D: the pic is from Bubblegum Crisis, which is Japanese Anime. The robots in it are called Boomers, as the builders of prosperity that will herald an new economic boom. It doesn't turn out that way...
D:
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context, and sometimes used to describe someone who was born during the post-WWII baby boom.
D: a truncation of "Post WWII baby boom".
In general, baby boomers are associated with a rejection or redefinition of traditional values; however, many commentators have disputed the extent of that rejection, noting the widespread continuity of values with older and younger generations
D: LOL. Riggghhhht.
"Turn on, tune in, drop out" is a counterculture phrase coined by Timothy Leary in the 1960s. The phrase came to him in the shower one day after Marshall McLuhan suggested to Leary that he come up with "something snappy" to promote the benefits of LSD[citation needed].
D: Sell out. The flower children were a highly visible fringe, but hardly mainstream.
Any more than Gen X can be identified with, say, big-haired heavy metal with leather jackets and torn jeans.
Flower child or Flower Children originated as a synonym for hippie, especially the idealistic young people who gathered in San Francisco and environs during the 1967 Summer of Love. It was the custom of "flower children" to wear and distribute flowers or floral-themed decorations to symbolize altruistic ideals of universal brotherhood, peace and love. The mass media picked up on the term and used it to refer in a broad sense to any hippie
One of the unique features of Boomers was that they tended to think of themselves as a special generation, very different from those that had come before. In the 1960s, as the relatively large numbers of young people became teenagers and young adults, they, and those around them, created a very specific rhetoric around their cohort, and the change they were bringing about.[3] This rhetoric had an important impact in the self perceptions of the boomers, as well as their tendency to define the world in terms of generations, which was a relatively new phenomenon.
D: The original "ME generation". Forget the I-pod toting youths...
D: so who are Boomers?
Definition
The United States Census Bureau considers a baby boomer to be someone born during the demographic birth boom between 1946 and 1964.[8] The Census Bureau is not involved in defining cultural generations.
William Strauss and Neil Howe label American Baby Boomers 1943 to 1960.[9]
In Ontario Canada, one influential attempt to define the boom came from David Foot, author of Boom, Bust and Echo: Profiting from the Demographic Shift in the 21st Century, published in 1997 and 2000. He defines a Canadian boomer as someone born from 1947 to 1966,
D: I'll use 1946 to 1966 for simplicity's sake.
D: characteristics of the Baby Boom. They're huge!
Size and economic impact
Seventy-six million American babies were born between 1946 and 1960, representing cohorts that would be significant on account of its size alone.[citation needed] This cohort shares characteristics like higher rates of participation in higher education than previous generations and an assumption of lifelong prosperity and entitlement developed during their childhood in the 1950s.
The age wave theory suggests an economic slowdown when the boomers start retiring during 2007–2009.[14]
D: and identity. They saw the imperialistic foreign occupation and forced conscription to wage war in Vietnam.
Whatever glory war promised in the Great Wars -despite the shocking carnage - was finished in Vietnam.
And saying "I'm a pacifist" sounds much better than "I'm a chickenshit"!
D: so they define themselves as 'against the system' more than before. And then... became the system.
Not only sold out, but then placed their thumb on the generations after them.
D: they VOTE.
"Older voters are interested in the economy, trumping pretty much everything else, with healthcare coming in a distant second," says Andrew Nannis of AARP, an advocacy group for the 50-plus set.
Each generation may have viewed the economy somewhat differently. "For younger voters, it was jobs; for a person with a new family, it was housing; for boomers, it was their retirement and pensions and 401(k)'s; and for older seniors, it was their children's and grandchildren's economic future," MacManus says.
D: US stats. I imagine they hold up here.
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D: so what is Generation X?
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the baby boom ended [1][2], with earliest birth dates used by researchers ranging from 1961 to the latest 1981
The term was first used in the UK in a 1964 study of British youth by Jane Deverson. Deverson was asked by Woman's Own magazine to interview teenagers of the time. The study revealed a generation of teenagers who "sleep together before they are married, were not taught to believe in God as 'much', dislike the Queen, and don't respect parents," these controversial findings meant that the piece was deemed unsuitable for the magazine. Deverson, in an attempt to save her research, worked with Hollywood correspondent Charles Hamblett to create a book about the study. Hamblett decided to name it Generation X.
Generation X in the United States
Individuals considered to be within Generation X were born, and grew up during the later years of, and in the decade following the Vietnam War. They are most often linked to the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.[17] Coming of age after the Vietnam War had ended, their political experiences and cultural perspective were shaped by the end of the cold war and the fall of the Berlin wall. Growing up in an historical span of relative geopolitical peace for the US, this generation saw the inception of the home computer, the rise of videogames, and the Internet as a tool for social and commercial purposes. Other attributes identified with this demographic are Dot-com businesses, Desert Storm, 80's rock, such as Van Halen and Bon Jovi, Heavy Metal, grunge and hip hop culture and punk rock bands such as The Ramones.
D: OK we have a definition problem. If Boomers are born until 1966, how can Gen X be born as early as 1961?
The answer is that late Boomers share much in common with early Xers.
If we chunk by 20 year segments we get 1946-66, 66-86, and 86-2006.
If we chunk by 15, we get 1946-61, 61-76 and 1976-1990.
This is handy, since it gives us 3 generations that are now adults, with an additional one growing up.
D: I read Douglas Coupland on Gen-X. I found it trite.
What is Generation Y?
Characteristics of the generation vary by region, depending on social and economic conditions. However, it is generally marked by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and digital technologies. In most parts of the world its upbringing was marked by minor decrease in the Socialist approach to the politics and economics
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Next or Net Generation,[1][2][3] describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. Its members are often referred to as Millennials[4][5] or Echo Boomers[6]. As there are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere from the mid 1970s[7][8][9][9][10][11][12] to the early 2000s.
OK the 1976-91 span is too limited, but this is the nature of arbitrary time periods.
Let's just lump all the young adults after gen X in here for now. Their situation has more in common than not.
Generation ME?
They’re self-absorbed, spoiled and entitled — otherwise known as Generation Me. Learn why so many young people are pursuing fame and fortune, and are also miserable. And, find out if you’re unknowingly raising a child to be like this.
D: sound familiar? Self absorbed, with a sense of entitlement? That is right - Boomers.
The pot calling the kettle black!
You will need to become used to sanctimony and hypocrisy like that, on this blog.
I nominally call the tail end of Gen-Y (aka: ME) and what follows as Generation ZEE.
Why Z?
End of the line.
For social programs, for moderate taxes, for a slice of the pie in general.
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Tomorrow, I will extrapolate the Boomer retirement pattern, their effect on taxes/payroll fees, on balanced budgets, and on social program impact as well as WHICH programs will get funding.
The earliest Boomers are starting to retire now.
Those born in 1946 are now... 64. A fringe have already taken 'Freedom 55'.
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http://www.carp.ca/
D: CARP used to be for truly old - retired - persons.
They adjusted their target demographic to include all Boomers. And no X Y or Zers...
CARP (Canada)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
CARP (originally the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, now billed as Canada's Association for the Fifty-Plus) is a Canadian organization advocating for the rights of those fifty years of age or older.
The original mandate of CARP was to represent retired persons specifically, but for various reasons it has since expanded to cover the rights of all persons over fifty.
D: the Boomers have now commandeered what WAS a group representing the interests of retired persons.
The Boomers now have
1) numbers
2) money
3) political awareness- they VOTE.
4) political organization - they LOBBY.
One person, one vote. Or one dollar, one lobby vote.
Either way, they WIN.
Look grim, doesn't it?
It is.
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