baby boomers

[α CMa]

most of what i see around me is due to the influence of the baby boomers. do others feel the same way? if so please tell what are those influences and how have they shaped things.

[Tarantism]

perhaps they have helped make things appear more libral? that is, if my assumption of the definition for "baby boomer" is correct.

[Mercedes Benzene]

All I know is that I probably won't receive social security when I retire... because of those baby-boomers.

[α CMa]

the baby boomers are said to be born from 1945-1965 or the vicinity. most people now in places of power are the baby boomers.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by α CMa

the baby boomers are said to be born from 1945-1965 or the vicinity. most people now in places of power are the baby boomers.

We "Baby Boomers" came in the aftermath of WWII and grew up during Korea, Mideast, and Vietnam Wars, some BBs fought in 'Nam'. We also had to deal with the Cold War and Watergate. We saw men land on the Moon and Woodstock in 1969. Our collective thinking was influenced by all of these events. We did not ask to be born during this time. Due to the great number of boomers we have influence in music, media, and politics. Boomers began to go on to college in greater numbers than in the past. It was boomers who helped move the world from a manufacturing economy to an information/technological based economy. Boomers will begin retiring in a few years and Social Security will need to be fixed. The government has robber SS trusts of trillions of dollars it does not have. Boomers will be making news for years to come.

[Boerseun]

I might be ignorant for saying this, but there'll always be generations who've seen and done amazing things. For instance, my generation (post 1970s) are now in our early thirties. We've witnessed the information revolution, the collapse of communism, we're the first generation to employ global communication on a vast scale, using the internet and mobile telephone technology on a much bigger scale than any other generation, mostly because we're more comfortable with new technology that's breaking ground around us each and every day. We're more adaptable to change, and not as 'set in our ways' as the baby boomers might be.

The baby boomers are about to retire, but that won't be the end of the world as we know it, surely. My generation is about to step into the voids of power left by the boomers.

Only problem I can think of is that my generation is also the MTV generation... and our hair sucked ass in the '80s. And we never had the music the boomers had in the '60s - not even close.

My point is, there will always be people who are now falling into a certain age-group who've all had mostly the same experiences and impressions. And every year, they get a year older (duh). And eventually the whole lot of them will retire and exit stage left. But they are always closely followed by another group who've had a different set of experiences. With more merit towards one variable and less towards another, depending what you're measuring them against.

The reaon the baby boomers are so 'important', I guess, is because they're the first generation to be so intensively studied - with obviously the biggest set of data and analyses. Does this merit the big concern about their mass-retirement? What about those coming in to fill their shoes?

Like I said, this post springs mostly from ignorance towards the matter, but I think there might be some merit in it. Feel free to pull it apart.

[InfiniteNow]

Originally Posted by α CMa

most of what i see around me is due to the influence of the baby boomers. do others feel the same way? if so please tell what are those influences and how have they shaped things.

Basically, population grows logrithmically (exponentially), where each year there are more people... more people and more reproduction, so the next year there are more people... ad infinitum until some mass extinction event.

As they age, each new generation slowly assumes the ranks of power, taking over from those who came before. So, they shape policy and influence society based on their own ideas and understanding.

As time passes, the next generation will hold the ranks and do the same. It is a continous process of change. Generation X is slowly moving into position of authority, then generation Y will, so forth and so on.

As for social security and jobs, well, that's pretty much the result of short sightedness, failure to adequately plan for the future, and a lack of unselfish yet intelligent leaders in places where it matters most. That, however, is for democracy and other social science threads which have already been opened on this site.


Cheers.