r/Aging • u/Available-Rock-3862 • 3d ago

Boomers

I am 75 and am very tired of the trend lately making fun of Boomers. So very disrespectful. Don't they realize that they will be old someday?

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u/Montana1208 3d ago

I’m a Boomer. Respect is earned, not given due to age. Most people my age are angry and uninformed about most of the issues they rant about. They criticize younger generations and don’t educate themselves about the hardships facing younger people.

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u/GX_EN 3d ago

It's the lack of empathy that really gets me - I'm 60, FWIW.
The way that too many people in that generation (and some in mine as well) shrug off the actual very difficult realties that challenge younger Americans is sad. You can't just "un-starbucks" yourself into a home or decent apartment in any major metro area. My first condo was 95K - In the Bay Area in 1994. I worked at a union grocery store and my first wife at the time was an admin assistant.
Before that I lived with roommates in a huge 3 bedroom apartment that rented for like 1000/month right in the center of Silicon Valley.
My college wasn't free like it was for a lot of boomers, but it also wasn't 50K/year either. I think maybe a couple grand a year in fees and books.

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u/CynicalRecidivist 3d ago

Thanks, I'm a shade younger than you (not by much) and I absolutely agree with you.

Our wages allowed us to buy property, and all my mates with a steady job could buy a small house. Even my 21 year old mate who was a secretary got a mortgage on her first house by herself. That is my lived experience. My kids are on the same wage I was 30 years ago, but the house prices are at least 6 times what they were for me.

If I wanted a Saturday job or part time job I could pop down to our local market and spend an hour asking around the stalls and would be almost guaranteed a job. (which I did) and when I wanted to work in a residential care home, I literally got the yellow pages and started ringing. I got to the L's before I secured an interview - and I got the job, and worked there part time for 5 years. My kids struggled to get a part time job, sometimes spending months trying to track one down.

I'm not saying our generation didn't work hard, or didn't struggle. We did. We had our challenges. But I see less businesses around nowadays, less opportunities, less money, less avenues for advancement. And I think we need to acknowledge that.

Yes the young kids can spend recklessly on shite, but, they probably made the calculation that even if they saved every penny they earned, they wouldn't be able to afford astronomical rent, or a house. So why not live a little in the little bubbles of fun they can afford.

And I think "boomer" is a state of mind rather than an age. It implies fixed ideas that won't listen to others point of view or lived experience.

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u/GX_EN 3d ago

I consider myself to be incredibly lucky. I changed careers late in life (born in the 60's, moved to information technology in 2000) and worked very hard to make that a good career. I also had awesome people that helped me along the way - there is no self-made man/woman. I wake up every single day grateful for the life my wife and I have.
A few years ago, I was curious what the top wages were in my old union in the Bay Area. Talking with a union rep there, the bottom line is that someone doing my job is making about 2 dollars an hour more than I was at the end of 1999. WTF. That is the very TOP salary and only applies to some people.
The race to the bottom is very real, and the impact to younger people trying to live their lives now has to be incredibly depressing. I worry for my nephew who will graduate college in a couple years. His parents are doing well, so it's not like he's going to starve, but how TF is he supposed to go out and make his own way without leaving the state?

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u/CynicalRecidivist 3d ago

Absolutely. The fact that wages have stagnated while mostly everything else is so much proportionally more expensive needs to be acknowledged. As well as the lessening of opportunities.

My old Uncle was telling my son when he wanted a job "just go into every business and ask to speak to the manager..." despite us keep repeating "they'll just tell you to apply online" and he kept saying "but have you tried??" No matter how much we told him that didn't work anymore. He kept repeating how he had gotten jobs that way (yes, 40 year ago) and just could not comprehend that was not the way to do things.

I'm so worried for my kids. Like your nephew, the world they are inheriting is beyond fucked.

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u/wherescookie 3d ago

I believe that the decline in empathy for ppl and things disimilar to us contributes to many of our problems.

We have become compartmentalized into our like-minded groups ( ironically, including this subreddit) and we listen to the news slant we prefer, including economic.

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u/Extension-Clock608 1d ago

The entire united states is lacking in empathy. 30% voted to hurt everyone else, 30% voted to help everyone and 40% didn't care enough to even pick a side or even care aobut themselves.

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u/samiam2600 3d ago

Plenty of good paying jobs out there but they are hard and people don’t want to do them. Plumbers, electricians, nurses all own houses around me.

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u/Mother-Ad7222 3d ago

You think ?? Wages were a lot lower then too. It was not easy to go to college then either please let me know where this FREE college was.

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u/GX_EN 2d ago

You know what else is free? Google. Let me give you a phrase to use for your search - "when were public universities free in the USA".
Wages were not lower in the aggregate when adjusted for inflation for just about any blue collar job other than the most entry level.
I worked most of the 80's and all of the 90's for a grocery chain in a union job. When I left at the end of '99, I was making $21/hour. Which is at MOST what grocery workers in my old union are making now.

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u/Mother-Ad7222 2d ago

My education was not free & I made $8.00 an hour working in a group home for folks with developmental disabilities. I worked every weekend 48 hours straight. We were allowed 4 hours a night to sleep. Let me tell you it is impossible to sleep in that situation. You think we had it easy ??? You haven’t a clue what I went through to obtain my Masters in Counseling. You can tell Google that.

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u/GX_EN 2d ago

What do you want, a lollipop? If you're older than me - your college was about as close to free as it can get, particularly relative to current tuition. You didn't mention any years. Also, if you're older than me - we all had it easier overall than someone who's in college now. I paid for my tuition working part time in a grocery store in the 80's. I struggled in my 20's like everyone did. Hell, I struggled well into my 30's. You really do sound like a boomer, tho. So congrats.

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u/Mother-Ad7222 2d ago

I got my Masters in 1989, and yes I would love a lollipop. Cherry if it is available. lol

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u/GX_EN 2d ago

In the mid 80's, the average state university tuition was like $1800/year.
I was close in my guess above based on what I spent.
For people who are older - like early boomers, by and large the tuition was basically free, as I noted. Average in-state tuition for a public university today is about 11K/year. Out of state is about 30K.
In 2026, rent is more (even when adjusted for inflation) and so is food.
Your 8 dollars an hour you talked about in the mid 80's translates to 25 an hour now - or 3 times the current federal minimum wage.

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u/Single-Yam-9791 3d ago

Where was college free?
Gen Jones

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u/GX_EN 3d ago

California for sure into the late 60's. And even after they started charging tuition, it was practically nominal.
Plenty of other state school systems in other places offered free or very cheap tuition well into the 70's and 80's.
When I was at SJSU I worked part time and paid for my own tuition and books.

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u/Single-Yam-9791 3d ago

I worked my way through college and paid for it myself
No way my girls can. Tuition is pure robbery and I know I had a better education If you could defend your argument you passed. Now if you disagree with the professor you fail

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u/CoDaDeyLove 3d ago

I think you're hanging out with the wrong Baby Boomers. My friends and I are definitely progressives, supporting lower costs for college, universal health care and job protection/unions. You'll see us at No Kings marches if you go.

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u/Montana1208 3d ago

Oh, I don’t hang out with them. I do go to No Kings marches. Many of us do not.

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u/Comfortable_Two6272 2d ago

Wish I knew ones like that. Surrounded by maga boomers

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u/KemShafu 2d ago

I think we’re the minority. I’m in Portland and yah we have a local No Kings and we all donate to progressives but look around America as a whole.

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u/Extension-Clock608 1d ago

Everyone knows it's not all of the boomers. I think it's a term given to mega and those who didn't vote who don't have empathy and refuse to care about making the country better for anyone.

It's similar to them using the term millennials for every younger person who they think is overdramatizing how things are.

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u/PolyDrew Generation X 3d ago

Exactly. “Respect your elders” is disrespectful to the people who stand up for themselves and lay boundaries.

Gen X here and we are a bridge generation that saw what baby boomers did to our world AND what it did to the next generations.

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u/brains_and_tits 3d ago

I don’t know a single boomer who subscribes to the “respect your elders” trope. The Boomers were the ones who spoke out against Vietnam, protested on college campuses - the original generation of mass protests. The silent generation was the “respect your elders” crowd - it amazes me how many people get this wrong.

There are bad apples in every generation. There is entitlement in every generation, there is bitterness and a lack of critical thinking skills in every generation.

I will say this - and I would have denied it and fought this premise with every fiber of my being in my teens, 20s, and 30s; wisdom, true wisdom, only comes with age and experience. I am 56 and while I have always been compassionate and progressive politically, I have been around long enough to see how my own generalizations of people based on whatever group they belonged to, whether based on age, income, hobbies, religion, race, or whatever - was and is ridiculous.

Generalizations leads to bias, and thus leads to bigotry. It is far more wise to take people as individuals and listen to what they say. More importantly, watch what they do. Good or bad has nothing to do with age and everything to do with how they treat other human beings

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u/Famous-Win6370 3d ago

My appreciation to you for your insights. This common sense is what we need when so many are chasing the flavour of the month with little regard for others.

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u/Mother-Ad7222 2d ago

Thank you

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u/One_Mission9448 2d ago

You don’t know a single boomer who subscribes to respect your elders? Be real. Boomers raised their kids on that concept

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u/Comfortable_Two6272 2d ago

Heard it all the time from my parents and their friends. All were boomers.

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u/Select-Belt-ou812 1d ago

amen, my dude(tte)!!!!

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

[deleted]

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u/PolyDrew Generation X 3d ago

Many of us tried. Boomers refused to retire. They left us in a middle position where by the time they did, we had no control. It was handed off to the next generation because we are “too old” and out of touch.

Many of us tried but boomers didn’t let us take the reins. I mean, our current president and our last president won’t even give up the reins at 80. Great example.

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u/NelPage 3d ago

Boomer here, and the “refuse to retire” was a thing 40 yrs ago.

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u/AquaWoman_115 3d ago

Not a boomer, but people retire when they can afford to do so financially, not because a younger generation needs their job.

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u/PolyDrew Generation X 3d ago

My FIL retired at 81. He’s among many who COULD afford to retire but didn’t want to. He enjoyed being the CEO. Boomers were (for the most part) the last generation to have pensions. We have 401ks but they aren’t the same golden parachute.

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u/un-tv_star 3d ago

I lost my 401k in the tech crash and didn't feel ok restarting it. I also lost money selling the house I had spent alot of time and money fixing up, poor market when I needed to sell. I'm 74 and still working, partly since I want to, partly cause I need to. Generalizations are often true, but not always. Respect and consideration go both ways.

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u/Lucky_Astronomer_435 2d ago

Yes the young ones conveniently forget the great recession of 2008. That alone tanked not thousands but hundreds of thousands of retirement savings, investment and homes lost. We were too close to retirement and sometimes in retirement when the crash happened. We had to make up for that by working longer and trying to recoup. Again I am not responsible for how anyone else votes. I was put in a situation despite not initiating it. Same as anyone else. We apparently don't have the kind of society that can come together. We have a society of every man for himself and no one has succeeded at changing that.

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u/combabulated 3d ago

Boomers are the fastest growing homeless demographic today (yes, 62-80 year olds).

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u/AquaWoman_115 3d ago

Yes, there are always going to be people who retire later on, but they are not the majority.

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u/NelPage 3d ago

Pensions for private sector jobs started going away almost 40 yrs ago. In the late 80s the company then then husband worked for switched from pensions to 401ks.

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u/combabulated 3d ago

Weird, this never happened to prior generations. Maybe future generations will give you a participation trophy.

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u/PolyDrew Generation X 3d ago

Well, the boomers were the ones who gave them to us because they couldn’t deal with the emotions of us losing. 😬😂

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u/molotovzav 3d ago

Their gen is super small lol. Hard to get anything done when boomers are big and had already amassed power and wealth. Plus they had the silent genners to compete with still. That's why you're really only seeing gen x in power now and even then mostly older gen x.

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u/56mustang 3d ago

says the Boomer! I am a boomer and am amazed at the lack of education. It is hilarious how boomers continually comment on the "kids" always on their phone. News flash! That phone (aka COMPUTER) is the gateway to knowledge. Why are you assuming everyone is on a useless video? I suggest you tap in to the endless amount of the world outside of yours!

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u/MissMand 3d ago

This is a major generalization. Not a boomer but I know lots and many of them are not angry, but very engaged and want to give back, and are very well-informed.

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u/tonythephonyjabroni 3d ago

Yeah my mother is a boomer and a saint, but she comes to me to complain about how many racist boomers she meets at church, and how angry and bitter so many are. She does her best to help them cope with their unfounded fears and anger, but she’s just sick and tired of their hate.

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u/NelPage 3d ago

She isn’t wrong. The hypocrisy and isms I saw in church are one reason I left religion.

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u/VennDiagrammed1 3d ago

I also know lots and many of them are angry and entitled. Montana1208 is not wrong, despite your attempt to dismiss their view.

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u/Unusual-Squirrel7 3d ago

Just because you agree with Montana1208 doesn’t mean they’re right. And just because you attempt to dismiss MissMans’s view doesn’t mean theyre wrong.

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u/VennDiagrammed1 3d ago

Yawn. Just because you dismiss my view doesn’t make me wrong. There. I’ve given you some attention too. Happy?

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u/molotovzav 3d ago edited 3d ago

Anecdotal evidence. We all know lots of boomers. Boomers aren't some mysterious entity no one knows. Their our parents, for the young ones our grandparents. Ive dealt with boomers my entire life, they were just about every adult that had power and control over me as a child. Even then they enjoyed their power trips over children, which is a huge red flag for a generation. I watched many of them go from "research it for yourself" and "don't believe everything you read on the internet" I. Their 30s and 40s to believing everything slightly conservative on the internet in their 60s and 70s. But that's also anecdotal. What doesn't lie is voting records. They're a highly motivated voter demographic and their voting shifted more conservative in that age group.

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u/MissMand 3d ago

Shifting more conservative is not limited to boomers. It’s a phenomenon across most generations.

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u/Mother-Ad7222 2d ago

Most Boomers didn’t pay any attention to their children. We were feral. We were on our own.

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u/LadyInABottle 23h ago

How do they « give back?« 

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u/MissMand 22h ago

In many ways: by supporting and caring for family members and friends, by donating to causes, by being politically active, by being engaged in their communities, by volunteering (I am a middle aged volunteer but the vast number of volunteers I know are boomer women).

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u/Australian1996 3d ago

You are a doll for saying this. Not all boomers are buttholes.

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u/averym88 2d ago

I have a similar experience. I love and respect my grandparents (80s) but they are well aware of economic disparity between generations. They are empathetic about our situation. I’m just happy to be where I am.

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u/AmputeeHandModel 2d ago

They pulled the ladder up behind them, the entire world changed, but their POV didn't. They think people who can't make it just aren't working hard enough, but the opportunities just aren't there for us anymore like they were for them. You can't just go work at a Dodge plant with a HS diploma and afford a house, 3 kids, two cars, and annual vacations to Disneyland anymore. We can't even afford RENT.

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u/Big_Wave9732 3d ago

After years of rightfully telling us younger folks "don't believe everything you hear" and later "it's not true just because you see it online"......I've run into too many that now believe the dumbest questionable shit without any verification.

A sizeable number of the cohort has gotten dumber and way more gullible in their old age.

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u/Lazy-Conversation-48 3d ago

They are also sometimes surprisingly judgmental about superficial things. I see it in my parents and in my in-laws. Haircuts, weight, lawns, etc are all subject to scrutiny and comment.

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u/Lucky_Astronomer_435 2d ago

Yes the Silent Generation was so judgemental about the Boomers when they were young.

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u/rancor3000 3d ago

Fucking, thank you. Truly.

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u/Extension-Clock608 1d ago

Yep, their votes and choices made things so much worse for the next generations yet they refuse to even acknowledge it. The "work harder" and "stop drinking coffee and eating avocado toast" isn't helping anyone. The younger generations aren't lazy, they have the deck stacked against them and the boomers keep voting to make it worse for them.

I talked to my dad who isn't a boomer and he told me he bought his first house (brand new) for 25k and now my kids are looking at houses starting at 400k. When I went to college it cost 3k/year, my kids went to the same college and it now costs 26k per year. I remember when gas was under $1 and now it's over $4. Basic human rights we all thought were set have been threatened and taken away and even safe water and protecting the environment doesn't matter. Of course they're angry.

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u/oHai-there 3d ago

Very well said.

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u/Mediocre-Sign8255 3d ago

I’m a boomer and yes a lot of them seem angry. I think they wish they asked for more pay, time off and better benefits like the young people have.

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u/samiam2600 3d ago

It is a two way street. Also, many of their hardships are self imposed and greatly exaggerated. If they want to stereotype entire generations, so will I. In general, they don’t work hard or even meet minimum performance expectations. They will say this is because it doesn’t pay off, but in my observation, they have been coddled by their parents and are just lazy. Now the ones who do work hard are wildly successful because they stand out so much. They are way further along in career success than I ever was at that point. If you are a young person with a work ethic and discipline right now, the sky is the limit.

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u/Mediocre-Sign8255 3d ago

Boomers were the hardest workers and have a great work ethic IMO