Happy Birthday Boomers – Oldest Turn 75
Category: Baby Boomer Retirement Issues
February 22, 2021 — Seventy five years ago last summer GIs from America and around the world starting returning home after fighting WWII. It didn’t take them long to resume normal life, where they quickly produced a wave of newborns the likes of which had never been seen before – the baby boom. Fast forward to 2021, where we are beginning to celebrate the seventy-fifth birthdays of that first crop of baby boomers. Happy birthday everybody.
We don’t know what it was like in your elementary school classrooms, but in ours the impact of the baby boom was immediate and obvious. Our older sisters, created on shore leave, arrived in 1944 and 1945. Their classrooms had half the number of pupils of our 1946 born brother, and every other class after that. Our classrooms were jammed with kids.
Officially, baby boomers are those folks born between 1946 and 1964. There were originally 76 million of us with about 71.2 million today (Pew Research 2020). While until recently we were the largest demographic group in the U.S., Millennials (1981-1996) recently took over that claim with the 72.6 million in that grouping.
Bottom line
It is a little hard to fathom that our generation of iconoclasts and creators of groundbreaking social change is turning 75 (an age which was definitely old when we were young). It has been a good ride, but time to turn things over to Generation X, the Millienials, and our grandchildren. Just as long as none of the say to us, OK Boomer!
Comments? Do you have any thoughts or remembrances of being a baby boomer. Are you OK with realizing we are not young (in body anyway) anymore. Feel free to share in the Comments section below.
Comments on "Happy Birthday Boomers – Oldest Turn 75"
Judy says:
I have long been concerned about the lack of planning for housing for the aging population. If you aren't part of the privileged class and don't have a great deal of money to buy into a CCRC, it seems there is going to be no place for you when you are no longer able to live independently. Not everyone has family who can or is willing to help.
BillyBogey says:
As an early Boomer I'm good with "Turning Over" & have been for awhile now. Because like & am Learning from what is called the "Younger Generation". They are Smart; Very Smart!!
& know that I can learn from them everyday.
Just as I grew from my Parent's. So have had a "Great Ride" & still have the wherewithal & opportunity to take the curve further!!
Enjoy!!
HEF says:
As middle-boomers (66 & 64), we have watched the Retirement Communities gradually rise in price. We're not sure we can save enough to "buy in." Every time I think we have enough, I check and the prices have gone up! THEN, as the boomers age out, how will we ever be sure our family can get that money back? At some point, like the schools that have closed, these places will have more empty apartments than full ones. We're starting to think that renting in such a community might be the better idea.
Its funny - one elementary school that I attended, closed and became a retirement community!
Mathamaniac says:
Greatest memory for me was the awesome music created during the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. Everything from show tunes to rock and roll to the classic standards.
Maimi says:
Yes, my public school education was abysmal due to overcrowding. We went to school on double sessions, with some grades attending from 6:30 am until noon, and some grades going from 12:30 to 6 pm. Every class had at least 30 students and it was a nightmare generally. I am 69 and have a 30 year old Millennial daughter. I have spent a great deal of time with the younger generations and I would like to see them step into positions of power. These young people are very well educated, hard working, purpose driven, and eager to make changes in the world. I enjoy spending time with them and listening to their ideas. People like Pete Buttigieg are a good example of our future leaders. Very smart. I personally think it is time for the 70 and 80 somethings in DC to retire and let these younger generations take over. It is time!
DEB says:
I couldn't agree with more. Time for a change!
Daryl says:
A good balance of age groups in power would bring different perspectives to leadership, better able to serve all of us. But they all should act with emotional maturity, wisdom, altruism, responsibility. Sad to say age alone doesn’t necessary confer these qualities. A jerk at 30 is probably still one at 100 whereas good character lasts a lifetime.
Roland says:
Daryl - You are so correct, especially with your last statement. This also applies in many organizations, like some HOA's, where personal egos get in the way of common sense.
Unfortunately in many cases, it takes a Significant Emotional Event (SEE) for a jerk to grow up.
Barb says:
Miami-
I am with you! Well stated! Hope you are keeping safe and well.
Daryl says:
Maimi, totally with you about Mayor Pete. That’s my point about character-driven leadership rather than age, wealth, status, ethnicity, etc. I sure don’t want any “Ok, Boomer” types of any age in charge of my future well-being. But seeing that in print makes me think I’m being really naive about power.