Well, our generations have grown/are growing up and seen/seeing right-wing policies don't work for us. We've seen Democratic presidents (Clinton, Obama) get the deficit under control only for a Republican (GWB, Trump) to go into the White House and blow it all up again. We've seen the housing crisis as a direct result of Boomer policies. We've seen college costs skyrocket. We know previous givens like Social Security might not be around in 40-50 years when we hit retirement age. Older people aren't retiring so opportunities for promotion in the workplace are severely limited. Infrastructure and public education are crumbling, but Republicans want more tax cuts while also cutting funding for net-positive programs to pay for more shiny, new war toys. Health insurance costs are outrageous. Older generations don't give a f**k about climate change because they won't be around to suffer from it or because they can't profit from green energy just yet.
No longer are the days when an 18-year-old fresh out of high school can get a mortgage and afford a car payment. No longer can students work a summer job and pay for the next year of college.
Firstly you need to under the why for those issues. Clinton only got the deficit under control because of two things. Firstly the tech boom which flooded the government with tax revenue and also because Newt Gingrich came along with the Contract with America with which Clinton had to go along with as the GOP won both the House and Senate and they cut capital gains from 28% to 20% . (You had to be there). Obama's share of the deficit was $10 trillion when he came into office and was $20 trillion when he left. Now we have to explore why deficits are rising and the biggest reason is unfunded mandates such as pensions, SS, Medicaid/Medicare etc. In 1977 Carter slashed the military budget, by 1980 we had no spare parts for the aircraft I was flying. Tanks, ships...nothing was kept up. Reagan had to reinstate contracts and retooling cost the taxpayer double what those parts cost four years prior. Fast forward to 2016 and it was deja vu. In three years Trump restored our capability. Not shiny new toys, safe effective weapon systems. Peace is only possible through strength, a reality lost on many sadly.
The Boomer generation is responsible for cleaning up our water, air and banning substances like DDT and lead fuel. We did the hard work, we paid the costs. And I am thankful we did. It's not about giving a f**k about climate change, it is recognizing that much of the hyperbole is BS that is not even examined by younger folks. The solution is to keep on with reasonable environmental policy as we started in the 60s. Trust me on this at least, the world is not going to end in ten years. The US will continue to reduce carbon output, keep our environment as the cleanest in the world because we can afford to. If you want to see the real messes go to a socialist or third world country where they can not afford to do so. Like most neo-liberal ideas banning fossil fuels with utterly crush third world economies and cause far more problems if places such as Nepal have to reverse their transition to LNG and propane and go back to denuding the hillsides of burnable fuel and thus the precious soils. One thing we learn as we age is that many solutions are seemingly counterintuitive.
Huh? Older people are not retiring so that takes up all the jobs? Sorry but that is a zero sum approach to economics which is a fallacy. Economies grow and jobs are produced, The Trump economy is the best example going...we have a labour shortage. More jobs than people to fill them. as a result wages are growing at twice the rate of inflation. Last weeks report showed that the lowest earners have gained the most in the past year at 3.3%. Four years ago the problem for graduates was that were no real jobs out there, now they have a selection of opportunities to pick from give they are marketable and got the right degree.
The housing crisis in 2008 was due to the Reinvestment Act which was authored and passed by Dems which forced Fannie and Freddie to guarantee mortgage loans to low income folks with no way to pay them back. They were sold as junk level investments. Then we have Dodd/Frank which handcuffed smaller banks which then failed or had no way to lend. Thus the rise of the mega banks occurred under Clinton and the Gramm Act .
Outrageous college tuition is a direct result of those institutions trying to compete for students by building resort style facilities, adding ridiculous majors and curriculums and pushing student loans as their major source of funding. Then the Dem /Obama revised the bankruptcy laws to not cover student debt and transferred that debt to the government.
Trump has been trying to deal with Pelosi on infrastructure as he ran on, but she will not work with him. It will be a priority after the elections again.
Tax cuts increase revenue when the balance is achieved. JFK, Reagan, Clinton, Trump, Ireland...the list of successes is long.
Health insurance costs doubled in the years after Obamacare because the companies were forced to cover the uninsurable and Obama did away with low premium/high deductible catastrophic policies which most younger folks had. My daughter's family policies through work went from $120 a month to over $400 within two years of Obamacare. Now if you really want to see higher medical costs try Medicare or all on for size. $20 trillion price tag and doctors who will quit causing a shortage of care far worse than now. Supply and demand.
I'd sure like to know when an 18 year old could get a mortgage and car loan right of school, or even a 22 year old right out of college. Never has been the case. The vast majority of us start out in life with not much and build wealth. Hell, my kids all started their own businesses and are making cash hand over fist now...but it took time. I got my first job here in the US while in college and was making $2.20 an hour and had to pay rent and my own way. It was not easy then and is not now I presume. That is life.
He/His/Non-Menstruater/Postmenopausal/non-vaginal male. Yup all man!
