Sep 2, 2011
The stink created by this summer’s political debacle over the budget and the national debt has dissipated for the most part. Yet, I still find myself wondering how Washington could have devolved into such a Tower of Babel over something as fundamental as paying the bills. In the past, even the most ideologically opposed politicians have proved willing to cooperate in order to move the country forward in a pinch, e.g. Clinton and Gingrich. What has changed?
Could it be the social connection among baby boomers?
Traditionally, demographers have divided boomers into three groups defined by the major historical events that occurred during each of the sub-cohorts’ formative years. For example, the oldest group of boomers was marked early on by the assassination of the Kennedys and MLK and later by the Vietnam War. The middle group suffered the disillusionment of the post-Vietnam War fallout and Watergate. The last group, the babies of the baby boomers, were immersed in Reaganomics and spoiled by the luxury of growing up in the accumulation of wealth during the post-World War II industrial explosion.
What has changed is that baby boomers are no longer merely separated by quaint historical markers which amount to little more than cultural badges. Sure, vestiges of each group’s unique nuance remain, like Birkenstocks and the proliferation of MBAs. What we learned this summer, however, is that it is economic perspective that divides boomers now.
This is important because baby boomers account for 60 percent of our representatives in Washington. Of course, this is not new. Boomers have been the majority age group in Washington for some time. They began to dominate the political scene with the Clinton administration. In fact, the growing number of boomers in elected positions may have been exactly what made it possible for the Clinton administration to pull the two sides of the aisle together to balance the budget during Washington’s last near political meltdown.
What is new is that baby boomers no longer share a common vision for America. Worse, boomers don’t even seem to be able to get along at all anymore. The formerly cohesive group, the largest to pass up the line, is clearly breaking apart along generational lines. This is why President Obama, a boomer himself, is having such a rough go of it.
Not to point fingers, but it appears that the oldest group of boomers is abandoning ship. The once politically active Woodstock mud dancers have succumbed to the reality that they are closer to the finish than to the start. Naturally, their interest has turned toward end-of-life matters and away from education and job creation. The top echelon of the largest generation ever is no longer preoccupied by concerns over social justice for the masses and world peace. They are not worried about how high the ladder goes or how fast the merry-go-round spins; they just want to retire well when they get off.
Therefore, it is no accident that Social Security and Medicare are dominating the political stage. Even the raucous clamor for no more taxes is largely a retirement concern—it is about preservation of earnings and capital. Obviously, the recent financial crisis only increases the apprehension over retirement.
Unfortunately, economics turns out to be a much more fractious divider than historical events. Subsequently, the dialogue in Washington has turned ugly as factions emerge. Understandably, the oldest boomers are more concerned about what’s next for them and less concerned about what’s next for the country. But, it is hard to see the group that led the Civil Rights movement be so overtly concerned about their own entitlements.
Now that the first boomers have begun to turn 65, we need to be concerned about how the soon-to-be largest generation to cross the Rubicon fares through retirement. But, retirement cannot dominate our political dialogue to the point of our extinction—which is what will happen if we continue to concentrate on the end-of-life matters more than those integral to its healthy beginning.
The historical connection of 77 million Americans having been deconstructed, it is time to find a new path forward—one that balances today with tomorrow and our generation with those to follow.