No Boom Times for Baby Boomers
Baby Boomers, who grew up in the best of times, are experiencing the worst of times as their net worth plummets and jobs become scarce.
SIMPLER TIMES
Times were simpler, too. There were no computers, e-mail, spam or cell phones; everyone was tethered to one of those big black rotary phones with the white numbers, installed by AT&T. Everyone had a white picket fence, took a summer vacation and got their kicks on Route 66.
There are actually two subgroups of baby boomers, with a lot of overlap. The first – those who grew up immediately after World War II – were shaped by such things as societal upheaval (the Kent State killings, college protests, the Sixties Counterculture, the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”), politics (the JFK assassination), conflict (the Cuban missile crisis and Vietnam), movies (“The French Connection,” “The Graduate,” etc.), and law (Brown vs. Board of Education, Title 7), among other things.
The latter group, or those born from about 1954-1964 – referred to as Generation Jones by U.S. cultural historian Jonathan Pontell, as in “keeping up with the Joneses” – entered the world amid the crescendo of the boom. This group was also greatly influenced by the Vietnam War, as well as America’s involvement in places like Somalia and Afghanistan, and Watergate.
GOLDEN AGE OF TV
The war, race riots and just about everything else unfolded before us in startling clarity on the small screen. Even dramas and comedies had a conscious: “All in the Family” explored racial discrimination, Vietnam and draft dodgers; Walter Cronkite took a stand against the war because he was a real journalist who visited the front lines; “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” dissected the news in a cerebral fashion; the “Twilight Zone” touched on the Holocaust and hatred of Jews, among other things; “Sanford and Son” got a laugh out of racial discord; and “Laugh-In” poked fun at social and political mores. Baby boomers might be socially conscious and understand the importance of humor, but they’ve never had to fight for jobs or shudder at the thought of retirement. But it’ll be a while before boomers quit the job force completely, and there is at least some evidence that they may not have to depend on cheap retail jobs to stay employed, as they do now. USNews reports that, according to a new Urban Institute study, some growth fields will continue to welcome older, educated workers as personal financial advisers, veterinarians and social and community service managers, among other things. If nothing else, it’s important to keep up with the Joneses.
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