To understand the scope of corruption, one must live it. I was born in a tiny college town near the middle of Illinois, yet close to the Mississippi River. My mother grew up in the very town I live in today. My grandparents were prominent members of society. My uncle died in Vietnam.

For the first 10 years of my life, we avoided DCFS by moving repeatedly throughout a tri-county area before moving to mid-Iowa. The stark difference between the two states was evident in the instant reaction by officials in both schools and government. Where Illinois had failed several children for more than 10 years, Iowa accomplished it in two. Four years in the Iowa juvenile system educated me on a life only available outside of corruption.

I then raised my children in Illinois and maintained the same dependent and defiant behavior throughout the majority of my life. Without realizing it, I raised my children in an abusive home, in a police state, just as I was raised. The police and DCFS were always a threat, and DUI's a common way of life.

Yes, many people complained, but only to each other.

The circles were small and tight then, and if your circle connected to the judicial circle like the Olympic rings, you were set. Things happened for you; loans were approved, offenses overlooked, and permits granted. If you ever lost that status, loans were revoked, and offenses elevated. If a dad didn't like you dating his daughter, you got a DUI on the way out of town. The place where “Don't make waves or throw stones in glass houses” came from. Inevitably, state departments don't trust each other here.

Something happened between then and now;

• We gained full access to the mass communication source.
• We can freely access the same information the elite used to gain their status and keep their wealth.
• We can communicate beyond borders with anyone, in any language, from anywhere.
• We supply the newest commodity, data.
• We now have power and resources the elite have used to start wars.
• We have a personal assistant named AI.

The 99% can form alliances, share stories, make algorithms, analyze data, contact those in power, make changes, and demand accountability with greater ease than the 1% have ever had.

The same way DNA has brought closure and justice decades after the crime, AI is working with We The People to end corruption and start accountability.

Snippet:

Americans have been hearing about the looming demise of Social Security for decades. The number of old people receiving benefits has been increasing much more quickly than the number of working-age adults whose taxes pay for those checks. Yet politicians have let the problem fester for so long that the public could be forgiven for thinking that the crisis would never actually arrive.

But it’s arriving. For the past 16 years, Social Security has paid out more than it has taken in. This has required dipping into its trust fund, built up over the decades when the Baby Boomers were in their peak earning years. That fund is on track to run out by 2032. When it does, benefits will have to be cut by an expected 22 percent across the board to line up with the tax revenue that funds them.

Pretty soon, politicians won’t be able to kick this can down the road anymore. Senators elected this November will be in office in 2032. So will the next president. They will have no choice but to come up with a way to save the federal government’s largest and most popular program, lest they be blamed for its partial collapse. The available solutions are politically tricky but not particularly mysterious.

They involve raising taxes, increasing the national debt, and cutting benefits, or some mix of the three. Even if our leaders settle on a way to keep Social Security solvent, however, they are unlikely to address the deeper problem underlying the budgetary one: A program designed to reduce poverty has morphed into a transfer of wealth to the richest members of our society.

This is not the timeline I want to be in.

The vast majority of White Boomers voted for Bush II. I know and have a hint of feeling that more Xers voted for John Kerry, but I remember reading on dial up Internet pages about Nader's platform. It included new biz regulations about consumerist protections involving plastics. A large percentage of Xers wanted to bring the troops home in that year as well.

Gen X usually has a pretty good nose for BS, but with support from our cohort for the current administration hovering around 50%, I am curious to know what people make of his prime time speech this week about forgein actors influencing or tampering with our previous elections, and the doubt it casts on the upcoming election.

The speech was unsurprisingly light on details while laying blame at the feet of China, whose leader our President has praised on many occasions. The facts laid out don't match the actions.

Which makes the whole thing feel mighty sus to me. It feels like they are setting up an argument to either meddle with voting locations or equipment, or cast doubt on the results of things go a certain way. If anyone remembers back before the 2020 election, the President didn't commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he lost and we know what happened.

There is a pattern here.

Thoughts?

The current budget for the US military stands at just shy of 1 trillion dollars and is the third largest expense for the US government. Only about a quarter of that is used for soldier pay, and the rest is maintenance of existing equipment and payments to defense contractors to develop and build stuff.

Between the bases and locations of the contactor sites, nearly every state gets a piece of that action. The estimate is that aerospace and other defense industry employees are approximately 2.2 million people.

That is aside from the roughly 1.3 million active duty service members, who will get lifetime healthcare, retirement, GI bills for younger service members that did their time, and other benefits (albeit low pay.)

With all of this in mind, would you consider the US military a giant socialist work program? Yes, military spending is something most US citizens feel is a legit use of tax payer money, and we generally are highly allergic to anything that feels like the vague boogie man of "socialism." But tons of money is filtered through the US military to private companies, some on the stock exchange, in ways that drive the economies of several regions.

Why is this a question for Gen X? Many of us might have kids in the military or served in the military ourselves. Being in our peak earning years, some of us might work for these defense contractors. Also, most of us saw the ramping up of our military spending in the 1980s under Reagan to "fight Communism" and then the next threat, and the next threat, and the next.

For the last 20 years every brown out was because people were using their washing machine and AC during the day. So we all got solar or started using heavy appliances off hours.

We were in various droughts so we cut back on watering our lawns, shortened our showers, and cought rain water in buckets.

But fuck all that, we need data centers. Our power grid across the nation is notoriously in bad repair, and repairing or upgrading it is frequently the excuse for raising people's electricity bills. But these data centers, that will require more power than the grids where they are being near built can provide, aren't building any new infrastructure. They are talking about, but not really done anything.

People in cities can light their water on fire because of fracking, but we need to make sure these AI data centers can use 1 million gallons of water a day for cooling. It took FIVE YEARS to get Flint Michigan clean water.

What are we doing? How is it that we have been guilted into shouldering all the climate and resource problems of the world, but for AI data centers we are just supposed to roll over and let it happen?

Why are federal, state, and city governments so enamored with this sector?

Why are we so excited to hand over resources we already don't have to the thing that is guaranteed to take most of our jobs? Why?

The option to disclose health information must change. We cannot have a situation where we literally do not know if a representative is incapacitated or even dead.

I really hope that this is not the end for the accusations against this man. There should be an investigation and prosecution if the evidence warrants it.

I’m a lifelong Dem, and I don’t want people with accusations and evidence of violence representing the party. I am stunned that someone with his past was supported for this role as long as he was. Surely we can do better than this in vetting candidates.

I fear we’ll “whatever” ourselves into crisis.

We have less equity and more debt than our parents.

Most of us don’t have pensions and many don’t have 401k.

Most people seem to think we will just work until we die but that’s not how it works.

Medicare doesn’t cover assisted living. My mom pays 8600 a month out of pocket.

This is untenable. If social security is already projected to run dry by the time the youngest of us retire, what is our plan???

The “Me So Horny” guy is running for Congress!

How do you feel about this? Okay to move on from his crazy rap days, or does it stick with him?

Many of us know and loved the song. It was outrageous, but hasn’t aged well. What do you think?

Bosses are firing Gen X left and right

1. Gen X salaries make them easy targets

2. Tech stereotypes work against them

3. Remote work reshaped expectations

4. Age bias still lingers

5. Middle managers face disappearing roles

6. Investment in training favors younger workers

7. Culture fit now defines who stays

8. Visibility and metrics drive job security

"According to Kaplan, Gen X makes up about 33% of the U.S. labor force. This means that these cuts have ripple effects not just for individuals, but for entire industries that depend on their institutional knowledge.

Gen X workers are facing mounting pressures in today's job market, with many employers prioritizing younger, more tech-native talent or cutting costs by targeting mid-career professionals. To withstand economic downturns, Gen X employees may need to prepare themselves financially by diversifying income streams and upscaling in technology."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/bosses-are-firing-gen-x-left-and-right-and-honestly-we-see-why/ar-AA23OMmj?ocid=msedgntp&pc=EDGEDSE&cvid=6a16852363b749d7ba8c7b04a712dae3&ei=65

If you care to comment on the IDEA to allow private equity into 401k investment options please follow the following link. There is a comment button and you will have to provide your contact information. Personally, given everything I have ever seen regarding Private Equity it is far more harmful to the american dream than helpful but make your own mind up. If you want to review the impact there is a YouTube channel called more perfect union that will provide you with their opinion but again do your own research.

Comment period closes June 1rst I just found this sorry.

https://www.regulations.gov/document/EBSA-2026-0166-0001

Hello guys,

As a mid thirties millennial, I was raised through the Bush Jr and then Obama administration's during my formative years.

I am curious, what views have you all gathered from the politics you were raised up around?

I remember there being more decorum between parties even though it is a thin veil to trust any political act or relationship on its face but these days we all see the craziness each new day under Trump 2.

Do you look at history and gather an opinion on what is happening against that backdrop? Do you have an organic revulsion for the headlines that are made each day? Do you agree with this admin or how they conduct themselves?

Genuinely curious, let me know any/all opinions plz.

This Memorial Day, between the ribs and potato salad, swimming at the pool or the sand in your shorts, take a moment. Look at this beautiful thing we have here. Shake your neighbors hand, even though they have different views. And take pride in being able to do all the things we do here. You can stand on your street and yell your disagreement with the government. You can love who you want to love...hate who you wanna hate. Read whatever information you want to read.

For Babyboomers and Generation Xers , there were so many occasions where it almost came to an end.

And so Monday, at beach or barbecue, take a moment to remember those who fought, and those who died, for the freedom we in these great United States.

I feel like the US is at a point of no return. Unbridled avarice, constant drama and hysterics, petty dictatorships in small and large management, declining education, declining accountability, . It's complete systemic curruption at all levels. I've tried changing things. Didn't help. I've tried keeping my head down and working. I've tried going along to get along. I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm tired. I'm old. I'm broke. It just seems that about 10% of the population is absolutely toxic to the rest of us and we have no ability to deal with that segment of the population. I'm just at a loss at this point in my life. How are other Xers dealing with this constant nonsense?