The Worstest Generation?

[∞∞∞]

The Boomers came into power in the mid-1980s. The 401K was created in 1978.

Only about 1/3 of working Americans have 401K accounts and less than half of employers offer them.

And you typically have to be educated or be part of a Union to get a job with a 401K.

No, the 401(k) tax code was created in 1978. The first plans weren't until 1981, a year after the 401(k) tax code was effective.

Fair enough. It's still not a creation of the Boomers (for better or worst).

[Ibanez]

No, the 401(k) tax code was created in 1978. The first plans weren't until 1981, a year after the 401(k) tax code was effective.

Fair enough. It's still not a creation of the Boomers (for better or worst).

I know...I said that.

[Ibanez]

Ted Benna isn't a boomer. He was born in 1942.

[AZGrizFan]

The Boomers created the 401k. Much better than SS.

The Boomers came into power in the mid-1980s. The 401K was created in 1978.

Only about 1/3 of working Americans have 401K accounts and less than half of employers offer them.

And you typically have to be educated or be part of a Union to get a job with a 401K.

Fake news, once again Trip.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, only 32% of Americans are saving for retirement in a 401(k). Granted, that owes partly to the fact that 401(k)s are employer-dependent, and not every company offers one.

Data from the Census Bureau suggests that as little as 14% of all employers offer a 401(k), yet Census researchers recently estimated that 79% of Americans work for an employer that sponsors a 401(k)-style retirement plan. How is that possible? Large companies that employ high numbers of workers are the most likely to sponsor retirement plans.

All that said, not everyone who's offered an employer-sponsored plan actually takes advantage of it. Of those 79% of Americans who get the choice to fund a 401(k), only 41% opt to participate. As such, just 32% of the total workforce is saving in a 401(k).

And please define "came into power". This is the 1995 104th congress. There's a lot of OLD motherfuckers on this list. Born WAAAY before 1945.


Alabama
2. Howell Heflin (D)
3. Richard Shelby (R)

Alaska
2. Ted Stevens (R)
3. Frank H. Murkowski (R)

Arizona
1. Jon Kyl (R)
3. John McCain (R)

Arkansas
2. David Pryor (D)
3. Dale Bumpers (D)

California
1. Dianne Feinstein (D)
3. Barbara Boxer (D)

Colorado
2. Hank Brown (R)
3. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D, then R)

Connecticut
1. Joe Lieberman (D)
3. Chris Dodd (D)

Delaware
1. William Roth (R)
2. Joe Biden (D)

Florida
1. Connie Mack III (R)
3. Bob Graham (D)

Georgia
2. Sam Nunn (D)
3. Paul Coverdell (R)

Hawaii
1. Daniel Akaka (D)
3. Daniel Inouye (D)

Idaho
2. Larry Craig (R)
3. Dirk Kempthorne (R)

Illinois
2. Paul Simon (D)
3. Carol Moseley-Braun (D)

Indiana
1. Dick Lugar (R)
3. Dan Coats (R)

Iowa
2. Tom Harkin (D)
3. Chuck Grassley (R)

Kansas
2. Nancy Landon Kassebaum (R)
3. Bob Dole (R), until June 11, 1996 Sheila Frahm (R), June 11, 1996 – November 6, 1996
Sam Brownback (R), from November 6, 1996


Kentucky
2. Mitch McConnell (R)
3. Wendell Ford (D)

Louisiana
2. J. Bennett Johnston (D)
3. John Breaux (D)

Maine
1. Olympia Snowe (R)
2. William Cohen (R)

Maryland[edit]
1. Paul Sarbanes (D)
3. Barbara Mikulski (D)

Massachusetts
1. Ted Kennedy (D)
2. John Kerry (D)

Michigan
1. Spencer Abraham (R)
2. Carl Levin (D)

Minnesota
1. Rod Grams (R)
2. Paul Wellstone (D)

Mississippi
1. Trent Lott (R)
2. Thad Cochran (R)

Missouri
1. John Ashcroft (R)
3. Kit Bond (R)

Montana
1. Conrad Burns (R)
2. Max Baucus (D)

Nebraska
1. J. Robert Kerrey (D)
2. Jim Exon (D)

Nevada
1. Richard Bryan (D)
3. Harry Reid (D)

New Hampshire
2. Bob Smith (R)
3. Judd Gregg (R)

New Jersey
1. Frank Lautenberg (D)
2. Bill Bradley (D)

New Mexico
1. Jeff Bingaman (D)
2. Pete Domenici (R)

New York
1. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D)
3. Al D'Amato (R)

North Carolina
2. Jesse Helms (R)
3. Lauch Faircloth (R)

North Dakota
1. Kent Conrad (D)
3. Byron Dorgan (D)

Ohio
1. Mike DeWine (R)
3. John Glenn (D)

Oklahoma
2. James Inhofe (R)
3. Don Nickles (R)

Oregon
2. Mark Hatfield (R)
3. Bob Packwood (R), until October 1, 1995 Ron Wyden (D), from February 6, 1996

Pennsylvania
1. Rick Santorum (R)
3. Arlen Specter (R)

Rhode Island
1. John Chafee (R)
2. Claiborne Pell (D)

South Carolina
2. Strom Thurmond (R)
3. Ernest Hollings (D)

South Dakota
2. Larry Pressler (R)
3. Tom Daschle (D)

Tennessee
1. Bill Frist (R)
2. Fred Thompson (R)

Texas
1. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)
2. Phil Gramm (R)

Utah
1. Orrin Hatch (R)
3. Robert Bennett (R)

Vermont
1. James Jeffords (R)
3. Patrick Leahy (D)

Virginia
1. Chuck Robb (D)
2. John Warner (R)

Washington
1. Slade Gorton (R)
3. Patty Murray (D)

West Virginia
1. Robert Byrd (D)
2. Jay Rockefeller (D)

Wisconsin
1. Herb Kohl (D)
3. Russ Feingold (D)

Wyoming
1. Craig Thomas (R)
2. Alan Simpson (R)

[UNI88]

The Boomers gave us the music of the 60's - the greatest decade of music.

They also gave us Abba and the Bee Gees.

[css75]

Boomer here.

The OP was accurate, most of us should not have been allowed to reproduce. Boomers are the best example of why marijuana should be illegal. Selfish, immoral and liberal is our legacy.


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[UNI88]

The Boomers created the 401k. Much better than SS.

The Boomers came into power in the mid-1980s. The 401K was created in 1978.

Only about 1/3 of working Americans have 401K accounts and less than half of employers offer them.

And you typically have to be educated or be part of a Union to get a job with a 401K.

What's wrong with an IRA for those who don't have access to a 401k?

[CAA Flagship]

The Boomers gave us the music of the 60's - the greatest decade of music.

They also gave us Abba and the Bee Gees.

1 out of 3 gets you into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[Ibanez]

Boomer here.

The OP was accurate, most of us should not have been allowed to reproduce. Boomers are the best example of why marijuana should be illegal. Selfish, immoral and liberal is our legacy.


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You guys also like better living through medicine.

Got diabetes? Don't change your diet, just take a pill or some insulin.

I know some things can't be fixed with diet and exercise - but there's a lot that can be.

[CAA Flagship]

Boomer here.

The OP was accurate, most of us should not have been allowed to reproduce. Boomers are the best example of why marijuana should be illegal. Selfish, immoral and liberal is our legacy.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You guys also like better living through medicine.

Got diabetes? Don't change your diet, just take a pill or some insulin.

I know some things can't be fixed with diet and exercise - but there's a lot that can be.

That is age based.
Generation Y is low on the personal wealth scale, and the Silent Generation are poor consumers of skateboards.

[CID1990]

Gen X 1968


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[dbackjon]

1962 - either Gen X or Baby Boomer depending on who is defining it.

[css75]

Boomer here.

The OP was accurate, most of us should not have been allowed to reproduce. Boomers are the best example of why marijuana should be illegal. Selfish, immoral and liberal is our legacy.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You guys also like better living through medicine.

Got diabetes? Don't change your diet, just take a pill or some insulin.

I know some things can't be fixed with diet and exercise - but there's a lot that can be.

Won’t argue that but Millennials have their issues also, expecting high paying jobs straight out of school without having to work their way up. Leaders in consumer debt as they are unwilling to save. Giving kids participation trophies, and lacking overall common sense, which has been demonstrated multiple times on this board.


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[clenz]

You guys also like better living through medicine.

Got diabetes? Don't change your diet, just take a pill or some insulin.

I know some things can't be fixed with diet and exercise - but there's a lot that can be.

Won’t argue that but Millennials have their issues also, expecting high paying jobs straight out of school without having to work their way up. Leaders in consumer debt as they are unwilling to save. Giving kids participation trophies, and lacking overall common sense, which has been demonstrated multiple times on this board.


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Millennial are expecting jobs that give them the ability to make a living wage. At this point, that level is 50K plus pretty early on. The average person leaving school now is leaving school with 30k+ in debt, and that's not even music theory majors struggling with payments.

I had this discussion with my mother-in-law a few months back. We weren't even debating anything, we were just discussing pay as I was looking for a new job. She said she remembers her first teaching salary back in 1976 (or 77 or some year like that). It was the same town she lives in now. A town of less than 1000 in rural Iowa. What she made in 1977 was equivalent to $58,000 today. FOR A STARTING SALARY FIRST YEAR OUT OF COLLEGE. AS A TEACHER. Starting teacher pay in the same district today isn't near 58,000. It's like 33,000 before tax. 4 years of school for her cost less than one semester costs students today. It seems high to people who started working 30-40 years ago and started making "$14,000" like my MIL did. It's not a straight dollar for dollar comp. The same trend exists for even accounting and business majors when looking at the accounting and business majors. It's not quite as extreme as the teacher example, but the difference is fairly signficant.

So yes, it seems like we are expecting a high salary. The reality is, we are trying to be where you guys were 30-40 years ago, and not getting there.

Want to know where us millennials learned to give trophies? Our fucking parents. Guess where our parents come from? Baby Boomers and early Gen Xers.

Lacking common sense? Read up about Executive Functioning. Look at the age of most of the millennials you bitch about. Start doing some simple 2+2 math. Guess what? Those above you said the same about you.

[JohnStOnge]

I am a baby boomer. Born in 1957.

I think the biggest thing that contradicts that guy's outlook is that the entitlement mentality and the entitlement State started with FDR during the 1930s. I think THAT is what started us down the road whereby we have an ever increasing debt ratio, etc. I don't think an increasing debt ratio started with the boomers. It just continued. The two biggest problems we have fiscally are Social Security and Medicare. Social Security started in 1935. Medicare started in 1965. Medicaid also started in 1965, BTW. All that stuff wasn't the Baby Boomers.

The systemic issues that have us in long term fiscal jeopardy were in place well before the Baby Boomers became a significant political force.

[AZGrizFan]

Won’t argue that but Millennials have their issues also, expecting high paying jobs straight out of school without having to work their way up. Leaders in consumer debt as they are unwilling to save. Giving kids participation trophies, and lacking overall common sense, which has been demonstrated multiple times on this board.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Millennial are expecting jobs that give them the ability to make a living wage. At this point, that level is 50K plus pretty early on. The average person leaving school now is leaving school with 30k+ in debt, and that's not even music theory majors struggling with payments.

I had this discussion with my mother-in-law a few months back. We weren't even debating anything, we were just discussing pay as I was looking for a new job. She said she remembers her first teaching salary back in 1976 (or 77 or some year like that). It was the same town she lives in now. A town of less than 1000 in rural Iowa. What she made in 1977 was equivalent to $58,000 today. FOR A STARTING SALARY FIRST YEAR OUT OF COLLEGE. AS A TEACHER. Starting teacher pay in the same district today isn't near 58,000. It's like 33,000 before tax. 4 years of school for her cost less than one semester costs students today. It seems high to people who started working 30-40 years ago and started making "$14,000" like my MIL did. It's not a straight dollar for dollar comp. The same trend exists for even accounting and business majors when looking at the accounting and business majors. It's not quite as extreme as the teacher example, but the difference is fairly signficant.

So yes, it seems like we are expecting a high salary. The reality is, we are trying to be where you guys were 30-40 years ago, and not getting there.

Want to know where us millennials learned to give trophies? Our fucking parents. Guess where our parents come from? Baby Boomers and early Gen Xers.

Lacking common sense? Read up about Executive Functioning. Look at the age of most of the millennials you bitch about. Start doing some simple 2+2 math. Guess what? Those above you said the same about you.

Absent a pay stub from 1977 I’m calling bullshit on that story. Sorry Gramma. And if you want to make $75,000, both need to work just like WE did back in the 90’s and 2000’s. Either that or make some sacrifices in style of living.

And the cost of college is directly related to government subsidized money...but I’m pretty sure you knew that. It’s perfectly acceptable to NOT go to college, NOT get ass-deep in debt, and become a tradesman making $75/hour....

[∞∞∞]

And the cost of college is directly related to government subsidized money...but I’m pretty sure you knew that. It’s perfectly acceptable to NOT go to college, NOT get ass-deep in debt, and become a tradesman making $75/hour....

Where are these $75/hour tradesmen jobs?

My close friend didn't go to college, did two years of welding classes, another year of underwater welding, and makes $25/hr doing typical welding and $35/hr when welding ships. The latter is fairly specialized.

That wage puts you squarely in the lower-middle class in my area.

Another anecdote, but my dad studied Civil Engineering; he went to a private university, worked through college, and left with zero debt. He started at the equivalent of 75K today in the DC area.

I studied Mechanical Engineering; I went to a public university, worked through college, and left with 35K in student debt. I started at 55K in the DC area.

[AZGrizFan]

And the cost of college is directly related to government subsidized money...but I’m pretty sure you knew that. It’s perfectly acceptable to NOT go to college, NOT get ass-deep in debt, and become a tradesman making $75/hour....

Where are these $75/hour tradesmen jobs?

My close friend didn't go to college, did two years of welding classes, another year of underwater welding, and makes $25/hr doing typical welding and $35/hr when welding ships. The latter is fairly specialized.

That wage puts you squarely in the lower-middle class in my area.

Another anecdote, but my dad studied Civil Engineering; he went to a private university, worked through college, and left with zero debt. He started at the equivalent of 75K today in the DC area.

I studied Mechanical Engineering; I went to a public university, worked through college, and left with 35K in student debt. I started at 55K in the DC area.

Blame all those immigrants who move here and will work for less. Also, $35/hr = $80,000/yr. WAY above Clenz’s threshold.

You want to make $75/hr? Become an electrician or a plumber and start your own business. Trip charges START at about $120 just to show up. The money is there...just gotta go find it.

[Chizzang]

Corporate profits have hit an all-time-high
and wages have stagnated to a new low

http://www.businessinsider.com/corporat ... low-2012-6

[Ivytalk]

Corporate profits have hit an all-time-high
and wages have stagnated to a new low

http://www.businessinsider.com/corporat ... low-2012-6

Thanks for the six-year-old charts, Clitzandra!

Charts by securities fraudster Henry Blodget, no less.

[kalm]

I am a baby boomer. Born in 1957.

I think the biggest thing that contradicts that guy's outlook is that the entitlement mentality and the entitlement State started with FDR during the 1930s. I think THAT is what started us down the road whereby we have an ever increasing debt ratio, etc. I don't think an increasing debt ratio started with the boomers. It just continued. The two biggest problems we have fiscally are Social Security and Medicare. Social Security started in 1935. Medicare started in 1965. Medicaid also started in 1965, BTW. All that stuff wasn't the Baby Boomers.

The systemic issues that have us in long term fiscal jeopardy were in place well before the Baby Boomers became a significant political force.

The entitlement mentality started (at least) during the golden age when those greedy workers and farmers became suspicious of some of these mansion popping up as well as New York bankers. That part culminated in the rise of chautauquas and Teddy Roosevelt's Square Deal. His cousin followed through.

Who did the working poor back then and today's youth learn this sense of greed from anyway? They shouldn't crave high paying jobs and wealth until they're at least 40!

[Ibanez]

You guys also like better living through medicine.

Got diabetes? Don't change your diet, just take a pill or some insulin.

I know some things can't be fixed with diet and exercise - but there's a lot that can be.

Won’t argue that but Millennials have their issues also, expecting high paying jobs straight out of school without having to work their way up. Leaders in consumer debt as they are unwilling to save. Giving kids participation trophies, and lacking overall common sense, which has been demonstrated multiple times on this board.


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I said we had our own issues. But don't conflate unwilling to save with unable to save. Many of us were told to go to school, get a loan and go to college by our Baby Boomer parents (the same ones that gave us participation trophies.). That with the market going to shit when we started graduating college (2005-), thanks to the Boomers, it's been a little difficult.

[Ibanez]

And the cost of college is directly related to government subsidized money...but I’m pretty sure you knew that. It’s perfectly acceptable to NOT go to college, NOT get ass-deep in debt, and become a tradesman making $75/hour....

Where are these $75/hour tradesmen jobs?

My close friend didn't go to college, did two years of welding classes, another year of underwater welding, and makes $25/hr doing typical welding and $35/hr when welding ships. The latter is fairly specialized.

That wage puts you squarely in the lower-middle class in my area.

Another anecdote, but my dad studied Civil Engineering; he went to a private university, worked through college, and left with zero debt. He started at the equivalent of 75K today in the DC area.

I studied Mechanical Engineering; I went to a public university, worked through college, and left with 35K in student debt. I started at 55K in the DC area.

SHit...i know several people that weld and made $100k their first years.

[Ibanez]

Millennial are expecting jobs that give them the ability to make a living wage. At this point, that level is 50K plus pretty early on. The average person leaving school now is leaving school with 30k+ in debt, and that's not even music theory majors struggling with payments.

I had this discussion with my mother-in-law a few months back. We weren't even debating anything, we were just discussing pay as I was looking for a new job. She said she remembers her first teaching salary back in 1976 (or 77 or some year like that). It was the same town she lives in now. A town of less than 1000 in rural Iowa. What she made in 1977 was equivalent to $58,000 today. FOR A STARTING SALARY FIRST YEAR OUT OF COLLEGE. AS A TEACHER. Starting teacher pay in the same district today isn't near 58,000. It's like 33,000 before tax. 4 years of school for her cost less than one semester costs students today. It seems high to people who started working 30-40 years ago and started making "$14,000" like my MIL did. It's not a straight dollar for dollar comp. The same trend exists for even accounting and business majors when looking at the accounting and business majors. It's not quite as extreme as the teacher example, but the difference is fairly signficant.

So yes, it seems like we are expecting a high salary. The reality is, we are trying to be where you guys were 30-40 years ago, and not getting there.

Want to know where us millennials learned to give trophies? Our fucking parents. Guess where our parents come from? Baby Boomers and early Gen Xers.

Lacking common sense? Read up about Executive Functioning. Look at the age of most of the millennials you bitch about. Start doing some simple 2+2 math. Guess what? Those above you said the same about you.

Absent a pay stub from 1977 I’m calling bullshit on that story. Sorry Gramma. And if you want to make $75,000, both need to work just like WE did back in the 90’s and 2000’s. Either that or make some sacrifices in style of living.

And the cost of college is directly related to government subsidized money...but I’m pretty sure you knew that. It’s perfectly acceptable to NOT go to college, NOT get ass-deep in debt, and become a tradesman making $75/hour....

Yeah, thanks Mom and Dad and society for telling me every day of school that i need to go to college to make something of myself. The blame is on everyone.

[Gil Dobie]

Absent a pay stub from 1977 I’m calling bullshit on that story. Sorry Gramma. And if you want to make $75,000, both need to work just like WE did back in the 90’s and 2000’s. Either that or make some sacrifices in style of living.

And the cost of college is directly related to government subsidized money...but I’m pretty sure you knew that. It’s perfectly acceptable to NOT go to college, NOT get ass-deep in debt, and become a tradesman making $75/hour....

Yeah, thanks Mom and Dad and society for telling me every day of school that i need to go to college to make something of myself. The blame is on everyone.

My parents generation were not baby boomers, and they told their kids to go to college. Not all my siblings were boomers either.