this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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[–] WHYAREWEALLCAPS@lemmy.world 156 points 2 years ago (2 children)

individuals pointed to a major event, like the death of a spouse or a medical emergency, as the trigger.

Gee, if only we had a healthcare system that wasn't solely focused on making a profit and growing the amount of profit quarter after quarter.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 49 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's not just that, it's Boomers as a generation not saving.

Obviously some did, but most have lived their entire lives paycheck to paycheck and have zero security net. It's why they're not retiring like other generations, it's not a choice, they just can't ever stop working.

And they can't recover from any speed bumps they hit. Losing a spouse for those people also means losing an income. And that can mean losing housing.

[–] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago (3 children)

What is it that half the boomer threads complain that boomers are hoarding all the money in their 401Ks, and the other half say that boomers didn't save anything?

[–] bitsplease@lemmy.ml 25 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Because despite how the internet likes to talk, you can't generalize an entire generation in a single lemmy comment while still being accurate

[–] AFKBRBChocolate@lemmy.world 0 points 2 years ago

I agree, but man do they do it. Search Lemmy for this headline (just "Baby boomers are becoming homeless" because there are variations), then skim the comments and imagine they were written about any other demographic. It's pretty frightening.

[–] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago (7 children)

Because only a few of the boomers became ceos, the rest are just "useful idiots" that vote against their own best interests.

A significant amount never planned to retire or else thought OASDI would be all they'd need. By the time they realized they were fucked, it was too late.

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[–] wahming@monyet.cc 7 points 2 years ago

Because sample size of n = 1

[–] brihuang95@sopuli.xyz 37 points 2 years ago

Honestly. Medical bills are the number one cause for bankruptcy in the US

[–] OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 150 points 2 years ago (3 children)

So nobody gives a shit that the younger generations can't afford a house, but it's "unconscionable" when boomers can't?

[–] willis936@lemmy.world 61 points 2 years ago

You don't earn the title "Me" generation without being legendarily self important.

[–] Son_of_dad@lemmy.world 44 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That was my first thought, homelessness has risen all across the board, especially among children, but boomers are still made the focus.

[–] WeirdGoesPro@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Honestly, maybe this is an effective strategy. Rather than continue to try to convince them to care about others, we just have to convince them that they are in danger themselves. Republicans discovered that fear motivates boomers better than avocado motivates millennials, so it’s time to start using the tools we have available to drive the point home.

And then we can finally get our hands on all that sweet avocado and toast…

[–] Jimmyeatsausage@lemmy.world 40 points 2 years ago

"Well, well, well...if it isn't the consequences of my actions"

[–] Custoslibera@lemmy.world 59 points 2 years ago

How did these boomers vote?

What policies did they support for their entire lives that have impacted this?

[–] Chainweasel@lemmy.world 38 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Well, they brought it on themselves.
No sympathy, not even a little.
When we can't afford housing we're told to get a second job, get a better job, stop buying things we can't afford, eat only 2 meals a day, etc. When the reality is that we can't afford housing because of the world they created, how they vote, and because they pulled up the ladder with them just before they told us to find our own way.
Well, those same policies and voting habits are finally biting them in the ass and we're supposed to give a shit?
Nah, they're attitude has always been "fuck you, got mine" well, fuck them too, they also got mine.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 18 points 2 years ago

Yep and when they complain about paying taxes or how things got so expensive you tell them to get a job and they gasp and say "I paid my dues....I'm retired".

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[–] doingthestuff@lemmy.world 36 points 2 years ago (1 children)

There were actually no homeless Boomers during the great depression.

[–] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 19 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

That's why the numbers haven't been seen before.

[–] mjhelto@lemm.ee 25 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Hey this is what they wanted, right? Pull yourselves up by your bootstraps, ya chucklefucks! Stop buying all that diabetic medicine and eating out at Bob Evans every day!

Let's see how many of those same boomers still blame everyone else, including liberals, for how their life is ending up and continue voting for the same party that stripped them of the social safetynets and policies that may have helped them out in a situation like this.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Implying that Boomers only vote Republican is reductionist and unproductive. They vote proportionately similar to the rest of the country. There's just THAT many retards across all age groups, including Gen Z, in America that vote against their economic interests.

[–] i_am@lemmy.world 25 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I'm not disagreeing that retards exist in all age groups but saying Boomers vote proportionally similar to the rest of the country isn't accurate either.

Ages 18-29 voted 60% for Biden and 36% for Trump. Ages 65 and older voted 45% for Biden and 52% for Trump.

https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2020

[–] deezbutts@lemm.ee 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Can we use a different word

[–] wombatula@lemm.ee 6 points 2 years ago

What's wrong with Boomer?

[–] Wooshock@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Maybe I'm dumb for not lumping an entire generation of people into this huge group of bad actors who intentionally and maliciously hurt all subsequent generations.

The issue is money. What part of "people don't have money" is so hard to digest?

The disparity has become much much wider over the years, and that is the issue.

[–] Couldbealeotard@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

The ones hording wealth and property are not the ones going homeless.

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 24 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Here's why...

...They all have been voting republican since Reagan.

[–] Leviathan@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago
[–] alienanimals@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago (1 children)

TFW you live through one of the most prosperous times in the most prosperous nation in the world (a time when you could go to college, buy a house, and have a family on a job that anyone could apply to) and you STILL end up poor. Talk about dumb.

[–] wombatula@lemm.ee 10 points 2 years ago (3 children)

It's because as conditions changed, they never lost that mentality.

My boomer parents make twice the food they need to eat for dinner every single time and then just throw out or freeze and forget the leftovers, they could literally cut their food budgets in half just by being more reasonable with their portion sizes.

They have coffee at home and a nice coffeemaker, they go out for coffee almost every day driving a round trip of ~50km for the exact same brand of coffee they have at home, and when I mentioned this to them the last time they were having financial problems they said something to the effect of "oh well it's only a few dollars each" not even understanding that the gas they use and the wear they put on their vehicles is part of it too, and maybe it only costs a few dollars (plus gas etc) that when you do it every day it adds up.

It's literally the same as talking to my preteen nieces and nephews, they just have no concept of the value of a dollar, and are completely unwilling to change a single aspect of their lives to save money, and then get confused as to how they keep running out of money before the end of the month. I know that sooner or later I am going to have to take them in, or put them in a home, because they can't even manage their own finances and get angry and defensive any time I try to make suggestions to help them.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 2 points 2 years ago

I still remember being really frustrated with an ex's teenage brother and his inability to save money. It was like only the short term existed, and somehow inexplicably the short term always kind of sucked.

At least he was a teenager. A lot of adults never advance

[–] AzureVoid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Do they also eat a lot of avocado toast?

[–] thisisnotgoingwell@programming.dev 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I agree with what you said, but until your household jointly makes 75k+, it's really hard to save money when just existing eats up most of your expenses. I felt like I could breathe at 75k when my wife wasn't working, 100k was when I could cover all bills and still have enough to save up a bit of money. That's with my being lucky in that I bought my house 5 years ago and my mortgage is only like $900/mo...(modest 2br home in not a great neighborhood ) total monthly bills ends up being about $3k(including groceries, gas, utilities, car insurance and car payment being about $600 for both cars) Wife started working again so with her 50k and my 100k I can finally have financial goals instead of thinking about just surviving. Rent in my city starts at $1500 and I have no idea how normal people are getting by.

One of the worst things about being poor is that it becomes a mentality. If you have spare money after your bills are paid, you get used to it disappearing by life's circumstances such as an issue with your car, so people have the mentality of "I need to spend it before it gets spent on something else." That's why when people do their taxes and get money back for child tax credits and stuff and suddenly they go from a couple dollars in the account to $3000-$5000+ they go out and buy sofas or nice televisions.

[–] wombatula@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

That is definitely not their problem.

[–] DonJefe@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (5 children)

This is terrible, and nobody deserves this. As a millennial that has ben constantly screwed by boomers and their collective decisions, I can't help but to think that "you rip what you saw. Maybe they should try to make the coffee at home to save money, instead of going to Starbucks. Also, they'll be fine if they stop eating so many expensive avocados."

[–] Enkrod@feddit.de 37 points 2 years ago (1 children)

you rip what you saw

reap, you reap what you sow, because if you sow wheat on fertile ground, you can later reap wheat.

[–] hooferboof@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

rip what you saw kinda works if you're talking about ripping plywood 😁

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[–] misanthropy@lemm.ee 18 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This sparks joy. Welcome to the party you created.

[–] Powerpoint@lemmy.ca 20 points 2 years ago

I agree and understand however the ones going homeless were most likely victimized by the ones who created this situation in their peer group

[–] Jeanschyso@lemmy.world 16 points 2 years ago

I feel like the United States' fixation on limiting taxes and government intervention is something the rest of the world has been trying to warn about.

This seems to me like the second biggest example of "fuck around and find out" to come out of the US in a long time.

theres no profit incentive, of course these useless bags of flesh deserve to be put on the streets. welcome to america!

[–] BugleFingers@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago

"The dildo of consequence rarely arrives lubed"

However, my Bugles are always lubed by my frothing salivating mouth. I'm a bit hungry and getting weird, sorry you had to read that.

[–] AphoticDev@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 years ago

A little taste on their own medicine, eh. Better start tugging on those bootstraps, Karen.

[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 2 points 2 years ago
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