The covid-19 pandemic would be a wake-up call for America, advocates for the elderly predicted: incontrovertible proof that the nation wasn’t doing enough to care for vulnerable older adults.
The death toll was shocking, as were reports of chaos in nursing homes and seniors suffering from isolation, depression, untreated illness, and neglect. Around 900,000 older adults have died of covid-19 to date, accounting for 3 of every 4 Americans who have perished in the pandemic.
But decisive actions that advocates had hoped for haven’t materialized. Today, most people — and government officials — appear to accept covid as a part of ordinary life. Many seniors at high risk aren’t getting antiviral therapies for covid, and most older adults in nursing homes aren’t getting updated vaccines. Efforts to strengthen care quality in nursing homes and assisted living centers have stalled amid debate over costs and the availability of staff. And only a small percentage of people are masking or taking other precautions in public despite a new wave of covid, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus infections hospitalizing and killing seniors.
In the last week of 2023 and the first two weeks of 2024 alone, 4,810 people 65 and older lost their lives to covid — a group that would fill more than 10 large airliners — according to data provided by the CDC. But the alarm that would attend plane crashes is notably absent. (During the same period, the flu killed an additional 1,201 seniors, and RSV killed 126.)
“It boggles my mind that there isn’t more outrage,” said Alice Bonner, 66, senior adviser for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. “I’m at the point where I want to say, ‘What the heck? Why aren’t people responding and doing more for older adults?’”
It’s a good question. Do we simply not care?
I put this big-picture question, which rarely gets asked amid debates over budgets and policies, to health care professionals, researchers, and policymakers who are older themselves and have spent many years working in the aging field. Here are some of their responses.
The pandemic made things worse. Prejudice against older adults is nothing new, but “it feels more intense, more hostile” now than previously, said Karl Pillemer, 69, a professor of psychology and gerontology at Cornell University.
“I think the pandemic helped reinforce images of older people as sick, frail, and isolated — as people who aren’t like the rest of us,” he said. “And human nature being what it is, we tend to like people who are similar to us and be less well disposed to ‘the others.’”
“A lot of us felt isolated and threatened during the pandemic. It made us sit there and think, ‘What I really care about is protecting myself, my wife, my brother, my kids, and screw everybody else,’” said W. Andrew Achenbaum, 76, the author of nine books on aging and a professor emeritus at Texas Medical Center in Houston.
In an environment of “us against them,” where everybody wants to blame somebody, Achenbaum continued, “who’s expendable? Older people who aren’t seen as productive, who consume resources believed to be in short supply. It’s really hard to give old people their due when you’re terrified about your own existence.”
Although covid continues to circulate, disproportionately affecting older adults, “people now think the crisis is over, and we have a deep desire to return to normal,” said Edwin Walker, 67, who leads the Administration on Aging at the Department of Health and Human Services. He spoke as an individual, not a government representative.
The upshot is “we didn’t learn the lessons we should have,” and the ageism that surfaced during the pandemic hasn’t abated, he observed.
Ageism is pervasive. “Everyone loves their own parents. But as a society, we don’t value older adults or the people who care for them,” said Robert Kramer, 74, co-founder and strategic adviser at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
Kramer thinks boomers are reaping what they have sown. “We have chased youth and glorified youth. When you spend billions of dollars trying to stay young, look young, act young, you build in an automatic fear and prejudice of the opposite.”
Combine the fear of diminishment, decline, and death that can accompany growing older with the trauma and fear that arose during the pandemic, and “I think covid has pushed us back in whatever progress we were making in addressing the needs of our rapidly aging society. It has further stigmatized aging,” said John Rowe, 79, professor of health policy and aging at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
“The message to older adults is: ‘Your time has passed, give up your seat at the table, stop consuming resources, fall in line,’” said Anne Montgomery, 65, a health policy expert at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. She believes, however, that baby boomers can “rewrite and flip that script if we want to and if we work to change systems that embody the values of a deeply ageist society.”
Integration, not separation, is needed. The best way to overcome stigma is “to get to know the people you are stigmatizing,” said G. Allen Power, 70, a geriatrician and the chair in aging and dementia innovation at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging in Canada. “But we separate ourselves from older people so we don’t have to think about our own aging and our own mortality.”
The solution: “We have to find ways to better integrate older adults in the community as opposed to moving them to campuses where they are apart from the rest of us,” Power said. “We need to stop seeing older people only through the lens of what services they might need and think instead of all they have to offer society.”
That point is a core precept of the National Academy of Medicine’s 2022 report Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity. Older people are a “natural resource” who “make substantial contributions to their families and communities,” the report’s authors write in introducing their findings.
Those contributions include financial support to families, caregiving assistance, volunteering, and ongoing participation in the workforce, among other things.
“When older people thrive, all people thrive,” the report concludes.
Future generations will get their turn. That’s a message Kramer conveys in classes he teaches at the University of Southern California, Cornell, and other institutions. “You have far more at stake in changing the way we approach aging than I do,” he tells his students. “You are far more likely, statistically, to live past 100 than I am. If you don’t change society’s attitudes about aging, you will be condemned to lead the last third of your life in social, economic, and cultural irrelevance.”
As for himself and the baby boom generation, Kramer thinks it’s “too late” to effect the meaningful changes he hopes the future will bring.
“I suspect things for people in my generation could get a lot worse in the years ahead,” Pillemer said. “People are greatly underestimating what the cost of caring for the older population is going to be over the next 10 to 20 years, and I think that’s going to cause increased conflict.”
–Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News and CNN
JimboXYZ says
Depends upon who you are as to whether the elderly are taken care of. One doesn’t need to be age 55+. At a certain point in he work force the age discrimination creeps in, employers get cheap on the elderly, if not outright dump the elderly as the healthcare issues start to cost more money. Too often there is no pension or even higher salary for the elderly. Employers are guilty of age discrimination too often, yet somehow weasel out of being charged civilly, perhaps even criminally for it. At a certain point society turns it’s back on the elderly.
Jan says
Seniors can take some actions on their own. My husband and I are both over 70 and very healthy. We get vaccines for Covid, pneumonia, shingles, flu, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Those are effective, proactive – and easy – ways to stay healthier. And, we believe in science. Those who don’t will likely suffer more undesirable consequences (although those who don’t believe in science will disagree with that statement). We also eat well, exercise, volunteer, and go to the dentist and seek medical help if/when necessary. These things are within our control that help keep us healthy and active. I still have a part-time career.
We contribute to society through patronage, travel, making purchases, going out to dinner, and supporting/contributing to causes we believe in. We help our neighbors, and our children and grandchildren. We both had long full-time careers, and now give back.
The point will come when we cannot care for ourselves (and we have planned for that eventuality so we won’t be a burden on others), but we don’t feed into the narrative that if you’re over 60 you’re over, so we should step aside.
As singer Tom Petty said, “If you’re not getting older, you’re dead.” I’ll gladly embrace getting older to the alternative.
Sherry says
@ Jan. . . my husband and I couldn’t agree more! We are both in our mid 70’s and I’m currently sending this comment from our Southern African 2 month holiday. One where we will do a road trip of a couple of hundred miles, go on several safaris, do a 12 day cruise, and a 9 day tour of the Namibian countryside.
When we return to Sausalito, CA, I’ll continue to develop my on-line art portfolio and market, and my husband will continue his almost daily Pickleball matches. It’s the gym at least twice a week for us. I am very politically active. . . supporting the Democratic party. And, of course we support independent media outlets and those less fortunate.
It seems to me that it is the younger generations of the US culture that do not value those over 60 as some Asian cultures do. A lifetime of accumulated wisdom largely goes unappreciated.
Is it because the next generations are even more self centered and entitled than we were? Speaking for myself, who was born into a very financially poor family, I have never felt entitled. I am a self made gal by any definition.
My nieces and nephews are something else again. The lack of appreciation for their opportunities can be astounding. There are times when the future seems bleak for the phone addicted, selfie taking generations of the future. Hopefully, the better side of your human nature will prevail and our species will continue to not only survive but evolve.
TR says
I disagree 100% because I know some elderly people that were healthy (except for a few aches and pains that everyone experiences when they get older) and they did all the things you did, exercised, ate right, don’t drink or smoke, were very active with traveling. But since they got the shots, they are all suffering from major health problems. Coincidence, I think not. There are reports as to the shots and what’s in them. EVERY shot out there have different effects on people. So I’d say you’re reactions to the shots have nothing to do with your life expectancy. So just because you think that all shots have helped with how long you have been alive (or plan to) It is all generic and family history. Some day the real truth will come out about the shots and the real side effects, but unfortunately all us older people will have already passed on. So the bottom line for me is, I live my life the way I want and be happy and at the end I will just like everyone else will die. It’s part of the life cycle.
DaleL says
TR, I am curious as to which vaccines (“the shots”) you are referring to. I had a smallpox vaccination when I was too young to remember. I remember my Salk polio vaccination when I was very young. Over the years I have gotten influenza, shingles, pneumonia, tetanus, COVID, pertussis (whooping cough), and even rabies vaccinations. When I was a child (I am old.), there were no vaccines for measles or chickenpox. I had chickenpox at nine months and measles when I was 8 or 9. As I was recovering from measles, I came down with acute appendicitis and was hospitalized. My children have been spared many diseases, which I contracted, because of vaccination.
If you are referring to COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, the CDC has a website with that information.
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccine-effectiveness
Sherry says
Dale L. . . Thanks so much for injecting “facts” into the vaccine discussion. My impression is that TR is an anti-vaxxer with an agenda and no facts.
I, on the other hand, lost 2 dear family members who refused to get vaccinated for political reasons.
Greg says
I’m 73, my wife is 72, and when we die, the government saves money. No more social security, and no more Medicare costs. Why should they care about us? They save money, and everything is about money.
The dude says
MAGA believes the olds should’ve sacrificed themselves during the height of the pandemic.
How dumb is that?
dave says
Someone cares, but the mayor issue is the GOVT, all Congress talks good game but does zip. ITs been that way for over un toll years. What happens as one gets old and gets hit with disabilities, Dementia, cancer, bone diseases that limit walking and thats puts a huge burden on either one of their children ( if they are around) as they become a caregiver or they are left to either have their spouse who is as old as they are, and most likely not great shape for lifting a grown gentleman or wife to the tub, or even off the toilet. OR they are pretty much bankrupt in some assisted living center or nursing home, IF and that’s a BIG IF they have the funds to shell out 5000-8000 K a month. Where is the financial help for these seniors, soc security or medicare doesn’t pay for it and if a senior is in an assisted living center and runs out of funds they will be evicted. All I see is articles like this is just , writing about what if’s, that in our lifetime will not happen. Maybe down the road in 20+ years after some govt clowns stop boosting their egos and padding their pocket books ( they are not poor or even middle class). A BIG freaking Yes, take care of the elderly.
JW says
Get yourself a copy of the Xenophobe Guide to the Americans and it will explain.
The American culture is based on the adolescent nature of its people. We are a young “winner takes all”nation that never grew up.
We tell ourselves that we are the greatest nation in the world. That makes you feel good!
However, the dark side is an undercurrent of insecurity and depression; Americans always think they are missing something.
It is all getting worse. Our country becomes increasingly dysfunctional. We have a huge military/industrial complex to feel more secure but our government (the White House, Congress and the Courts), supposedly based democratic principles, is acting more and more like adolescents. We were once one of the leading democracies in the world , we are now down towards the middle (far from #1) and we may be on our way to an authoritarian or maybe even theocratic regime.
We are drowning ourselves in conspiracy theories.
When are we going to read again?
Unfortunately, our educational system is going downhill too.
Let’s not be lazy, but make a serious effort to read real books again and THINK.
Sherry says
Thank you JW, well said!
DaleL says
I really don’t like over generalizations. “Old people” are a very diverse group. There are 80+ year olds who are still enjoying independent life, playing golf, etc. Whereas there are others who are dead, dying, or in nursing homes. As for COVID-19, in 2021 old people and health care providers were prioritized for the first vaccines. That seems the opposite of not caring.
Considering how contagious COVID is, pretty much everyone should have been exposed by now. And yet, my immediate circle of friends and family seem to have avoided it. Our ages are 80, 79, 74, 74, 67, 66, 65 and 62. I assume that we have been exposed, but none of us have had any known illness from COVID. All our at home COVID tests have come back negative. I do know that we are all fully vaccinated. We all trust science and most of us are college educated.
In contrast, I occasionally play golf with a much younger individual. He and his wife are anti-vaccine. They both got COVID in the summer of 2021. A few weeks after their recovery, she suffered from acute liver failure. She had to have a liver transplant. Subsequent studies have found a link between COVID and organ damage. The liver is vulnerable not just to COVID, but also to some of the drugs that were used/pushed early in the pandemic, especially hydroxychloroquine. Citizen Trump, DeSantis and Joseph Ladapo all promoted the anti-parasite drug as a treatment for COVID.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9753058/
In the end we are all individuals. Our personal health and happiness results from a combination of luck (DNA, family, etc.) and our choices in life.
Laurel says
Great article! Apology accepted.
Actually, I find the attitude today rather sad. In my youth, I tried to be kind to the elderly. I remember one day, when I took my mom grocery shopping (a real test) she would really relish taking her time. When checking out in line, she could not figure out how to use her SSI card (not all seniors are rich like some like to believe. If a homemaker, which was the thing for women in that day, did not stay with her husband for 10 years, she got no SS) and had the cashier, and half the line, helping her out. Then, we proceeded back to my car at 0.005 mph, when a man told me I had ” the patience of a saint!” No saint here, just trying to understand how it was for her.
I still hold doors open, still pick up dropped things, still try to be patient, still help the blind find their partner. I’m not talking about people like me, at 71, I’m now referring to the elderly. I did not think that the youth, after me, would be so uncaring.
I do not blame the older generations for where we are. After all, we all participated, and still do. The youth today is not helpless, and it’s annoying when they behave so. We are a part of the village, and are still very much participating. We fill the restaurants, we still work, we volunteer, we help out, and if you’re lucky, you’ll be here too. If you pay attention, and listen, you may even actually learn something, and enjoy a few shortcuts.
Angry Millenial says
The younger generations are too busy struggling and fighting for their own survival to “care about old people.” How are we supposed to help old people when we can’t even help ourselves? Wake up and look at the mess the boomers have left for future generations. Trillions of dollars of national debt. A broken political system. Unaffordable home prices. Rampant inflation. No more pensions. Medicare and Social Security likely headed for insolvency by 2031 and 2033, respectively. Many (not all) boomers are selfish and greedy, choosing to blow through their retirement savings on frivolous vacations and eating out rather than passing down generational wealth. And then there are the boomers past retirement age who continue to cling to their jobs, preventing younger generations from advancing into their roles. Meanwhile, Gen X and Millenials bust their butts to never really get ahead in life. Many of us graduated from college into the Great Recession and lost our jobs. Once we recovered and managed to get ahead that progress was wiped out by inflation. Boomers control the vast majority of housing, and seemingly have no problem overcharging young families, expecting us to fund their retirements. The boomers pulled up the ladders behind them. So, dear old people, we’re truly sorry for not caring, we’re simply too busy paying down the debt you’ve saddled us (and our children) with to help you. Oh yeah, tell me again how we’re all too lazy and spend too much time on our phones. It’s not too late to start caring about young people.
Ed P says
Angry Millennial…
Who ever told you that you were OWED anything. It’s time you learn the term FAIR is a playground term that children use. Nothing is life is necessarily FAIR.
Every generation, including the boomer had their own complex hurdles to overcome in life. My father always lived by the rule, that nothing is free and no one is owed anything. I lived it.
I spent 50 years working 80-90 hours per week to raise 6 successful children and live an upper middle class life. I will never apologize for my net worth or theirs, which all exceed mine! They are not angry.
Look in the mirror and get a second and maybe a third job. Did you ever have a home mortgage rate of 17 percent? Yes, it happened and those of us who took them, paid them. And I paid for all ten years of my post high school education as well as all 6 kids too.
Maybe you should throw out the participation trophies you cling to and in closing I hope I live long enough to be as smart as you.
Angry Millenial says
Typical boomer response. Complaining about a 17% mortgage on your $40k home back in the 80s? Surely, you refinanced, and that home is likely worth $400k+ today, and you’re likely trying to dump it on a young family at 7% so you can pad your retirement, while you sit on your old arse and do nothing all day. Learn how to do basic math. Go get a second or third job? That’s cute. I should probably also spend 25 hours a day working according to your logic. Hate to burst your bubble…I’m 41 years old and my net worth is slightly over $1m. And I have ZERO debt. I’ve busted my ass everyday to earn what I have. No one has handed me anything, nor would I expect anyone to. There are 72.4 million millennials and around 618,000 of us are millionaires (.85%). That makes me one of the lucky few, except I don’t consider myself lucky. A million bucks sure as heck doesn’t buy what it used to, especially looking at the future, which your generation has ruined. More than 20% of boomers are millionaires. The wealth gap in net worth between boomers and millennials is 12x. Again, in typical boomer fashion, you miss all the points, entirely. You think your generation is the only one that had it rough. Were you even alive during the Great Depression? No, you weren’t. It adds nothing to the conversation. You have no sympathy for the younger generation, which is precisely why we have no sympathy for “old people” like yourself.
Ed P says
Angry,
So what should I do. Donate my homes to some worthy families? Go back to work as a Walmart greeter? Stop going out to dinners? Quit gifting out my estate to my 6 children and their spouses and my 12 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren…they don’t need it.
Walk a mile in a boomers shoes(you will have blisters because they are certainly too large for your feet) and enlighten us all how we correct our sins.
Your arguments really are gullible. 20/20 hindsight is easy.
Angry Millenial says
Ed, for starters, you can lose the condescending attitude? What can I do to make the world a better place? This is a question we should all be asking ourselves. But such ideological, critical thinking appears to have skipped your generation. I don’t recall ever asking for a handout. In fact, I thought I was pretty clear I’ve worked very hard for everything I have. I’m simply stating facts (with a tinge of sarcasm and sensationalism to get your attention), and this seems to upset you. How dare I challenge the status quo, right? Again, check your fragile little ego at the door. Since you’re apparently so wealthy and your children do not need your financial support, I’m sure you can come up with a single selfless act, such as donating a portion of your enormous wealth to a Children’s Hospital. Perhaps, by doing so, you can help save the life of a child with cancer (or another life-threatening illness) or even help alleviate some of the financial burden of medical costs for their family members. If you don’t want to part with your precious dollars, then perhaps, you can impress upon your children the importance of helping their fellow human beings so they don’t grow up to be selfish and self-centered like their father. As for me personally, I’m doing everything I can to help my generation. It’s why I don’t have time to “care about old people.” I will continue to fight for our voices to be heard. We are the future, not you and your stubborn antiquated ways. I have a friend on the verge of losing her home after she was let go from her job recently, so I’ve been doing what I can to help support her and her daughter, in addition to financially supporting my own family. I also have a mother in law on fixed income who I help support financially. All it takes is a single act of kindness and a little bit of compassion to make the world a better place. There’s 76 million boomers, imagine if you all did just one nice thing for a stranger, what a better place the world would be. It’s called “paying it forward,” though I suppose such a foreign concept makes me “entitled.”
Ed P says
Are you cloaking redistribution of wealth under your own moral certainties?
History may prove you correct, or not.
Sherry says
@angry millennial. . . you not only sound angry, but you also sound like you have a very entitled attitude.
It could be that you did not learn about American or World history in school. In any case, it’s likely that you never served in a war zone, or lost a loved one who did. You did not suffer through the truly horrific “Great Depression”. Have you spent one night homeless, living in the streets? Have you ever felt hunger pains that racked your entire body? Have you lived in a skin color that creates such hate against you that you are terrified every day that you must go out in public?
Do you really think that the generations ahead of you had it all handed to them? I paid my dues of 45-50 hours a week for 38 years, with zero help from my struggling family. In addition to a very full day’s work, I put myself through college at night. I lived in a cold water flat with the shared shower down the common hallway in New Jersey where the Winter wind literally blew through cracks in the walls.
It’s your turn. . . count your blessings, stop complaining, and pay your own dues!
BTW. . . everything is relative. . . traveling to other countries and immersing oneself in other cultures is an invaluable educational opportunity. It opens the mind and heart, and helps us to understand just how incredibly fortunate we all are.
Peace!
Angry Millenial says
Here we go…another typical boomer response.
You guys are really exhausting with these stories of how you had to walk to school barefoot uphill in the snow without a lunch pail. Save me the fables. I’ve heard them all.
Yes, my grandfather grew up DURING the Great Depression. He had 3 other brothers and they had one pair of shoes that the four of them shared. He had to drop out of school in the 8th grade to help his family on the farm. When they could eat meat, it was considered a luxury. They usually had to hunt and kill it themselves. He fought in WW1 and was a Purple Heart recipient, injured while saving his platoon from a burning train in Belgium. My grandmother worked in a Tampa Nugget factory rolling cigars. Gave birth to 5 baby boomers. My grandparents belonged to the Greatest Generation, a distinctive honor the entitled cry baby boomers think they hold.
Do you guys ever look at facts or statistics? Yes, I have friends who served in Iraq, some of whom didn’t make it home. They made the ultimate sacrifice. I’ve been unjustly incarcerated before. I’m the child of an immigrant father. Stop assuming you know anything about me or my generation. Perhaps you should listen more and speak less.
Again, my concerns lie with the future, not our history. Stop harping on the past. You still have tomorrow. What are YOU going to do to make the world a better place, tomorrow?
Angry Millenial says
Boomers control the majority of business, politics, and wealth here in the U.S.
That’s a fact.
And in my opinion, this is hurting the younger generations, because you’re mostly too selfish, greedy, and think you know everything.
One day we’ll pry it all from your liver spotted hands and the world will be a better place.
Laurel says
Dear Angry Millennial: You poor thing! You are the only ones who have ever had it tough, right? Oooooh, the Big Recession! Ever heard of the Big Depression? We just messed everything up for you and your children, as you, yourselves, do not use oil, gas, plastics, and have zero waste and zero carbon footprints. Have I got that right? How is it this terrible world has not changed on your watch? You too young to be able to be effective? You have no say? You have no vote? You can’t call your senators and representatives? You are the only generation too busy to fix the mess we supposedly, purposely made for you? You took off your knee pads, your wrist pads, your elbow pads, your helmet, dropped your trophies and had a fall, so now you’re angry?
Let me tell you, dear millennial, I have not know one single Boomer who wanted their offspring to fail. That’s a load of crap! Every generation wants their kids to do better than them. Since you are on your phone right now call your parents and ask them if it was a plan to screw your generation over. But you are so entitled that you feel your folks should leave you their life savings (mine didn’t), and you don’t believe they put money into their SS and Medicare all their working lives, again, only you.
You are on the phone, and you are being fed bullshit by social media. How do I know? You used the exact same term here as did Dude, pretty much word for word: “The boomers pulled up the ladders behind them.” I have never heard anyone ever say that before Dude wrote it on this site. Now you used it, and I know those are not your words, but something fed to you. That tells me that you are getting your misinformation from the same folks who are working at dividing up this country from within. Not much different than far right media like Fox Entertainment or Newsmax. You are writing made up talking points, not your own thoughts.
Y’all are easy to fool as you clearly have no understanding of history, or what past generations have gone through. No history; no civics. So you have been convinced, by people with dark intentions, that you should blame someone else for your station in life. Start reading some books before they are all banned. Take charge of your life and stop expecting someone else to pad your falls.
Angry Millenial says
And this is why we don’t care about old people. They’re mean and nasty.
Endless dark money says
Oldies had it all they could buy a house for 10 thousand dollars. They got pensions. Even today they get free Healthcare and income each month. These programs aren’t and won’t be around for younger people. And the hopeful future totally disregards climate change and likelihood of global war especially if another R get elected. If anything it’s just lies at this point to keep people working as long as possible before the house of cards collapses.
Mary Fusco says
Endless, I am an oldie (77) and would like to know where I sign up for all the freebies you mention. My husband and I worked a total of 100 years – 50 years each. During that time, we paid into Social Security. My Medicare is deducted each moth from my SS check. In addition, I carry a supplemental Health Insurance that I also pay for monthly. Yes you could buy a house for $10,000 but the pay rate was probably $2-$3 an hour. Put that into perspective if you will. One thing that us “oldies” did not do is live off of the system. Let’s look at how many people today never step into a workplace and taxpayers are supporting them.
Angry Millenial says
“One thing us Oldies did not do is live off of the system”
You literally just stated you’re collecting SSI and Medicare (which, btw, are likely headed for insolvency around 2031-2033).
The gov’t has racked up more than $34 trillion in debt on the boomers’ watch. Who created and voted for all of these entitlement programs? YOU did.
YOUR generation has controlled the government for the last 20-40+ years. You ARE the system.
But thank goodness the 2024 election will save us all…we have two great boomer candidates to choose from.
NOT!
Ray W. says
I have occasionally commented that people like Angry Millenial are not alone. There are far larger numbers of angry millennials out there than they let on. The older generation, myself included, would be wise to listen to them.
As I have commented before, when my paternal grandmother came of age in 1910, she knew that if she married the wrong man, it was likely a death sentence. An alcoholic who could not keep a job had a very short lifespan in 1910. A woman married to such a man also commonly died young. Absent family, there were very few safety nets for the self-destructive among us. According to mortuary records, however minimal they were at the time (only 29 states reported birth and death records to a national registry in 1900), the average white male lived around 48 years in 1900. The average black male lived barely over 30 years.
My father was born in 1925. At that time, there was no social security, there were few good union jobs, there were many exploitative employers, and college opportunities were few. During the Great Depression, according to mortuary records, while most people born into those years continued to see a rise in expected lifespan, men over the age of 40 in those years saw a free-fall in life expectancy terms. The Social Security Act, deemed a communist plot by conservatives of the day, revolutionized elder life in America. My father reached the age of majority in 1943; his was the first generation to actually believe at the age of reaching majority that some form of retirement might be possible.
My generation, the Baby Boomers, was the first generation in the history of the world to actually believe all our lives that retirement might be an option.
Angry Millenial’s generation, my children’s generation, has not really ever believed that retirement would ever be possible. They see a dysfunctional government, they listen to the violent rhetoric of the ruling class, a class intent of subjugating and banishing any who dissent from their views. Angry Millenial knows that the ears of today’s ruling class are closed to his complaints. In this way, Angry Millenial is little different from a founding father in 1776, angry at a system that is closed to his comments and concerns. He sees a $34 trillion debt and a rapidly closing window on the availability of Social Security and future healthcare options.
Denigrating Angry Millenial solves nothing. We ignore him to the cost of us all.
Pogo says
@Ray W. (and DaleL)
Standing ovation.
Blessed be your names.
Angry Millenial says
Ray W., thank you, sir. I mean it sincerely, I really do. Just when I was beginning to think all hope is lost, you surprise me by hitting the nail squarely on its head. Ironically, I’d composed another long-winded comment which echoed your response to the tee. I didn’t post it because I figured my messaging would continue to fall on deaf ears (or rather blind eyes). Now, I won’t post it because you’ve already done such an eloquent job and there’s no need for redundancy in the dialogue.
All I will add is this. Please trust when I tell you many of us millennials are perfectly well equipped to lead this country. We’ve been polite and respectful to our elders, allowing them their time in the limelight, while we patiently wait our turn. Unfortunately, being polite and respectful has gotten us nowhere, and we’re growing tired of sitting by idly watching our country be destroyed. So, my dear boomers, please, pass the reigns when you’re ready to step down off your high horses, as the generations before you did. Afford us the opportunity to care for you in your golden years, and please, start caring about something other than your own fragile egos for a change. Your children’s (and grandchildren’s) future depends on it. God Bless America.
P.S. Thank you again, Ray. I care about you too.
Laurel says
Angry: You are 41 years old, according to your statement. That means you have been an adult for 20 plus years. Why have you been “…sitting idly by…”? Again, I ask have you been complicit by using oil, gas, plastic or do you simply create zero waste? Why, for the last 20 plus years you have no say in your government? You didn’t answer me last time, just called old people “mean and nasty” after you, yourself, wrote “One day we’ll pry it all from your liver spotted hands and the world will be a better place.” Seriously, that’s a really naive statement.
Ray W. always writes eloquently, and usually very useful information about history. I’ve learned from him on several occasions. I think maybe he missed one part of history that may be valuable to you, and that is since WWll ended, to the present, there have been 11 recessions. That’s just how the market works. Right now, the economy is doing very well and if you don’t like the cost of things, look to the corporations. It would be a cold day in hell before I would pay $90K for a truck! But, we know regular working people who do. That tells me that people are accepting of that price. If not, the price would be reduced. Supply and demand.
Your assumption that SS and Medicare won’t be there when you retire, is just that: an assumption. One that the right are happy to continue. Do you petition your senators and representatives? Do you and your millennial friends call them and tell them it’s unacceptable? It’s what the lobbyists want, and corporations pay for political campaigns. The vast majority of us are not in charge. You think it’s us, and when we die off, all will be peachy. You’ll see, it ain’t that easy. We never wanted this shit either.
Angry Millenial says
Oh Laurel, please, by all means, enjoy resting on your laurels.
Your arguments are unwitting and tangential, lacking both substance and fact. This is why I didn’t bother responding to your first reply, and why I will not engage with you further. Do I use gasoline and/or plastic? What a ridiculous question. Sure, I have and still do. But I’ve used far less than you in my lifetime, so clearly, this makes me the superior adult in the room, right? Here’s some tough questions for you to answer. Do you drink water? Do you eat food? Do you breath air? Have you ever exhaled CO2? Do you live in a home? Do you use electricity? Have you ever let a fart slip? When’s the last time you hugged a tree? Do you catch my drift?
“Why, for the last 20 plus years you have no say in your government?”
I have addressed this question ad nauseam. Refer to my previous comments.
Yes, 11 recessions since WWII, all of them relatively mild, with the exception of 2008. Absent from your comment is the fact your generation has benefitted from a more than 4000% rise in the stock market over the last 55 years (since 1969). Please, teach me more about the business cycle, since you apparently overlooked my reply to DaleL. Oh, and thanks for your advice on the strong economy. I’ll make sure to disregard yesterday’s CPI report and invest near the top of the market, all the while holding my breath for DJIA 1,520,000 and S&P500 200,000 in 2079.
$90k for a truck? Well at least we can both agree on one thing, we can’t fix stupid. Much like the people who overpaid for a home in 2022, drove up the comps on limited inventory, and now can’t even sell their place at a substantial loss. Fact: We have more active housing inventory in Florida than any other state in the country, by a long shot. And we continue to overbuild. Surely, this bodes well for home prices here, right? Are you aware of PPP loan fraud, the largest theft of taxpayer dollars in our lifetime? Let’s also ignore the fact credit card debt and auto loan delinquencies are at multi-decade highs. You’re right Laurel, I should stop complaining, the economy is so much better off today than it was when you were my age.
DaleL says
A better way to measure the national debt is the amount relative to the gross domestic product. When measured in that way, the amount is still very high. In 1946, the debt to gdp ratio stood at 119%. In 1981 it was just 31%. In 2000, it was 55%. In 2020, it reached a whopping 129%. It is now down to a still very high 123%.
Boomers (Baby Boomers) refers to those Americans born after WWII until 1964. Citizen Trump was born in 1946 and is a Boomer. President Biden was born in 1942; he is a member of the silent generation (aka traditionalist generation).
Neither SSI or Medicare will become insolvent. Instead, if nothing is done, the accumulated reserves will be depleted. This will result in benefits being reduced to match the amount which is being contributed by people who are not receiving benefits. SSI benefits would drop by about 25% and Medicare benefits would drop by about 11%.
Angry Millenial says
Dale, thanks for injecting some facts into the conversation. I agree, our Debt to GDP ratio is very concerning and should serve as an ominous warning for our economic future (to those paying attention), as it’s simply unsustainable. Luckily, Artificial Intelligence will fix everything (sarcasm). I’d also suggest looking at M2 supply, which has been contracting for the first time since 1929. Surely, the boomers all remember what happened in 1929, since they’re expert historians.
Treasury yields have also been inverted for the past two years, and historically, this has been an accurate predictor of recession. Unemployment in the private jobs sector has been rising, though this has been masked in the jobs reports (thanks to all of the government job creation). You simply can’t support an economy through reckless fiscal spending and money printing. History has proven it doesn’t work, ever heard of the Weimar Republic? A loaf of bread in Berlin that cost around 160 Marks at the end of 1922 cost 200,000,000,000 Marks by late 1923.
As I see it, there are only two paths forward for our economy: hyper-inflation or deflationary bust. Either path undoubtedly causes considerable financial pain. There’s no such thing as a “soft landing” contrary to what the government and media pundits would have you believe. There was a time when recessions were part of normal business cycles, but the boomers in charge seem to think they can inflate the debt away, pull the wool over our eyes, and this will lead to devastating consequences, for all of us.
I think a lot of millennials would welcome deflation, since most of us have hardly anything to lose to begin with. It’s the boomers who control the majority of assets who don’t want to face the hard times ahead, since they stand to lose the most.
Laurel says
DaleL: You are correct. One little change: SSI is a federal program that pays monthly benefits to people with disabilities and older adults who have little or no income or resources. So I’m pretty sure you meant SS (Social Security) and not SSI (Supplemental Security Income).
DaleL says
Thanks Laurel,
Yes, I did mean Social Security.
Endangered species says
Oldies overwhelmingly vote for R’s who said the pandemic was hoax and silenced the guy who wrote the book on pandemics for Mr atlas lol. And R refused to wear mask so and propogated mass amounts of misinformation from faux news so it’s actually their fault so many oldies died.remember when Obama administration wrote a book on how to handle a pandemic and trump threw it in the trash ? yeah so what did you think was gonna happen a better public response lol.
Laurel says
Dear Endangered: Again, I am stunned at how little young people know about history, but seem to know all about “oldies.” You have no freakin’ idea what “Oldies overwhelmingly vote for…” because if you paid any attention to real life, and not your social media, you would realize you are living in a Republican county, and the county I am originally from is “overwhelmingly” Democratic.
Your comment is naive. Your social media is the hoax.
Ray W. says
The author of Albion’s Seed writes of a “folkway” common in the backwoods highlands of pre-Revolutionary America described as “tanistry” or “thanistry” (derived from “thane”).
These backcountry regions, ranging from western New York and Pennsylvania down through the Appalachian Mountains into north Georgia and South Carolina, were settled from British immigrants from North England, the southern lowlands of Scotland and North Ireland.
Tanistry was described as a duality between the dramatic “deference” for elders who were considered patriarchs and matriarchs and the corresponding degradation of other “unfortunate” older people.
The author ascribes the differences to the predominance of “clan” life in the backcountry regions of America. Land did not belong so much as to any individual as it did to the clan itself.
The rule of “tanistry” determined who was to hold authority within the clan.
Tanistry held that:
“… succession to an estate or dignity was conferred by election upon the ‘eldest and worthiest’ among the surviving kinsmen. Candidates for this honor were males within the circle of kin call the derbfine — all the relatives within the span of four generations. By the rule of tanistry, one man among that group was chosen to head the family; he who was strongest, toughest, and most cunning. This principle became an invitation to violent conflict, and the question was often settled by a trial of strength and cunning. The winner became the elder of his family or clan, and was honored with deference and deep respect. The losers were degraded and despised — if they were lucky. In ancient days they were sometimes murdered, blinded or maimed.
“This rule of tanistry had long existed throughout parts of Ireland and Scotland. For many centuries, it had been formally invoked to decide the descent of the Scottish Crown. Tanistry caused much violence in the history of North Britain. It was also a product of that violence, for it was a way of promoting elders who had the strength and cunning to defend their families, and command respect. But those elders who were unable to do so became a danger to their people. They were degraded and even destroyed. Here was yet another custom by which the culture of North Britain adapted itself to conditions of chronic disorder. By the rule of tanistry, families, clans, and even kingdoms gained strong leaders who were able to protect them.
“The principle of tanistry operated in North Britain on two levels. It was used in a formal way to settle the descent of high office — in Scotland, even the monarchy. At the same time it also existed as a broad principle of leadership which sorted the old into two categories — the strong who were respected and honored; and the weak who were degraded and despised. In some other cultures, the respect given to age tended to be a form of ascription. In the borders and backcountry it had more to do with achievements of a special kind that stressed cunning, force, power and the manipulation of others.”
Angry Millenial says
All the old people on this thread need to drink some prune juice to get their head out of their arse.
Sherry says
@ angry millennial. . . ahhhh. . . how very kind and considerate of you! Look in the mirror and see the reflection of your true problems. They are created by your own entitled expectations, insecurities and anger. It’s all a matter of perspective, and yours could sure use some great counseling.
If you expect to somehow “Win” the argument “you” picked on this site, that is not going to happen. Flager county is mostly occupied by retired folks. Best to go back to your Millennial silo on your phone if you want other angry , entitled people to agree with you.
Angry Millenial says
Sherry, please be careful riding that high horse, it might throw you off and you’ll break your hip.
forsee says
Right on Angry Millenial! Sherry, checking in from her two month world tour, thinks she’s a superior person, above the common riff-raff. Doesn’t she have anything better to do than degrade others who don’t agree with her?
Laurel says
…mean and nasty…
Bill C says
Isn’t the real question about wealth, who has it and who doesn’t? Wealth will determine most outcomes like housing, health, longevity, retirement, social status. Or whether you’re buried with a lovely funeral and mausoleum or the Potter’s Field.
Laurel says
Bill C: Ha! True. I once saw a rather large boat with a flag that read “The one who dies with the most toys wins!” Then later, I saw a bumper sticker that read “The one who dies with the most toys is none the less dead.”
Regardless, that gap is continuing to grow, and it’s effecting all of us. It’s one conspiracy theory I actually do believe. See how we turn on each other?
Angry Millenial says
Let this entire thread serve as Exhibit A of the dysfunction caused by gerontocracy in America. When a member of a younger generation expresses dissatisfaction with the state of affairs, the ruling boomer class refuses to accept any level of accountability (or express any willingness to engage in a productive conversation). Instead, the younger generation is trampled with “infinite wisdom” and quips intended to silence and discredit those who dare challenge the status quo.
Have we forgotten the guiding principles of our founding fathers? Have we forgotten most of them were young men in their 30s and 40s who were bright-minded, free thinking and visionary? Have we forgotten, if not for these young men, the democracy we so deeply cherish, would not exist?
And let us not forget the young men, our brave soldiers, who fought and died for this country, to protect our democracy, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights. How dare you attempt to wage an assault my generation’s right to free speech?
Have we forgotten the definition of democracy? A system of government by the WHOLE population (not just the elderly). How dare you attempt to preclude us from contributing to and participating in what once made this country the envy of the world?
When did we replace “We the people” with “we the old people?” Am I to believe Biden and Trump are the best candidates America has to offer us? Am I to believe either candidate represents the interests of the WHOLE population? Or could it be that Boomers comprise the largest voting base, and they will vote for candidates who look and think like them – old and wrinkly with dementia ridden brains. Am I supposed to ignore the fact the Boomers control the largest amount of wealth, and are therefore, capable of making the largest political donations (which they do) to politicians who are also (you guessed it) boomers.
The liver-spotted hands are choking the life out of our country. We need term limits. We need age caps. If a man or woman below the age of 35 is too young to be president, then at what age is a man or woman too old?
I believe it was Lord Acton who said it best: “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What we are witnessing is the degradation and demoralization of American society, yes, it’s happening folks, right before our very eyes. Have fun voting in this year’s election, and let’s pray it doesn’t lead to further civil unrest.
Sherry says
@ angry millennial. . . consider the possibility that instead of angrily blaming prior generations for your need to do your best at paying your own personal dues in life, how about suggesting solutions. . . things we could all do together.
Often, it’s, it’s not what you are saying, it’s how you express yourself.
Go back and count how many over the top “insulting” words you have said to a group of people you don’t know at all. You owe us ALL an apology.
If you have been following comments from other articles, you will find that not everyone over 60, even in Florida, is an extreme right winged climate change denier, anti-vaxxer, conspiracy theory believer who has thrown out their moral values.
Regarding my holidays. . . am I not allowed to enjoy the retirement I worked over 38 years for? You do not know anything thing about me or my family situation, or about all the good works I have done for many others in my lifetime. You say you do not want to be judged, then why are you judging an entire generation of people so very harshly. If you have some kind of beef with your parents, then take it up with them. I do not have the responsibility of creating a legacy beyond all that I do tirelessly for those less fortunate and for the common good of this planet.
Less anger, stop insulting us, more suggestions for how we can all work together. please!
Kind and Polite Millenial says
Sherry,
Thanks for finally pulling a chair up to the table. Perhaps now we can have a productive dialogue. I’d like for you to please reread my original post in the comment section. It was designed as a response to an article asking the question “Do we simply not care about old people?” You’ll notice I did not use the word “I” once in my original comment. The purpose of my writing was meant as a retort along the line of “Do we simply not care about young people?” In it, I touched on similar grievances expressed by a group I will from here forward refer to as The Lost Generation, “a group of writers, poets, and musicians in Paris during the 1920s, often characterized by the similar themes discussed in their work, such as disillusionment in the post-World War I society, loss of identity and tradition, and an uncertainty of the future.” Many striking similarities can be drawn between “The Lost Generation” and today’s Millenials, hopefully you’ll agree on this point.
While I don’t recall personally attacking anyone in my original commentary, it was immediately met with vitriol and a general lack of empathy. Clearly, it struck a chord, as evidenced by the responses I received. Is the psychology behind such responses something we can further explore, together? I hope so. As a side note, I’d invite you to read a book called “Ok Boomer, Let’s Talk: How My Generation Got Left Behind.” This is where the expression “the boomers pulled the ladders up behind them” comes from (take note Laurel). It’s filled with facts and data, and I believe it’s a wonderful resource to bridge the disconnect between our generations and open up proper communication.
Did you enjoy being insulted? Do you think I enjoy being insulted? We’re all human, whether young or old, we have a lot more in common than you might realize. I’m not an ageist, nor am I really angry. I just hope the next time a young person expresses discomfort or disillusionment with society, you’ll opt to listen and respond in a more empathetic manner. Young or old, we all suffer at some point, often projecting our own insecurities onto others. Rather than telling me to look in the mirror, consider heeding your own advice next time. This is not meant as a jab or an insult. It’s merely a way we as a society can begin the process of healing. Contrary to your beliefs, millenials are no more entitled than the boomers were at our age, or any other generation dating back to the beginning of time. In fact, many of us are quite intuitive. It’s really a matter of perception. However, if we fail to look to each other for help, all future generations will be lost, and humanity as we know it will cease to exist.
Angry Millenial says
P.S. If you do decide to read the book (which I truly hope you do), you’ll understand why anger is not only necessary, but why it’s the most powerful motivator to effect real change in one’s self and society. I wish more people would get angry.
Sherry says
@am. . . As a Buddhist, we are taught that all negative emotions, of anger and hate begin with fear. I am wise, courageous and experienced enough to know that “anger” creates nothing but negativity. That “should” be anathema to each and every one of us.
The over the top angry side of you tells me that the time for trying to have a productive dialog with you has been lost. You are simply too toxic for me.
Angry Millenial says
Thanks for proving my point. You’re simply too self-righteous to engage in a productive conversation. Psychology tells us individuals who are virtue signaling, are in fact, simultaneously experiencing genuine outrage. Perhaps you should look in the mirror, and ask yourself why you’re so angry? Have a nice day, Sherry.
Laurel says
Hey Sherry! You go, woman! Enjoy your vacation, you and your husband worked for it and deserve it. My husband observed, long ago, that there are always people who are not happy when others are. They want to rob you of your joy. We tend to keep our family and friends around who are happy for us when things go well, and we are happy for their good experiences too. So have a great time, and I, for one, would be delighted to hear what a good time you are having. ENJOY! :)
Sherry says
Whew. . . Thank you Laurel! Geez, for a moment there I thought that angry green eyed monster was going to rip me to shreds for enjoying nature and celebrating my recovery after breast cancer surgery.
This is the first encounter I’ve had with yet another “Angry” group of people. On one side it seems we have the anger ginned up by FOX (not news), and expressed by the trump cult. . . and, now on the other side there are angry Millennials who are lashing out and blaming boomers for absolutely everything they don’t like.
Where is all this anger coming from? Is it Chinese/Russian bots saturating the internet intent on destroying our country and democracy from within?
Ray W. may have experience with the anger of the next generations, and of course we should listen to them. . . but, not when they spit in our faces!
Ray W. says
The main reason I have a limited amount of experience with the anger of the next generation is because I actually asked permission to sit in the offices of young assistant public defenders and I simply asked them what they were thinking. Then, I listened. I did the same with my own children. Of course, after over 30 years of representing people or prosecuting some of them, I got more than an earful from young defendants, witnesses, officers, etc., from time to time.
Of course, none of this is new. In 1774, right before a Virginia legislative body illegally met to elect a continental congress, Thomas Jefferson produced the earliest known version of his political sentiments as a revolutionary, which he titled: A Summary View of the Rights of British America.
In his Summary View, Jefferson wrote as only a young and fiery rebel can write.
1. Of all our petitions, “to none of which was ever even given an answer condescended.
2. “Their [our] own blood was spilt in acquiring lands for their settlement, their own fortunes expended in making that settlement effectual.”
3. You “have raised their commodities called for in America to double and treble of what they sold for before such exclusive privileges were given.”
4. “Justice is not the same thing in America as in Britain.”
5. “One free and independent legislature hereby takes upon itself to suspend the powers of another, free and independent as itself.”
6. “Without attempting a distinction between the guilty and the innocent [in Boston] the whole of that antient and wealthy town is in a moment reduced from opulence to beggary.”
7. You sacrifice “the rights of one part of the empire to the inordinate desires of another.”