Post by cjm on Oct 27, 2016 5:11:17 GMT
The baby boomers might just wreck America
Maybe it’s not the Republicans’ fault. Or the Democrats’. Or even the do-nothing Congress’s. Maybe the nation’s biggest problem is a generation of leaders that have fallen hopelessly behind what’s happening in the real economy.
Bill Clinton became the first baby-boomer president when he took office in 1993, and whoever wins this year will be the fourth president from the baby-boom generation, loosely defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. Republican Donald Trump was born in 1946, the same year as Bill Clinton. Democrat Hillary Clinton was born in 1947. Both of this year’s candidates came of age during the glory years of the US economy—the 50 years following World War II, when American wealth exploded and living standards skyrocketed.
But as they age and retire, the boomers are leaving the US economy in far worse shape than they inherited it. They also tend to apply 20th-century thinking to new types of problems that require a different mindset to solve. This year’s presidential race highlights the whole nation’s disgust with those unsolved problems and leaders applying last year’s ideas to next year’s challenges.
...
Maybe it’s not the Republicans’ fault. Or the Democrats’. Or even the do-nothing Congress’s. Maybe the nation’s biggest problem is a generation of leaders that have fallen hopelessly behind what’s happening in the real economy.
Bill Clinton became the first baby-boomer president when he took office in 1993, and whoever wins this year will be the fourth president from the baby-boom generation, loosely defined as those born between 1946 and 1964. Republican Donald Trump was born in 1946, the same year as Bill Clinton. Democrat Hillary Clinton was born in 1947. Both of this year’s candidates came of age during the glory years of the US economy—the 50 years following World War II, when American wealth exploded and living standards skyrocketed.
But as they age and retire, the boomers are leaving the US economy in far worse shape than they inherited it. They also tend to apply 20th-century thinking to new types of problems that require a different mindset to solve. This year’s presidential race highlights the whole nation’s disgust with those unsolved problems and leaders applying last year’s ideas to next year’s challenges.
...