Not every young person is lazy and without a work ethic.
Conversely, not every Boomer had this idyllic existence of "high wages and easy living."
I know lots of end of the Boomer generation who struggled, and who continue to struggle. Some got a house because they inherited it from their parents. Some worked hard, but never got ahead because of their particular industry, the state they were in or even their gender. Some were self-employed, and watched their savings drain away because of medical expenses. Not ALL Boomers believed the narrative; they spoke about it in trusted company, but they were and are not a collectivist Borg that agreed on everything.
All Boomers are not critical of the younger generation, and blame their lack of success and problems on their individual efforts. Many see the hard-working young people, and hate that they may never afford to have a house and a traditional family.
All those in the younger generations should remember that the Boomers etc did not vote for offshoring manufacturing, bringing in illegals, selling houses/land to the Chinese, or any of the other destructive policies that have been foisted on us by "Our Betters."
IMHO, all Americans should blame the politicians who have ruined this country, not the citizens who have to live with the consequences.
Media that likes to portray youngers--I guess that would be Zoomers-- as lazy with no work ethic is for the most part a psyop. They are there, but parents and the schools they kept them in can be blamed for that. Aside from that, I am a Boomer and I fully concur with what you describe about my generation. There were also parents of Boomers who paid little to no attention to what was happening to their Boomer children. Over the last 20 years I have looked down every imaginable rabbit hole to figure out what the f--k has been going on. I think Good Citizen has been doing a good job trying to illustrate it. And it's often very entertaining.
I do wish generations would reach across and ask honest questions of each other, We would accomplish so much more so much faster. Playing right into the hands of the bad guys when shaming and blaming, getting absolutely nowhere. The old definition of insanity.
Is anyone discussing bunker-busters on the CoL and relevant castles with bolt-homes? Anyway, Great Article, GC! You'd qualify as Senior Contributing Editor for the Akashic Record, IMO.
Who's going to be this generation's John Brown? Or the men that signed the Declaration of Independence and were willing to lose everything and in some cases did lose everything. If we don't revolt, we may have a civil war or uprising when economic collapse happens. As the national debt grows so does the interest payments on that debt. How to wipe out that debt? War. Just look at history. Just the other day we were reminded that Alaska was purchased for 2 cents an acre because the Russians were in debt over the Crimean War. Maybe we could sell Alaska back for 36 trillion $.
Quite a dissertation there Mr. GC--well worth a graduate degree in some thing or other. Guilty of being a boomer--just the happenstance of my birth. Can't do much about that, although I have tried for most of my life to not let that get in the way. Also have fathered (as far as I know) four children--One early gen X, one late gen X and two millennials. All have college degrees, and as far as I know none are currently carrying any student debt. As for me that 3rd marriage during the early 80's was my debt crisis, and I bit the bullet, and while it took a few years came out of it debt free and much wiser. Pay those credit card balances in full every month, drive a 20 year old car and a 16 year old truck, live in a three room cabin (about 500 sq. feet) but have plenty of room outside in which to roam as I please. Probably spend more of my smallish fixed income on feed for all the critters than I do on myself every month. In other words, I learned early enough in my life to avoid getting caught up in that credit trap, and thank god for that. Even though I possess a degree (geology), a two year interruption between graduation and the job market sort of soured me on "real jobs" so when the government said thanks for your service sucker, I found that honest toil in the building trades (masonry) suited me better than any suit and tie job ever would, and after a couple of years learning the trade, I also figured out self employment was the only acceptable route for me, even though I then had a real Ahole for a boss. Now at almost 80, I am at peace with myself and the world around me, and as far as I am concerned, that is what success is all about. Those zoomer grand kids will need to find there own way, but I'm here if they have any questions about this great game we all play. So far, the boys claim that they are no country boys, but then this kid out of Philadelphia row houses has managed to build a life in rural Texas, so anything is possible. Could carry on and on, but actually I need to head out and feed the critters, so that's all from me today folks,
I hear those marriage bullets can be some of the worst kind of debts paid. Quite the journey you've had JVC. If I'm ever in East Texas I'd like to buy you a beer and hear more.
Well, make it a cup of and we're on--stopping all of that insane self medicating, 35 years ago now, was one of the major twists in my life's journey, and probably the only reason I'm still up and breathing today. Oh, BTW, I'm quite a ways west of that I-35 corridor so not as far from you as east Texas is.
We moved to east Texas (Jacksonville) a few years ago from DFW and love living here. When covid hit no one wore masks and we told the Walmart greeters to "Kiss My Ass, I'm not wearing that damn thing!" And they let us walk on in.
All labels are brought into being for a purpose and as you point out they're being used now. I was born in 1955, in the UK ration books had just ended, so hardly a time of great prosperity. As I've lived through several different generations I've seen identical things, rich people, reasonably well off people and always the poor.
The same applies to work ethics, in all generations some are prepared to work hard, some just do enough to get by and some prefer not to work at all. The main problems tend to start when people slap a label on something and give the pot a stir. Yes my generation had the ability to buy a home more easily but there have been many things that following generations had that weren't available to us. It's true for everyone whose lived since the last world war.
There was one other word that came into being full force after that war and that was teenager. Up to then no one suffered through teenage angst etc; you went from boy to young man, girl to young lady, no angst allowed, just get out and go to work.
There's good and bad in every generation and all have got something of value to offer if people let go of the government hype and and learn to communicate without using their mobile phone.
I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and have a condo/townhome. When I first moved to this area 15 years ago, the Arab population was nil, almost non-existent; ever since Covid my neighborhood has morphed into Little Palestine. Every time a condo is sold it is always an Arab family that moves in, unless it's a black family renting the condo using section 8. I take my daughter to the library and for every white/non arab there are at least 4 Arabs, within 10 years the entire demographic for my neighborhood will have turned Arab, sure the kids will be praying to Allah in school but I won't be here to find out, moving across the state line to Indiana over the next year. Anyone who doesn't think the Great Replacement is real should come take a look at the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
That's crazy. I say the same thing about West Portlandia. When I was growing up, we had one Korean kid in the whole school. No Chinese. No other ethnicities that I can remember. One Japanese girl came for a year exchange. Father was a visiting professor or something.
Now entire zip codes are half indian and half Chinese near Intel, Salesforce, and Nike world HQ. Not even joking. It's absolutely bonkers what the tech companies there have done demographically to pad their billions in profits. A family of 10-12 second uncles and third cousins will reside in a 3 or 4 bedroom home.
Two years ago my folks finally got fed up with the place (terrible drivers-accidents daily). On open house days they had to leave, but I'd peek through some pine trees down their street to see who was checking out their place. 60% Indians, 40% Chinese.
There are parts of Michigan and Minnesota that are more Maghrebi and Somali than North Africa or Somalia. It's probably a familiar story for millions of Americans. People then wonder why things don't "work like they used to."
The thing I don't quite get is how they have so much cash if they're all refugees. Every store that opens is owned by Arabs, they pay cash for homes, how can they possibly afford to do any of these things unless they're being bankrolled via some Soros backed NGO? One neighbor, who is in his 20s, is running some con on car dealerships, heard him talking on his phone when walking my dog one day, where he takes luxury cars, the other day there was a Ferrari parked in my lot, for multi day trials before buying and then proceeds to rent them out for 500 bucks an hour to other Arabs before returning the cars to the dealer. I actually applaud this clown, love a good con that doesn't hurt individuals, but if I tried this I guarantee I'd be thrown into some federal pound me in the ass prison within days.
They could be bankrolled by rich arabs, or receive money from their backers (Saudi funds or Soros ngos). American taxpayers fund their stores, though. They get forgivable loans, grants, and help from Uncle Sam. It's why immigrants own all those corner bodegas or convenient stores in every town. They get money from the government, then go to costco or wholesellers and buy things in bulk, and mark it up 50% at their stores.
A Lebanese family moved into the neighborhood one year. Typical terms dictacted for West Israel - refugees from the war where Israhell destroyed their country. Big family. 4 brothers, 2 uncles, some daughters who never left the house. They were running hustles like you describe. Each brother had their own scam running. One of them would buy up ALL the Levis 501s from all the stores on big sales days. Shipped them to Turkey where a cousin would fill a van and drive them into Lebanon and sell them for 8x what he paid on those retail sales days. Within a year each son had their own sports cars. They find little hustles like that, which ordinary American workers wouldn't bother with. Though a lot of Americans are trying to be Amazon sellers and setting up store fronts, and selling "merch." Everyone has a "side hustle" plan now. Desperate times I guess.
You are correct. I am within walking distance to Nike World Headquarters. In 2006, my dad made the terrible mistake of selling off four and a half acres. Four houses abut my property in our former horse pasture. All are owned my Asians, jabbering away in foreign tongues to their multi-generational family members. One family STILL wears masks on the rare occasions they are out in their yard. I didn't sign up for this.
Yup, I agree with you. Great post to be certain - most all of yours are. I do think there are plenty of exceptions to what you describe but the majority does rule.
What Iβm totally encouraged by are the numbers of Zoomers, yes they are still in the minority, who are bucking the system completely, turning to Christ in droves (gasp), getting married, having children (double gasp), and resetting the system which has been set against them.
As a guy born in 1957 I have observed that our older brothers and sisters born at the start of the Boomer generation were spoiled and they were the people doing sex, drugs, rock n roll and protesting the American Way. The second half of that generation seemed to be more conservative. We were in third grade when Johnson escalated the Vietnam war, and those drinking age boomers were getting high and going nuts in the streets and on campuses. We looked at that and thought, WTF. Those earlier Boomers surely didnβt join the Establishment and pave the way for prosperity. I admit to generalizing but we werenβt eligible for the draft and we didnβt hate our country. The older boomers were trained by Gramsci profs at Berkeley and San Diego universities. Younger generations have a legitimate beef against those Boomers who went into education and government to change the world. Thatβs how I see it.
Absolutely spot on, Retired. I was born in 1960. I saw those early boomers drop their hippy-psy-op masks, enter teaching and government in Oregon ...and absolutely destroy everything that Oregon once was. They did the same in Washington and California. Two lesbian governors in a row, and Oregon is circling the cess pit drain.
In terms served by the guv lesbians (4), isn't Oregon essentially a Lesbiocracy now?
I seem to recall those same ex-hippies starting the "ecology" and self-esteem or "positivity" movements as well in the 70s. Is there anything the early boomers took part in that wasn't sponsored behind the scenes by the CIA?
Yeo, Oregon has been a Lesbiocracy for a while. I can't remember when, but it was some time ago, when Portland was dubbed the most lesbian-friendly city in the country. They flocked here in the seventies, along with lots of east coast hyper-liberal Jews. They destroyed what was once a decent place to live...but it was all going down anyway.
Best explanation I've read of this so far. I came of age in the late seventies...and yes...trying to get to the truth was so difficult, only the most persistent would not give up. One had to order self-published books that early Truthers sold out of their garages by classified ads in the back of obscure publications. I deeply regret every second of my time wasted trying to "wake-up" braindead zombies. But you know that old saying: "you can wish in one hand ..."
My neighborhood, lily white in the eighties, has now been taken over by affluent Asians, mainly Indians. My sister sold her two bedroom bungalow in Seattle for $760,000. in 2022. I see online that it was immediately listed for $35,000. more...but they gave up after a month. It's now appraised online at $1,097,455. I never saw the home in person, but that price is patently ridiculous . A friend started at GM in 1975 for minimum wage (less than three bucks) but still was able to buy a home and have three kids in the next few years. That 1920's bungalow in San Fernando now is appraised at more than a million. However, at one time in the past ten years, all three of his kids had moved back into the home, with their families in tow. I guess it was rather hellish for a time.
The fact that I dropped out of highschool made absolutely no difference in my life, and where I'm at now. I only wish I could have legally dropped out sooner. I also wish that when I bought my first nine Kruggerands in 2002 ($335. each) I would have bought more.
Kruggerands! My German grandfather left me 10 of them. He risked his life to keep them after collecting them from a bank in Mainz. He was targeted in a tram by a guy with a knife, but in his 60s he beat his ass to a pulp and called the coppers. If it were now, he'd be charged with racial hatred and the guy with the knife would be on TV as the victim of white racist abuse.
I really wish I never sold mine for 375 to buy a bass guitar and amplifier. I was so dumb.
... that price is patently ridiculous..
This! I say this anytime I look at real estate listings just about anywhere inside the empire's gates. Utterly absurd what people are paying for homes in most states with the exception of OK, Arkansas, and NE.
I think it was in the 60s. He was frugal and saved well, diversified wisely. I sold his generous gift in the mid to late 90s mostly. He passed in 98'. I think I sold the last of it in 2004 like a dummy.
I'm a boomer (turned 70 this year) and am not offended by the criticism being directed at boomers now. Instead, I find it puzzling. Is that what my generation is really like? Apparently it must be so, which probably explains why I feel more and more disconnected from society at large with each passing year.
This process only accelerated during the Great Scamdemic, when friends and family nearly all turned full-on Covidian, and ostracized and shamed me for not taking the Glorious Goo.
Then last year I downsized from a 1500 square foot house to a 320 square foot cabin, and just got finished building a tiny house with my own labor so I could have a bedroom. I have not trusted mainstream media for decades and used to get lectured by my elders for saying things like "both parties are corrupt and evil."
I don't seem to be following The Plan.
P.S. I'm highly aware that later generations don't have the luxuries I had. I was able to pay my university tuition working a crap summer job in a warehouse. My son (age 42) still hasn't paid off his student debt, despite working in tech, and then he got laid off last year and it took him a year to find another job. The younger folks are in serious trouble.
It's not what they're "really like" and most of the criticism is jokes, or exaggerations. To be fair to the home "delisting" Boomers, a lot of them saw their neighbors' homes selling three years ago for crazy sums (say 800k), and they thought, as a generation of 'keeping up with the joneses,' that market still existed in 24' and 25'. It's not easy planning for a certain number and then realizing when you're finally ready to sell that not even BlackRock wants it for that figure anymore. But a correction in the cost of living is needed across the board, not just in the housing sector if young people are going to have a snowball's chance.
I wouldn't say I've settled -- more of a temporary situation. I lived in Vermont from 2009 to 2024. Now I'm in the Sierra Nevada (California) to be nearer to my mother, who is 92 and lives in the Bay Area (where I lived for decades and escaped in 2009). This was the right move for now, since she had a mild stroke in April and needs plenty of help these days. Plus my grandkids live in California. But I don't see this as a permanent thing. At some point I will need to escape again. California is Covid-crazy like Vermont, but with crowds, endless freeways, and a much higher cost of living.
"Is that what my generation is really like? Apparently it must be so, which probably explains why I feel more and more disconnected from society at large with each passing year."
That's the narrative... Boomers are bad. But is that true? Or is it just a psyop to pitch people aginst each other? We have been so manipulated, I really find it hard to fall in line with "Boomers are bad." The closest I'll come is 'some Boomer politicians are really bad."
And yes, the young folks are in trouble. But none of us voted for the reality that's been force fed to all of us.
I feel a little responsible GC, during the 2000s I worked for General Electric, the healthcare division. My job was to essentially outsource all US made materials to Mexico, E Europe and Israhell of all places.
I knew the whole time this was wrong, βwhy not just Lean/improve the shit out of our processes and our suppliersβ.
Due to GE being an asshole narcissistic company, and I was on great terms with all my suppliers, our suppliers said βfuck youβ to our corporate bean counters, so we moved it, shut it all down.
Itβs all part of the grand plan, and even a pee-on like me contributedβ¦.
You did nothing wrong. It's all been part of the plan for a while. Imagine the pediatrician who still pushes each of those 72 jabs on all his CHILD patients to get the six-figure bonus. That's a real motherfucker right there.
Hell, I worked for a damn bank for four or five years before the mortgage crisis selling home loans. I didn't know they were going to suddenly start approving all the terrible loans from unworthy borrowers, that the MBS jenga piles were made up of 80% dogshit and given AAA ratings. While I skipped the country two years before the house of cards collapsed, and even though I only did A-paper, I still feel bad about a few of the loans that were funded in my final year.
GC, you've hit upon the overriding problem with all of humanity: tribalism. Generational sniping is just another iteration of a way of looking at life that we've had drilled into our heads since birth. Everyone. Everywhere. Zoomers vs. Boomers; Dems vs. Republicans; MAGA Republicans vs. Neocon Republicans, Catholics vs. Protestants. Hell, if you grow up in New York, it's not enough to be a Met fan and to not like the Yankees; you have to hate the Yankee FANS too! Met fan tribe vs. Yankee fan tribe. Watch the upcoming Ryder Cup and listen as the American golf fan who often cheers wildly for Irishman Rory McIlroy now hoots at him in full throated jingoistic hatred simply because he's performing for Europe. Cheering USA, USA as if it's the invasion of Normandy acted out in polo shirts. For a goddamned meaningless exhibition golf match. Sport fandom may seem trivial; but this mentality sets a tone in our lives, very often at a young age, that it's not enough to like your guy. If you're a real fan, you also have to hate the other guy.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's, it wasn't enough to look at the Soviet Union as a geopolitical rival; we had to hate everyone who lived behind the Iron Curtain ("Commies!!!" " Better dead than Red!") They were humorless, uncreative, dead on their feet. All the sudden the wall comes down, the NHL starts taking in Russian hockey players, and we discover that they're no different than we are. Time to line up the Muzzies as the new tribe to hate. They're all terrorists, they all want to kill us, "they hate us because of our way of life".
Every issue that comes up is presented to us in such a way as to encourage thinking that you must choose a side - which becomes a tribe - quickly followed by all the reasons you need to hate the person who chose the other tribe. All arranged by those who, as you point out, benefit from our attention constantly being focused on each other rather than on them.
Yup, bread and circus are my favorite correlaries with Rome Part Deux and the original. The fandom thing really has juiced a lot of men of all ages to channel their attention away from what really matters in life. Sports have basically become the main way men are allowed to feel something β to rage, to cheer, to have a tribe. But it's all channeled into utter nonsense, stats, betting, contracts, and stupidity. Millionaires chasing balls while grown men scream at TVs scarffing down jalepeno poppers wearing the jerseys of OTHER MEN. How gay is that? Total masculine castration. All that energy, all that instinct to fight or build or create or rebelβ¦ funneled into fantasy leagues and tribal chants. When you think about it, as all planned as grand diversions, it's kind of brilliant, in a dystopian sort of way.
"Time to line up the Muzzies as the new tribe to hate. They're all terrorists, they all want to kill us, 'they hate us because of our way of life'."
Yup, exactly. I've been watching this with jaw agape for 20 years, wondering how people can be so riled up so easily by the least trustworthy institutions ever - government and corporate media. But one look at MAGA now and it's even more astonishing. The people who were against lockdowns and forced vaccination are now cheering on Martial law and the militarization of urban zones by executive decree. It's truly unbelievable how easy it is to control the minds of the deeply entrenched tribal masses.
The McMansion myth belies the reality that we're paying 4X the cost for a smaller home than our grandparents, with proportionally less discretionary income after essentials.
When women entered the workforce, for one generation they had more choices. Then houses were bid up to a double income and they lost the ability to prioritize the kids. In The Two-Income Trap, Elizabeth Warren and her daughter show that a 2013 couple spends a smaller percentage than their grandparents on food, appliances, cars, clothing and vacations. The food and goods that they do buy are cheapβ cheaply made, mass-produced, and sold at big-box stores. Their access to stuff is greater than ever, but the quality of their goods and their ability to produce have both been wiped out.
The purchasing power of a dollar in 1913 would buy an item in 2013 that cost less than 5 cents, if such an item still existed. Itβs as if 95 cents in trade value was leached out of every dollar and diverted to the banks. The rate of inflation over the century came to 1000% of its 1913 value. To picture this, if your great-grandparents made $5000 a year in 1913, you would need to make $100,000 a year in 2013 in order to have the same purchasing power.
But I don't think gold is the answer, although it may be a personal stopgap for those with money. Gold is responsible for colonization, conquest and the global slave trade, plus arsenic poisoning of indigenous communities. What you're describing is a systemic problem and needs a systemic solution. I just posted Section Five of my book, with links to all the previous, so I'll be reading the last section next, which lays the foundation for that solution: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/section-five-lands-of-milk-and-money.
Excellent points here T about Boomers downsizing into inflationary tornadoes:
"The McMansion myth belies the reality that we're paying 4X the cost for a smaller home than our grandparents, with proportionally less discretionary income after essentials."
On the gold I'll concede it doesn't have a spotless history, from Hernan Cortes to the present, but it does possess all the attributes of sound money from scarcity to universal recognition. What happens in Uganda probably isn't pretty either. I think they just discovered another 10 trillion in reserves there. The vultures will be gathering.
I'd be for an encrypted privacy coin, powered by people's desire to shed the yoke of central banks. It would need a few miracles to work, but they do happen. I'll check out your section five and see what you got there.
In the absence of an ethical and viable alternative, I have no criticism of anyone's strategy for getting through the rest of their life. As a middle boomer, I have money squirreled away in about 20 different pockets in case one gets picked. But CBDC may pick all of them at once. Gold may be the only pocket left with anything but fool's gold.
Mine is the opposite of an encrypted privacy coin, it's trading in relationships and backed by local housing. Let's say that housing stopped being a speculative investment and became, once again, an ordinary place to live--that's what my plan enables. Buyers have plenty of options they can afford and sellers have plenty of buyers. What determines who I sell to is the relationship.
But for myself, I'll be putting my house into a non-revocable trust in the next few years, to make sure it's there for my daughters and can't be scammed. They want it to stay as the family home and never be sold. To me, that's gold that has a use value. The real gold, of course, is daughters who'd rather share a living asset than kill it and get their portion.
It doesn't solve the problem for everyone, however, and the problems you're explicating are very, very real. I don't think there are any individual choices that will work for everyone. That's going to take system change. Thanks for the response and for checking out my Section Five!
Posted this on Notes just before I saw your piece:
With all the online envy and covetedness toward the elderly, aka Boomers, is it any wonder that the government initiated a culling of the old herd in 2020? βWe the peopleβ have turned into your typical mob looking for the scapegoat.
I saw one of the dissident docs talking about this on a podcast. Can't remember his name. Husky guy who confronted the effeminate Means kid, the brother of the current suregon general. Anyway, he says Boomers were targeted by the jabbies. He mentioned the Social Security time bomb needed cleaning up (culling), as well as all those Roth IRAs which will never be paid out.
What a great read . Thank you. BTW, I tried to buy you a cup of coffee but my bank won't let me (I wonder why...). Fuck those assholes controlling how I choose to spend my money.
Bastards. The last time it worked was three weeks ago. Maybe the fuckers cut me off. Can't criticize certain tribes or they'll come for your money. What does that say about the criticism then?
Not every young person is lazy and without a work ethic.
Conversely, not every Boomer had this idyllic existence of "high wages and easy living."
I know lots of end of the Boomer generation who struggled, and who continue to struggle. Some got a house because they inherited it from their parents. Some worked hard, but never got ahead because of their particular industry, the state they were in or even their gender. Some were self-employed, and watched their savings drain away because of medical expenses. Not ALL Boomers believed the narrative; they spoke about it in trusted company, but they were and are not a collectivist Borg that agreed on everything.
All Boomers are not critical of the younger generation, and blame their lack of success and problems on their individual efforts. Many see the hard-working young people, and hate that they may never afford to have a house and a traditional family.
All those in the younger generations should remember that the Boomers etc did not vote for offshoring manufacturing, bringing in illegals, selling houses/land to the Chinese, or any of the other destructive policies that have been foisted on us by "Our Betters."
IMHO, all Americans should blame the politicians who have ruined this country, not the citizens who have to live with the consequences.
Media that likes to portray youngers--I guess that would be Zoomers-- as lazy with no work ethic is for the most part a psyop. They are there, but parents and the schools they kept them in can be blamed for that. Aside from that, I am a Boomer and I fully concur with what you describe about my generation. There were also parents of Boomers who paid little to no attention to what was happening to their Boomer children. Over the last 20 years I have looked down every imaginable rabbit hole to figure out what the f--k has been going on. I think Good Citizen has been doing a good job trying to illustrate it. And it's often very entertaining.
If the generations are fighting each other, they're not fighting the government.
Psyop 101
I do wish generations would reach across and ask honest questions of each other, We would accomplish so much more so much faster. Playing right into the hands of the bad guys when shaming and blaming, getting absolutely nowhere. The old definition of insanity.
Yet here we are.
Yep. Everyone is too fat from seed oils/ HFCS, too sick from the vaxx and too numbed from SSRIs to actually try and do something about the situation.
A safe and effective plan that needs reversing asap.
https://substack.com/@thegoodcitizen/note/c-141805578?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=tmlq2
Is anyone discussing bunker-busters on the CoL and relevant castles with bolt-homes? Anyway, Great Article, GC! You'd qualify as Senior Contributing Editor for the Akashic Record, IMO.
Who's going to be this generation's John Brown? Or the men that signed the Declaration of Independence and were willing to lose everything and in some cases did lose everything. If we don't revolt, we may have a civil war or uprising when economic collapse happens. As the national debt grows so does the interest payments on that debt. How to wipe out that debt? War. Just look at history. Just the other day we were reminded that Alaska was purchased for 2 cents an acre because the Russians were in debt over the Crimean War. Maybe we could sell Alaska back for 36 trillion $.
The 'Work Ethic' has Alays been a noose around worker's necks...
Had it not been for 'The Work Ethic', France May-June 1968 might have finally
broken the chains on The Revolution...
....... Characterologically, workers have never been capable of revolution... The
Commissars are the first to defend The Work Ethic of workers, whom they flatter
with claims about worker's 'The Dignity of Work' ...
Quite a dissertation there Mr. GC--well worth a graduate degree in some thing or other. Guilty of being a boomer--just the happenstance of my birth. Can't do much about that, although I have tried for most of my life to not let that get in the way. Also have fathered (as far as I know) four children--One early gen X, one late gen X and two millennials. All have college degrees, and as far as I know none are currently carrying any student debt. As for me that 3rd marriage during the early 80's was my debt crisis, and I bit the bullet, and while it took a few years came out of it debt free and much wiser. Pay those credit card balances in full every month, drive a 20 year old car and a 16 year old truck, live in a three room cabin (about 500 sq. feet) but have plenty of room outside in which to roam as I please. Probably spend more of my smallish fixed income on feed for all the critters than I do on myself every month. In other words, I learned early enough in my life to avoid getting caught up in that credit trap, and thank god for that. Even though I possess a degree (geology), a two year interruption between graduation and the job market sort of soured me on "real jobs" so when the government said thanks for your service sucker, I found that honest toil in the building trades (masonry) suited me better than any suit and tie job ever would, and after a couple of years learning the trade, I also figured out self employment was the only acceptable route for me, even though I then had a real Ahole for a boss. Now at almost 80, I am at peace with myself and the world around me, and as far as I am concerned, that is what success is all about. Those zoomer grand kids will need to find there own way, but I'm here if they have any questions about this great game we all play. So far, the boys claim that they are no country boys, but then this kid out of Philadelphia row houses has managed to build a life in rural Texas, so anything is possible. Could carry on and on, but actually I need to head out and feed the critters, so that's all from me today folks,
I hear those marriage bullets can be some of the worst kind of debts paid. Quite the journey you've had JVC. If I'm ever in East Texas I'd like to buy you a beer and hear more.
Well, make it a cup of and we're on--stopping all of that insane self medicating, 35 years ago now, was one of the major twists in my life's journey, and probably the only reason I'm still up and breathing today. Oh, BTW, I'm quite a ways west of that I-35 corridor so not as far from you as east Texas is.
We moved to east Texas (Jacksonville) a few years ago from DFW and love living here. When covid hit no one wore masks and we told the Walmart greeters to "Kiss My Ass, I'm not wearing that damn thing!" And they let us walk on in.
Another great article.
All labels are brought into being for a purpose and as you point out they're being used now. I was born in 1955, in the UK ration books had just ended, so hardly a time of great prosperity. As I've lived through several different generations I've seen identical things, rich people, reasonably well off people and always the poor.
The same applies to work ethics, in all generations some are prepared to work hard, some just do enough to get by and some prefer not to work at all. The main problems tend to start when people slap a label on something and give the pot a stir. Yes my generation had the ability to buy a home more easily but there have been many things that following generations had that weren't available to us. It's true for everyone whose lived since the last world war.
There was one other word that came into being full force after that war and that was teenager. Up to then no one suffered through teenage angst etc; you went from boy to young man, girl to young lady, no angst allowed, just get out and go to work.
There's good and bad in every generation and all have got something of value to offer if people let go of the government hype and and learn to communicate without using their mobile phone.
I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago and have a condo/townhome. When I first moved to this area 15 years ago, the Arab population was nil, almost non-existent; ever since Covid my neighborhood has morphed into Little Palestine. Every time a condo is sold it is always an Arab family that moves in, unless it's a black family renting the condo using section 8. I take my daughter to the library and for every white/non arab there are at least 4 Arabs, within 10 years the entire demographic for my neighborhood will have turned Arab, sure the kids will be praying to Allah in school but I won't be here to find out, moving across the state line to Indiana over the next year. Anyone who doesn't think the Great Replacement is real should come take a look at the southwest suburbs of Chicago.
That's crazy. I say the same thing about West Portlandia. When I was growing up, we had one Korean kid in the whole school. No Chinese. No other ethnicities that I can remember. One Japanese girl came for a year exchange. Father was a visiting professor or something.
Now entire zip codes are half indian and half Chinese near Intel, Salesforce, and Nike world HQ. Not even joking. It's absolutely bonkers what the tech companies there have done demographically to pad their billions in profits. A family of 10-12 second uncles and third cousins will reside in a 3 or 4 bedroom home.
Two years ago my folks finally got fed up with the place (terrible drivers-accidents daily). On open house days they had to leave, but I'd peek through some pine trees down their street to see who was checking out their place. 60% Indians, 40% Chinese.
There are parts of Michigan and Minnesota that are more Maghrebi and Somali than North Africa or Somalia. It's probably a familiar story for millions of Americans. People then wonder why things don't "work like they used to."
All the best in the Hoosier state Rev!
The thing I don't quite get is how they have so much cash if they're all refugees. Every store that opens is owned by Arabs, they pay cash for homes, how can they possibly afford to do any of these things unless they're being bankrolled via some Soros backed NGO? One neighbor, who is in his 20s, is running some con on car dealerships, heard him talking on his phone when walking my dog one day, where he takes luxury cars, the other day there was a Ferrari parked in my lot, for multi day trials before buying and then proceeds to rent them out for 500 bucks an hour to other Arabs before returning the cars to the dealer. I actually applaud this clown, love a good con that doesn't hurt individuals, but if I tried this I guarantee I'd be thrown into some federal pound me in the ass prison within days.
They could be bankrolled by rich arabs, or receive money from their backers (Saudi funds or Soros ngos). American taxpayers fund their stores, though. They get forgivable loans, grants, and help from Uncle Sam. It's why immigrants own all those corner bodegas or convenient stores in every town. They get money from the government, then go to costco or wholesellers and buy things in bulk, and mark it up 50% at their stores.
A Lebanese family moved into the neighborhood one year. Typical terms dictacted for West Israel - refugees from the war where Israhell destroyed their country. Big family. 4 brothers, 2 uncles, some daughters who never left the house. They were running hustles like you describe. Each brother had their own scam running. One of them would buy up ALL the Levis 501s from all the stores on big sales days. Shipped them to Turkey where a cousin would fill a van and drive them into Lebanon and sell them for 8x what he paid on those retail sales days. Within a year each son had their own sports cars. They find little hustles like that, which ordinary American workers wouldn't bother with. Though a lot of Americans are trying to be Amazon sellers and setting up store fronts, and selling "merch." Everyone has a "side hustle" plan now. Desperate times I guess.
You are correct. I am within walking distance to Nike World Headquarters. In 2006, my dad made the terrible mistake of selling off four and a half acres. Four houses abut my property in our former horse pasture. All are owned my Asians, jabbering away in foreign tongues to their multi-generational family members. One family STILL wears masks on the rare occasions they are out in their yard. I didn't sign up for this.
That's too bad, but you need to be with your tribe. It's just natural. I hope you like Indiana.
Yup, I agree with you. Great post to be certain - most all of yours are. I do think there are plenty of exceptions to what you describe but the majority does rule.
What Iβm totally encouraged by are the numbers of Zoomers, yes they are still in the minority, who are bucking the system completely, turning to Christ in droves (gasp), getting married, having children (double gasp), and resetting the system which has been set against them.
It's encouraging for sure. I think most of these kids are gonna be alright.
As a guy born in 1957 I have observed that our older brothers and sisters born at the start of the Boomer generation were spoiled and they were the people doing sex, drugs, rock n roll and protesting the American Way. The second half of that generation seemed to be more conservative. We were in third grade when Johnson escalated the Vietnam war, and those drinking age boomers were getting high and going nuts in the streets and on campuses. We looked at that and thought, WTF. Those earlier Boomers surely didnβt join the Establishment and pave the way for prosperity. I admit to generalizing but we werenβt eligible for the draft and we didnβt hate our country. The older boomers were trained by Gramsci profs at Berkeley and San Diego universities. Younger generations have a legitimate beef against those Boomers who went into education and government to change the world. Thatβs how I see it.
Absolutely spot on, Retired. I was born in 1960. I saw those early boomers drop their hippy-psy-op masks, enter teaching and government in Oregon ...and absolutely destroy everything that Oregon once was. They did the same in Washington and California. Two lesbian governors in a row, and Oregon is circling the cess pit drain.
In terms served by the guv lesbians (4), isn't Oregon essentially a Lesbiocracy now?
I seem to recall those same ex-hippies starting the "ecology" and self-esteem or "positivity" movements as well in the 70s. Is there anything the early boomers took part in that wasn't sponsored behind the scenes by the CIA?
Yeo, Oregon has been a Lesbiocracy for a while. I can't remember when, but it was some time ago, when Portland was dubbed the most lesbian-friendly city in the country. They flocked here in the seventies, along with lots of east coast hyper-liberal Jews. They destroyed what was once a decent place to live...but it was all going down anyway.
Oregon? A Dyke-ocracy? Wonderful! A Lesbaru in every driveway and comfortable shoes on every stoop
My man! I JUST published an article boomers too! Agree that we shouldnβt attack each other, but learn from each otherβthat was the goal of my post, since weβre all fighting the same enemy: https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/what-went-wrong-with-retirement
Best explanation I've read of this so far. I came of age in the late seventies...and yes...trying to get to the truth was so difficult, only the most persistent would not give up. One had to order self-published books that early Truthers sold out of their garages by classified ads in the back of obscure publications. I deeply regret every second of my time wasted trying to "wake-up" braindead zombies. But you know that old saying: "you can wish in one hand ..."
My neighborhood, lily white in the eighties, has now been taken over by affluent Asians, mainly Indians. My sister sold her two bedroom bungalow in Seattle for $760,000. in 2022. I see online that it was immediately listed for $35,000. more...but they gave up after a month. It's now appraised online at $1,097,455. I never saw the home in person, but that price is patently ridiculous . A friend started at GM in 1975 for minimum wage (less than three bucks) but still was able to buy a home and have three kids in the next few years. That 1920's bungalow in San Fernando now is appraised at more than a million. However, at one time in the past ten years, all three of his kids had moved back into the home, with their families in tow. I guess it was rather hellish for a time.
The fact that I dropped out of highschool made absolutely no difference in my life, and where I'm at now. I only wish I could have legally dropped out sooner. I also wish that when I bought my first nine Kruggerands in 2002 ($335. each) I would have bought more.
Kruggerands! My German grandfather left me 10 of them. He risked his life to keep them after collecting them from a bank in Mainz. He was targeted in a tram by a guy with a knife, but in his 60s he beat his ass to a pulp and called the coppers. If it were now, he'd be charged with racial hatred and the guy with the knife would be on TV as the victim of white racist abuse.
I really wish I never sold mine for 375 to buy a bass guitar and amplifier. I was so dumb.
... that price is patently ridiculous..
This! I say this anytime I look at real estate listings just about anywhere inside the empire's gates. Utterly absurd what people are paying for homes in most states with the exception of OK, Arkansas, and NE.
God bless your grandfather. Yes that is exactly what would happen today. What year did that happen, and what year did you sell the gold?
I think it was in the 60s. He was frugal and saved well, diversified wisely. I sold his generous gift in the mid to late 90s mostly. He passed in 98'. I think I sold the last of it in 2004 like a dummy.
I'm a boomer (turned 70 this year) and am not offended by the criticism being directed at boomers now. Instead, I find it puzzling. Is that what my generation is really like? Apparently it must be so, which probably explains why I feel more and more disconnected from society at large with each passing year.
This process only accelerated during the Great Scamdemic, when friends and family nearly all turned full-on Covidian, and ostracized and shamed me for not taking the Glorious Goo.
Then last year I downsized from a 1500 square foot house to a 320 square foot cabin, and just got finished building a tiny house with my own labor so I could have a bedroom. I have not trusted mainstream media for decades and used to get lectured by my elders for saying things like "both parties are corrupt and evil."
I don't seem to be following The Plan.
P.S. I'm highly aware that later generations don't have the luxuries I had. I was able to pay my university tuition working a crap summer job in a warehouse. My son (age 42) still hasn't paid off his student debt, despite working in tech, and then he got laid off last year and it took him a year to find another job. The younger folks are in serious trouble.
It's not what they're "really like" and most of the criticism is jokes, or exaggerations. To be fair to the home "delisting" Boomers, a lot of them saw their neighbors' homes selling three years ago for crazy sums (say 800k), and they thought, as a generation of 'keeping up with the joneses,' that market still existed in 24' and 25'. It's not easy planning for a certain number and then realizing when you're finally ready to sell that not even BlackRock wants it for that figure anymore. But a correction in the cost of living is needed across the board, not just in the housing sector if young people are going to have a snowball's chance.
Congrats on the cabin and tiny home Mark.
What area did you settle in?
I wouldn't say I've settled -- more of a temporary situation. I lived in Vermont from 2009 to 2024. Now I'm in the Sierra Nevada (California) to be nearer to my mother, who is 92 and lives in the Bay Area (where I lived for decades and escaped in 2009). This was the right move for now, since she had a mild stroke in April and needs plenty of help these days. Plus my grandkids live in California. But I don't see this as a permanent thing. At some point I will need to escape again. California is Covid-crazy like Vermont, but with crowds, endless freeways, and a much higher cost of living.
"Is that what my generation is really like? Apparently it must be so, which probably explains why I feel more and more disconnected from society at large with each passing year."
That's the narrative... Boomers are bad. But is that true? Or is it just a psyop to pitch people aginst each other? We have been so manipulated, I really find it hard to fall in line with "Boomers are bad." The closest I'll come is 'some Boomer politicians are really bad."
And yes, the young folks are in trouble. But none of us voted for the reality that's been force fed to all of us.
I feel a little responsible GC, during the 2000s I worked for General Electric, the healthcare division. My job was to essentially outsource all US made materials to Mexico, E Europe and Israhell of all places.
I knew the whole time this was wrong, βwhy not just Lean/improve the shit out of our processes and our suppliersβ.
Due to GE being an asshole narcissistic company, and I was on great terms with all my suppliers, our suppliers said βfuck youβ to our corporate bean counters, so we moved it, shut it all down.
Itβs all part of the grand plan, and even a pee-on like me contributedβ¦.
You did nothing wrong. It's all been part of the plan for a while. Imagine the pediatrician who still pushes each of those 72 jabs on all his CHILD patients to get the six-figure bonus. That's a real motherfucker right there.
Hell, I worked for a damn bank for four or five years before the mortgage crisis selling home loans. I didn't know they were going to suddenly start approving all the terrible loans from unworthy borrowers, that the MBS jenga piles were made up of 80% dogshit and given AAA ratings. While I skipped the country two years before the house of cards collapsed, and even though I only did A-paper, I still feel bad about a few of the loans that were funded in my final year.
GE is no different than any other major company.
Profits > employees
It's also hard to say no when your livelihood depends on saying yes.
GC, you've hit upon the overriding problem with all of humanity: tribalism. Generational sniping is just another iteration of a way of looking at life that we've had drilled into our heads since birth. Everyone. Everywhere. Zoomers vs. Boomers; Dems vs. Republicans; MAGA Republicans vs. Neocon Republicans, Catholics vs. Protestants. Hell, if you grow up in New York, it's not enough to be a Met fan and to not like the Yankees; you have to hate the Yankee FANS too! Met fan tribe vs. Yankee fan tribe. Watch the upcoming Ryder Cup and listen as the American golf fan who often cheers wildly for Irishman Rory McIlroy now hoots at him in full throated jingoistic hatred simply because he's performing for Europe. Cheering USA, USA as if it's the invasion of Normandy acted out in polo shirts. For a goddamned meaningless exhibition golf match. Sport fandom may seem trivial; but this mentality sets a tone in our lives, very often at a young age, that it's not enough to like your guy. If you're a real fan, you also have to hate the other guy.
Growing up in the 60's and 70's, it wasn't enough to look at the Soviet Union as a geopolitical rival; we had to hate everyone who lived behind the Iron Curtain ("Commies!!!" " Better dead than Red!") They were humorless, uncreative, dead on their feet. All the sudden the wall comes down, the NHL starts taking in Russian hockey players, and we discover that they're no different than we are. Time to line up the Muzzies as the new tribe to hate. They're all terrorists, they all want to kill us, "they hate us because of our way of life".
Every issue that comes up is presented to us in such a way as to encourage thinking that you must choose a side - which becomes a tribe - quickly followed by all the reasons you need to hate the person who chose the other tribe. All arranged by those who, as you point out, benefit from our attention constantly being focused on each other rather than on them.
Yup, bread and circus are my favorite correlaries with Rome Part Deux and the original. The fandom thing really has juiced a lot of men of all ages to channel their attention away from what really matters in life. Sports have basically become the main way men are allowed to feel something β to rage, to cheer, to have a tribe. But it's all channeled into utter nonsense, stats, betting, contracts, and stupidity. Millionaires chasing balls while grown men scream at TVs scarffing down jalepeno poppers wearing the jerseys of OTHER MEN. How gay is that? Total masculine castration. All that energy, all that instinct to fight or build or create or rebelβ¦ funneled into fantasy leagues and tribal chants. When you think about it, as all planned as grand diversions, it's kind of brilliant, in a dystopian sort of way.
"Time to line up the Muzzies as the new tribe to hate. They're all terrorists, they all want to kill us, 'they hate us because of our way of life'."
Yup, exactly. I've been watching this with jaw agape for 20 years, wondering how people can be so riled up so easily by the least trustworthy institutions ever - government and corporate media. But one look at MAGA now and it's even more astonishing. The people who were against lockdowns and forced vaccination are now cheering on Martial law and the militarization of urban zones by executive decree. It's truly unbelievable how easy it is to control the minds of the deeply entrenched tribal masses.
You are speaking my language, GC. In these, I make the same points about student debt and housing inflation: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/reinventing-education and https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/inflation-colonization. In this chapter of my book: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/13-finance-is-an-extractive-industry, I show why your house isn't worth more, your money's worth less. As long as that house is a living asset, all the inflated price tag gets you is increased costs to maintain it and pay the property taxes. It's only when it's dead to the family that it becomes liquid. With retirement out of reach, the Boomers are having to work as long as possible before being forced to sell their home in order to live.
The McMansion myth belies the reality that we're paying 4X the cost for a smaller home than our grandparents, with proportionally less discretionary income after essentials.
When women entered the workforce, for one generation they had more choices. Then houses were bid up to a double income and they lost the ability to prioritize the kids. In The Two-Income Trap, Elizabeth Warren and her daughter show that a 2013 couple spends a smaller percentage than their grandparents on food, appliances, cars, clothing and vacations. The food and goods that they do buy are cheapβ cheaply made, mass-produced, and sold at big-box stores. Their access to stuff is greater than ever, but the quality of their goods and their ability to produce have both been wiped out.
The purchasing power of a dollar in 1913 would buy an item in 2013 that cost less than 5 cents, if such an item still existed. Itβs as if 95 cents in trade value was leached out of every dollar and diverted to the banks. The rate of inflation over the century came to 1000% of its 1913 value. To picture this, if your great-grandparents made $5000 a year in 1913, you would need to make $100,000 a year in 2013 in order to have the same purchasing power.
But I don't think gold is the answer, although it may be a personal stopgap for those with money. Gold is responsible for colonization, conquest and the global slave trade, plus arsenic poisoning of indigenous communities. What you're describing is a systemic problem and needs a systemic solution. I just posted Section Five of my book, with links to all the previous, so I'll be reading the last section next, which lays the foundation for that solution: https://thirdparadigm.substack.com/p/section-five-lands-of-milk-and-money.
Excellent points here T about Boomers downsizing into inflationary tornadoes:
"The McMansion myth belies the reality that we're paying 4X the cost for a smaller home than our grandparents, with proportionally less discretionary income after essentials."
On the gold I'll concede it doesn't have a spotless history, from Hernan Cortes to the present, but it does possess all the attributes of sound money from scarcity to universal recognition. What happens in Uganda probably isn't pretty either. I think they just discovered another 10 trillion in reserves there. The vultures will be gathering.
I'd be for an encrypted privacy coin, powered by people's desire to shed the yoke of central banks. It would need a few miracles to work, but they do happen. I'll check out your section five and see what you got there.
In the absence of an ethical and viable alternative, I have no criticism of anyone's strategy for getting through the rest of their life. As a middle boomer, I have money squirreled away in about 20 different pockets in case one gets picked. But CBDC may pick all of them at once. Gold may be the only pocket left with anything but fool's gold.
Mine is the opposite of an encrypted privacy coin, it's trading in relationships and backed by local housing. Let's say that housing stopped being a speculative investment and became, once again, an ordinary place to live--that's what my plan enables. Buyers have plenty of options they can afford and sellers have plenty of buyers. What determines who I sell to is the relationship.
But for myself, I'll be putting my house into a non-revocable trust in the next few years, to make sure it's there for my daughters and can't be scammed. They want it to stay as the family home and never be sold. To me, that's gold that has a use value. The real gold, of course, is daughters who'd rather share a living asset than kill it and get their portion.
It doesn't solve the problem for everyone, however, and the problems you're explicating are very, very real. I don't think there are any individual choices that will work for everyone. That's going to take system change. Thanks for the response and for checking out my Section Five!
Posted this on Notes just before I saw your piece:
With all the online envy and covetedness toward the elderly, aka Boomers, is it any wonder that the government initiated a culling of the old herd in 2020? βWe the peopleβ have turned into your typical mob looking for the scapegoat.
I saw one of the dissident docs talking about this on a podcast. Can't remember his name. Husky guy who confronted the effeminate Means kid, the brother of the current suregon general. Anyway, he says Boomers were targeted by the jabbies. He mentioned the Social Security time bomb needed cleaning up (culling), as well as all those Roth IRAs which will never be paid out.
Well said. The culling is for the assets, and they won't be for the benefit if the younger generations.
What a great read . Thank you. BTW, I tried to buy you a cup of coffee but my bank won't let me (I wonder why...). Fuck those assholes controlling how I choose to spend my money.
Bastards. The last time it worked was three weeks ago. Maybe the fuckers cut me off. Can't criticize certain tribes or they'll come for your money. What does that say about the criticism then?
Wow!!! Lots of good wisdom! I pray that all generations will pay attention and grasp it. Great work! Thanks!
This just came out and comes highly recommended: https://www.amazon.com/Preparation-Become-Competent-Confident-Dangerous/dp/B0FLRKZCKL