for by their kids taxes). The Boomers are unbelievably good at running this kind of generational heist. Probably the kids of Gen X and the Millenials will still be working off the Boomer's debt (i.e. government deficit here in the UK).
- muhfuhkuh 16y ago
  "The Boomers are unbelievably good at running this kind of generational heist." I agree. But, it caught up with them. Now they are embittered, their house "investments" are worth nearly nothing and, in the current market, almost unsellable; and they've leveraged every possession they "bought" on 15+% credit. On top of that, the sole means of most of their retirement (Social Security) is being debated by their "betters" as impractical, and thus the betters are finding ways to take that away from them and use media outlets to make them think that it's good for them that they'll not have that income. "the kids of Gen X and the Millenials will still be working off the Boomer's debt" Welcome to the New World Order. We love you, too.
- Eliezer 16y ago
  If things get bad, many productive young people will be finding a country with less debt and moving there. If you stay behind to pay it off, you're a sucker. If you buy government bonds from a government in lots of debt, you're a sucker if you lose and a cheater if you win. If you accept pension promises you're acting in bad faith (letting present officials make promises to you using future generations' money, which is more convenient for them) and hoping that no one notices, and I don't feel an obligation to pay you off. There was a time when pension promises were honorable, but that time is not now. It's sad - you should have noticed that small little feeling of something being wrong, but realistically, most people have no sense of morality apart from what their friends think is wrong. But it's not any happier if the victims get screwed instead of the cheaters.
- lkrubner 16y ago
  It does make me wonder whether Gen X and Millenials will become pro-inflation. After all, that is one way for a group to get out of paying a debt. Most debts are fixed in nominal terms, and the burden of debt could therefore be reduced, in real terms, with a bout of inflation. The Boomers tended to be anti-inflation because they remember the hyper-inflation of the 1970s, but neither Gen X nor Millenials remember the 1970s. For the most part, a bout of strong of inflation could be regarded as a form of cheating, a form of welching on a debt. The public (at least in the US) hasn't favored that kind of policy, partly because I think a lot of people feel it would be unethical to get out of a debt that way. But then, avoiding unethical behavior depends on a notion of fairness, and that goes both ways. The Gen Xers and the Millenials might ask themselves, "Was it fair for the Boomers to run up a few trillion in debt and then leave it to us?" If a substantial portion of those generations come to believe that the debt was unfairly incurred, then they may think it is fair to use unfair tactics to get out of paying the unfair debt.
  - gaius 16y ago
    The Boomers need to foot the bill for environmental damage and geopolitical instability too remember. It's not just financial debt.

by kreek 16y ago

gaius 16y ago

Debt? What they have are assets (real estate priced out of the range of their kids) and pensions (gold-plated final salary, paid for by their kids taxes). The Boomers are unbelievably good at running this kind of generational heist. Probably the kids of Gen X and the Millenials will still be working off the Boomer's debt (i.e. government deficit here in the UK).

muhfuhkuh 16y ago
"The Boomers are unbelievably good at running this kind of generational heist." I agree. But, it caught up with them. Now they are embittered, their house "investments" are worth nearly nothing and, in the current market, almost unsellable; and they've leveraged every possession they "bought" on 15+% credit. On top of that, the sole means of most of their retirement (Social Security) is being debated by their "betters" as impractical, and thus the betters are finding ways to take that away from them and use media outlets to make them think that it's good for them that they'll not have that income. "the kids of Gen X and the Millenials will still be working off the Boomer's debt" Welcome to the New World Order. We love you, too.
Eliezer 16y ago
If things get bad, many productive young people will be finding a country with less debt and moving there. If you stay behind to pay it off, you're a sucker. If you buy government bonds from a government in lots of debt, you're a sucker if you lose and a cheater if you win. If you accept pension promises you're acting in bad faith (letting present officials make promises to you using future generations' money, which is more convenient for them) and hoping that no one notices, and I don't feel an obligation to pay you off. There was a time when pension promises were honorable, but that time is not now. It's sad - you should have noticed that small little feeling of something being wrong, but realistically, most people have no sense of morality apart from what their friends think is wrong. But it's not any happier if the victims get screwed instead of the cheaters.
lkrubner 16y ago
It does make me wonder whether Gen X and Millenials will become pro-inflation. After all, that is one way for a group to get out of paying a debt. Most debts are fixed in nominal terms, and the burden of debt could therefore be reduced, in real terms, with a bout of inflation. The Boomers tended to be anti-inflation because they remember the hyper-inflation of the 1970s, but neither Gen X nor Millenials remember the 1970s. For the most part, a bout of strong of inflation could be regarded as a form of cheating, a form of welching on a debt. The public (at least in the US) hasn't favored that kind of policy, partly because I think a lot of people feel it would be unethical to get out of a debt that way. But then, avoiding unethical behavior depends on a notion of fairness, and that goes both ways. The Gen Xers and the Millenials might ask themselves, "Was it fair for the Boomers to run up a few trillion in debt and then leave it to us?" If a substantial portion of those generations come to believe that the debt was unfairly incurred, then they may think it is fair to use unfair tactics to get out of paying the unfair debt.
- gaius 16y ago
  The Boomers need to foot the bill for environmental damage and geopolitical instability too remember. It's not just financial debt.