The “Greatest” Generation, born 1901-1924
1940s - fighting and building weapons in WWII, only war in memory where the enemy completely deserved it
1950s - raising kids - The US gets suburbs
1960s - settling into careers - Medicare created, so they’ll have health insurance forever, they only have to pay the taxes funding it during the second half of their career
1970s - starting to worry about retirement, Social Security expanded, they pay for a few years, everyone following gets to pay for their entire career
1980s - starting to retire, Reganomics leads to lower taxes on capital gains, budget deficit explodes
1990s - retired, taxes fall and Social Security is “third rail” of US politics
2000s - thinking about death, inheritance tax slated for elimination, budget deficit grows even more
Congratulations, good job in WWII. Since then you’ve managed to be extremely selfish and make the rest of us pay for your lifestyle
