The boomer generation gets blamed for everything. But if we look at their history, maybe we’re being a bit harsh. Here are 17 things boomers really shouldn’t be blamed for.
Climate Change
Boomers are blamed for their contributions to greenhouse gas emissions with their giant gas-guzzling vehicles and less-than-ideal environmental policies. Though we should give them a little slack, when they knew better, they started to do better. Boomers were also responsible for the first Earth Day. President Richard Nixon also enacted the National Environmental Protection Act, and Congressman Jim Florio enacted the Superfund to clean up waste sites.
Economic Inequality
Boomers are currently blamed for the financial situations of everyone around them. It would be wise for us to remember the economy they were born into. They followed the Great Depression and two World Wars. They helped build modern-day marketing and the credit economy we all enjoy today. Economic policies and systems, not a specific generation, are largely responsible for economic inequality.
Housing Market Issues
It’s a double-edged sword for boomers. They’re housing not only their aging parents but also their adult children because life is expensive. All the while, we blame them for the housing market. Economic and political policies are why we can no longer buy a home on a one-person income while supporting our families and instead are renting for twice what a mortgage would be while sharing a can of tuna with our cats.
High Healthcare Costs
A complex array of factors, including policy, the pharmaceutical industry, and healthcare providers, influences healthcare costs, not any generation. Boomers are the ones truly fighting for lower prescription medication costs because, honestly, they take more of them than younger generations.
Social Security Insolvency
Many have postponed retirement, some indefinitely. This has caused even greater emphasis on the entitlements discussion. The futures of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are much in doubt as such a large generation ages into benefits. At the same time, younger workers don’t generate enough tax revenue to pay out dollar for dollar much longer.
Political Polarization
Looking at the political scene, boomers are not to blame for polarized political parties. Though many politicians are boomers or even members of the Silent Generation, they’re not the ones on social media or out on the streets destroying people of the opposite political party without listening to what they have to say.
National Debt
Boomers have been working since they were 18 at traditional jobs, contributing to the economy and paying taxes. The national debt is the result of policy decisions, not the actions of a specific generation, even if that generation is the majority of the political system. “We’ve created great wealth, but we are looking at it at a time when you have to pay the piper,” says David Cork about the boomer-created economy and entitlements.
Decline of Traditional Values
Values evolve, no matter what generation we try to blame. Boomers were responsible for the Civil Rights Movement, putting more women in the workplace, fighting for gay rights, and many other social movements. We could bring back the traditional one-income family and a strong focus on family, but are we ready to give up women’s rights to do so?
Rise of Obesity and Health Issues
Maybe the TV, the pervasiveness of the personal vehicle, and the sprawling suburbs that you have to drive everywhere contributed to the rise of obesity and health issues. Moms were no longer at home cooking pot roast all day, so quick meals like processed foods, TV dinners, and fast food became the norm. But again, are we willing to go back to single-income homes with someone home all day to cook?
Rise of Technology and Loss of Privacy
Boomers created the internet and the personal computer, which yes, led to the rise of technology and some loss of privacy, but are we really mad at them? Without this progress, we would also be back to working 9–5 in an office, unable to just jump on our laptops or smartphones to get something done. We would still be reading maps while driving and praying for a payphone if an emergency happened.
Decline of Manufacturing Jobs
“Boomers were primary victims of globalization which was not accompanied by retraining.” Many boomers were the ones hit the hardest by globalization. If they had decided to go work in a factory because that was the job available at the time, they were the ones out of a job with no other skill set when the economy changed to service-based. The younger generations at least knew these jobs were going extinct, with options to make other choices for the future.
Decline of Community and Increase in Individualism
They were known as the “Me” generation, but that does not mean they were the decline of the community. Many boomers are actively involved in volunteering, churches, and other group organizations. They come from the J.F.K. generation of “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Many would say the social media generation has turned its back on community in favor of hive individualism.
Rise of Fast Food and Processed Foods
Fast and processed foods were created out of necessity. Both parents were working, families were always on the move, and often a slow-cooked meal wasn’t an option. They were considered the “it” thing for on-the-go lifestyles, blissfully unaware of the health implications that would come with them.
Decline in Job Security
Their dream was challenged early on. The 1970–1980 decade was filled with uncertainty in the U.S. workforce. The U.S. was moving from a manufacturing economy to a service economy, and the transition involved downsizing, mergers, and reorganizations. Attitudes toward work and the employer were changing. As the uncertainty grew, some boomers felt betrayed, but they continued to work longer and harder.
Rise in Mental Health Issues
Mental health issues may or may not be on the rise. The feeling of a rising mental health crisis may just be the awareness of mental health in today’s society. Previously, in the boomer hay day, people didn’t talk about their depression and anxiety. But their children are now the ones forging a path of openness in the mental health realm.
Decline in Marriage Rates
“Starting in the 1960s, revolutions in norms about gender roles, individualism, and sexuality fostered a rise in divorce, remarriage, cohabitation, and multiple-partner fertility (Cherlin, 2010).” As women became self-reliant, the need to get married young went away. Women were getting higher education and chasing careers, pushing marriage and children to a later time, if at all.
Decline in Religious Affiliation
Attitudes toward religion have changed countless times. This trend is no different with boomers; while affiliation with specific churches may have declined, many boomers still identify as religious as compared to the generations who follow, who identify as spiritual if anything.