By Alasdair Black
The idea of Boomers as selfish and entitled only works for identity politics and the exploitative politics of envy.
It is to exploit the emotions of others, the classical divide and conquer.
Fact is, most Boomers have children or grandchildren and have much empathy for the way things are changing unfairly, like job insecurity, miserly wages and working conditions, lack of opportunity, lack of job mobility.
They want better for their loved ones.
Remember that the powebrokers, lawmakers rule makers, senior administraters and Corporate CEOs are a minority.
Privilege has always been a minority paradigm of winners and losers.
The winners have always been in the minority, privilege is a tool they use to gather cohorts and allies to maintain the status quo, just like money and power.
Many Boomers are where they are because of a lifetime of work, they’re not actively excluding others, they’re just protecting the product of their life’s endeavour.
Beware any politician or political party that promises the world through quick fixes, the exploitation of the politics of envy, hate or fear of a confected other.
Othering is the best way to divide and conquer.
Joint purpose and endeavour are the true path of prosperity, that is the evolutionary purpose of the human social.
The green eyed monster never helps anyone or improves a situation.
Vote for people of duty and whose purpose is to try to to provide the greatest benefit to the greatest many, not protect the interests of the few of a favoured cohort, especially those identifying specific cohorts, privileged, powerful wealthy elites, selling or conflating their interest as yours.
Elites don’t need as much political representation as the many, because they have the resources to look after themselves, which they do and often by exploiting others, often the others they want you to be afraid of or compete with, for governmental favour.
What’s good for the least of us, is good for the rest of us; young, old, rich, poor, rural/regional and city, black, white, Indigenous non Indigenous, Australian born or immigrant.
The more prosperous people there are, the more prosperous a society, best enunciated by the saying “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Too many Boomers, believe it or not, live marginally, pension day to pension day, just struggling to keep afloat.
We’re not all living in blue riband leafy suburbs, with stock options, tax accountants, two or three investment properties and regular holidays here and overseas. (See: Who’s richest? Australia’s ‘great wealth transfer’ is reshaping the ladder).
The truism or norm in our capitalist society is the more well off you are, the less in number you are.
Boomers are no longer the largest generational cohort. That title goes to the Millennials (born 1981-1996).
Many Boomers have reverse mortgages just to get by, to keep the basics.
As they age out, their wealth goes to someone else, probably a private financial entity run by Millennials. It is in the nature of the circle of life to eternally aspire to be like those ahead of you in the cycle of the circle, until your time comes and then goes, as the circle keeps revolving.
One day the envious will be the envied.
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As a “bloody oldy”, pre-war, I recall getting into our house, worth, now, several millions, at c, six times my earnings as a senior teacher, plus casual music earnings, which actually secured the mortgage. Today I would need c.eighteen annual earnings, so would have no chance of accumulating a deposit, getting a mortgage, buying any house anywhere. Is this “fair?” So many have little grasp of it all. My worthy grandchildren, one with two engineeering degrees, the other with a Ph D in medical science, will struggle. Social and financial settings have advantaged and disadvantaged many I know, Moneyed and propertied people are doing well. Big thieves thrive, liars are tops, and real workers can go to buggery, too often, So, do support justice, opportunity, fair reward, inclusion, safety for the needy. Let us be human…
Well said. “Many Boomers are where they are because of a lifetime of work” I would have thought that obvious, but some, reeking in illogical jealousy, ignore this.
“Many Boomers are where they are because of a lifetime of work”
You left out the important part: … in an economy, and under conditions, vastly different to what is current. Starting from the same point nowadays, and with the same individual input, you will not achieve the same result.
@ Phil Pryor: Your grandies are suffering from the community preference for ”mediocrity” because ”excellence” is just too difficult to obtain, and distracts from the pursuit of ”happiness” however that is personally defined.
Since the 80s ”Greed is Good” days, collegiate achievements have declined in number, except during emergencies, and individualism is extolled. OK, so some of us can handle these pressures, but the ”average joe” struggles and gives up.
The impact of FRWNJs like the current LIARBRAL$ and NOtional$ politicians who suck on the public financial teat for no benefit to their voters are a further impediment.
How to rectify the present situation??
1) Remove the publication licences for media, both masthead and television channels, for failing to provide the proper high standard of ”Newspaper/channel of record” reporting.
2) Legislate public disclosure of ”political donations” within 24 hours of receipt, disclosing not only the donor entity or person, but their links to corporations and countries.
3) Demand, and demonstrate for, proper accountability for politicians accessing the Parliamentary Allowances Scheme, and apply the same standards as should apply in the commercial world. Make a dud claim, go to Court for theft. PHONeys take note.
About 60 years ago, a church school in India run by nuns had a strategy that worked. Expect the highest standards in everything from the kids while they were inside the school grounds and the nuns were never disappointed.
Australian voters should expect the highest standards from their political representatives ….. and the LIARBRAL$ & NOtional$ politicians are seen as wanting very badly!!
@NEC: I absolutely agree with everything you say, particularly point 2 however, you have left out an obvious miscreant – the current Labor Party that no longer represent the interests of the population as it once did when it claimed to represent the interests of the workers. John Howard and Peter Costello destroyed the unions and any sense of equity or justice for both employed and unemployed disappeared from ALPs lexicon.
Yes, leefe, times were different 50 years ago. It didn’t take 18 years of annual wages to buy a house, but wages were meagre. It was a waste-not society. Holidays were few and far apart – if at all. Second hand cars were nursed along by home mechanics, because new cars were out of reach for the average family. Housing was basic. Most grew some of their own food. People found creative ways to cook cheap foods like rice, tapioca, pasta, and worked out ways to stretch a meal to fill stomachs. So, they got by, very frugally, with none of today’s expensive expectations. No such thing as a bought coffee, a night out at a restaurant or the movies. And, don’t forget, it took a lifetime of work, to retire in a home they owned, with their first new car and perhaps an overseas trip. Many of us have retired with very little superannuation because there was no such thing until the last 10-20 years of their working life, and are getting by on an age pension. Yet still, boomers are condemned and presumed to have had it “easy.”
Interesting opinions, but many including boomers are not complaining about individual boomers’ achievements or not.
It’s demographic imbalance due to better health and increasing longevity of high fertility silent gens and boomer ‘bomb’, means for now they hold much wealth, dominate our elites and regional elections; for now about 6.5 million (excludes 1.5 million GenX as fertility slips), but media focuses on a few 100k annual temporary border churn….’immigrants’.
It’s the RW MSM, ecosystem, imported US fossil fuel ‘segregation economics’ of Atlas Koch and MAGA white Christian nationalism of Tanton Networks, using boomer ‘bomb’ as an electoral battering ram.
Targeting ageing regional voters, especially middle aged and older, to develop collective narcissism and pensioner populism aka Brexit, Trump, The Voice No campaign and now Brexit 2.0 again with UK RW MSM (led by you know whom) pummeling Starmer and platforming Farage.
Thanks Jen. That’s pretty much us.
My parents grew up through 2 World Wars and a Depression.
I grew up in a house where dad worked out and mum worked at home – I refuse to sat “just a housewife”. People have forgotten that women HAD to leave work and stay home to raise children, there was not a choice unless you were widowed. No such thing as a single mother, no benefits, nothing. We lived on very little. Home grown veg, chickens for eggs, one car for dad. Holidays? Hah. A trip somewhere in Tas sleeping in the car or a tent. They worked very hard to give us a good start in life.
I have worked hard since I was 18 to have a home, to provide for my children. Minimal super cos that didn’t come in until very much later in our working lives.
I KNOW it’s much harder to get into housing these days, so much more expensive. But I also know that there are so many other expenses that could be seen as “disposable income”. Eating out, having the latest mobile phone, bought coffees. You have to choose whether you’ll have those things and want a house with all the trimmings or whether you will start with a tiny basic fixer upper in a not popular suburb. Again, I know those are also few and far between but there are still some.
We Boomers didn’t have everything, but what we have we earned.
I’m with you, Phil, a pre-boomer. I taught my first class in 59.
My children and, 3/4. grand children have tertiary quals and good jobs.
In darwin public servants, could purchase houses, at cost of materials. The land and labor were free.
After Tracy were were given unlimited cash, at 2% ie virtually free.
This naive teacher rebuilt. The chippie next door built a two storey brick mansion.
My Darwin mob have houses, in Fannie Bay and Nightcliff. WAARJ????????????