{"id":2976,"date":"2025-08-03T22:40:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T22:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wp_stories\/?p=307"},"modified":"2026-09-19T05:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T05:14:35","slug":"boomers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/?p=2976","title":{"rendered":"Boomer Tsunami"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[<em>The essential point of this post has been in my mind for decades<\/em>, <em>namely that there has been a tidal wave of population of people my age for every year of my life<\/em>!]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-34a480d6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-width:2px;border-top-left-radius:18px;border-top-right-radius:18px;border-bottom-left-radius:18px;border-bottom-right-radius:18px;color:#276e21;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>OK, I need to get this post<\/strong> <strong>published whether it&#8217;s ready or not!  <br>I don&#8217;t have very many semi-original thoughts, and this might be one, so I need to get it out there rather than keeping it to myself while I make it&#8217;s expression perfect!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Above the Green Line is ready-ish for Prime Time.  <br>Below the Green Line is Under Construction<\/strong>. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-default has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-aa51526f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-width:2px;border-top-left-radius:15px;border-top-right-radius:15px;border-bottom-left-radius:15px;border-bottom-right-radius:15px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0.5rem;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);padding-bottom:0.5rem;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\">\n<p class=\"has-custom-css wp-custom-css-69f541c6 wp-block-paragraph\"><em>I&#8217;ve been a Baby Boomer my whole life!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Post War Baby Boom produced an unprecidented surge of new babies in the United States &#8211; start a bit in 1947, but really hitting it&#8217;s stride in my year, 1948.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That surge of extra new people has swamped the system every year of my life, because my year is the year that it really hits &#8230; every year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The services for my age group have been under strain every year of my life!  From grade schools for 6 year olds, to elder care for 80 year olds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I believe that my birth year, 1948, was the leading edge of it all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-1&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-1-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-1\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">New Thoughts<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-1\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-1-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">9\/3\/2026 Gloria Steinem dies<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Feminism was part of the Boomer Wave! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her and Dolly and others &#8211; there&#8217;s a lot more famous people dying because there.s more famous people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">cc stuff<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-2 is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3a88641f wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"border-width:2px;color:#1f641b;background-color:#225d41\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are thumbnails for each Boomer era:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;autoclose&quot;: false, &quot;accordionItems&quot;: [] }\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/accordion\" role=\"group\" class=\"wp-block-accordion is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-is-layout-flow\">\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-2&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\" style=\"border-top-width:1px\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-2-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-2\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">growing up, there were too many pre-schoolers<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-2\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-2-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As mentioned in other posts, when we moved to Louisville in 1954, we were the first peopleto live in our house.  Every house on our street was &lt; 5 years old.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>My elementary school opened the first year I started.  My  class was the first to go to first grade there!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>When it was time for high school, (1960) I went to th chool our neighborhood kids had gone for 12 yars, but the NEXT year, 1961 the kids across the street had to go to a brand new high school and be the first 7th graders there!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Just to top off this little vignette, 12 years later after the Boomer Wave had crested and subsided, they had a surplux of classrooms. The shutdown my old high school and made it Board of Ed offices for a few years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-3&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\" style=\"border-top-width:1px\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-3-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-3\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">my 20&#8217;s the system choked on  20 year-olds<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-3\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-3-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vietnam war started in 1968, when my cohort was prime drafting age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">unpopular war &#8211;&gt; political chaos<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The &#8220;counter culture&#8221; when we were very young adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-ee71c1e4-51b3-47da-acb9-155434c89ff6\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>also deep political instability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-4&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\" style=\"border-top-width:1px\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-4-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-4\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">80&#8217;s economic boom happened when we hit the workforce<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-4\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-4-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">so much prosperity!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My high school in Louisville, that had it&#8217;s first graduating class 6 years before mine, had it last graduating class 6 years after mine and was turned into county Education offices!<br>When we hit full adulthood the wave of prime productivity aged workers led to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_economic_expansion\">economic prosperity<\/a><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baby_boomers#cite_note-Owram1997x-12\">[12]<\/a><\/sup>&nbsp;and rapid technological progress<br>We thought this would keep going forever<br><br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-5&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\" style=\"border-top-width:1px\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-5-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-5\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">Fast forward to now, retirement homes are the growth industry<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-5\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-5-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first few years of retirement, most of us are actually still healthy enough to live on our own and enjoy it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The age really catches up and it&#8217;s time for tje old folks home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even tho we are now in our 70&#8217;s, we are still the second largest demographic after Millennials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div data-wp-class--is-open=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-context=\"{ &quot;id&quot;: &quot;accordion-item-6&quot;, &quot;openByDefault&quot;: false }\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initAccordionItems\" data-wp-on-window--hashchange=\"callbacks.hashChange\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-item is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-item-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading has-icon has-icon-right\" style=\"border-top-width:1px\"><button aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-item-6-panel\" data-wp-bind--aria-expanded=\"state.isOpen\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.toggle\" id=\"accordion-item-6\" type=\"button\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle\"><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-title\">How much of our politics is boomer dynamics<\/span><span class=\"wp-block-accordion-heading__toggle-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">+<\/span><\/button><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div aria-labelledby=\"accordion-item-6\" data-wp-bind--hidden=\"state.isHidden\" data-wp-on--beforematch=\"actions.handleBeforeMatch\" id=\"accordion-item-6-panel\" role=\"region\" class=\"wp-block-accordion-panel is-layout-flow wp-block-accordion-panel-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hippies and the Love generation was when boomers hit their 20&#8217;s<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When boomers hit their 30&#8217;s and 40&#8217;s (the 80&#8217;s and 90&#8217;s) and got serious about keep a good job, starting a family all that stuff.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Generation X and Millenials were relatively serious people!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-custom-css wp-custom-css-5f9d8f7b wp-block-paragraph\">Main points in  overview:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Unprecedented surge of new babies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>60&#8217;s &#8211; 70&#8217;s, all those babies hit high school.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fast-forward to now, all those babies are clogging up the retireree infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The boomers don&#8217;t go to the mall any more &#8211;&gt; malls are going out of business.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Some are starting being turned into old folks homes!!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>is the boomer wave somehow related to the country falling apart, I think it is.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>White supremacy?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Every generation feels their oat in their 20&#8217;s.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It&#8217;s probably no accident that the economic BOOM happened at the same time the boomer wave hit the workforce.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"border-top-width:2px\">It&#8217;s just the birds and the bees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the late 1930 and early 1940&#8217;s, the world(!) was locked in a titanic struggle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japan invited the United States into the struggle in 1941 by bombing Pearl Harbor!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After that, pretty much every able-bodied single, young-ish man (and many women) in the whole, wide country was enlisted into the service in whatever way they could best serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all ended on <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Victory_in_Europe_Day\"><strong>VE Day<\/strong><\/a> (<em>8 May 1945<\/em>) on the Atlantic front, and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Victory_over_Japan_Day\"><strong>VJ Da<\/strong>y<\/a> (<em>15 August 1945<\/em>) on the Pacific front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Suddenly all those young men (and women) were coming home, eager to restart  the lives they had been ripped out of the war.   For quite a few that meant starting a family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My dad was a little older (in his 30&#8217;s), already raising a family (2 kids), but he was an MD, so the Army wanted him anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As it happened, my lot in life was to be born pretty much on the leading edge of what came to be called the <strong>Post War Baby Bo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"border-top-width:2px\">Boomer Timeline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The internet says that baby boomers babies are those who were born after <strong>World War 2<\/strong> all the way into the mid-60&#8217;s &#8211; 1946 to 1964.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1946\u20131954 &#8212; the Boomer vanguard! (ME!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1955\u20131964 &#8212; Boomer mop-up<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As long as we&#8217;re here, here are the 15 year blocks that Google has broken the rest of our lives into. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>1946-1964 Baby Boomers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1965-1980 Gen X<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1980-1996 Millennials<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1997-2012 Gen Z<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2013-2024 Gen Alpha<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>2025- &#8230; Gen Beta<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alpha and Beta are just placeholders, a prudent decision since the <strong>zeitgeist<\/strong> will tell us the real name when they have been arrived at! :))<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"border-top-width:2px\">I started noticing it in 7th grade!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was an early boomer, the <strong>real<\/strong> boomers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The mental image here is of a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rogue_wave\">rogue wave<\/a> &#8230; a REALLY BIG wave that way bigger than your current systems is set up to handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heading into the 1940&#8217;s and during the war, the domestic infrastructure was set up to handle a particular volume of new people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All those horny young men and women produce a tidal wave of new babies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So my point is probably kind of obvious by now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-style-default has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-562439b5 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-width:2px;border-top-left-radius:15px;border-top-right-radius:15px;border-bottom-left-radius:15px;border-bottom-right-radius:15px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:1rem;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:1rem;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"><em>The Post War Baby Boom produced a tidal wave of new babies in the United States that has swamped the system every year of my life!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The high school I attended in Louisville KY had it&#8217;s first graduating class the year I started 7th grade there.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>I paid no attention at the time, but by the time I was a senior, we all knew very well that we were the sixth actual graduating class for Sally Phillips Durrett High School.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It&#8217;s last graduatioing class was six years after mine,<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Somewhere in the mid 70&#8217;s the baby boom had receded enough that they cashiered my school as a school and turned it onto County Board if Education ioffices. Good for them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So if you went to some city school with traditions that goback to the turn of the previous century, well, good for you.  I did not have that. \ud83d\ude42  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next year, the kids one year behind me, got sent to a brand new school off in the other direction, Thomas Jefferson High School.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"border-top-width:2px\">In My World, my year was the first Boomer class<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My personal, anecdotal experience is that things were the <strong>old way<\/strong> the year before me, but thing were a whole <strong>new way<\/strong> my year and thereafter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>years before &#8212; beer and more beer<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>my year &#8212; beer and pot<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>coupla years later &#8212; ber and pot and lsd or quaaalude if you could find them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Young adults &#8211; the very people that a government hoovers up at the start of a war to fight it &#8211; had put their lives on hold for 4, 5, 6 years or more to be part of the war effort. Now the war was over so they could come home and take up their interrupted lives, which certainly included making babies!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In other words, the divide happened between high school classes 1965 and 1966, or college classes 1969 and 1970.  Your mileage may vary, but I&#8217;m sticking to that!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The class of &#8217;65 wouldn&#8217;t think of smoking pot or protesting the war &#8230; their world was drinking beer, chasing girls and working on their cars like they were trapped in <em>American Graffiti<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The year(s) aafter me were like me.  Vietnam protests and <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-x-large-font-size\" style=\"border-top-width:2px\">My age group has been a slow-moving civic crisis my whole life!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every age I\u2019ve been my whole life has caused some kind of civic crisis because they are just so damn many of us boomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was in the fourth graduating class at my new high school and 20 years later. The building was back to be county offices because the boomer wave was over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>schools<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>old folks homes, wheelchairs, that sort of thing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>just now, next gen of writers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">July 2026 Addendum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Political TV and political media in general have been aflame with questions about Mitch McConnell.  We haven&#8217;t seen anything that amounts to &#8220;proof of life&#8221; for something like five weeks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then this morning comes the news that Lindsey Graham died &#8220;unexpectedly&#8221; last night.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then of course there was the endless nattering about Joe Biden at the end of his term.  Our government is pretty much a gerontracy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wiki  7\/20\/26   <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Baby_boomers\">Full article, great charts further down<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Baby Boomers (born 1946\u20131964) make up <mark>about 20% of the U.S. population with roughly 67 million surviving members<\/mark>. They are the second-largest living adult generation after Millennials. Known for controlling over half of the nation&#8217;s total wealth, they are also highly diverse and technologically engaged. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.census.gov\/library\/stories\/2019\/12\/by-2030-all-baby-boomers-will-be-age-65-or-older.html\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2026\/01\/09\/the-oldest-baby-boomers-turn-80-in-2026\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2020\/04\/28\/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers-as-americas-largest-generation\/\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/baby-boomers-are-turning-80\/\">4<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seniorliving.org\/life\/baby-boomers\/\">5<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/visionpartners.vsp.com\/blog\/vision-benefits\/three-surprising-facts-about-baby-boomers\">6<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Demographics &amp; Diversity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Total Births:<\/strong> 76 million Americans were born during the post-WWII boom.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Racial Diversity:<\/strong> The Boomer generation is approximately 71% non-Hispanic White, 11% Black, 11% Latino or Hispanic, and 6% Asian American.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Age &amp; Life Expectancy:<\/strong> Boomers are currently aged 62 to 80. The oldest members officially turned 80. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2026\/01\/09\/the-oldest-baby-boomers-turn-80-in-2026\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/baby-boomers\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/baby-boomers-are-turning-80\/\">3<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/visionpartners.vsp.com\/blog\/vision-benefits\/three-surprising-facts-about-baby-boomers\">4<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Economics &amp; Retirement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Wealth:<\/strong> Boomers hold more than half of the total wealth in the United States. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seniorliving.org\/life\/baby-boomers\/\">1<\/a>]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Retirement Strain:<\/strong> Despite high overall wealth, 40% of older Americans rely solely on Social Security for retirement income, and a quarter have no personal savings. [<a href=\"https:\/\/strittmatterwealth.com\/ten-fascinating-statistics-about-baby-boomers\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seniorliving.org\/life\/baby-boomers\/\">2<\/a>]<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Workforce:<\/strong> Driven by both financial need and choice, a significant portion of Boomers expect to continue working past traditional retirement age, with approximately 40% expecting to &#8220;work forever&#8221;. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.seniorliving.org\/life\/baby-boomers\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/strittmatterwealth.com\/ten-fascinating-statistics-about-baby-boomers\/\">2<\/a>]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Technology &amp; Lifestyle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Connectivity:<\/strong> Contrary to popular stereotypes, 93% of Boomers own smartphones and 75% regularly use mobile apps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Caregiving:<\/strong> About one-quarter of Boomers identify as caregivers for either aging parents or grandchildren<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[The essential point of this post has been in my mind for decades, namely that there has been a tidal wave of population of people my age for every year of my life!] OK, I need to get this post published whether it&#8217;s ready or not! I don&#8217;t have very many semi-original thoughts, and this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[190,191],"class_list":["post-2976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thoughts","tag-boomers","tag-decades"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2976"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3005,"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2976\/revisions\/3005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whufu.com\/wpgreen\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}