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The Boomer Blockade: How One Generation Reshaped Work and Left Everyone Behind

48 points by joker3 7y ago

johnebgd 7y ago
Hacker News hug of death took it down.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
mc32 7y ago
This will be true of economies that go through quick growth. It’s already hit Japan and led to the “lost decades”, it will hit China in 20 years or so... But the issue is more complex. Today there is global competition and your jobs (never mind promotions) get shipped off. So they don’t even have a chance at a working stiff’s job at all. That’s where desperation comes from.
geogra4 7y ago
Interesting article - but it's even worse than that. I had a friend of mine who is a lawyer at a large hospital system. When the boomer head of the legal department retired they gave him the same job she had with half of the salary. Even when the boomer blockade stands down, what's left isn't what it used to be.
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  I don't know if it's lucky that the job didn't just cease to exist or not in that case. I know when my father retired his job disappeared. One could ask if the job was that important if they could remove it, but in this case it was deemed non-vital, so no effort was made to replace him. Ironically, it was focused on evaluating ways to transfer knowledge to new hires to account for the brain drain incurred due to retiring boomer population.
  - sylk 7y ago
    That's hilarious. That sounds like such an important job, brain drain is heavily damaging to companies and can destroy work when people don't know how to continue what the previous individual was doing.
- zaphod12 7y ago
  while halving seems extreme, this isn't that ridiculous when you think about it (nor is it uncommon). The previous head of legal had probably been getting promotions for many years as (s)he continued to grow and become better at the role. Whenever I am promoted, I don't expect my entry salary will be identical to someone with the same title and 10 more years of experience doing the job.
- JoeAltmaier 7y ago
  Its all too common to lose a VP and hire a director.
OedipusRex 7y ago
Website's currently down: https://web.archive.org/web/20200131200026/https://think-boundless.com/the-boomer-blockade/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200131200026/https://think-bou...
- sylk 7y ago
  It's back up, thanks for the link though.
jhayward 7y ago
Think about the rhetoric being used whenever someone refers to "boomers" today. First, identify a sub-group. Begin referring to the group as "they", as "other" than "us". Make sure they are not seen as heterogenous individuals - "they" are a single, malevolent entity. Next, ascribe to them great power, unearned, over "us". Then, ascribe to them ill-gotten wealth, power, control. All nefarious and self-aggrandizing. Now describe them as "the problem", as "intractable", implying that something must be done - about them - to them. Begin to use the language of violence, attributing it to "them". A blockade is an act of war, committed by an aggressor. What do you think the outcome of this kind of rhetoric will be?
- plussed_reader 7y ago
  A conflict in pursuit of the demise/revisioning of atrophied systems?
  - jhayward 7y ago
    > pursuit of the demise/revisioning of atrophied systems? So, you see the outcome as killing off the olds?
- SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
  In this case that group is, in fact, our parents. It's not an abstract group - it's people we know in our life. In order to make it an abstract "other", the people need to stay abstract. I don't begrudge my parents their success, I just know that I may not share the same.
- abathur 7y ago
  I agree that it's important to be conscious of the rhetorical currents we create, and vigilant about what follows from carrying them to their logical conclusions. This is, for example, why we don't call people vermin or cockroaches. It's rhetoric that has obvious logical conclusions. But inter-generational strife isn't quite the same thing. It's conflict largely between parents and their children, shaped by that intimacy. And it's a conflict that cuts both ways... Think about the rhetoric being used whenever someone refers to "millennials" today. First, identify a sub-group. Begin referring to the group as "they", as "other" than "us". Make sure they are not seen as heterogenous individuals - "they" are a single, entitled entity. Next, give them trophies, unearned. Then, ascribe to them the rise of avocado toast, end of homeownership, and lack of ambition. All overeducated and self-defeating. Now describe them as "increasingly falling for socialism's trick", as "unpatriotic", implying that something must be done - about them - to them. Begin to use the language of violence, attributing it to "them". Killing the date, and romance, and marriage, and golf, and the motorcycle. What do you think the outcome of this kind of rhetoric will be?
topkai22 7y ago
Great article. I'm very suspicious of attempts to "blame it on the boomers", but this has some very good analysis that should be built upon. There are some confounding factors - the baby boom's sheer relative to the preceding and succeeding generations means that at least some of the noted effects would occur even if the "age you got promoted" probability distribution remained the same. The specific complaints about the consulting and legal industries expansion of the career path have the issue that the size of those firms have grown massively over the time period indicated- McKinsey had 88 staff in 1951, 7700 in the early 2000s and 27000+ by 2018. That’s simply not the same company/industry and not really due to demographic trends. Overall though, it makes raises some good points (particularly the implication that there is/was positive ageism toward boomers in the selection of executive roles) that are worth reflecting on. BTW- it’s really Gen X (and the younger boomers) that got hosed here. The boomers really are retiring now and millennials will have plenty of career ahead after that.
- pmillerd 7y ago
  thanks for the feedback - definitely agree on the consulting point and I think when I dove in that was what most surprised me - its probably Gen X that will be screwed, not the millennials.
okareaman 7y ago
I'm a boomer and I can think of a few things off the top of my head that made the 80's and 90' a great time for a young person to be alive. 1) The previous generation was small because of the depression and ww2 - not a lot of older workers. 2) Paul Volcker came in with Ronald Reagan and tamed the crippling inflation that was hurting everyone. 3) No one at work or at home had a personal computer on their desk - the computer revolution took off 4) The Soviet Union collapsed leaving the US once again the sole super power. 5) People became health conscious and quit smoking. Medical technology advanced and prolonged our working life. There are probably things I am forgetting, but indeed, it wasn't hard to make money, buy a house and start a family. Edit: I don't see how anyone can blame boomers because it's harder now. I gave my millennial kids a good start.
- plankers 7y ago
  It's all the millenial kids that you didn't give a good start and who are getting those 63% of new jobs that pay below-average who are suffering.
  - sizzzzlerz 7y ago
    And what would you like for him to do about that?
    - arbitrary_name 7y ago
      Stop voting to protect the status quo. Stop being a NIMBY and let more housing be built, even if it hurts yor house price. Confront climate change, even if it means giving up your car, your diet, your annual holidays, the way we plan and build infrastructure and cities. Vote to give younger people a fighting chance against rampant house price growth, rising tuition costs, weak wage growth, rising health care costs. Take ownership for the state of the world and commit to helping people beyond your family lines. Vote for progress, not against it like many boomers I know
      - foogazi 7y ago
foogazi 7y ago
> For the first time in the last 60 years, the 55+ cohort is bigger than any other ten year age cohort. How much of this is due to the boomer gen being larger in size and more of them having to stick around working Doesn’t sound like all of them got to retire > If boomers are increasing their share of wealth, it is clearly at the expense of the following generations. how is this clear? Wealth can’t be created only taken ?
pmillerd 7y ago
Thanks for all the feedback. If people are interested in following along, I'm sharing some selected feedback in my newsletter this week => http://boundless.substack.com http://boundless.substack.com

48 points by joker3 7y ago

johnebgd 7y ago

Hacker News hug of death took it down.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

mc32 7y ago

This will be true of economies that go through quick growth. It’s already hit Japan and led to the “lost decades”, it will hit China in 20 years or so... But the issue is more complex. Today there is global competition and your jobs (never mind promotions) get shipped off. So they don’t even have a chance at a working stiff’s job at all. That’s where desperation comes from.

geogra4 7y ago

Interesting article - but it's even worse than that. I had a friend of mine who is a lawyer at a large hospital system. When the boomer head of the legal department retired they gave him the same job she had with half of the salary. Even when the boomer blockade stands down, what's left isn't what it used to be.

SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
I don't know if it's lucky that the job didn't just cease to exist or not in that case. I know when my father retired his job disappeared. One could ask if the job was that important if they could remove it, but in this case it was deemed non-vital, so no effort was made to replace him. Ironically, it was focused on evaluating ways to transfer knowledge to new hires to account for the brain drain incurred due to retiring boomer population.
- sylk 7y ago
  That's hilarious. That sounds like such an important job, brain drain is heavily damaging to companies and can destroy work when people don't know how to continue what the previous individual was doing.
zaphod12 7y ago
while halving seems extreme, this isn't that ridiculous when you think about it (nor is it uncommon). The previous head of legal had probably been getting promotions for many years as (s)he continued to grow and become better at the role. Whenever I am promoted, I don't expect my entry salary will be identical to someone with the same title and 10 more years of experience doing the job.
JoeAltmaier 7y ago
Its all too common to lose a VP and hire a director.

OedipusRex 7y ago

Website's currently down: https://web.archive.org/web/20200131200026/https://think-boundless.com/the-boomer-blockade/ https://web.archive.org/web/20200131200026/https://think-bou...

sylk 7y ago
It's back up, thanks for the link though.

jhayward 7y ago

Think about the rhetoric being used whenever someone refers to "boomers" today. First, identify a sub-group. Begin referring to the group as "they", as "other" than "us". Make sure they are not seen as heterogenous individuals - "they" are a single, malevolent entity. Next, ascribe to them great power, unearned, over "us". Then, ascribe to them ill-gotten wealth, power, control. All nefarious and self-aggrandizing. Now describe them as "the problem", as "intractable", implying that something must be done - about them - to them. Begin to use the language of violence, attributing it to "them". A blockade is an act of war, committed by an aggressor. What do you think the outcome of this kind of rhetoric will be?

plussed_reader 7y ago
A conflict in pursuit of the demise/revisioning of atrophied systems?
- jhayward 7y ago
  > pursuit of the demise/revisioning of atrophied systems? So, you see the outcome as killing off the olds?
SketchySeaBeast 7y ago
In this case that group is, in fact, our parents. It's not an abstract group - it's people we know in our life. In order to make it an abstract "other", the people need to stay abstract. I don't begrudge my parents their success, I just know that I may not share the same.
abathur 7y ago
I agree that it's important to be conscious of the rhetorical currents we create, and vigilant about what follows from carrying them to their logical conclusions. This is, for example, why we don't call people vermin or cockroaches. It's rhetoric that has obvious logical conclusions. But inter-generational strife isn't quite the same thing. It's conflict largely between parents and their children, shaped by that intimacy. And it's a conflict that cuts both ways... Think about the rhetoric being used whenever someone refers to "millennials" today. First, identify a sub-group. Begin referring to the group as "they", as "other" than "us". Make sure they are not seen as heterogenous individuals - "they" are a single, entitled entity. Next, give them trophies, unearned. Then, ascribe to them the rise of avocado toast, end of homeownership, and lack of ambition. All overeducated and self-defeating. Now describe them as "increasingly falling for socialism's trick", as "unpatriotic", implying that something must be done - about them - to them. Begin to use the language of violence, attributing it to "them". Killing the date, and romance, and marriage, and golf, and the motorcycle. What do you think the outcome of this kind of rhetoric will be?

topkai22 7y ago

Great article. I'm very suspicious of attempts to "blame it on the boomers", but this has some very good analysis that should be built upon. There are some confounding factors - the baby boom's sheer relative to the preceding and succeeding generations means that at least some of the noted effects would occur even if the "age you got promoted" probability distribution remained the same. The specific complaints about the consulting and legal industries expansion of the career path have the issue that the size of those firms have grown massively over the time period indicated- McKinsey had 88 staff in 1951, 7700 in the early 2000s and 27000+ by 2018. That’s simply not the same company/industry and not really due to demographic trends. Overall though, it makes raises some good points (particularly the implication that there is/was positive ageism toward boomers in the selection of executive roles) that are worth reflecting on. BTW- it’s really Gen X (and the younger boomers) that got hosed here. The boomers really are retiring now and millennials will have plenty of career ahead after that.

pmillerd 7y ago
thanks for the feedback - definitely agree on the consulting point and I think when I dove in that was what most surprised me - its probably Gen X that will be screwed, not the millennials.

okareaman 7y ago

I'm a boomer and I can think of a few things off the top of my head that made the 80's and 90' a great time for a young person to be alive. 1) The previous generation was small because of the depression and ww2 - not a lot of older workers. 2) Paul Volcker came in with Ronald Reagan and tamed the crippling inflation that was hurting everyone. 3) No one at work or at home had a personal computer on their desk - the computer revolution took off 4) The Soviet Union collapsed leaving the US once again the sole super power. 5) People became health conscious and quit smoking. Medical technology advanced and prolonged our working life. There are probably things I am forgetting, but indeed, it wasn't hard to make money, buy a house and start a family. Edit: I don't see how anyone can blame boomers because it's harder now. I gave my millennial kids a good start.

plankers 7y ago
It's all the millenial kids that you didn't give a good start and who are getting those 63% of new jobs that pay below-average who are suffering.
- sizzzzlerz 7y ago
  And what would you like for him to do about that?
  - arbitrary_name 7y ago
    Stop voting to protect the status quo. Stop being a NIMBY and let more housing be built, even if it hurts yor house price. Confront climate change, even if it means giving up your car, your diet, your annual holidays, the way we plan and build infrastructure and cities. Vote to give younger people a fighting chance against rampant house price growth, rising tuition costs, weak wage growth, rising health care costs. Take ownership for the state of the world and commit to helping people beyond your family lines. Vote for progress, not against it like many boomers I know
    - foogazi 7y ago

foogazi 7y ago

> For the first time in the last 60 years, the 55+ cohort is bigger than any other ten year age cohort. How much of this is due to the boomer gen being larger in size and more of them having to stick around working Doesn’t sound like all of them got to retire > If boomers are increasing their share of wealth, it is clearly at the expense of the following generations. how is this clear? Wealth can’t be created only taken ?

pmillerd 7y ago

Thanks for all the feedback. If people are interested in following along, I'm sharing some selected feedback in my newsletter this week => http://boundless.substack.com http://boundless.substack.com