Posted on 07/12/2008 8:49:48 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Study: Baby Boomers Are Gloomiest Generation
POSTED: 9:01 am EDT July 12, 2008 UPDATED: 9:42 am EDT July 12, 2008 NEW YORK -- A new study by the Pew Research Center found 66 percent of baby boomers find it harder to get ahead now than in 1998. It also found that 86 percent say it's harder to maintain their standard of living than just five years ago. We talked to boomers in Brooklyn.
"There just seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel."
As they approach their golden years, baby boomers like Ros Aaron are worried -- not just about their own futures, but about their kids'.
"I don't know what's gonna be for them," Aaron said. "Jenna's graduating in four years. At least Leanna has eight years before she has to worry."
She's far from alone. The study found that 66 percent of boomers find it harder to get ahead now than in 1998 -- more frustration than any other age group.
And 86 percent of baby boomers say it's harder to maintain their standard of living than just five years ago.
"We asked a lot of questions," said D'vera Cohn of the Pew Research Center. "Are they satisfied? Will their income go up? And they said, 'No it won't'."
(Excerpt) Read more at wnbc.com ...
Too many warnings on stuff we buy because some IDIOT proved that he/she can actually hurt themselves by drying their hair in the shower, etc.
Food has to have contents spelled out (if anyone cares to read them) because eating food may make you fat or you may get high blood pressure.
I can't cut a juniper (*&^%$#@ cedar) tree that is rubbing on the roof shingles if it is 8" diameter at 4' above the ground. The golden cheeked warbler uses the bark for its nests. Those trees nor the bird is native to our area.
I could rant about this all day long. I am happy with my life, but the dipsticks in DC have made my life miserable.
I could rant about this all day long. I am happy with my life, but the dipsticks in DC have made my life miserable. The above reply was intended for you too.
Just who did they ask? I am not a whinner but a realist. If one lives their life never thinking of tomorrow and tomorrow comes....I know that we probably won’t be able to retire until long past when my parents did because the cost of living always goes up and a fixed income doesn’t. I’m a late boomer though born the night of the first Kennedy Nixon debate. :)
I agree that we need to keep things in perspective and be willing to work hard for everything we have. I also believe that America was set up on the model that govt should be unrestrictive enough that we can go out and make our own success, not expect the govt to figure out what our needs are and then give us things.
I know my husband and I have worked for everything we have. I know my Dad did too (a baby boomer) who just retired but with a very small home and a very small pension.
Part of what has made our country the richest in the world is our huge middle class. A middle class that would not exist if the masses just accepted living like peasants the way the elite would love and the way it was in the past here. So, I get a little suspicious whenever I see articles and such that try to frame the average American worker as having “the entitlement mentality”, being lazy, or “whiners”. The entitlement mentality people are those unwilling to work for everything they have or expect more in return than what they are worth. The average American works very hard.
We don’t need to be figuring out ways to lower our standard of living. The swindlers would love nothing more. We need to be figuring out ways to maintain and increase our standard of living. That is and has been the American way. It’s why our history for the longest time was one in which those trying to advance themselves came here. The wolves came here and the sheep stayed at home to be poor. Of course, now we have those wanting free housing, food stamps, etc coming here.
Point is, the sheep can all go somewhere to live and be poor. We Americans aren’t going back to being peasants no matter how much the filthy rich think they can brainwash us with guilt trips about being “whiners”. It didn’t work in the past and won’t work today. Some things about being an American hasn’t changed and one of them is the refusal to be exploited by the rich and powerful.
If you live where you must buy heating oil then being concerned about affording it , isn’t whining IMO. Now if you were upset about the price of gas cramping your winter vacation to Florida and that all the RV parks along the way have upped their prices........:’)
That quest reached its legislative peak when the so-called Greatest Generation was in power. The vast majority of Boomers were teenagers when Medicaid, Medicare, and the large increases in Social Security were enacted in the 1960’s.
Well, I can’t disagree with that. Many older democrats are living in a time warp and actually believe that their leadership stands for the middle class. They haven’t in a long time. I think the younger democrats are driven by their liberalism, whereas the older ones are driven by a false notion that the democratic party still stands up for worker’s rights and fairness.
This is my generation
This is my generation, baby
Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
This is my generation
This is my generation, baby
Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
And don't try to d-dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I'm not trying to cause a b-big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
This is my generation
This is my generation, baby
People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
Yeah, I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
This is my generation
This is my generation, baby
Who the heck do they drudge up for these studies? I don’t know one morose baby boomer(with the exception of a brother in law whos’s had a “morose problem” since his 20’s. Everyone I know is exactly where they put themselves and pretty happy about it.
I’m going to be one morose BB if Obama changes his address to 1600...
On the other side, I recognize that my parents and grandparents had it much harder. My grandfather lost his business when the Nazis rolled in and established a "protectorate". His business was expropriated first by the Nazis and then by the Socialists. He went on to lose his house and dig ditches for a living in his 60's. He hated it, but I never saw him complain about his own lot. He did what he could to take care of his loved ones, kept informed (often illegally) and lived simply. He missed seeing freedom return to his nation, but knew it was coming when East Germany started on the road to freedom.
My parents fled their home when the Iron Curtain fell, and started over in America. They didn't have it easy. Mother had some knowledge of English; Dad had none. They took on large debts to repeat much of their university level education. Dad's graduate advisor recommended against him continuing with his PhD (too old; foreign); he continued anyway. They worked hard, established themselves in careers, and paid back loans, all while raising two children and sending money back home to aging parents. They are now modestly but comfortably retired.
In contrast, my life and that of my family has been lived in freedom, without war raging around our home. We haven't lost our home, loved ones, business or savings. Yes, we've taken a hit on our savings, but they're not wiped out. We haven't been hungry or feared what our neighbors might tell the authorities about us. We can worship openly. When I consider how much freedom and prosperity is ours, even in hard times, it's hard to listen to whiners. They just don't have a clue.
This boomer has never been happier!
new statement from my supplier for the upcoming heating season - aug through may.
$585 per mo. plus a new “fee” for budget customers of $250 per season due by the end of the year.
price capped at $4.89.
600 hundred a month? You have to pay it whether you use the fuel or not?
You have to heat between AUGUST and MAY?
Where the heck do you live? Upper Canada?
“Well my mom and dad depend on their SS checks. They worked hard and depended on it for retirement so I don’t mind helping to pay for theirs. I do think we need to cut it off for those that are young enough to plan otherwise. Maybe no more SS for those 40 and younger but we all have to pay SS tax for 20 more years or something like that.”
OK, let me get this straight. I’m 37 now. So, I and my employer have been paying SS for over 20 years. And we should pay for 20 more. And then I get nothing. Surely there must be more to your plan.
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