The influence of baby boomers on current society
"America after WWII was undergoing a cultural shift that the people weren't prepared for. There became a sharp inequality as we entered into the new millennium. Americans held onto two ides that are rooted in post-WWII economy:"
"The first is that you should live a lifestyle similar to most other Americans. This emerged because of the Great Depression and the War. "
"But the other was that taking on debt to finance your lifestyle is acceptable. This emerged post-war because of government and societal influence. "
""Baby Boomers began coming of age. A new generation that had a different view of what’s normal and expected hit at the same time a lot of the economic tailwinds of the previous two decades ended.""
"The rich get richer"
"When growth finally slowed in the early 1970's, the government stepped in to keep the good times rolling. "
"""Quantitative easing both prevented economic collapse and boosted asset prices, a boon for those who owned them – mostly rich people."""
"This is an important point, because prior to this time "The defining characteristic of economics in the 1950s is that the country got rich by making the poor less poor."."
"That wasn't the case in the 1970's when true inequality began to take shape. "
"""Tax cuts over the last 20 years have predominantly gone to those with higher incomes. People with higher incomes send their kids to the best colleges. Those kids can go on to earn higher incomes and invest in corporate debt that will be backstopped by the Fed, own stocks that will be supported by various government policies, and so on. """
All of this brings to mind that "We lack the will to change". And why should we, when we are enjoying enormous wealth and prosperity? Well for one, we are becoming increasingly unequal. But it goes beyond that, because there's been plenty of generations with lots of money and power. No, instead, the problem has become that we lack the will to change.
""“We have the money, the technological base, and the human talent,” he writes. What we lack is the will to change.""
""these robots don’t have a lobby to rival the giant defense contractors.""
"And here-in lies the problem. We've created a system of elected leaders that care about their legacy than they do about their kids'. "
"The concept is the same. Technological advances are making entire industries obsolete. Why can't technology advances of entire nations make some nations obsolete as well?"
"France, England, Germany, Japan. All of these nation's were global powerhouses until they weren't. The US has held the mantle since its infancy. But it will be up to us - my generation - to steward in the dawn of a new era. "