When people talk about “what the boomers did to younger generations,” I often find myself wondering, how were we supposed to know what was happening beneath the surface unless we went out of our way to really dig for the truth? At a time when nothing appeared to be obviously wrong, unlike today.
Back then, that meant physically going to a library, hoping to stumble upon the right books about money systems or economics. We didn’t have the internet or access to insider knowledge. We simply did our best with what we had.
Most of us lived modestly, buying only what we needed, avoiding debt, saving up carefully for things like a home or a car. We brought lunch from home, cooked meals ourselves and tried to be responsible with money. We would fix things rather than throw them away, e.g. having the same furnishings for years on end and wearing clothing until they wore out or handing them down. Looking back, we didn’t feel like we were being wasteful or causing harm, we were just trying to build a stable life.
Even today, many younger people don’t see the deeper issues in the system. It often seems like it’s only those exploring Bitcoin and alternative ideas who are really diving deep, with the benefit of hindsight and easy access to a world of information online. I understand the frustration, I really do, however asking people to apologize for things they had no knowledge of at the time feels a bit misplaced.
What exactly do you feel we, as boomers, did wrong?
I recently saw an image expressing this generational tension and couldn’t help but feel it was extreme. If your own children spoke to you that way when you are older and had worked hard for many decades, how would it make you feel?
My husband and I are nearing 70 and 80. We’ve worked hard our whole lives and still are. We rent and we don’t have children. My husband generously left homes to two ex-wives and I once owned a home too. I left teaching after 23 years and took advice from a financial advisor that eventually led to losing it.
Now, we’re both more financially informed, thanks largely to studying Bitcoin and having access to the amazing resources online today.
We genuinely relate to the struggles young people face trying to buy a home or get ahead. We just find it difficult to understand the anger aimed at our generation. It feels like we’re being blamed for something that the majority (if any) of us had no idea was happening.
