I've said it before in previous articles how I'm a badge-wearing Gen X member. I'm in that smaller generations caught between the vast Boomer wave slamming through retirement systems now and controlling everything in money and real estate on one side, and then on the other is the vast numbers of Millenials and Gen Z coming after my small group, blaming all older people for everything wrong in the world today.

I never intended to defend Boomers, and having been one of those kids who literally grew up under than and put up with all their hypocritical BS, I was quite glad as they were moving into retirement hoping they would just disappear from everything that matters. No such luck. Instead, their collective greed continues to make a muck of things, but worse they have created a growing environment of agism that I have to deal with directly, being older as well.

Not Disappearing So Easily

Agism is present in everything. Thanks to Boomer abuse, the sentiment oozes out of people in every transaction with the rolling of the eyes, not wanting to listen to explanations, or assuming all older people are the same. Unfortunately, I'm not the type to just accept the treatment. So, I'm regularly getting into scraps with younger people, correcting their assumptions and challenging them. This is common with Gen X because, frankly, we've been dealing with the same all our lives from our parents and older. We were as a group, never good enough, never sacrificed enough, never served enough and so on. I don't write this for sympathy; instead, Gen Xers just don't give a shit because were taught not to. Instead, we were taught to scrap and fight for everything because we weren't considered responsible enough.

Now, my generation is dealing with the attacks from other side. Being the most likely to get laid off from jobs due to being expensive, 50-somethings are finding themselves on the ropes losing paychecks at a time when they're still launching kids out into the adult world and many are also taking care of aging parents who can't take care of themselves anymore, i.e. the sandwhich generation. It's the worst possible place to be in when the paycheck becomes such a critical lifeline. Critics often assume that inheritance will make up for the losses because Boomers have so much to leave behind. What those same critics are ignorant of is the cost of senior healthcare skyrocketing to the point that it eats up estates, leaving nothing but debts by the time a Boomer does pass.

The most insulting part of the above dynamic, however, is the assumption that my generation is the root of all social problems now. That, because we're vocal and push back, we somehow automatically represent all older people, including our Boomer parents and their collective stupidity. I'll be the first to say society could have been managed a lot better than what the Boomers did (many of whom are still running Congress and the country), but I'm not about to be their sacrificial lamb to younger generation critics wanting retribution for what they feel entitled to. 

I Don't Feel Guilty For Another Generation

That means, I'm going to sit in my job as long as I can with an earning paycheck and not just give it up so someone younger can get a promotion. I'm going to work extra and generate more freelance income, being competitive in the market versus just handing it over to someone for nothing. I'm going to continue to take advantage of every legal benefit I can get, regardless of whether younger people think it's unfair (ignoring the fact I spent more than four decades paying for it with my payroll taxes and withholding). It means I'm going to put my money where it will grow to protect my retirement versus feeling obligated to be charitable and support every POOYA art project that comes along. I started working when I was 15, slinging burgers in a fast food joint for less than $3.35/hour. I have no sympathy for people now expecting a living wage at my expense via more taxes.

Again, I have no great love for Boomers, but I'm not here to be their reconciliation parade, nor am I the safety net for my parents. For younger generations who want that from me and what I worked for, my response is, "Get a job."