Optimistic Acceptance of the Inevitable

The eastern world, it is exploding
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'
But you tell me
Over and over and over again, my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction.
(Lyrics from “The Eve of Destruction” made popular by Barry McGuire, 1965)

 

When I think of all the worries people seem to find
And how they're in a hurry to complicate their mind
By chasing after money and dreams that can't come true
I'm glad that we are different, we've better things to do

Let others plan their future, I’m busy loving you

(Lyrics from “Let’s Live for Today” made popular by The Grassroots, 1967)

Some people like to say the boomer generation was short-sighted in planning their futures. Born in an era of affluence and raised — translated by some as indulged — by parents who suffered through the hard-scrabble existence of the Great Depression, there can be no denying we took consumerism to the dizzying height that drives every economy in the world today. And, even today, we spend more money in this consumer-based economy than any other generation before or after. Whether or not that is a good thing is a matter of economic debate and totally dependant on perspective. Some people shudder at the thought of what will happen to the economy when baby boomers are forced to curb their spending habits due to living on fixed incomes.

I guess from the viewpoint of hindsight being 20/20, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that we weren’t the best financial planners. I say, you had to be there. We came of age during the decade of the 60s, recounted by most historians as the most violent period of the 20^th century. An era described with terms like “counterculture,” “social revolution” and, my personal favorite, “FUBAR,” seemed to emphasize the futility of concentrating on building a career that would allow us to pay for the growing costs of inflated consumerism, including the outrageously expensive education of the 2.6 babies we would eventually beget while supplementing our parents who, lo and behold, thanks to modern medicine, were living far beyond their own planning. I think we all pretty much felt we had enough on our plates, thank you very much, without contemplating “who will need me, who will feed me, when I’m 64.”

It is painfully obvious that we weren’t aware of the impact of such a large population sharing birthdates that fell within a mere 11 years. I don’t think we were even aware of how large a population we were until the 80s. It’s a given we didn't foresee all the ramifications of boomers retiring at the same time. Instead, we admired the solvency of Social Security during the following 40+ years… easy to do when you have a population of over 75 million contributing. Fast forward to 2011 and whoopsie… guess what… those 75 million are starting to pull the plug. What to do? What to do? Just mentioning the fact causes the stock market to drop 20 points.

I’m a pragmatist, and my take on this situation is this… sooner or later, people are going to have to realize that 1) the cash cow is retiring, and 2) they’re going to need to find a new cash cow. However that is done, it’s guaranteed to be painful for some, resented by most and blamed entirely on the baby boomers. So be it. But, whether later generations want to admit it or not, the vast majority of the money in Social Security was contributed by, and on behalf of, the baby boomers. It’s not an entitlement, it’s our money, pure and simple. It's time for everyone to just accept that, deal with it and move on.

Trust me... regardless of whether baby boomers bankrupt Social Security or not, the world will keep turning.