MemphisAg1 said:
BusterAg said:
Boomers are the ones that control the power and the wealth of this country. They are the single largest voting bloc in America. It is, collectively, their decisions that got us into this mess. And they are the ones that are in the best position to do something positive.
They just don't have the nerve or the testicular fortitude to do it.
News flash for you! Boomers didn't create Social Security. It came to life in 1935, 11 years before the oldest boomer was born and 29 years before the youngest boomer. They had ZERO to do with its creation.
They were actually part of the solution in 1983 when legislation was passed to gradually increase the eligibility age for SS from 65 to 67. Boomers at that time would have been 37 and younger. All of them old enough to vote, and some of them serving in Congress.
Since that time, there has been no additional progress on reforming SS. While boomers have certainly been part of the voting population and legislators, the responsibility for inaction increasingly included GenX, Millenials, and even GenZ. All of those generations are of voting age, and many of the GenX and Millenials have been in legislative positions.
Why hasn't that mixed group of generations done anything about it? The ball has been in your court sir, and mine, and the other boomer bashers on this thread. If you want to point the finger for the approaching date in 2033 when SS tips into a cash-negative position since its inception, you need to first look in the mirror.
Of course it's not your fault solely. Nor mine, or anyone else on this thread. Blaming boomers for it might feel good in the moment, but it's a really lazy way of thinking about it. The facts show that many generations have not demanded action from their legislators to address the funding gap coming at us. We can still change the outcome, but it requires working together in a thoughtful, constructive way instead of the lazy finger pointing.
I actually have zero problems with SS as a plan. I actually think some form of safety net done well is important to society, and, as I have said in this tread, encourages rational risk-taking, which is value creating for our economy.
What I have a problem with is how unsustainable it has become, and how the people that are currently retired shouldn't have to share some of the pain of creating that problem. If the people that were paying into SS also voted in people that were fiscally responsible enough to make it sustainable, then I would have a lot of empathy for them.
But, we didn't do that. We didn't maintain a sustainable fiscal policy. Boomers were one of the very important demographics that created that. For them to complain that "we paid in, give us all that we owe" rings hollow when you are passing on these giant liabilities that you helped create.
It's a giant poop sandwich, and everyone is going to have to take a bite.
But, the Boomers have been in solid control of this economy and government for a while now, and it has gone downhill on a rocket sled.
If SS benefits get cut, it's part of their own damn fault, because they couldn't elect people that didn't give away free stuff to EREBODY.
I still think that part of the solution is to tax the crap out of the Boomers on their way out the door, since they were such a significant contributor to the problem, and the Gen Zers and Gen Xers haven't done anything to earn that "wealth" that the Boomers created anyways. They helped create this massive tax bill. They should help pay for it, the spoiled, self-interested brats.
