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Lectures - June 2007
American Politics Today: Will American Politics Survive the Baby Boomers?
In his speech, American Politics Today: Will American Politics Survive the Baby Boomers? For the Composite Can and Tube Institute, Mr. Valis critiques on of the larges and most infamous demographic groups in our nation’s history—the baby boomers.
“Demography is destiny. Politics, culture, crime, standards of living, foreign policy, are all products of demographics. For the last forty years, baby boomers are where it’s at. For the last twenty years, they have been the determinative factor. For the next twenty years they will be if possible, they will be even more important and influential. So baby boomers, I now give you credit for what is going right, and the blame for what is going wrong. In the words of the great political philosopher, Pogo, we have met the enemy, and it is us.”
While he does credit the baby boomers for increasing personal income, home ownership, and in general living healthier, fuller lives, he recognizes that:
“The culture whose creed originally was “never trust anybody over 30” has changed its tune. Now, “sixty is the new fifty; fifty is the new forty; forty is the new thirty”. There are legal efforts to protect against age discrimination or “ageism”. Three male friends of mine turned sixty this year. After golf, they were bemoaning joining the ranks of the “middle-aged”. I said “Boys, I don’t want to burst your bubble, but how many one-hundred and twenty year old men do you know?”
Increasingly in the 21st century, the question will be: How do we pay for our new nirvana? Who is going to pay the rising costs for healthcare, social security, Medicare and Medicaid? Politics will increasingly be a battle over transfer payments.
It is quite possible that American politics will feature coalitions. Elements of Generation X and Generation Next may ally themselves against the financial demands of the baby boomers.
Let’s look for a moment at what baby boomers have done in, for, and to the American political system. Baby boomers have radically improved communication, knowledge, economic well-being, tolerance, and participation in the political system. They have also made it more contentious, shallow, corrupt, and irresponsible.”
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