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发帖数: 38600 | 4 Collectively, we boomers were lucky. We were the most healthy, educated and
privileged generation ever born. Our youth was spent virtually worry free.
Our college educations were inexpensive, gas was economically priced, jobs
were plentiful and our futures were bright. We were the "Hippies" of the
late 1960's and early 70's. Love was free and drugs were cheap (or was it
the other way around).
Then the 1980's rolled around and we became "Yuppies". We began to believe
that success was our birthright. We bought our BMW's and wore our V-neck
sweaters. Our "Sharper Image" catalogue was the preferred choice of reading
material. Gordon Gekko was actually considered a role model to many of us
who worked on Wall Street. We turned conspicuous consumption into an art
form. Hell, even Newsweek Magazine gave us our own year (1984). We were so
busy clamoring to the top of the corporate ladder that we forgot to develop
any job or management skills which would lay a foundation for future
generations to flourish.
Then as we aged, we hit our peak spending and borrowing years in the 1990's.
Frankly, we went a bit middle age crazy. We splurged on McMansions and
second homes. We thought fuel would be relatively cheap forever and bought
gas guzzling SUV's. We also padded our financial statements and maxed out
our credit cards trying to "keep up with the Jones's". Some of our brethren
became bank CEO's and leading politicians, whose unethical and irresponsible
behavior has been a reflection of our entire generation. We didn't want the
party to end and they just tried to prolong it for us. We wanted it all and
never learned nor cared for moderation.
As the late 90's and 2000's rolled around, our two decades long debt fueled
spending binge started to waver. By 1997, the Congressional Budget Office
projected budget surpluses as far as the eye could see, thanks to the "Peace
Dividend" and record tax receipts due in large part to baby boomers being
in the midst of their peak earning years. But instead of allowing those
surpluses to accumulate, boomers demanded and received a huge gift from
Congress in the form of a capital gains tax cut. This bribe for votes, led
to unprecedented speculation in stocks in the late 90's which resulted in
the Dot-Com bubble. When the bubble burst, which all bubbles do, tax
receipts plummeted and huge deficits returned. In order to combat the
economic effects of the Dot-Com bubble, Alan Greenspan, the patron saint of
baby boomers, decided to create another bubble in the housing market by
drastically lowering interest rates. This allowed boomers to extend and
pretend for just a little longer. The results of this gambit are still
reverberating through the economy.
And now, in the Autumn of our lives, it looks like we are going to get it
all (of course in devalued dollars). We are the largest special interest
voting block and no politician, left or right, will risk our wrath. We will
leave those coming up behind us with nothing but debt, austerity and a lower
standard of living. We will be reigning in our spending and hoping to save
so we can offset future inflation. The malls, our cathedrals of consumption,
will be ghosts towns compared to what they were, with "30%-70% off" signs
decorating their stores windows. We will be net sellers of equities and
mutual funds soon, not net buyers. And unless The Fed plans on extending
Quantitative Easing to infinity, the stock market will reflect our retreat
to less risky asset classes. Therefore, trade accordingly.
It was fun while it lasted but now the piper must be paid. You know the old
saying, the longer the party the bigger the hangover. Well, this hangover
may last 25-30 years until the last of my generation are dead, either
through natural causes, death panels or intergenerational warfare.
Have a nice day!! |
