The Book Page

By JJ

December 5, 2007 12:19 PM | Link to this

I cannot wait to read this book. I saw Mr. Brokaw on the Ellen show last week, and I want his book. I have reqeusted it for christmas.

There is an except from the book in the current Reader’s Digest.

I am a boomer, and I don’t really get tired of hearing about it…..I wonder what it will do to our economy when we all start retiring and the “Me” generation takes over…..scary

By michele

December 5, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

Am I ever! It’s only going to get worse….Medicare supplement commercials, assisted living homes, over 55 communities, medication commercials for pooping, not pooping, restless legs, depression & on & on.

We gen X’ers are going to have a big mess to clean up when the 1st boomers start dying.

What will happen to all these homes being built? We think there’s an abundance of available homes now just wait. We already know what will happen to Medicare, but what about Liberty Home Medical & all the other companies that are catering to the boomers?

By WRCz

December 5, 2007 1:03 PM | Link to this

Hate to break it to ya JJ, but we are the “Me” Generation. We made the Me Decade what it was, and it’s still pretty much all about us… at least until we’re dead. Sorry.

By thirteener

December 5, 2007 1:16 PM | Link to this

Boomers never tire of hearing about themselves. Everyone else got tired of hearing about them long ago.

As a cure, I suggest Strauss and Howe’s “Generations” or any of their other books. It helps to know why Boomers expect the world to center itself around them, why they think they know it all, and why “do your own thing” means “do my own thing, even if I have to force you to do it”. Maybe a few Boomers would quit sucking Social Security/Medicare dry and behave like leaders, not aging hippies.

By Chris

December 5, 2007 1:19 PM | Link to this

Michele: I cannot agree with you more. Those “boomers” have ruined our entire country and will keep doing it until they are gone from the face of this earth! They will bleed the country dry and they don’t care as long as they get what is theirs. I say to hell with them all. Maybe we can return to a more decent time when they are gone, and it won’t be soon enough!

By Amy in the ATL

December 5, 2007 1:31 PM | Link to this

For most of us non-Boomers (I’m a Gen X-er myself), the answer is a resounding YES! Without a doubt, a lot of interesting things happened in the 60s that changed the face of America….much of it good. But the Boomers also brought us the Savings and Loan crisis, a willingness to cut taxes and increase government spending, an astronomically low national savings rate, rampant real estate speculation, weakened building codes (just check out the inner suburbs if you want to see the impact of that one!) and a lot of other issues brought about by a focus on short-term gain as opposed to long-term investment. Many of the Gen-Xers and Gen-Ys I know feel like it is our duty to clean up the mess by re-investing in urban communities, improving land use and development, voting for fiscal conservatives regardless of party, and contributing to our 401ks, since Lord knows we won’t be getting any Social Security or Medicare benefits no matter how much we’ve paid into the system!! Boomers need to stop looking at the past and start looking at the future…which is the America they will leave for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. If some of their 60s spirit can be channeled in that direction, we really might be able to make some progress.

By Lily Toad

December 5, 2007 1:38 PM | Link to this

The new name for “seniors” or the elderly will simply be “Boomers.” We’ve been the media’s darlings since the ‘50’s and it will continue that way.

Sorry, X and Y generation, but we’ve been paying into Social Security and Medicare all these years so we’re entitled to the benefits. You guys are gonna have it rough, too, paying our way out of the federal deficit.

Michelle, you raise a valid concern about housing. Contractors better start building easily accessible homes for the aging population. There will be so many old Boomers that we won’t be marginalized like earlier generations of old people.

By ron

December 5, 2007 1:58 PM | Link to this

I always thought I was a boomer,but I just looked it up and I’m too old for that group.So to hell with you young whipper snappers.Of course I’m tired of hearing about you.

By SteveO

December 5, 2007 2:13 PM | Link to this

Everyone is tired of the relentless Boomer nostalgia. These people have been fawned over by marketers for so long that they believe all that crap about how special they were and how they did so much great stuff for the world. Now, they’ve got Dennis Hopper selling them financial advice and once again reminding them about how different and special they are in retirement.

Boomers are only special in the sense that they’ve been able to use their enormous size to bankrupt the country by voting for tax decreases and spending increases as soon as they started working. Boomers will be remembered forever as the selfish and shortsighted generation that helped bankrupt America.

By kat

December 5, 2007 2:34 PM | Link to this

Baby Boomers Owe America’s Young People an Apology By Dennis Prager Tuesday, December 4, 2007

We live in the age of group apologies. I would like to add one. The baby boomer generation needs to apologize to America, especially its young generation, for many sins. Here is a partial list:

First and perhaps foremost, we apologize for robbing many of you of a childhood.

We baby boomers were allowed perhaps the most innocent childhoods known to history. We grew up without material want, in one of the most decent places in world history, with media that preserved our sexual and other innocence, in schools that generally taught us well, and we were allowed childhood play from boy-girl play to rough and tumble boy-boy play to monkey bars and ringalievio. Our generation has deprived you of all these things. And while we were aware of the threat of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, few of us believed that we were threatened with death anywhere near the amount we have scared you about death from secondhand smoke, global warming and heterosexual AIDS, to mention just a few of the exaggerated death scares we have inflicted on you.

Our generation came up with two truly foolish slogans that also ended up robbing you of childhood.

One was, “Never trust anyone over 30.” Our infantile attitude toward adult authority has inflicted great harm on you. Because of it, many baby boomers decided not to become adults, and this has had disastrous consequences in your lives. It deprived you of one of the greatest needs in your life — adults. That in turn deprived you of something as important as love — parental and other adult authority. With little parental authority, you were left with little personal security, few guardrails and a diminished sense of order in life. And we transferred this denial of authority to virtually all authority figures, from teachers to police.

The other slogan whose awful consequences we baby boomers bequeathed to you was, “Make love, not war.” Our parents had liberated the world from immeasurably cruel and murderous regimes in Germany and Japan — solely thanks to waging war. But instead of concluding that war could do great moral good, we sang ourselves silly with such inane lyrics as “Give peace a chance,” as if that deals in any way with the world’s most monstrous evils. So we taught you to make love and not war. And we succeeded.

We made you anti-war and almost completely sexualized your lives. We told you that having sex was terrific or at least to be expected, even in early teens, and that your only concerns should be avoiding sexually transmitted diseases and getting pregnant. And if you did get pregnant, we made sure that you could extinguish the life you were carrying as effortlessly and guiltlessly as possible.

We started teaching you about sexuality and homosexuality in early grade school and we taught you how to put condoms on bananas. It is true that we did not grow up learning about these things at such young ages — certainly our schools never taught us about these things — but we chalked that up to the preposterous, if not reactionary, values of the 1950s and early 1960s. We had contempt for our parents believing that “Father Knows Best” and “Leave It to Beaver” and “Superman” — with the show’s motto of “truth, justice, and the American way” — were good things for young people to be exposed to. So we replaced these shows with MTV’s mind-numbing parade of three-second images and sex-drenched shows for teenagers. Sorry.

We also made you weak. We did everything possible to ensure that you suffered no pain. Sometimes we changed game scores if a team was winning by too large a margin; we abolished dodgeball lest anyone suffer early removal from the game; and we gave trophies to all of you who played on baseball teams, no matter how awfully you or your team played so that none of you missed getting a trophy while members of another team did. Much of this was thanks to the self-esteem-without-having-to-earn-it movement, which in our generation’s almost infinite lack of wisdom we inflicted upon you. Sorry for that, too.

We also apologize for coming close to ruining so many of your schools and universities. Despite the unprecedented sums of money we had America spend on education, most of you got an education quite inferior to the one we got at a fraction of the cost. But we thought of our teachers as fools (they were, after all, over 30) who just concentrated on reading, writing and arithmetic (and history, music and art). We were sure we knew better and we therefore concentrated on sexual issues, and teaching you about peace, global warming and the horrors of smoking. The fact that few high school graduates can identify Mozart, let alone were ever exposed to his music, is far less significant to many baby boomers than your knowledge of the alleged perils of secondhand smoke. Most of you cannot identify Stalin either, and we are sorry for that, too. But, hey, we did make sure you saw Al Gore’s film.

And a real apology to those of you hooked on drugs. While your choice to do drugs is your responsibility, it was our generation that romanticized them and made them cool. “Mind expanding” we called them. But it turns out that they don’t expand minds, they destroy them. Sorry.

And, young women, we apologize especially to you. Many of us baby boomers bought into the feminist idea that getting married and making a family with a man were far less fulfilling than career success and that marriage itself is “sexist” and “patriarchal.” So, to those of you women who have career success and didn’t get married, we sincerely apologize. Turns out that most careers aren’t as fulfilling as we promised.

So we really blew it, and what’s really amazing is that few of us have changed our minds. Most people get wiser as they get older. But not those of us baby boomers who still believe these things. Of course, many of us never bought into these awful ideas that have so hurt you and our country, and some of us have grown up. But many of us still talk, think, dress and curse the same as we did in the ’60s and ’70s. And we’re still fighting what we consider the real Axis of Evil: American racism, sexism and imperialism.

But for those of us who know the damage baby boomers as a whole did to you, a heartfelt apology.

By JJ

December 5, 2007 2:47 PM | Link to this

WOW!!! That really opened this boomer’s eyes…….

Thank you, I think…..

By Amy in the ATL

December 5, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this

Sorry, Lily Toad, but your generation caused the social security funding issue. Remember Reagan? Boomers elected him into office, and said it was okay for him to borrow against Social Security funds in order to offset tax cuts. Since Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers weren’t eligible to vote, I don’t think it’s fair to stick the later generations with this one. We need to cut Boomer benefits asap….after all, we’re already going to be stuck with cleaning up the national debt you’ve left us.

Time for the Boomers to grow up. This trying to stay kids forever thing is pretty darn pathetic. I’m 36 and way more mature than far too many 55 year olds I know.

By Chris

December 5, 2007 2:58 PM | Link to this

Wow SteveO, I read that entire thing and you are right. The Baby Boomers have destroyed this country. I am a Gen X’er and what you stated here wraps it up nicely, thank you for the apology.

By Lily Toad

December 5, 2007 3:07 PM | Link to this

Amy, I never voted for Reagan or any of the Bushes and I’m opposed to the tax cuts. Can I get my social security?

Interesting that Karl Rove refers to himself as a “nerd.” I’ve felt that the GOP takeover is the “Revenge of the Nerds.” While some Boomers were smoking pot and going to rock concerts the nerds were getting elected as class president. Now the nerds are ruining the economy by giving rich people humongeous salaries and tax cuts.

Don’t blame me, I don’t vote Republican!

By larry

December 5, 2007 3:07 PM | Link to this

I agree, nothing worse than to hear these old timers farting dust and talking about neil armstrong and the osmonds. Die already.

By Alvin

December 5, 2007 3:09 PM | Link to this

YUP we boomers are a selfish bunch. We survived the 50’s 60’s 70’s 80’s 90’s and now on into the 21 century. We are going to suck social security dry (with the help of the illegals), so ya’ll better come up with something quick for your retirement.

Quit crying and figure out a solution to your retirement…….cuz there aint gonna be any social security.

PS it wasn’t just us boomers that elected Reagan. We aren’t the only ones who voted…….we had elders too, and get this, we respected them.

Now my suggestion for you crybabies, gen x and gen y, get into the senior housing game now, and start investing in senior centers, and Del Webb communities. That’s where you will make your money……..cuz there’s ALOT of us looking to start retiring within the next 5 years……..I’ll be there myself in 10 years…….so get busy!!

By Julie

December 5, 2007 3:15 PM | Link to this

Well said, kat!!

By Amy in the ATL

December 5, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this

Not sure if you’ve noticed, Alvin, but most Gen Xers and Gen Yers are gasp SAVING for their own retirement, unlike the overgrown kiddies of the Boomers who think everyone owes them something. Let me tell you: we don’t. But if you think that the rest of us will continue to let your generation screw stuff up for the rest of us, you’re wrong. So start figuring out what you’re going to do once Social Security gets phased out…which will probably start happening in the next 10 years.

And even those Senior communities…what exactly are you going to do in a Senior Community up in Acworth (seems like they’re all super far up north) once you’re too old to safely drive??? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to move someplace walkable?

Again, see my comments on Boomer focus on the short-term instead of the long-term.

By Kat

December 5, 2007 3:37 PM | Link to this

The opinions of kat do not represent the opinions of Kat, the librarian. Different person all together.

By puhleez

December 5, 2007 3:46 PM | Link to this

Amy in ATL……PUHLEEZ…..We’ve been focused on the long term for a long time. Our generation has shelled more money in SS and other programs being pilfered by the government to fund illegals, illiterates and everything in between. If not for the demands of our generation, things like 40lk’s and IRA’s wouldn’t have come about as an alternative means to SS.

Yes, our generation is reaching the point in life where want to, and should be able to enjoy the fruits of 40-50 or more years of working. If we want to live in a community rather than a nursing home, that’s our option and it’s our money.

One of these days you WILL BE A SENIOR TOO. I hope your grandchildren have more compassion for your generation than you seem to have for ours.

By Magenta

December 5, 2007 3:55 PM | Link to this

They need to pay more attention to Generation Jones, aka the trailing-edge boomers (1956-1965). We’re not retired yet! We’re still in our prime, and the 1970s are much more relevant to us than the 1960s. Lumping us all into one demographic was a stupid mistake on someone’s part.

By ahhh

December 5, 2007 4:05 PM | Link to this

Larry…..one of these days you will be farting your own dust and your grandkid’s generation will be hoping you die too…

By thera

December 5, 2007 4:15 PM | Link to this

I’m a boomer who doesn’t plan to ever retire. I’ve seen what boring people they are, riding around on buses, looking at leaves! Looking at leaves?! Where’s the fun in that? No. I’m going to work until the day I die! “Do you want fries with that?” “Hi, welcome to Walmart!” See, I’m rehersing my lines already.

By Bob

December 5, 2007 4:24 PM | Link to this

I didn’t know about this book, but I now plan on buying it. I’m not a Rolling Stones magazine fan so I didn’t know about their hype, BUT it’s about time someone paid a little attention to the generation in their 50s and 60s. We have to go to satellite radio and television, Ipods, and CDs to hear good music that is now not otherwide available. And entertainment on broadcast television too often has a not so subtle anti-family,liberal agenda. Most of us still work and have a lot more disposable income than our kids.

Anyone who doesn’t want to be exposed to the Boomer media has the choice to turn it off, just as I have most of today’s rap, hip-hop, etc.

By aeiger from Atlanta GA.

December 5, 2007 4:28 PM | Link to this

Hi I’m also tired of the baby boomers.. I was born in 1943 so I predate the boomers. I was there for the beginning of rock n roll, listening to Alan Freed, Jocko and others for the music the boomers claim as theirs. The boomers have screwed up the schools to the point that kids can’t compete in math and science anymore. It’s just touchy feely now. I was against the war in Viet Nam but now feel that the boomers and people like myself were responsible for the killing fields in Cambodia, supporting the Maoist revolution in China, when American youths had their own red books of Mao sayings. Yes we were together then but as I grew older i realize I’m not part of them and have begun to seperate myself from them.

By Bob

December 5, 2007 4:31 PM | Link to this

It was actually Democrats who began borrowing against Social Security to pay for social programs.

By aeiger from Atlanta GA.

December 5, 2007 4:51 PM | Link to this

Hi I’ve been reading more of the postings and can’t believe the selfishness and stupidity of some of the posters. Wishing people to die so that there would be money left in soc sec. Well folks, I’ve been paying soc sec since 1960 and continue to. I have 401k’s also. with your attitudes, I wish we use up all of “your” money so f..off and die.

By sanjeep

December 5, 2007 5:01 PM | Link to this

The most selfish, self-absorbed generation ever, and continues to be. You are not the ‘enlightened’ ones. You invented drug abuse, the welfare state, the ACLU, and skirting responsibility. You continue to glorfy the ‘days of rebellion’ which was nothing but misguided, uninformed youth. The enfatuation with ‘boomers’ is rediculous. Earlier someone posted to “quit crying and come up with your own retirement”. I am. And that statement would make sense if the government didn’t force a percentage from my paycheck every month to pay for your failure to save. An extorted amount of my wealth that I will never see. And to make it worse, everytime there is a reasonable proposal to protect the financial security of the country for your grandchildren, you fear-monger it away. Just get on with it so we can get over it.

By Amy in the ATL

December 5, 2007 5:13 PM | Link to this

Study your history, folks: Reagan opened up Social Security to fund the shortfall created by supply side economics. And Congress went along. Point being, if you were of voting age at that time, this is a decision that should impact YOU. No ifs, ands or buts. Why should I continue to contribute 12% of my income into a fund which I will never get anything back from when I 1.) couldn’t vote when that decision was made, 2.) am working to support a family (retirees most likely aren’t) and 3.) need that money to fund my own retirement and 4.) will be having my taxes increased exponentially in the coming decades to cover the national debt your generation started accumulating.

Boomers who think we “owe” them Social Security because they “earned it” are in effect stealing money from their kids and grandkids. Pretty damn typical for the most selfish generation ever. Get over yourselves and make something right for a change.

By Jenna

December 5, 2007 5:15 PM | Link to this

Okay, I’ll expain this real slow for the old hippies out there….I, and most of my Gen-Y brethren don’t mind you retiring. What we do mind is you retiring on our dime. See, its not your money that you’re spending. Its ours. Us 20 and 30 somethings who get up and go to work everyday and pay into the SS system. Not only do we get to fund our own retirement through private investments, we get to fund your retirement too through our goverment mandated SS payments. How would you feel if you were put in that position?

Oh yeah, I guess that would be asking you to think of someone other than yourselves. Me generation indeed.

Thanks Bob for pointing that out…another fact the boomes like to forget.

By Carbon Footprint

December 5, 2007 5:37 PM | Link to this

I am an uber-boomer. I started the naked conga line at the original woodstock. I was the guy selling the bogue brown acid there too. I was raised by the greatest generation, who claim to still love me. (I guess I fooled ‘em). I never had much use for the Gen X-ers and their acid koolaid, or the Gen Y-bothers and their anything-goes drink-fests of toga parties and body sculpture orgies. (that came out wrong)

No, I am mired in the sixties, the beatles, the stones, and whatever happened to twiggy, who at 18 became the poster child of the no-fat-chicks generation?

Now, I’m 56, and fall in love everyday with a different cashier. Pathetic? Maybe, but I intend to beer-hat my way through the rest of my life, and if I get lucky with an illegal-alien girl, well, then too bad for you.

BTW: there’s a large pool of illegal alien babes out there, man, it’s like the sixties except better cause they dont talk. (they’re afraid to get caught so they stfu!)

Life could be a dream. sha na na nah

By dc

December 5, 2007 6:08 PM | Link to this

Thanks Magenta for speaking up for the trailing edge boomers. I’m even at the trailing edge of that group (1963) and don’t feel I belong in either the boomers or Gen-X. I’m stuck in the middle and guess what, the money I pay into Social Security probably won’t be there for me either so it’s not just the Gen-X and Y’s that are worried about that.

By Tony C.

December 5, 2007 6:24 PM | Link to this

I’m not a boomer.

But if you think y’all are tired of hearing about how cool and bad@ss the 60’s were trust me, we, your children and grandchildren are way past over hearing about it.

Thanks for HIV, Herpes, Trillion dollar defeceit, a daily dose of whiteman’s guilt, the idea that a woman demeans herself by accepting a man’s kindness, romantacizing drugs, but not legalizing (some of) them, creating a social idea that privelege=guilt (yet making sure that my education and infrastructure needs didn’t get in the way of your beach house and/or sports coupe), special thanks for insider trading/junk bonds to add to my tax bill and further ensure your endless summer lifestyle.

No cure for HIV, but hey, there’s a pill that can get your penis hard all weekend.

The music really is good though.

By TR

December 5, 2007 7:23 PM | Link to this

I won’t slam on the Boomers too much. I am just tired of the drug commercials. I can not get through one sports program without a parade of erectile dysfuncion drug commercials. Please make it stop!

By Brock

December 5, 2007 8:24 PM | Link to this

I’m a late boomer, vintage 1959, and have been paying into Social Security for 33 years. I have about 15 plus years before I can begin taking money out. Will there be any money for my contributions by then? Who knows? Give me what I’ve put in now so I can invest it. You younger folks can then be on your own. And what’s with blaming an entire generation for whatever problems you see? Talk about broad brush painting! Sheesh! We’re all different. I’ve never gotten to vote on a tax cut, and may not have if given the opportunity. Oh, and I’m pretty sure I had nothing to do with HIV.

By puhleez

December 6, 2007 8:13 AM | Link to this

Jenna just whose money do you think your grandparents retired on dear heart? It was the boomer money, do I wish my elderly mother-in-law death so that she doesn’t get my SS money, NO. You guys want to talk about selfish….look in the mirror kiddies…and to Sanjeep, drug abuse was around long before the boomers, get your facts straight before you accuse! I am a boomer and damn proud of it, our generation made a lot of positive things happen as did the generations before us. I hope that those of you in Gen-X and Y will do the same. I just hope you lose the “it’s all about me” attitude!

By enough all ready!!

December 6, 2007 9:25 AM | Link to this

WAAAAAHHH you gen x and y’ers are just jealous cause you’ve done nothing noteworthy or really even newsworthy. Nothing but whine and complain….get over yourselves…..There is a reason you got dubbed the “lost generation.” Many of you are still clueless, you need to better education yourself on economics, politics, etc. before you start spouting off at the mouth.

Boomers have been footing the financial bill for a long damn time, including for your snotty little noses. We are still footing the bill! GET OVER YOUR SELFISH little selves.

There are a lot of boomers out there and we are not going into old age quietly….why the hell should we?

By Lily Toad

December 6, 2007 11:11 AM | Link to this

Guess what? In addition to paying into social security, so other people can collect benefits, I’ve also contributed to my own 401K for over 20 year and more recently to a Roth IRA. Social security will supplement my own savings, and for many years I thought it would be gone before I could collect so I focused on saving myself. Why is this different than what younger people are doing? Social security will be around for you younger workers if you convince your elected representatives to tax incomes over $90K.

By ahhh

December 6, 2007 11:26 AM | Link to this

Thank you Lily Toad, you’re doing what most of us boomers have been doing, we HAD no choice but to put into SS, but we also have 401k’s, IRA’s, investments, etc. We’ve been living with the concern for decades that the SS money wasn’t going to be there when our time came, even though we’ve paid into for 30-40 years or more.

In case many haven’t noticed everytime the boomers get close enough to consider retirement, they change the age requirements and the benefits. We’re all getting screwed by the take from the “working middle class” and give to the “poor.”

We have a whole lot of people out there who don’t want to work and have spent a lifetime living off government checks. We also have those who have come here illegally and brought hoardes of their families over here and taught them how to get on the welfare system - ALL at our expense.

Regardless of what generation you belong to, if you are concerned about your SS and tax dollars, send a continuous message to our government that we are all through funding entitlement programs. It’s breaking our backs!!!

By Neo

December 13, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this

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December 13, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this

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December 13, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this

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December 13, 2007 3:31 PM | Link to this

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December 13, 2007 3:32 PM | Link to this

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