Interesting poster

[Loed]

So basically you are upset with the baby boomer generation, not the "younger generation".
The younger generation is a direct child of circumstance, learning from their elders.

Many of my age spend well within their means. What you are outlining is NOT a quality pertaining to just a single generation.

I agree with everything you have said about spending more frugally.

It's pathetic that you group so many people into this little situation. I don't know any people that subscribe to "the government owes me xxxxx for free" ideology.

So now I am just confused by your stance. You group these young ones into such a negative ball, yet you don't see the cause and effect behind it all.

The same can be said right back to you, the younger generation is not as stupid as the older likes to tell themselves.

It is the root of most of the problems. The very simple answer is: Stop spending foolishly. Don't go into debt for "wants". Learn to differentiate between "needs" and "wants". Make a budget and stick to it. Learn to live with less. Instead of always buying new, either do not buy or buy second hand.

Timmies every morning on the way to work, buying lunch every day, picking up fast food on the way home is not a "need". Some time, those people who do this should look at their math and check out how much they spend over a month. If they charge it and don't pay it off before interest kicks in, they are spending more than what it actually cost them originally ...

Ah, hell .... I give up. I've typed the same thing so many times even I am sick of it.

Go .... blow every penny you earn on things that make your little hearts go pitter patter. Vote for political parties that promise you even more little heart palpitations. Add to your debt load and increase your tax levels to pay for your toys and joys. Hate the corporations that provide you with jobs that pay for your toys. Teach your kids that they do not have to understand the law of finance - that for every debit there must be a credit. Let them bask in lives of "the government must give us free XXXX" without considering consequences to their demands - just as you do now. Mortgage your souls for decades to governments who offer easy streets to walk on immediately instead of fiscal responsibility for the future.

The older generation is not as stupid as the younger one wants to believe.

Which brings me back to the original post at the top of Page One ... the poster is insulting.

[Captain Awesome]

I'm just waiting for the word "whippersnapper" to appear.

And it's all started with an innocent poster...

[Loed]

I'm just waiting for the word "whippersnapper" to appear.

And it's all started with an innocent poster...

It's amazing what the power of imagery can do!

I just don't understand why people are so bitter towards each other's generations.

[Captain Awesome]

I just don't understand why people are so bitter towards each other's generations.

Younger people think they're smarter than older generation and know it all.
Ironically, older people think they're smarter than younger generation and know it all.

[Loed]

I just don't understand why people are so bitter towards each other's generations.

Younger people think they're smarter than older generation and know it all.
Ironically, older people think they're smarted than younger generation and know it all.

Thanks Captain Obvious(;)), the implications behind my statement are deeper than that. Well, at least I want them to be anyways.

[Bagotricks]

How can we see "debt as a bad thing"? It's just a part of our lives we can do very little to avoid anymore.

We are forced into excessive debt just to get a decent job!

Best statement ever!

"Spend within your means"

*cough under your breath* ....but to get a decent job you need to come up with 20-60 grand right out of highschool (awe the paper route didnt cut it?), then when you get your first entry level low paying job you will have to pay that back right away. Oh you need a place to live and you need to get around? Oh you cant buy a 300,000 dollar house for cash? Cant afford to drop 18 grand on a car? Hey we've got options for you. Oh also - don't forget our ENTIRE economy is based on your spending your paycheck on TV's, Ipods going out to the movies and buying material objects ( that's why we give tax breaks to huge companies so they can create jobs so they can produce more things for people to buy ) so everytime you get paid PLEASE PLEASE spend your money. Oh also don't forget to save for retirement otherwise you will be on welfare when you retire - just like about 70% of Canadians! Oh you dont have enough money to save for retirement after we raised your hydro rates 50% and brought in a tax that nickles and dimes you so big business can get a break? You have no money left over because your paying 100 bucks a month for medical services? It cost you HOW much to renew your DL? Oh dont worry - you can take out a loan for a retirement savings plan!

We are sooooooooo screwed. My friend calls this new economic system the "debt gulag". Slavery isn't abolished, its just more of a tax shift and perspective change.

[steven lloyd]

I just don't understand why people are so bitter towards each other's generations.

I'm certainly not bitter against the younger generation. I work with people in their twenties and thirties and find them to be quite intelligent and sharp. Of course, these aren't folk who think we should “derail and rebuild” or all twenty plus million of us suddenly decide to become hippies and farmers eeeking out a subsistent survival living off the land working 14 to 16 hour days through the growing season and holing up in cabins (or buses) heated by wood stoves during the dark winter months.

[NAB]

Very close to being a good summary of the situation Bago. Just remember that it wasn't the parents of the boomers who got the ball rolling, they knew better (or at least the majority of them did for they didn't have much of a choice). It was the boomers themselves who set the bomb ticking. Their parents for the most part have few years left, and regardless of how that poster is interpreted there is little the boomers and their kids can do that is going to make much difference to the pre-boomer generation of grandparents. We are pretty much stuck where we are for the few years we have left, and know there is little we can say or do that will influence or change how our children approach their turn or what the government does either, ....or what their children have now to look forward to.

Edit to add. Also bear in mind the boomers parents are now 65 plus plus, the boomers themselves are now about 50 - 64 years old, and their children about 30 to 40 years old. The boomers grandchildren therefore are about 10 to 20 years old, and it is the upper range of that demographic who are, for the most part, starting to say... "hey, wait a minute!!!!"

Nab

[Lycoming]

What's to be insulted by? Most seniors won't live long enough to see the next election. Yet they prop up the Conservatives whose platform is in opposition to what most people under 30 stand for. The people who have decades to suffer the results of a bad election.

Either way youth need to get out and vote.

[Urbane]

What's to be insulted by? Most seniors won't live long enough to see the next election. Yet they prop up the Conservatives whose platform is in opposition to what most people under 30 stand for. The people who have decades to suffer the results of a bad election.

Either way youth need to get out and vote.

Most seniors won't live long enough to see the next election? Really? And actually, in one of the Nanos polls I was looking at last week the Conservatives were leading among "young people." Not sure of the exact age cut-off but I would be careful with the generalizations. Given that there are many people like myself who have voted Liberal many times in past elections it might be a good question to ask if the Liberal and NDP platforms are all that appealing.

[NAB]

What's to be insulted by? Most seniors won't live long enough to see the next election. Yet they prop up the Conservatives whose platform is in opposition to what most people under 30 stand for. The people who have decades to suffer the results of a bad election.

Either way youth need to get out and vote.

....for anything but the Conservatives right? Why would "seniors" prop up the Conservatives, after all it should be to their advantage to have a party in power with a more socialist bent like the Liberals or NDP, No? But we are more concerned with our children's and our grandchildren's future, so we will sacrifice our own needs and vote Conservative for our children's and grandchildren's benefit, not for our own.

Nab

[Loed]

Honestly, the problem isn't "get out and vote" it's more "give us something/one to vote FOR".

I know many people in their 20's and the vast majority of them go "why would I vote for anyone running right now?"

Then they go, shoot I should try to get into politics and make a difference... ohh wait I'm an average income worker, and I have little time left after my two jobs so I can afford my rent/food/utils/student loan.

Politics needs to be destroyed and rebuilt. The current system is so mired in redundant red-tape all over the place, it's sick. Thanks for the job(that only close friends/family get anyways), but seriously it doesn't work as it is right now.

Sadly I'm not involved intimately with the system enough to voice any ideas on how to chance/fix it really.

[Glacier]

Honestly, the problem isn't "get out and vote" it's more "give us something/one to vote FOR".

I know many people in their 20's and the vast majority of them go "why would I vote for anyone running right now?"

Have you ever heard of the Nirvana fallacy?

[grammafreddy]

....for anything but the Conservatives right? Why would "seniors" prop up the Conservatives, after all it should be to their advantage to have a party in power with a more socialist bent like the Liberals or NDP, No? But we are more concerned with our children's and our grandchildren's future, so we will sacrifice our own needs and vote Conservative for our children's and grandchildren's benefit, not for our own.

Nab

For sure.

Layton is promising me the world in increased pension payments. I should vote for him. I should make sure all you young whippersnappers (thanks for that, CA) get stuck with max tax to cover my care until I die - which I actually was not planning to do as soon as before the next election as I was just told I was gonna do. I'll be sure to demand a private room with my own bathroom, maid service, housekeeping, free taxis and ambulance services, free meds, free gourmet meals (plus snacks 3x daily), free everything - and if you all would just vote that in, I would be so very appreciative!

I figure I'm good for the next 20 years or so on your tax dollar. Please don't skimp with anything, eh? Pay your (increased) taxes happily so I can have my every desire fulfilled and live a life of luxury. I deserve it. I covered your tushes for the past 20-40 years with my taxes. It's MY turn!

I think I'd like free piano lessons, too. Thanks for paying for it for me. I paid for you and your kids for a lot of years already.

[Loed]

Yes and it doesn't apply in this situation.

Honestly, the problem isn't "get out and vote" it's more "give us something/one to vote FOR".

I know many people in their 20's and the vast majority of them go "why would I vote for anyone running right now?"

Have you ever heard of the Nirvana fallacy?