the Baby Boom
Generation evolution continues....
The members of these adjacent generations differ both in their size, their cultural and economic experiences and their earning and purchasing power. While the baby boomers grew up in relative prosperity, those in Generation X experienced many more swing in the economy and much more financial uncertainty. Baby boomers are so named because they were part of a sharp increase in the birthrate in the United States shortly after World War II which was sustained from 1946 to 1964. This 19 year period produced over 77 million babies who are now in their 40's, 50's and 60's.
In the year 2011, the first of the baby boomers will reach the age of 65 and traditional retirement age. Because of the large size of this generation, this means that “golden boomers” will be turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 each day for the next two decades.
Events which helped to shape the attitudes of the baby boomers included the civil rights movement, the women's rights movement, and the rise of environmental activism. Most of the boomers witnessed the space race with the Soviet Union and the eventual manned moon landing in 1969. Part of the political and social turmoil that baby boomers experienced included the assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther king, of President John F. Kennedy, and of leading Presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. They also experienced the unprecedented resistance to the Vietnam War and the military draft.
Generation X is the group of Americans born in the period immediately after the baby boomers. This begins in 1965 and continues to about 1976. Some authors prefer to extend it to include the early 1980's. The political experiences of Generation X, often abbreviated to Gen X, were quite different. As a result of the Civil Rights Act, most of them grew up in a more integrated society, in particular in integrated schools. They saw the Cold War end and watched the Berlin Wall fall. Like the boomers, they also had a war to watch live on television with the First Gulf War broadcasts.
Unlike previous generations, Generation X'ers were more likely to be the children of divorced parents and the stigma of this had faded considerably from prior generations. And while the baby boomers were born into a time of relative prosperity, for Generation X there were stock market crashes, inflation, gasoline shortages, the “dot.com” collapse, and a rather uncertain economy. Those in Gen X were likely to make about 15% less than their parents.
Generation X is also considerably smaller than the baby boom generation. It numbers only about 51 million yet the payroll taxes on its earning will be expected to meet the retirement and health care needs of the much bigger baby boomer group as they retire.