this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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[–] WHYAREWEALLCAPS 172 points 9 months ago (2 children)

individuals pointed to a major event, like the death of a spouse or a medical emergency, as the trigger.

Gee, if only we had a healthcare system that wasn't solely focused on making a profit and growing the amount of profit quarter after quarter.

[–] givesomefucks 51 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's not just that, it's Boomers as a generation not saving.

Obviously some did, but most have lived their entire lives paycheck to paycheck and have zero security net. It's why they're not retiring like other generations, it's not a choice, they just can't ever stop working.

And they can't recover from any speed bumps they hit. Losing a spouse for those people also means losing an income. And that can mean losing housing.

[–] AFKBRBChocolate 16 points 9 months ago (5 children)

What is it that half the boomer threads complain that boomers are hoarding all the money in their 401Ks, and the other half say that boomers didn't save anything?

[–] [email protected] 30 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Because despite how the internet likes to talk, you can't generalize an entire generation in a single lemmy comment while still being accurate

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Because there was a fair portion of the boomer gen that inherited wads of cash and housing from their parents.

The rest of us were disowned, worked low-paying jobs and/or tried to help our kids do better than we did.

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[–] givesomefucks 13 points 9 months ago (7 children)

Because only a few of the boomers became ceos, the rest are just "useful idiots" that vote against their own best interests.

A significant amount never planned to retire or else thought OASDI would be all they'd need. By the time they realized they were fucked, it was too late.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 9 months ago

Honestly. Medical bills are the number one cause for bankruptcy in the US

[–] [email protected] 167 points 9 months ago (4 children)

So nobody gives a shit that the younger generations can't afford a house, but it's "unconscionable" when boomers can't?

[–] willis936 71 points 9 months ago

You don't earn the title "Me" generation without being legendarily self important.

[–] Son_of_dad 54 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That was my first thought, homelessness has risen all across the board, especially among children, but boomers are still made the focus.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Honestly, maybe this is an effective strategy. Rather than continue to try to convince them to care about others, we just have to convince them that they are in danger themselves. Republicans discovered that fear motivates boomers better than avocado motivates millennials, so it’s time to start using the tools we have available to drive the point home.

And then we can finally get our hands on all that sweet avocado and toast…

[–] Jimmyeatsausage 43 points 9 months ago

"Well, well, well...if it isn't the consequences of my actions"

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The young people who can't BUY a house still have housing. This is about unhoused people who are in a decidedly worse position.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

I don't know what's it's like where you are, but there are definitely also a lot of young homeless people where I live. I don't just mean house-less, I mean living in tents or worse.

It really sucks that so many people are suffering, and there isn't even a good reason for it.

You can work your arse off day in, day out, only to get hit by someone driving drunk. Then, you get stuck on insufficient disability payments, even through you had no fault in what happened to you. Even if you manage get a decent court payout in a good country, you're still probably looking at a lot of expenses accessibility-wise (ESPECIALLY if you live somewhere like the US.) A lot of that stuff isn't cheap. Plus, you would have to try to make that payment last for the rest of your life. Food, bills, rent, clothing, and more would all still be costs you would have.

It sucks that so many people push back against any kind of support for these individuals. It really makes you wonder what they would do if they woke up with the shoe on the other foot.

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[–] [email protected] 80 points 9 months ago (4 children)

Boomer retirement plans and savings aren't enough? Sheesh what hope do any of us have, then? They are the wealthiest generation this country has ever seen..

[–] Sho 58 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Maybe they should stop buying lattes and avocado toast 😉 something...something..boot straps

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[–] Custoslibera 62 points 9 months ago (1 children)

How did these boomers vote?

What policies did they support for their entire lives that have impacted this?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Not every boomer supported the GOP or Reagan.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 9 months ago (6 children)

An awful lot of them did, though.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 9 months ago

For every hippy progressive, there were at least 5 Leave it to Beavers ready to take up the conservative mantle. Sure, not every Boomer supported the GOP, but a ton definitely did.

[–] Chainweasel 43 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

Well, they brought it on themselves.
No sympathy, not even a little.
When we can't afford housing we're told to get a second job, get a better job, stop buying things we can't afford, eat only 2 meals a day, etc. When the reality is that we can't afford housing because of the world they created, how they vote, and because they pulled up the ladder with them just before they told us to find our own way.
Well, those same policies and voting habits are finally biting them in the ass and we're supposed to give a shit?
Nah, they're attitude has always been "fuck you, got mine" well, fuck them too, they also got mine.

[–] Dkarma 21 points 9 months ago

Yep and when they complain about paying taxes or how things got so expensive you tell them to get a job and they gasp and say "I paid my dues....I'm retired".

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[–] doingthestuff 40 points 9 months ago (1 children)

There were actually no homeless Boomers during the great depression.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

That's why the numbers haven't been seen before.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Hey this is what they wanted, right? Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, ya chucklefucks! Stop buying all that diabetic medicine and eating out at Bob Evans every day!

Let's see how many of those same boomers still blame everyone else, including liberals, for how their life is ending up and continue voting for the same party that stripped them of the social safetynets and policies that may have helped them out in a situation like this.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Implying that Boomers only vote Republican is reductionist and unproductive. They vote proportionately similar to the rest of the country. There's just THAT many retards across all age groups, including Gen Z, in America that vote against their economic interests.

[–] i_am 30 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I'm not disagreeing that retards exist in all age groups but saying Boomers vote proportionally similar to the rest of the country isn't accurate either.

Ages 18-29 voted 60% for Biden and 36% for Trump. Ages 65 and older voted 45% for Biden and 52% for Trump.

https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2020

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[–] buddascrayon 28 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Here's why...

...They all have been voting republican since Reagan.

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[–] Wooshock 26 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Maybe I'm dumb for not lumping an entire generation of people into this huge group of bad actors who intentionally and maliciously hurt all subsequent generations.

The issue is money. What part of "people don't have money" is so hard to digest?

The disparity has become much much wider over the years, and that is the issue.

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[–] alienanimals 25 points 9 months ago (1 children)

TFW you live through one of the most prosperous times in the most prosperous nation in the world (a time when you could go to college, buy a house, and have a family on a job that anyone could apply to) and you STILL end up poor. Talk about dumb.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago (4 children)

It's because as conditions changed, they never lost that mentality.

My boomer parents make twice the food they need to eat for dinner every single time and then just throw out or freeze and forget the leftovers, they could literally cut their food budgets in half just by being more reasonable with their portion sizes.

They have coffee at home and a nice coffeemaker, they go out for coffee almost every day driving a round trip of ~50km for the exact same brand of coffee they have at home, and when I mentioned this to them the last time they were having financial problems they said something to the effect of "oh well it's only a few dollars each" not even understanding that the gas they use and the wear they put on their vehicles is part of it too, and maybe it only costs a few dollars (plus gas etc) that when you do it every day it adds up.

It's literally the same as talking to my preteen nieces and nephews, they just have no concept of the value of a dollar, and are completely unwilling to change a single aspect of their lives to save money, and then get confused as to how they keep running out of money before the end of the month. I know that sooner or later I am going to have to take them in, or put them in a home, because they can't even manage their own finances and get angry and defensive any time I try to make suggestions to help them.

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[–] DonJefe 23 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (5 children)

This is terrible, and nobody deserves this. As a millennial that has ben constantly screwed by boomers and their collective decisions, I can't help but to think that "you rip what you saw. Maybe they should try to make the coffee at home to save money, instead of going to Starbucks. Also, they'll be fine if they stop eating so many expensive avocados."

[–] [email protected] 40 points 9 months ago (1 children)

you rip what you saw

reap, you reap what you sow, because if you sow wheat on fertile ground, you can later reap wheat.

[–] hooferboof 8 points 9 months ago

rip what you saw kinda works if you're talking about ripping plywood 😁

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

Is this why grandma has an OnlyFans?

[–] Cort 19 points 9 months ago

Oh this is the perfect thread for a trickle down economics joke.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 9 months ago

Live by the sword. Die by the sword I guess.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This sparks joy. Welcome to the party you created.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 months ago

I agree and understand however the ones going homeless were most likely victimized by the ones who created this situation in their peer group

[–] Jeanschyso 17 points 9 months ago

I feel like the United States' fixation on limiting taxes and government intervention is something the rest of the world has been trying to warn about.

This seems to me like the second biggest example of "fuck around and find out" to come out of the US in a long time.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago

theres no profit incentive, of course these useless bags of flesh deserve to be put on the streets. welcome to america!

[–] BugleFingers 8 points 9 months ago

"The dildo of consequence rarely arrives lubed"

However, my Bugles are always lubed by my frothing salivating mouth. I'm a bit hungry and getting weird, sorry you had to read that.

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