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(MSNBC) Cool Among other things, Obama's election heralds the end of "the Greediest Generation."   (msnbc.msn.com) divider line 160
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2220 clicks; posted to Politics » on 11 Jan 2009 at 4:42 PM   |  Make this a Fark FavoriteFavorite    |   share: Share on OMGTWITTER WEB2.0share on StumbleUponshare on Facebook  more»   |    Get this fabulous T-Shirt and impress the methane out of your friends! shirt it!

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Winktologist [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 01:43:36 PM  
Hopefully it's not too late.

 
Control_this [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 01:57:35 PM  
No. The market crash of 2008 humbled the Greediest Generation but they're lurking, like a virus in remission.

 
torch [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 01:59:31 PM  
I didn't notice any spike in deaths recently.

 
Tr0mBoNe [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 02:04:42 PM  
img147.imageshack.us

Rules of Acquisition #10: Greed is eternal.

 
Benevolent Misanthrope [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 02:27:31 PM  
Tr0mBoNe: Rules of Acquisition #10: Greed is eternal.

THIS. Ohhhh, so so this.

Humans, as a matter of innate characteristic, are greedy. We can control that greed, even socialize it into partial remission, but it's there. It generally keeps us alive, in tough times, being closely tied to the survival instinct. Given the opportunity to take more than one's fair share, the Weeners of a human is to do so, unless the consequences (either externally applied punishment or internally applied guilt) outweigh the gain.

Just because Obama got elected, doesn't mean humans changed. And certainly not politicians. Keep this in mind dear friends - both sides suck. This particular aspect of humanity is not going to change.

 
Benevolent Misanthrope [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 02:30:19 PM  
LOL - filter pwn3d!

Of course, the sentence should say, "Given the opportunity to take more than one's fair share, the first reaction of a human is to do so..."

 
SpaceyCat [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 02:40:53 PM  
Benevolent Misanthrope: the Weeners of a human is to do so

Yes, we all know that men like their weeners to do so...

 
dancing bear [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:17:27 PM  
Their math skilz are lacking. Obama is a boomer. He just happens to be a good one. There are many like that. We tend to be quiet, thoughtful and otherwise unnewsworthy.

 
PacManDreaming [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:24:55 PM  
Yeah, because today's kids aren't whiny, greedy little blood suckers.

 
Weaver95 [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:29:05 PM  
Rather, it's a sense that a cultural era is ending, one dominated by the boomers, many of whom came of age in the '60s and experienced the bitter divisions caused by the Vietnam War and the protests against it, the civil rights struggle, social change, sexual freedoms, and more

I don't know if this is true or not....but if it is - thank GOD!

I think the boomer generation is soul sick and bitter. They started off believing in free love and cannabis for all, then ended up selling their souls to wall street for a 401k plan and a 'War on Drugs'. They know they sold out too, and when the market collapsed and took their 401k plans with it, I think they realized just how shallow their beliefs were and it's made them more than a little bitter.

 
msannomalley [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:31:59 PM  
Greed and narcissism go hand in hand. If you are only concerned with yourself, then you give into greed more. If you are concerned with the world around you and other people, WITHOUT seeking attention for yourself for thinking of others, you are more generous of a person. The boomers most certainly qualify themselves to be called The Most Narcissistic Generation. Yes, there were some positive things they did for our culture, but they negate the positive when they point out this fact in order to get pats on the back from everyone else. This generation wouldn't know "humility" if it jumped up and bit them in the crotch.

If this shift means we don't have to listen to the boomers go on and on about how great they are and how great the 60's were to the point where it induces violent nausea in anyone under the age of 50, then I'll be a happy camper.

 
msannomalley [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:34:40 PM  
PacManDreaming: Yeah, because today's kids aren't whiny, greedy little blood suckers.

But there is still time for them to change their ways.

 
Weaver95 [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:38:32 PM  
msannomalley: If this shift means we don't have to listen to the boomers go on and on about how great they are and how great the 60's were to the point where it induces violent nausea in anyone under the age of 50, then I'll be a happy camper.

what I always found curious about the boomers was their inherent ability for hypocrisy.

Dad: 'Drugs are bad, m'kay?'
Me: 'but...didn'you smoke pot when you were a kid?'
Dad: 'that's not the point.'
M: 'it IS the point! if you did it and it didn't hurt you any, how can you stand there and tell me that it's bad stuff?'
D: 'because i'm the adult here and the law is the law!'
M: 'great, now you sound like Judge Dredd.'
D: 'who!?'
M: '*sigh* never mind.'

 
PacManDreaming [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:42:39 PM  
msannomalley: But there is still time for them to change their ways.

Yeah...that's gonna happen.

 
Benevolent Misanthrope [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:45:36 PM  
Weaver95: Rather, it's a sense that a cultural era is ending, one dominated by the boomers, many of whom came of age in the '60s and experienced the bitter divisions caused by the Vietnam War and the protests against it, the civil rights struggle, social change, sexual freedoms, and more

I don't know if this is true or not....but if it is - thank GOD!

I think the boomer generation is soul sick and bitter. They started off believing in free love and cannabis for all, then ended up selling their souls to wall street for a 401k plan and a 'War on Drugs'. They know they sold out too, and when the market collapsed and took their 401k plans with it, I think they realized just how shallow their beliefs were and it's made them more than a little bitter.


It may have alot to do with the fact that boomers werpretty-much handed everything by their "greatest generation" parents who wanted to create a better world for their kids. Nothing wrong with that of course, but let's face it - America has revolved around the boomers since 1946. They're an enornous market share, one that has controlled alot of the market for many years. When they started being born in large numbers, suburbs sprang up to house larger families. When they had little league games to go to, station wagons came on the scene. When they got old enough to start buying houses and flooded the market, townhouses and condos boomed with them. When they got older and couldn't keep an erection, Viagra was invented. As far as the boomers are concerned, the material world caters to their comfort and convenience. This past year certainly has been a rude awakening - the whole market suddenly turned around and bit them in the ass. And, being the "me generation," they haven't instilled their kids with a sense of responsibility to them. Oops.

 
Weaver95 [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:50:35 PM  
Benevolent Misanthrope: It may have alot to do with the fact that boomers werpretty-much handed everything by their "greatest generation" parents who wanted to create a better world for their kids. Nothing wrong with that of course, but let's face it - America has revolved around the boomers since 1946. They're an enornous market share, one that has controlled alot of the market for many years. When they started being born in large numbers, suburbs sprang up to house larger families. When they had little league games to go to, station wagons came on the scene. When they got old enough to start buying houses and flooded the market, townhouses and condos boomed with them. When they got older and couldn't keep an erection, Viagra was invented. As far as the boomers are concerned, the material world caters to their comfort and convenience. This past year certainly has been a rude awakening - the whole market suddenly turned around and bit them in the ass. And, being the "me generation," they haven't instilled their kids with a sense of responsibility to them. Oops.

heh. I'd forgotten about Viagra. that drug had one of the FASTEST approvals from the FDA that i've ever seen.

Ah well, i'm sure it'll sort itself out over the next decade.

 
GoDawgs! [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 03:53:34 PM  
Soooo...when do we start euthanizing the old folks?

 
Benevolent Misanthrope [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 04:08:40 PM  
GoDawgs!: Soooo...when do we start euthanizing the old folks?

When the food supply runs out.

/Soylent Green FTW!

 
quickdraw [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 04:10:51 PM  
dancing bear: Their math skilz are lacking. Obama is a boomer. He just happens to be a good one. There are many like that. We tend to be quiet, thoughtful and otherwise unnewsworthy.

You can't have boomers for parents and be a boomer yourself. I (like Obama) was born in 61 to boomer parents. I'm so sick of being lumped in with those clowns.

Boomers - Raised by stay-at-home moms while daddy worked. Divorce was rare. No need for student loans to get through college.

Post-Boomers/Pre Gen Xers - Raised by TV (4 channels!). Mom and Dad both worked and got divorced. Graduated college in debt.

It was a completely different experience and has produced a completely different generation.

 
ZAZ [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 04:24:58 PM  
If you think greed is gone, read the news about people scrambling to get a piece of Obama's trillion dollar jackpot. I mean stimulus.

 
PacManDreaming [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 04:29:11 PM  
quickdraw: You can't have boomers for parents and be a boomer yourself. I (like Obama) was born in 61 to boomer parents. I'm so sick of being lumped in with those clowns.

Wrong answer.

"The U.S. Census Bureau considers a baby boomer to be someone born during the demographic birth boom between 1946 and 1964."

 
awfulperson [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 04:29:22 PM  
[COOL][UNLIKELY]

 
No Such Agency 2009-01-11 04:47:03 PM  
"Revolver" is still the last good rock album... Try to tell that to kids and see if they believe you.

 
worlddan 2009-01-11 04:48:29 PM  
Now that line is the funniest thing I have heard all decade. Rid of them. We will never be rid of them.

 
unyon [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 04:53:15 PM  
Obama represents a realistic approach to politics- Idealistic goals made real with pragmatic action. As another member of that political club, I endorse his approach wholeheartedly.

Don't let yor morality get in the way of doing what's right.

 
Dilbert J. Galt 2009-01-11 04:55:01 PM  
PacManDreaming: quickdraw: You can't have boomers for parents and be a boomer yourself. I (like Obama) was born in 61 to boomer parents. I'm so sick of being lumped in with those clowns.

Wrong answer.

"The U.S. Census Bureau considers a baby boomer to be someone born during the demographic birth boom between 1946 and 1964."


Nope, right answer. Generation Jones (new window) A.K.A. invisible generation.

Also fed up with the false boomer label

 
Jim_Callahan 2009-01-11 04:57:41 PM  
Weaver95: msannomalley: If this shift means we don't have to listen to the boomers go on and on about how great they are and how great the 60's were to the point where it induces violent nausea in anyone under the age of 50, then I'll be a happy camper.

what I always found curious about the boomers was their inherent ability for hypocrisy.

Dad: 'Drugs are bad, m'kay?'
Me: 'but...didn'you smoke pot when you were a kid?'
Dad: 'that's not the point.'
M: 'it IS the point! if you did it and it didn't hurt you any, how can you stand there and tell me that it's bad stuff?'
D: 'because i'm the adult here and the law is the law!'
M: 'great, now you sound like Judge Dredd.'
D: 'who!?'
M: '*sigh* never mind.'


Uh... that's because he's your father, not because he's a boomer. Parents want their kids to be better than they were, they basically want you to be like them, but already having learned from all their mistakes. It's not really hypocritical at all.

Don't worry too much about not seeing it, though, my parents couldn't properly articulate it either, had to derive it from context.

 
Jeffrey.Rodriguez 2009-01-11 04:58:02 PM  
And the beginning of the end of the United States, which honestly began in '01.

/Financial collapse, it's what's for dinner.

 
whidbey [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:02:44 PM  
Weaver95: I think the boomer generation is soul sick and bitter. They started off believing in free love and cannabis for all, then ended up selling their souls to wall street for a 401k plan and a 'War on Drugs'. They know they sold out too, and when the market collapsed and took their 401k plans with it, I think they realized just how shallow their beliefs were and it's made them more than a little bitter.

Maybe as a whole, but I need to point out to you that trendy potheads that sold themselves to Wall Street weren't the ones who came up with the radical concepts you cited, nor are those ideals dead.

 
Resin33 2009-01-11 05:07:05 PM  
Hey! A reference to the 13th generation. I haven't seen that one since college.

 
Gated Community Organizer 2009-01-11 05:10:04 PM  
No Such Agency: "Revolver" is still the last good rock album... Try to tell that to kids and see if they believe you.


I beg to differ, of course. This was the last great ROCK album.

ecx.images-amazon.com


/plug it in

//yeah I'm old

 
PacManDreaming [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:10:54 PM  
Dilbert J. Galt: Nope, right answer. Generation Jones (new window) A.K.A. invisible generation.

Also fed up with the false boomer label


Keep dreaming. Baby Boomers are from '46 to '64. You know, when there was a major population explosion...aka, the Baby Boom.

 
whidbey [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:11:50 PM  
Gated Community Organizer: This was the last great ROCK album.

Uh...you need to do some catching up...

 
TheGreatGazoo 2009-01-11 05:15:00 PM  
Every generation is the 'greediest generation' once they get past middle age and decide that working is for the young-uns.

 
castufari 2009-01-11 05:16:12 PM  
ZAZ: If you think greed is gone, read the news about people scrambling to get a piece of Obama's trillion dollar jackpot. I mean stimulus.

That's different according to the Obamaites I know, much different.

 
Dilbert J. Galt 2009-01-11 05:16:16 PM  
PacManDreaming: Dilbert J. Galt: Nope, right answer. Generation Jones (new window) A.K.A. invisible generation.

Also fed up with the false boomer label

Keep dreaming. Baby Boomers are from '46 to '64. You know, when there was a major population explosion...aka, the Baby Boom.


Sorry, wrong. Birth rate does not define a generation. Want to explain why the boomer generation is nearly twice as long as generation X? Look at the NYT info on the link I provided.
Combining boomer and joneser is just politics.

 
Frank N Stein 2009-01-11 05:20:27 PM  
Weaver:
You mentioned the war on drugs, and tied it to conservatism.
Joe Biden is an old school drug warrior.

/agrees that the WoD is bad.

 
Gated Community Organizer 2009-01-11 05:20:28 PM  
whidbey: Uh...you need to do some catching up...


Dude, have you heard that one? It has the best cover of "Born To Be Wild" evar.

Every song explodes through the speakers.

 
whidbey [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:20:52 PM  
Dilbert J. Galt: Generation Jones

Never heard of that one. Why would that be any different than Generation X? It's a better term.

/Generation "Jones" sucks

 
Dilbert J. Galt 2009-01-11 05:21:54 PM  
whidbey: Dilbert J. Galt: Generation Jones

Never heard of that one. Why would that be any different than Generation X? It's a better term.

/Generation "Jones" sucks


It's the generation between boomers and X.

 
Gated Community Organizer 2009-01-11 05:22:15 PM  
Frank N Stein: Joe Biden is an old school drug warrior.

he is also an idiotic gas bag.

 
whidbey [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:23:24 PM  
Gated Community Organizer: Dude, have you heard that one?

Oh yeah. I love it. Rick Rubin. Great production. Billy Duffy=shredding

But I have reservations about calling it "the last great rock album" anymore than I would Revolver...

Plenty of awesome rocking experiences since then, too many to mention.

 
whidbey [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:24:09 PM  
Dilbert J. Galt: /Generation "Jones" sucks

It's the generation between boomers and X.


When does "X" start?

 
Mnemia 2009-01-11 05:25:34 PM  
msannomalley: The boomers most certainly qualify themselves to be called The Most Narcissistic Generation.

Totally agreed. Even now, almost all government policy revolves around the boomers at the expense of everyone else. Why do you think the recent bailouts get passed so unquestioningly, along with various interventions designed to prop up the price of homes by rewarding the irresponsible? It's simple: both these things are for the benefit of the boomers at the expense of everyone young enough to have decades of paying taxes to service all this debt still ahead of us. Private pensions were slowly eliminated in this country due to boomer greed, and now they're paying the price for that since their larger, older 401(k) accounts have predictably crashed in value right as the planned to retire. We can't have the market just correct, and bad banks go bankrupt, because even though that would help our economy become more efficient in the long run, it would hurt the boomers who want to retire "now, daddy".

Same with the house thing: a lot of irresponsible boomers were actually planning on cashing in their home equity, downsizing their houses, and retiring on the profits, and now they can't since a lot of that has evaporated like the paper money it was. So now we see the government trying to prop up prices in the housing market instead of letting economic equilibrium return. They say we "have to" do this because otherwise a lot of homeowners are screwed, but they show a remarkable lack of similar concern for the younger people who have been screwed out of home ownership entirely because of outrageously inflated bubble home prices. What's the difference? A lot of the homeowners with lots of lost equity are boomers, and the people getting screwed are younger. So the politicians choose to cater to the boomers.

Once you start looking below the surface, the boomers and the tremendous political power they represent are one of the main forces behind a lot of recent bad decisions by our government. I'm not convinced yet that Obama will change that all that much, but if he does it will be welcome and overdue.

 
Gated Community Organizer 2009-01-11 05:25:36 PM  
whidbey: Plenty of awesome rocking experiences since then, too many to mention.


Yeah, but that one would be at the top of my list. Rubin nailed that one.

 
PacManDreaming [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:25:50 PM  
Dilbert J. Galt: Sorry, wrong. Birth rate does not define a generation. Want to explain why the boomer generation is nearly twice as long as generation X? Look at the NYT info on the link I provided.
Combining boomer and joneser is just politics.


*Sigh*

If you knew your history, you'd know those are the Baby Boomer years. Gen-X comes right after them. Just because some TV director has decided he doesn't want to be labeled a Boomer doesn't mean that he isn't one. Just like everyone else that was born during those years.

 
Dilbert J. Galt 2009-01-11 05:26:24 PM  
Link (new window) See the NYT graph on the site.

 
Dilbert J. Galt 2009-01-11 05:29:52 PM  
PacManDreaming:
*Sigh*
If you knew your history, you'd know those are the Baby Boomer years. Gen-X comes right after them. Just because some TV director has decided he doesn't want to be labeled a Boomer doesn't mean that he isn't one. Just like everyone else that was born during those years.


Sigh right back at you. The 'Baby Boom' is NOT the same as the boomer generation. Again, why does the boomer generation cover a longer period of time than other generations? It isn't a TV director, it's a sociologist. Try learning about it before you dismiss it.

 
whidbey [TotalFark] 2009-01-11 05:30:21 PM  
Dilbert J. Galt: Link (new window) See the NYT graph on the site.

Huh. I guess, being born in '65, I'm at the tale end of it. No wonder everyone born after me is such a weirdo...

 
Lawnchair 2009-01-11 05:31:49 PM  
Jeffrey.Rodriguez: And the beginning of the end of the United States, which honestly began in '01.

/Financial collapse, it's what's for dinner.


The beginning of the end was 1971.

Peak US oil production (we've been Saudi biatches since).
End of Bretton Woods and of any monetary basis but fiat debt.
Signing to GATT, leading to the eventual undercutting of US manufacturing.

The last chance to change course was Carter's call for energy independence and shared sacrifice. The Boomers did the greedy thing and picked Reagan.

 
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