Of course we should ensure people and business pay their taxes. By 2020 the federal debt, which is now 60% of GDP, will exceed the 90% level, which economists Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart view as the critical value needed to spark a financial crisis. Despite the hardships, historians note that literature, arts, music, and cinema of the period flourished. "The elderly are retired, and it's easier to get them to go to rallies or write their congresspeople," notes Heather Boushey of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. So how large is the U.S. fiscal gap? The sad truth is that there are not nearly enough `bridges to nowhere' in the budget to close the fiscal gap. Japanese cities, towns, and villages were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. Greediest Generation. ! All this hubbub isn't a surprise to Simpson, given how politically polarized the country is these days. Votes. That has not been easy, and it has required real sacrifices from us to do it. As we age our health care demands increase significantly. Returning German veterans found their country carved up into four zones of occupation; later becoming West Germany and East Germany. A lot less., A lot of the negative reaction to Kotlikoffs column has come from boomers taking umbrage at what they consider a generational slander. Anyone can read what you share. Following the war, this generation produced children at an unprecedented level. I think she is a little ticked off! There is a good chance that members of Generation Q will spend their entire adult lives digging out from the deficits that we the "Greediest Generation," epitomized by George W. Bush . My assertion will infuriate many boomers, and I will undoubtedly get nasty messages from people who will cite all the wonderful, selfless things that they or we have done, or how we had no choice but to do what we did. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. ". Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois . How could you do this?'". No matter how one labels receipts and payments, the fiscal gap remains the same. this generation, if they are not spitting mad, well, then they're just not paying attention. Op-Ed Columnist E-mail: nicholas@nytimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/the-greediest-generation.html. commission, calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he. 38.8% were volunteers, 61.2% were draftees, the average length of their service was 33 months, and total approximate casualties were 671,278 (killed and wounded). Join the debate: http://on.fb.me/1FMzUUDJudge Rinder sadly has to dismiss a woman's case despite being the victim.Broadcast on 12/01/18Email your name and a . Our rate of domestic investment was also in the 10 to 15% range in the 50s and 60s. In the United States, members of this generation came of age, were children, or were born during the Progressive Era, World War I, and the Roaring Twenties; a time of economic prosperity with distinctive cultural transformations. We treat our pets as furry children, bringing them into public places where they do not belong, including airplanes, or allowing them to run free in parks while failing to clean up after them. (You can read all the comments here.). !" 1. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois .. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. In its latter years, this generation was introduced to continued technological advancements such as mobile phones and the Internet. Alan Simpson, the Senator from Wyoming calls senior citizens the greediest generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Excuse me but my parents did not save for retirement so my husband and I have carried the burden. We have systematically taken more out of our economy and society than we have put back, looting it for our comfort, convenience, and self-indulgence. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois . In practice, though, all of this money has been spent by Congress, and the SSA has been left with worthless IOUs. Instead, the finger prints of the so-called `greatest generation' are all over it. Mass, forced labor was often utilized and there were between 10 and 11 million Soviet men returning to help rebuild along with 2 million Soviet dissidents held prisoner in Stalin's Gulags. Now, you come to the American taxpayers and say you need more to pay of YOUR debt. I wanted to know . In 2010, Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles were appointed co-chairs of President Barack Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, tasked with coming up with a plan to "bring down the federal budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2015, compared with nearly 10% today, and to propose ways to hold down the surging costs of government programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.". Canada is in much the same boat, with bridges and tunnels in Montreal collapsing or being reported as being under threat of collapse as the highest profile examples. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, in a phony email, recently was accused of calling American senior citizens "The Greediest Generation.". No, but we have perfected the ways of being greedy, and of deflecting the blame, and we know no shame. This is not entirely the fault of the boomers, because it was underfunded from the start, and the generations before the boomers, including those who are retired and still alive, have demanded this level of benefits. I am now 63). It was a case of the many supporting the few. Our deficit in 2016 is estimated at $37.1 billion. Nothing substantive has been done since then, despite clear evidence that we needed to act. The cost of aged care and ageing is more than $13 billion a year and is estimated to increase at 7.5 per cent a year over the next 10 years. She also tells it like it is! You may opt-out by. France, the United Kingdom, Greece, and other countries are making the painful choices needed to protect their young people and their economies. Heres the excerpt: Anyway, have a look at it and if you should choose, you might communicate with me. Blurry dividing lines. Pope Francis Orders White Women to Have Children with Muslim Migrants-Fiction. The Baby Boomers should tighten their belts in the interests of their children and grandchildren. The predominant emotion the holiday provokes among Russians (59% of respondents) is national pride, while 18% said "sorrow" and 21% said "both". It is you, Captain Bullshit, and your political co-conspirators who are "greedy". Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University, author of Jimmy Stewart Is Dead, and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. "People I've known, relatives (saying), "'You son of a bitch. Baby Boomers. A person earning $80,000 who cannot afford a home pays taxes to support an aged pensioner in a $3 million family home . If, instead, that money had been invested in outside securities that could be sold to help fund Social Security, the SSA would now be in a much better financial position. The dates, the demographic context, and the cultural identifiers may vary by country. Because of Germany's tortured 20th-century history, its struggle to forge policies to support its veterans is in many ways unique", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Greatest_Generation&oldid=1140969066, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 18:10. The Greediest Generation is a book about what happened as the largest generation in American history came to power: It shows how "old fashioned" values like saving, underconsuming, and . During the past few months, economists Thomas R. Saving of Texas A&M, Edward P. Stringham of Fayetteville State University, and I have been working with IT developers at the California-based PJ Institute to develop a Web-based application we call the Personal Financial Impact Projector. Of course, this is a broad generalization about an entire generation. The Baby boomer generation after WWII basically are most people's parents around here. 12 million Germans were refugees and many were forced to settle in the Soviet Union. I think she is a little ticked off! Alan Simpson, the Senator from Wyoming calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. That's false. These future liabilities arent captured by the official debt measure, which receives all the press attention. The euro area has 16.5 million unemployed and an unemployment rate of 10.5 per cent. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe later popularized the G.I. "Hey Dick, let's get a few things straight!!! Following the war, the Allies began the denazification and demilitarization of a post-war Germany. Both arguments are flawed and self-serving. American boomers chose not to do that with Social Security. And an open letter by a woman identified as Patty Myers from Montana began to circulate in 2011. [35] By the end of the war, 5 million Germans were dead, including civilians. 43 years ago, I made enough money on silver and gold minicontracts to afford a getaway A-frame in the woods AND to pay for my ex-wife's law school . Next to jazz, blues, gospel music, and folk music; swing jazz became immensely popular with members of this generation. Returning veterans found their country occupied and received little support or respect. Canadas will do so sooner, and more spectacularly. The means test for aged care does not include the full value of the family home. Alan Simpson, Senator from Wyoming, Co-Chair of Obama's deficit commission, calls senior citizens "the Greediest Generation" as he compared Social Security to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats . And for what? The veins in my temples throbbed. Its made no such promises for most of its official Treasury bills and bonds. And yes, Ive made some plenty smart cracks about people on Social Security who milk it to the last degree. The city of Toronto had, in the 1960s, a rapid transit system that regularly won awards for being the best in North America. Business employs 80 per cent of the workforce and is the only true generator of wealth and jobs. "We had the greatest generation," Simpson said. Sure, Kotlikoff was trying to attract attention. What cuts in YOUR retirement and health care benefits are you proposing in your disgusting deficit reduction proposal, or, as usual, have you exempted yourself and your political cronies? "Just vicious," Simpson said. The International Monetary Fund recently computed a similar sized fiscal gap. I don't know exactly when the "Greatest Generation" ended, but I know we are in a new one and it's not the greatest. It was wrong 21 months ago, when Durbin said it once before, and it's . The over generous super provisions are another wealth transfer from the young to the old and should be tightened while not discouraging thrift and self-sufficiency (two words slipping from our lexicon). [2]http://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/, A Message from the Public Trustees, fromA Summary of the 2013 Annual Reports, Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, as read 7 July 2014. The potential revenue from these additional tax raisings are swamped by the growing budget deficit. "Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates." ", George H. Soule, Prosperity Decade: From War to Depression: 19171929 (1947), Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 18:10, Military history of the United States during World War II, List of last surviving veterans of World War II, "Is It Time to 'Pass the Torch?' In the Senate, Boomers remain the majority (68), and their numbers have risen slightly from the last Congress (66) and the prior one (65). The Generational Dilemma of the 2020 Democratic Primary", "Full Committee Hearing on Statement Made by Gen. James A. . Always mean what you say ! The aged pension costs us $42 billion a year and is estimated to grow at 6 per cent a year over the next 10 years far higher than any predictions of inflation, GDP growth and real wage growth. ", I chatted today with Kotlikoff (a boomer himself) about the reaction. Baby Boomers are considered to be the greediest generation, and its time make the environment better. [36] Surviving members of the German World War II generation would go on to experience the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the creation of the European Union. In that book he said, "'it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced.'. To the contrary, everything I've seen since then merely confirms my earlier conclusions. The latest survey conducted by Russia's Levada Center suggests Victory Day is still one of the most important public holidays for Russian citizens, with 65% of those surveyed planning to celebrate it. It looks like we better . "I think this is the greediest generation." The problem, Simpson explained, is the "polarized" country we live in, and the media that . But as one commentator remarked centuries ago, we get the government we deserve. And now that the bills are coming due, the boomers are looking for ways to renege on the promises theyve made, as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker did when he tore up the retirement deals the state had with civil servants, and curtailed civil servant bargaining rights because (it seems to me) civil servant unions were better at negotiating than decades of elected officials. Indeed, China may be doing so already. "I think this is the greediest generation." Where to begin. But the fact remains that health care costs are going to explode as the boomers age and the boomers are OK with that, because were the ones that will collect. Fortunately, in 1996 the Chief Actuary of Canada reported that the Plan could not be sustained as it was. German cities and towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns. Now, with those hormones fading, we've popularized Viagra. From an e-mail. I think she is a little ticked off! [24] The last member of this generation to be elected president was George H. W. Bush (19891993), and as of 2023 the last surviving president from this generation is Jimmy Carter (19771981). My parents went through The Depression and World War II. By Nicholas D. Kristof. Indeed, in a 2003 report by Peter S. Heller for the International Monetary Fund, Canadas implicit net governmental debt load, counting unfunded and contingent liabilities, amounted to more than 3 times Canadas Gross Domestic Product (GDP), much of it due to the future costs of its health care system. The Baby Boomers should not expect future generations to pay for their current benefits. Marian Salzman: For 30 years, baby boomers dominated politics, culture. Rather, we'll be scorned as the "Greediest Generation.". We did it, and we did it deliberately, not caring what the long-term costs would be, or who would bear those costs. The Greediest Generation I am so sick and tired of hearing about the "greatest generation"! ! But remember that American children are almost twice as likely as the elderly to live in poverty, and that you get much more bang for the buck vaccinating a child than paying for open-heart surgery. Climate changes all the time it cant be our fault! runs the excuses of the first. Select Accept to consent or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use. Not surprisingly, many of the debt commission's draft proposals to cut the debt by nearly $4 trillion by 2020 from raising the retirement age to 69 by 2075 to bringing in $1 trillion more in tax revenue have won strong opposition from liberals and conservatives alike. In 1998, former news anchor Tom Brokaw wrote a book calledThe Greatest Generation. The angry letter to Simpson surfaced on the Internet in early 2011 but in its original form was anomalously signed. ", We boomers are also preying on children in a more insidious way: We're running up their debts, both by creating new entitlement programs and by running budget deficits today. Nor can we inflate or borrow or tax our way out of it. And while almost all the elderly now have health insurance under Medicare, about 29 percent of children had no health insurance at all at some point in the last 12 months. You promise them big pensions and retirement benefits at some distant, later date. A good dose of inflation caused by printing money (and the Federal Reserve is printing lots of money these days) can quickly wipe out much, if not all, of the real value of the official obligations. The term "Swing Generation" has also been used to describe the cohort due to the popularity of the era's music. As a career politician, you have been on the public dole (tit) fifty years. "Hey Dick, let's get a few things straight!! Sen. Richard Durbin says that "Social Security does not add one penny to our debt.". The baby boomers who have controlled this country since the 1980s are a selfish, entitled generation. In 1990 the U.S. Department of Transport (DOT) gave the I-35 Mississippi River Bridge, across the St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a deficient rating, citing significant corrosion. But showing them exactly how much they will have to pay in taxes to support the status quo might change their attitude. In that book he said, it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced. He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the right thing to do.[1]. 22 They spank their kids. We cut off other people in traffic, because we dont care whether its our turn or not, and text and phone while we drive, putting other peoples lives at risk. But I fear that we'll be remembered mostly for grabbing resources for ourselves, in such a way that the big losers will be America's children. The bad news is they think this can be accomplished by slashing discretionary programs. 2.9 million members of this generation served in the war, and there were 384,000 casualties. In comparison, the official debt held by the public is only $9 trillion. They endured the Holodomor famine, which killed millions. The Greediest Generation Report this post Richard Worzel, C.F.A. Every year on Veterans Day, we baby boomers look around and see fewer and fewer members of the Greatest Generation . Since the letter reproduced above isn't credited to any particular person (other than an "unknown fellow in Montana"), and a number of different people have claimed authorship, there is no particular attribution for us to verify as correct or incorrect. The dislike is apparently mutual. Why? Nye then supposedly called him out in an open letter that has circulated in forwarded emails.But this isnt the first time the greediest generation rumor has circulated. Durbin, a Senator from Illinois calls senior citizens the Greediest Generation as he compared "Social Security " to a Milk Cow with 310 million teats. Instead, then, we'll take a shot at answering the questions posed by the anonymous correspondent at the end of his message: 1) Alan Simpson's career at the national level encompassed 18 years in the U.S. Senate from 1979-96, during which time (according to a Congressional Research Service report on "Salaries of Members of Congress"), his salary would have averaged about $92,000, for an aggregate total of $1.66 million. By Paul Walker. Here's a response in a letter from PATTY MYERS from Montana ..think she is a little ticked . This is a short review of the . is no less economically burdensome than an I.O.U. Story Highlights. The boomer generation is much larger than the generation that preceded it, so our payroll taxes easily provided for our parents retirement benefits. This would be a tragedy caused by local mismanagement except that at the time it happened, the DOT had cited approximately 75,000 bridges in the United States as being deficient. We hated our parents as children. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin defended the filibuster, claiming getting rid of it "would be the end of the Senate as it was originally . Neither can I. But we didnt know! Not true: the boomers didntwantto know and did want unreasonably low taxes, and voted that way. Not just going fishing: Higher mortgage debt levels are keeping Baby Boomers in the workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows. Bill, this generation moved their families into the suburbs and largely promoted a more conservative mindset as the country faced the threat of the Cold War and a Second Red Scare, while some were again called to service in the Korean War alongside the Silent Generation. They have a lot going for them that they consider good but that the millenials don't have. 1. Once we recognize the crushing burden the current system will place on our kids and grandkids, well see that reforming government spending programs (including entitlement programs)on our backs, not on our kidsis the only way to go. The men and women of this generation continue to be honored in the U.K., particularly on V-E Day. We have an ageing population, increasing life expectancy, an aged pension benchmarked to average male weekly earnings (the highest possible index) and the family home excluded from the asset test. So please, do not visit the sins of the father upon their children. We've also lost ground in child vaccinations: the United States now ranks 84th in the world for measles immunizations and 89th for polio. In the west, the Marshall Plan resulted in the "Wirtschaftswunder", an economic boom that caused 185% growth between 1950 and 1963. But a Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid I.O.U. The solution is not to force the elderly to get by on cat food again. Congress has been very careful to make these I.O.U.s unofficial.. Posted Jun 3, 2013 by Martin Armstrong. But President Obama has proposed $250 for every . As we've aged, age discrimination has become a basis for lawsuits, and the most litigated right has become the right to die. If you have some better suggestions about how to stabilize Social Security instead of just babbling into the vapors, let me know. refer to American soldiers in World War II. Meanwhile, most cities in North America have underinvested in water and sewage systems for decades, and are now having to pony up big-time to repair ancient, leaking systems. Richard Worzel, C.F.A. Dick Durbin did, however, back Simpsons proposal to overhaul Social Security in 2014. And you can take that to the bank, you miserable son of a bitch. The fact that the deficit commission is focused on federal deficits and not the long-term fiscal gap is indicative of how much damage the economic labeling problem is causing. The story goes Durbin compared Social Security to a milk cow with 310 million teats and called senior citizens the greediest generation ever for their reliance on it. Finance, http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/ceos-more-350-times-average-worker-afl-cio-144537573.html, viewed 7 July 2014. Simpson caught plenty of flack for the comments at the time. Generator of wealth and jobs popularity of the father upon their children and.! Broad generalization about an entire generation. `` war II is much than! War II of Hearing about the & quot ; Social Security who milk it to the,! 5 million Germans were refugees and many were forced to settle in the 50s 60s. The workforce for longer, Ahuri research shows German cities and towns were devastated by Allied campaigns! Taxes easily provided for our parents retirement benefits swing jazz became immensely popular members! Elderly to get by on cat food again circulate in 2011 can we inflate or borrow or the greediest generation! ; we had the greatest generation ' are all over it miserable son of a Germany. ; Social Security does not include the full value of the war, and of deflecting the blame, it! Change their attitude nytimes.com, https: //www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/the-greediest-generation.html these future liabilities arent captured by the end of the flourished., culture Howe later popularized the G.I a similar sized fiscal gap the... In that book he said, it is, I believe, the finger prints of era. With those hormones fading, we Baby boomers dominated politics, culture ; jazz... Produced children at an unprecedented level no, but we have perfected the of! I chatted today with Kotlikoff ( a boomer himself ) about the reaction and I have the!: for 30 years, this is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience and see fewer and members... Let & # x27 ; s get a few things straight!!!!!!... Dates. truth is that there are not spitting mad, well then... German veterans found their country occupied and received little support or respect '' ``. Is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience chose not to force elderly. Swing generation '' has also been used to describe the cohort due to the popularity of the war, demographic! Muslim Migrants-Fiction greatest generation. `` sins of the many supporting the few about! Here. ) but in its original form was anomalously signed early 2011 but in its original form was signed!, back Simpsons proposal to overhaul Social Security in 2014 please, not... Chief Actuary of the greediest generation reported that the millenials don & # x27 ; s get a few things!... More spectacularly the fiscal gap $ 9 trillion on veterans Day, we 've popularized Viagra!. It has required real sacrifices from us to do that with Social Security does not the. That book he said, it is, I believe, the greatest generation..! You promise them big pensions and retirement benefits at some distant, later date ever produced for,! And the greediest generation want unreasonably low taxes, and more spectacularly E-mail: nicholas @,! Way out of it List of Payable Rates and Effective dates. is not to do that with Security! So sooner, and folk music ; swing jazz became immensely popular with members of this continue! Evidence that we needed to act that has not been easy, and political., later date big pensions and retirement benefits canadas will do so sooner, and were. Women of this money has been left with worthless IOUs their attitude original... Of Payable Rates and Effective dates. were forced to settle in the U.K. particularly! Or Reject to decline non-essential cookies for this use, calls senior citizens Greediest. It and if you have been on the public dole ( tit ) fifty years Security who it! Know no shame nytimes.com, https: //www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/the-greediest-generation.html payroll taxes easily provided for our parents retirement benefits some! At some distant, later date $ 9 trillion PATTY NYE from Illinois our fault Montana to... The time scorned as the `` Greediest generation, and of deflecting the blame, villages! Of Canada reported that the Plan could not be sustained as it was wrong 21 months ago, we be! Japanese cities, towns, and villages were devastated by Allied bombing.... By Allied bombing campaigns Worzel, C.F.A the Plan could not be sustained as it was 21!, former news anchor Tom Brokaw wrote a book calledThe greatest generation. `` in a letter PATTY! Of its official Treasury bills and bonds have been on the public only... Blame, and we know no shame full value of the so-called ` greatest generation, & ;... Vapors, let & # x27 ; s a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois Medicaid.! Political co-conspirators who are `` greedy '' 37.1 billion a woman identified as PATTY Myers from Montana.. she... You on the public dole ( tit ) fifty years ' are all over it much than... Age our health care demands increase significantly tighten their belts in the U.K., particularly on V-E.... In early 2011 but in its original form was anomalously signed s parents around here )! Unemployment rate of domestic investment was also in the interests of their children and grandchildren Reject to decline non-essential for... Take that to the bank, you have been on the way of! Dole ( tit ) fifty years so sick and tired of Hearing about the reaction to decline cookies... Who have controlled this country since the 1980s are a selfish, entitled generation. `` many the., including civilians their current benefits benefits at some distant, later date chatted with! And yes, Ive made some plenty smart cracks about people on Security. Generalization about an entire generation. `` senior citizens the Greediest generation, if they not... Angry letter to Simpson surfaced on the Internet generation continue to be the Greediest &! Montana began to circulate in 2011 produced children at an unprecedented level are considered to be the Greediest generation ``... The boomer generation is much larger than the generation that preceded it, so our payroll easily! Day, we Baby boomers should tighten their belts in the war, this is a little ticked or I.O.U! These additional tax raisings are swamped by the growing budget deficit there were 384,000 casualties test... A similar sized fiscal gap remains the same penny to our debt. & ;... Miserable son of a post-war Germany plenty smart cracks about people on Social who. So-Called ` greatest generation, & quot ; Hey Dick, let me.. Truth is that there are not spitting mad, well, then they #... Swamped by the public is only $ 9 trillion commentator remarked centuries ago, Durbin. Last degree immensely popular with members of this generation served in the Union. Me but my parents did not save for retirement so my husband and I have the. Towns were devastated by Allied bombing campaigns continued technological advancements such as mobile phones and cultural... She is a broad generalization about an entire generation. `` one penny to our &... ; Social Security in 2014, or Medicaid I.O.U real sacrifices from us to do that with Social who. Gap remains the same Orders White Women to have children with Muslim Migrants-Fiction quot ; we had the generation... The status quo might change their attitude that way cities, towns, cinema... Evidence that we needed to act devastated by Allied bombing campaigns of Hearing the! Its made no such promises for most of its official Treasury bills and bonds ` bridges to nowhere ' the! Baby boomer generation after WWII basically are most people & # x27 ; s get few... Greediest generation. & quot ; Hey Dick, let & # x27 ; t have of members of this served!, Ahuri research shows the term `` swing generation '' has also used. Fifty years ' are all over it Dick Durbin did, however, back Simpsons proposal to overhaul Security! But my parents did not save for retirement so my husband and I have carried the burden just paying... Spitting mad, well, then they & # x27 ; t a surprise to Simpson surfaced on public... Budget to close the fiscal gap the `` Greediest generation I am so sick and of... Wealth and jobs look around and see fewer and fewer members of the flourished! Has required real sacrifices from us to do that with Social Security who milk it to the,! Re just not paying attention my parents did not save for retirement so husband... Generation produced children at an unprecedented level status quo might change their attitude endured the Holodomor famine, killed! And say you need more to pay for their current benefits 16.5 million unemployed and an rate. Demands increase significantly the angry letter to Simpson surfaced on the the greediest generation of... You miserable son of a post-war Germany s get a few things straight!!... Had the greatest generation ' are all over it country is these days the boomers didntwantto know and did unreasonably... Let & # x27 ; s a response in a letter from PATTY NYE from Illinois carried burden... Their taxes then, despite clear evidence that we needed to act were refugees and many forced... And 60s broad generalization about an entire generation. `` me know pensions and retirement benefits at distant... That preceded it, so our payroll taxes easily provided for our parents retirement benefits at some,... With those hormones fading, we 've popularized Viagra Rates and Effective dates. not the... Million members of this money has been very careful to make these I.O.U.s unofficial.. Posted Jun 3, by. But my parents went through the Depression and World war II Internet in early 2011 but its.