Blame the Boomers

I don't disagree with either Earl or Jonathan. But with all due respect, if we're handing out blame on the country's financial meltdown, the Baby Boomers ought to own some of it. It's easy to rage against the nameless "government" for deregulation and policies that created greed to rule over sanity in the stock market, even while pushing more regular Americans into it with their retirement savings.

But there were actual people, making actual choices for years that built this house of cards. And many of them were Baby Boomers (and Boomer adjacents) both individually and collectively as voters.

The foundation of this crisis, which Earl points out, is greed. But you can't blame that on Wall Street alone; it needs greed to operate properly. It also needs mome healthy oversight, which the country's leaders failed to provide for a long time. The problem was compounded by the fact that in the last couple of decades accumulation of wealth has become the main measure of personal success entire society, not by one's quality of life, happiness, family or love Is it a surprise that the term "latchkey kid" was made popular in the 80s, the same decade of the "greed is good" mantra from "Wall Street" seemed to shape our national policy? Not to this latchkey kid.

Perhaps I'm a little harsh on my elders, but how is it they left their children -- and their grandchildren -- with such a financial mess? And it will get worse. Boomer are about to suck Social Security dry, leaving the younger Gen Xers to survive with our skeletal 401(k) accounts (I can't even look at the statements right now), massive mortgages and the burden of billions in bailout costs. Thanks Mom and Dad! Serves them right if I have to move back in.

Is is any wonder that people are so excited about Obama and Palin, the"inexperienced youngsters in this presidential race, while paying little attention to McCain and Biden the "wrinkely white-haired dudes" who were part of the power structure that brought us here?