Trish,
You are, as John Howard has put it, guilty of hyperbole. Are the Boomers the 'lucky generation'? No, I don't think so. The really lucky generations were those born in the 1930s and WW II because there were so few of them and they were able to ride to affluence on the wave of the boomers coming after them. The further you go after WW II the less lucky the boomers have been, and they do go up to a birthdate of 1961. The key date in Boomer history is 1973 and the oil crisis. Before that there were lots of opportunities and perhaps Trish's colourful portrayal may have a grain of truth. After that opportunities diminshed as unemployment rates rose. Sure not as tough as later but tougher than the late 1960s. The tide of demography might yet turn against the Boomers and they could easily end up with less than the generation before them in old age as there are so many of them! And it is worth pointing out that Australia has yet to have a Boomer Prime Minister.

Baby Boomers is a term commonly applied to people with birth years from the span 1945 to 1964.

In other words they are now aged 42-61 so Roger Daltrey of My Generation fame is NOT a baby boomer. Neither was Jimi Hendrix or Jerry Garcia.

Paul Keating was not a boomer, neither is John Howard. The heads of most major corporations are not boomers.

We need the Silent Generation to move over and let boomers run things well before X and Y get the gig (grin).

A far greater proportion of the X and Y generations are university educated than the babyboomers. The Xers, despite early indications to the contrary, are now breeding - just later than some predicted. Enjoying a youth prior to the obesity phenomena (indeed growing up in the skinny 70s) they'll live longer than the babyboomers so breeding later is not surprising.

While more babyboomers owned houses earlier, they didn't have as many material possessions or experiences. My generation, X, enjoyed world travel in youth at a rate far greater than the boomers. We enjoyed social freedoms (to live with our lovers, to extend our youths, to explore multiple careers, to sample education) that were only ever enjoyed by a tiny percent of the boomers but which will forever be glorified in media celebrations of their era (discounting the true quite narrow, conservative and restrictive experience of the majority who were married with children and burdened by responsibility far earlier than their children).

Popular culture celebrates the exciting minority experience of boomers not the dull majority reality.

(See next post).

(continued from last post)

I benefit greatly - and often wonder whether my experience is rare or whether its shared by many - from the generosity of my babyboomer parents and my babyboomer bosses and mentors.

My parents are keen to see that my life is better than theirs was. They give any support they can and now, though both still in the workforce, are also giving their time in volunteerism to give back to a community that gave to them. They offer their time to the workforce, the community plus they're also looking after both sets of aging (WWII) parents and generously offering their time to look after their grandchildren. They're as busy as they've ever been.

My bosses and senior mentors at work are at pains to encourage me, to make opportunities for me, to share the rewards of their seniority and reputation with me and to stand aside so that I may take over from them as soon as I'm able. They're keen to let go of the power and relax into the enjoyable twilight of their careers.

They - the men included - have been exceptionally generous about my maternity leave and about restructuring my work arrangements so that I may continue enjoying a career, within reason, without taking away from the wonderful time spent with tiny children. They celebrate in my parenthood and in my working life in a way that nobody celebrating that dual life for them.

They never criticise. They never judge.

Sure - its fun to kick the babyboomers but the reality is a more complex picture. They had some good times. I've had some better times as a generation Xer.

Things change.

Good article Trish, and full of fact. I'm a 1946'er, definitely a BB, so I can recognise a lot of the comments as fitting rather well.
Sadly, the news is worse, in a way. Since fertility has dropped well below replacemnet level (we rely on immigration for population growth)it means that the younger generations behind us are not keeping up in numbers, and so the BB's are forming a larger proportion of the the population each day. And because of the medical advances since say, 1900, there are more BB's who survived their first and subsequent years. Not only that, those BB's have a greater average life expectancy than ever: women to around 86, men to maybe 80. Phew! Not only are there more of us, but many of us are going to live way longer than our own parents. It gets worse. Look at your demographics, and at a point in time not too far away the over 50's will easily have an overwhelming voting power! In the year 2010, a person born in 1945 will turn 65, and it keeps going after that of course. What do you think their voting preferences are likely to be? Grey Power of course!
So in a way, it is time for the BB's to get out of the way, because soon enough you might not be able to get us out of the way.

What a wonderful post Shell. I hope my daughter can say the same about me. And it is true that the popular conceptions of what it was like growing up in the 60s only applied to a minority. Life is much better now, for all of us.

Similar discussion to one here a few weeks ago. As a BB I'm happy to acknowledge the good fortune of my life especially in a country as blessed as Australia. But, while we BBs are often branded as the 'counter-culture generation' for things that occurred in the 60s & 70s, that was always an exaggeration, as most of us have always been hard working and quite materialistic and quite keen on success in our careers. Unless one holds that materialism and careerism are unethical, there is nothing to apologise for.

Whatever characteristics can be ascribed to subsequent generations now, it can be assured that these will be judged differently in 20 years time. In their 50s and 60s, will they be so different than we are now?

I am 55 and in a management position that I worked hard and studied hard to achieve. I help and develop younger staff around me so that they will be better prepared when their time for promotion comes. If they are waiting for me to move aside and let them drive now though, they have another think coming! I still have plenty of energy and experience to contribute, as do many of my generation.

Trish Bolton wrote “Wouldn’t you know it - the generation that hoped they’d die before they grew old are still hogging the limelight at 60.”

So what. If you had something of relevance to contribute, the “limelight” might fall on you.

“The lucky generation had access to jobs, permanent ones, with sick leave and holiday pay thrown in”

Green Eyed Envy is not an endearing quality

“There’s less opportunity to study politics and philosophy” – there is plenty of opportunity, for those who know how to manage their time.

“Move over Baby Boomers, it’s time to let someone else drive the car.”

If you want to drive, I suggest – you buy your own car, instead of expecting a collection of baby boomer benefactors to pick up the tab.

This illustrates the difference between Trish and say, my daughter.

Without asking for assistance, my daughter recently decided to spend a lot of money on a new(ish) Mini-Cooper S. She decided she wanted it and as she has her house in order (which she bought 4 years ago, ie small mortgage) and had been promoted at work (which she found through her own efforts) so, at the ripe age of 25 she decides to indulge herself in what she wants (she does not ride her Kowasaki so much these days) without demanding her baby boomer Dad “move over” or suggest I was in any way blessed with more “luck” than she.

Her philosophy – very much like mine
Her politics – her choice but very much like mine

As for "Limelight" - she radiates personality when she enters a room, she is a "limelight magnet".

I guess poor, pitiful, unlucky Trishee Pooh missed out there too.

Then again, comparing to the photo, my daughter is blonde and they do say, blondes have more fun.

So, maybe a bottle of peroxide is all you need Trish.

I don't think it is fair to blame economic rationalism introduced by the Reagan and Thatcher years on the baby boomers. There are more factors in the mix than just generations. Conservative agendas on an international level and were really a throw back to the Eisenhower days of the early 20th century republicanism, and neo-Darwinism. There was of course Mac Carthyism in the meantime, which conveyed a retro-agenda.

In a way, the dream of the baby boomers was sabotaged by their previous generation who were over zealous in the fear of the "reds-under-the-bed" and the "domino theory" and other propaganda.

Then economic rationist: Milton Freedman, a selfish New Yorker with a heart of ice, came along. Satan then inherited the planet. No more dreams of peace, love and a welfare state. The suckers bought his rubbish "hook line and sinker", even when the application of his theories ended in disaster. No more talk of creativity. No more dreams of making things better with long term planning. No. These were "communist ideas", therefore must be destroyed at all costs. This gave birth to John Howard and Malcolm Frazer after the Whitlam sacking. It was nasty. Sir John Kerr was not a baby boomer. The baby boomers introduced the Whitlamesqe dream, yet their older generation sabotaged it.

The baby boomers' dream, possibly seen in Nimbin, Byron bay, and via Dr Jim Cairns, was actually more selfless than generation Y or X, put together. I don't know which generation I'm in. I'm in a sandwich somewhere.

Don't push the baby boomer off the driver's seat due to unfair prejudice. Invite them on the bus or train. That is, afterall, better for the environment. Lets not get all ageist about this. To assume a 'driver's position' in itself, is a selfish aspiration. The article contradicts itself. There are too many flawed generalisations here.

Trish - just exactly what are you going to do when you get old??
I presume you are aware that is happening to you too!
When you cant walk properly anymore, and there's no public transport near you (as is often the case in this large country!), and some clown says you cant have a licence anymore, how do you propose to get to the Elderly Citizens club - the Doctors - The supermarket - etc??
Please explain?

What total rot. I was born in early 1953 when we still had to suffer from the consequences of WW11 when so many were killed and so much poverty prevailed. Most women still couldn't go to university unless they were rich, almost no-one my age went to university at all, Bob Menzies was the entrenched PM and it was bloody stifling.

We had to suffer decades of the paranoic cold war, the Vietnam war, the mental bashing and abuse for daring to oppose it, the first Iraq invasion, the invasion of Afghanistan, the second in Iraq, East Timor, Solomons and so on.

WE have had a lifetime of Israel/Palestine and hatred fed by the ugly old cold war warriors.

Look at the protests today and who do you see. The young people? Not a fat chance in hell - it is the maligned and hated baby boomers keeping the flags of decency flying in Australia when we want decent work laws, don't want to lock up refugees, don't want the bloody wars and want Aborigines to be treated with respect and decency.

The old folk are reliving the white Australia policy thanks to John Howard and the young just don't give a stuff.

Give me a break.

Marilyn Shepherd and Shell say it all for me, too, but why does this myth endure that any one generation is different from the next? Humans don't change! The conditions do, throughout time from Rome to Washington. If later generations want someone to blame then look closer, they're bleating just like we did! Concentrate on the real villains, the greedy, psychotic power structure that lurks under all this smoke, hiding in plane view. 'People learn from history' - another myth, sadly.

Steve,

"Baby Boomers is a term commonly applied to people with birth years from the span 1945 to 1964."

It is interestin the overtime the population covered by the term "Baby Boomer" has now come to encompass more than a decade. Originally, the term referred to the pre-1950s baby boom occurring, when the soldiers came home from WWII. (There is also spike in the 1970s, when BB's children started families.)

The born in 1950s generation has had to deal with wake of the "real" BBs: e.g., inflation pushing up prices.

The 1950s born generation were young in the 1960s, and, that has left an influence of this progressive group, wherein, the World of Winston Churchill and the Cooee March were pushed aside. Technology and social reform were high their agenda. Progress in both areas has been astonishing over the past 30 years.

In the 1960/70s, it was much, much harder to gain access to university. First, there fewer places. Second, one couldn't study part-time at university, because the classes were held almost exclusively in the daytime. TAFE was the only option.

Back then (late 60s) juniors' wages a proportion of adult wages was very low. A suburban Bank Manger would earn ten times the salary of a dishonours clerk. It was very hard to save a deposit for a home, because a 25% deposit was needed before a Bank would even consider an application. In the 60s and 70s, very few twenty-somethings could afford to go on holiday trips together, as today. No money. (Maybe, a few days at Gold Coast)

Perhaps, today parents might subsidise an oveseas trip. Back then a struggling 19 year old might have needed to borrow money from Mum or Dad to buy a weekly train ticket to go to work. A teenager with a car? You must be joking!

LOL I love reading forum posts like these. Knock the baby boomers and they all fly into a self-indignant rage.

Frankly, the only baby boomers I have an ounce of time for are the Vietnam Veterans, who missed out on all the fun because they were sent (they didn't *go*, they were *sent*) to a pointless war then treated like s**t on their return.

The rest of the generation are over-spoiled prats who had privileged childhoods thanks to the efforts of the Greatest Generation, and who now want a privileged retirement at the cost of Gen X. We keep hearing about the "costs of an Ageing Australia" because Boomers are getting older, and apparently will be "demanding" higher standards of living in retirement. Not on my dollar. I'm too busy working my butt off trying my guts out to get a third of the living standard you bastards had at my age.

Integenerational conflict? It's a reality. It's here now. And sooner or later, the Baby Boomer generation of economic, environmental and social vandals are going to have to face up to the fact that, as even Howard has admitted, you are the only generation since the fall of the bloody Roman Empire to leave your children with a poorer standard of living than you yourself inherited.

Vietnam Veterans, thank you for your sacrifice. Other baby boomers, get well and truly stuffed.

Anth,

If a person was born after 1954 they were too young for vietnam, so many boomers fall into this category.

In fact the whole baby boomer aguement is not relevant to Australia, it relates to the economic boom generated in America after WWII.

At least my education in basic arithmetic was far superior to yours.

Anth,
As a Baby Boomer I have always lived by the four golden rules taught to me by my parents, as follows:

1. 'No-one owes you a living'
2. 'Always pay your own way, never ask for or expect handouts'
3. 'You make your own bed, you lie in it'
4. 'The only things you borrow money for is a house or car - do not
live off credit - live wihtin your means.

Simple enough to understand one would imagine but it seems some of the X & Y generation have not heard about them.

My retirement in hopefully 5 years time will be fully funded by myself and my husband after years of hard work, saving, discipline and living within our means whilst providing a catholic education for our son, also giving him an apprenticeship and employment for the past 5 years in a business we started back in 1973.

Unfortunately some of todays X & Y generation on beer wages feel it is their right to spend beyond their means and want it all now if not sooner.

Our son will be very well provided for upon our death, but in the mean time we expect him to learn the basics of financial restraint and planning himself and provide for his own financial future.

Your comment is both offensive and unwarranted and suggests a person who is finding it all too hard. Perhaps following the above 4 rules as we and other Baby Boomers have will set you up for the future and elimate your negative attitude.

Anth, “The rest of the generation are over-spoiled prats who had privileged childhoods.”

I am trying to understand where, by building a business and contributing to the tax coffers which were squandered in pretending to give the likes of you an “education”, I was “spoiled”?

I suggest you consider, one day in the future, you might feel lucky to manage to survive to be the same age as present baby boomers.

On the other hand, every one else might feel lucky if you don’t.

Babyboomer52 – four great rules for responsible living (although I would not necessarily include the car loan).

Similarly my daughters will benefit to a far greater extent than either myself or their mother when we shuffle off this mortal coil but they are not waiting on me, they are busy applying those rules for themselves (as they were taught).

It is a shame Anth’s upbringing has not included similar discipline.

I find the whole "generation" argument ridiculous, as it assumes that power is held by all the members of a single age group.

There are some individuals amongst the Silent Gen, WW2 Gen, Boomer Gen, X Gen and even Y Gen who have indeed contributed to a lesser world than they inherited; through environmental degradation, astronomical house prices, decreased educational oppurtunities - and all the other ills that Boomers are being blamed for. The rest of the individuals in these groups had no real power or influence to cause this harm - they just worked hard and did what they could for themselves and their families.

Shouldn't we be looking to find solutions to these problems, rather than throwing blame around crazily?

This discussion seems to be splitting into the two factions that tend to crop up around generational issues - the die-hard believers and the steadfast refuseniks. It doesn't need to.

You might think that's hypocritical from someone who wrote a book whose title tells Boomers to "F Off" - but there is a reasonable middle ground. You do have to acknowledge some generational differences are possible though.

Firstly, it's worth noting that Boomers increasingly are seen as the 1945-57 group - because many people realise its unfair to lump people born in 1963 together with people old enough to be their parents.

Separate to that are the statistical facts. Like: many more Boomers own houses, on which they have made massive unearned capital gains, while other younger groups who work just as hard do not get access to such windfalls.

Not all boomers had it lucky or easy, but they did create a world of high expectations and ideals and find it uncomfortable to be told that they have to share it now that Australia and the whole world is getting more crowded and competitive.

Generations are just one small additional prism through which to analyse the world.

Ryan Heath

I was born in 1957, didn't ask to be, just was.
I lived the way I could in the times and circumstances in which I found myself, mostly, I've had a great time. I am quite astonished to be as old as i am now, and it is dawning on me that life rips past very fast.
There are many things I want to do, many dreams yet to be fulfilled because I've spent the last 20 years mostly being a parent, and, I'm sorry, i reckon that was doing my bit for coming generations and I'm not getting out of the way for anybody. If it isn't my turn now, when will it be?
Mind you, I don't ask you for any favours, I want you to follow your dreams too, but I don't for a moment see why that means I should stop following mine.
Indeed, the older I get, the less differences I see between generations. The journey through life, the realisations that only come as you move from one stage to another, happen to us all, whatever the accidental date of our birth. If young people -particularly young women - think they're impatient now, wait till 50 is breathing down their neck when they finally have time to think about what they want to do, rather than what they have to do. When they turn into themselves again rather than that wonderful but very constrained person called mum.

Anth,

By the Greatest Generation, I assume you mean the BB's parents? That generation lived in a period of turmoil: But also a period, when Australia succeeded in spite of itself. Physically, we were hardly touched by WWII, when Europe had been wiped off the map. In the 1950s, it was easy to succeed, when one faces so little competition.
We could take it easy and "live of the sheep's back".

Fortunately, the BBs pulled us out of this epoch of retardedness, with more than a little help from Britain going into the then Common Market.

Moreover, the GG's were too often Anglo-centic, too often agrarian socialists and far too unprepared for the modernity. The BBs set Oz straight, luckily. Which generation placed another country? Which generation exported iron ore to Japanese Fascists? Which generation would not let go of rural protectionism? Steotypical Australian GG's represented the "Branch Office of the Empire" at that Empire's death knell. In contrast, under the BBs, Australia now independently punches above its weight internationally and will soon pass the baton of progress to a new generation in better shape than it was received.

"Baby Boomers"; "Generation X"; "Generation Y" - are terms invented by marketeers to get one generation to purchase differently to another - capitalising on the innate desires to be different to our parents. Everything can be reduced to marketing these days.. Unfortunately, identifying with and buying into such silly concepts, encourages us to mortgage and waste the futures of our children and grandchildren. Hard and long-time won 'basic' conditions are now easily discarded.... as long as someone is making a fast buck.

Educating each other about the basics required for decent human habitation (air, water, food, shelter, companionship and collective responsibilty) and passing these skills from one generation to the next disappears as the marketeers "segment"(divide)us, isolate us and tap into our generational ego making us ever more addicted to and dependent on consumerism. One day... all will be consumed... and the poor kids of the "Z" generation wont know what hit them.
I wonder.. who they will be angry with?