Generational Trends in the USA

[KriterionBOS]

The importance of this tower is crushing NIMBY'S. Used to be the idiotic shadow law was unchallenged. Then suddenly it was and the city could build up to FAA limits again. How the developer worked through a thicket of regulations and people with their hand out was masterful and should serve as a model for all other tall buildings downtown. I'll smile every time I see it just thinking about how it burns the "I wish the city was unchanged since 1950" crowd.

What I wanna know is who the fuck is still alive from the 1950s to keep perpetuating such regressive ideas.

 

[whighlander]

Kriterion -- Not all the ideas which you don't like are held by people "from the 50's" -- many holders of what you call "regressive ideas" arrived at these ideas during the period from the 70's through the beginning of the 21st C
However -- There are of course still a lot of people who have been alive from the 50's on
For the most part the 50's crowd who you undoubtedly consider to be holders of "regressive ideas" are the Baby Boomers with ages from say 60 to 75 and many consider themselves to be quite active and involved
By the way they also own much of the real estate, and they are the people who built most of what you consider to be the modern world and invented the core of all of the technology which you find indispensable

Full disclosure -- I'm a proud member of that most significant generation -- perhaps only surpassed in importance by the generation who won WWII

 

[Scott]

The baby boomers borrow money that will saddle their grandchildren in debt.

Full disclosure-- I am a proud member of the Gen X and we are not particularly impressed with the boomers or the millennials

 

[tobyjug]

I remember lots of cool stuff from the 50’s. I have no lectures for you.

What I have, I earned. It will be handed on to descendants and gold diggers, so either way members of your generation will get a payday. Next you’ll be blaming me for Incel because I banged all the good looking chicks.

Well, back to “Trailer Park Boys” reruns.

 

[KriterionBOS]

Full disclosure - older millenial here.

 

[Blackbird]

What I have, I earned. It will be handed on to descendants

So basically millennials and gen z can only succeed if they have a wealthy parent?

(Or a sugar daddy I guess, but I took your second part as a joke.)

 

[whighlander]

So basically millennials and gen z can only succeed if they have a wealthy parent?

(Or a sugar daddy I guess, but I took your second part as a joke.)

Not quite -- but there will soon be one of the greatest wealth transferences in American history -- many T$ will soon begin to propagate into the future [barring anything financially strange]

The oldest Boomers are 75 --- their ab initio life expectancy has already been exceeded -- however by having survived to the age of 75 -- they now have on an average 8 or so more years of life expectancy

The youngest Boomers were born in the early 60's and so they are not quite 60 yet. Assuming that there is no huge disruption due to COVID-19 -- they probably should expect 25 to 30 years more with improving prospects for a good quality of senior life.

So the Millennials and Gen Xers who will be able to inherit from the oldest boomers are likely to do very well. Those newer gens who inherit from the youngish end of the boom wont get as much -- because the youngish boomers being healthy and wealthy will still be doing a lot of spending on travel and such

 

[Blackbird]

So the Millennials and Gen Xers who will be able to inherit from the oldest boomers are likely to do very well. Those newer gens who inherit from the youngish end of the boom wont get as much -- because the youngish boomers being healthy and wealthy will still be doing a lot of spending on travel and such

Key word is inherit, though. Money from the boomer generation isn't going to be injected into the economy as they pass on, but instead will be transferred to their kids. I feel like it's safe to say that the children of wealthy boomers are already better off than the kids of poor boomers. The transfer of assets from wealthy children to wealthy offspring will only increase the divide between rich and poor in the country.

And of course there are 2nd gen immigrants whose boomer-aged parents didn't grow up in the US and benefit from the post-WWII economic boom. They absolutely aren't going to benefit from any kind of inheritance.

learning so much about winthrop center...

I'm sure this convo will be moved somewhere eventually.

 

[whighlander]

learning so much about winthrop center...

Problem is that for almost 2 weeks now there hasn't been a new construction picture to talk about and the discussion about the plans and renders is well in the past -- so what is there to say about this project which has not already been said a couple of times over the past 275 pages and 5530 posts

 

[whighlander]

Key word is inherit, though. Money from the boomer generation isn't going to be injected into the economy as they pass on, but instead will be transferred to their kids. I feel like it's safe to say that the children of wealthy boomers are already better off than the kids of poor boomers. The transfer of assets from wealthy children to wealthy offspring will only increase the divide between rich and poor in the country.

And of course there are 2nd gen immigrants whose boomer-aged parents didn't grow up in the US and benefit from the post-WWII economic boom. They absolutely aren't going to benefit from any kind of inheritance.



I'm sure this convo will be moved somewhere eventually.

2nd gen immigrants whose boomer-aged parents didn't grow up in the US
Well there are plenty of entrepreneurs who came to the US during the boomer period [often as college students] and became quite wealthy from their enterprises. Indeed on an average basis the immigrant entrepreneurs became richer than the entrepreneurs who were born and grew-up in the US.

Elon Musk while not a boomer is a classic example of the immigrant entrepreneur who became very successful through ideas and perseverance -- aka the American Dream

That scenario has been the most consistent characteristic of the US for several hundred years -- as opposed to the "Old World" -- the economic pecking order here is very dynamic

 

[tobyjug]

So basically millennials and gen z can only succeed if they have a wealthy parent?

(Or a sugar daddy I guess, but I took your second part as a joke.)

Beats me, Birdy! Probably doesn’t hurt. But likely “not “ the only way to get ahead.

 

[rjacobs]

Key word is inherit, though. Money from the boomer generation isn't.....

And of course there are 2nd gen immigrants whose boomer-aged parents didn't grow up in the US and benefit from the post-WWII economic boom. They absolutely aren't going to benefit from any kind of inheritance.



I'm sure this convo will be moved somewhere eventually.

Not soon enough.

 

[Blackbird]

Not soon enough.

No probably not, but mods are people too.

 

[Poolio]

Full disclosure-- I am a proud member of the Gen X and we are not particularly impressed with the boomers or the millennials

Same, but to be fair I don't think they're particularly impressed with us either.

Also, kudos to the mods for contriving such a diplomatic title for a thread that begins "who the fuck is still alive from the 1950s".

 

[ra84970]

Elon Musk while not a boomer is a classic example of the immigrant entrepreneur who became very successful through ideas and perseverance -- aka the American Dream

I struggle with the characterization of Elon Musk as an "American Dreamer". On topic, he is a white South African born of the apartheid era and emigrated to Canada and the the US to attend UPenn/Wharton and Stanford. He happened to be in Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom of the 90s and received angel investments to net his first $22 million which he then rolled into PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla.

While I don't doubt that he has struggles along the way, he clearly has a lot of privileges . Examples: white in South Afirca during apartheid (hell, even after); attendance at top English tuition schools in SA, access to easier immigration to the US via mother's Canadian citizenship; attendance at some of the top old boys/Ivy-level universities.