xakzen wrote:
> I'd like to take issue with your characterization that the GOP
> represents the Silent/Boomer generational views while the
> Democrats are the Gen-Xers. Maybe you have been watching CNN too
> much which continually tries to paint the Tea Party movement with
> an older backward looking generation. The facts do not support
> this view. If it was a Boomer/Silent generational characteristic
> to reduce the size of gov and bring budgets into balance, they
> would have done it when they were in charge over the last 20
> years. The true is that the both Dems & GOPs of this generation
> (Boomer) presided over the explosion of deficits & gov
> growth. Also looking at the ages of the leadership are also
> instuctive:
> Democratic Leadership Pelosi, Nancy 1940 Silent Hoyer, Steny 1939
> Silent Clyburn, Jim 1940 Silent
> Republican Leadership Boehner, John 1949 Boomer Cantor, Eric 1963
> Gen-X Blunt, Roy 1950 Boomer
> Tea Party Leadership Sarah Palin 1964 Gen-X Walker, Scott 1967
> Gen-X Christie, Chris 1962 Gen-X
> At least in the House the Dems are lead by Silents, the GOP by
> Boomers and the Tea Party freshman are Gen-Xers (I don't know any
> of the freshman, but I believe they resemble these
> Governors). That's why there is a rift in the GOP House between
> the leadership which refuses to act on their mandate to bring the
> situation back from the fiscal brink and the freshman who like
> Chris Christie only came to Washington to fix this mess and
> leave. (They don't care about being re-elected).
There is, I believe, a distinct difference in world view between
Boomers and Gen-Xers. That is, after all, a basic principle of
generational theory. And it's not surprising that a difference
in generational world view morphs into a political fault line.
However, a Boomer may hold the Gen-X world view, and vice-versa,
depending on the attitudes of their parents, and other environmental
factors. That's also true of politicians, so it's not surprising that
some Democratic leaders are Boomers, and some Republican leaders are
Gen-Xers. However, I believe that the predominant majority of each
party follows the respective generational world view.
When you refer to "an older backward looking generation," I'm not
even sure what that means. Every political party and generation
draws lessons from history -- though they draw different lessons.
However, I believe that it is true (though I haven't seen any
polls on this subject recently) that Tea Partiers tend to be
older Americans.
As for the subject of national debt, I've said dozens of times that
Boomers and Gen-Xers are equally guilty. Greedy, nihilistic Gen-Xers
created the fraudulent securities, while their greedy, incompetent
Boomer bosses approved the fraud and participated.
Finally, the Boomers and Silents did try to reduce the debt in the
1980s. In the 1980s, the Republicans and the Democrats cooperated
with each other to change the Social Security system to make it a
sounder system. After that, they cooperated again to specify new
rules to control the budget deficit. Compromise was still possible in
1996, when Democratic President Bill Clinton, saying that "the era of
big government is over," cooperated with the Republican congress to
eliminate the welfare entitlement.
It's only when the Silents disappeared almost completely that the tech
bubble occurred, the real estate bubble occurred, and the debt bubble
occurred.
John