It's my fault. While trying to dismantle the population bomb I blew up our retirement.

[HereSince1628]

Like many baby boomer lefties, two left-wing books significantly molded my world view: The Silent Spring and The Population bomb.

I couldn't do much about the chemical industry that was poisoning us generally, and which through the consequences of Agent Orange exposure utterly changed the health of my midlife. I did object early and throughout, and had the advantage of a bully pulpit, but what really is the voice of 1?

I did include discussions of the dangers of 2nd generation pesticides and herbicides in my lectures to non-majors environmental science students...a strenuous effort considering the very little good it has done with respect to protecting my grandchildren...

I COULD and DID do something about the population bomb. Like many boomers, I committed myself to my and my wife's replacement and nothing more.

THAT has had tremendous consequences that have rattled through the years, and which are now the cause of great consternation and anxiety by my children's generation.

Why? Because the Baby-boomers BROKE the freakin Ponzi-scheme that is a pyramidal population profile that ALWAYS expands the width of its base.

Economics of booming population growth is easy, suckers are born every minute and their needs drive the economy.

Economics of stagnating population growth is hard, fewer suckers are born, they tend to be better educated, and they reject the whole notion of being played for suckers...which includes caring for the generation that ended the Ponzi-scheme economics that made life easy.

Yes. I'm guilty. Let me put that in capitals...I AM GUILTY. I TAUGHT THOUSANDS OF KIDS TO BEWARE POPULATION EXPLOSION THAT WOULD DESTROY THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR EARTH'S INHABITANTS.

Many heeded my warnings. All of it has pushed America into a painful demographic transition. My 2 surviving children (one died and was in a numerical sense replaced) now reaching ages where additional children aren't expected, have produced 1 grandchild.

It's my fault, don't you see? I mean the pain of putting the brakes on growth...I advocated breaking what I learned and accepted was an unsustainable expansion of human demands on the planet.

Now there aren't enough post-baby boomers to support the baby-boom.

I helped this happen.

I accept my guilt

I deserve to be without support in my senior years because I advocated a smaller ratio of offspring per parent.

It was unCatholic.

It was anti-Ponzi scheme


Really.

[MattBaggins]

1. If you want to further the myth that SS is a Ponzi scheme

then I suppose you could blame yourself.

I would look at the 500% growth in rich peoples wealth at the expense of the workers but hey why do that when we can blame the working class?

[HereSince1628]

2. No, not SS but the economy in general

I think my generation did a good job of paying for the inflationary adjustments to our preceding generations and to addressing the needs of our own generation.

[hedgehog]

4. I think the point is that SS is not a Ponzi scheme precisely because the

economy grows. For example, let's say years ago it was 4 workers for every retiree. Together, those 4 workers produced X amount of goods. Say today there are 2 workers for every retiree. Disaster, the Ponzi scheme has failed! But, those 2 workers now produce the equivalent of 3X goods. Their increased individual; productivity more than makes up for the fact there are fewer workers per retiree. We have problems because workers today are do not benefit from their increased productivity. They are paidas if they are still producing X/4 apiece rather than 3/2x apiece.

[galileoreloaded]

3. last time. SS is a defacto Ponzi.

it relies on future revenues and a promise to pay in a currency backed by a common delusion.

prove me wrong with an accounting of where the wealth is stored to pay its liabilities. oh yeah, bonds are liabilities not assets (like your checking and savings account are the BANKS liabilities and NOT your assets once you deposit them).

i wait with eager anticipation

[HereSince1628]

8. One party's asset in accounts deposited is another parties trust and liability to pay...

This is in some schemes a matter of accounting rhetoric...

but the basic realities of Keynesian economics...the balance of demand and production...are greatly altered by a demographic shift.

I still believe that the demographic shift is necessary to protect the planet, but I recognize how in a shifting demographic, this places stress upon the different demographic strata.

[galileoreloaded]

9. fractional banking is fine w/ me as long as the opposite effect is understood

Dollar destruction

[HereSince1628]

10. Sorry I don't get it. Your link took me to a graphics na-na land

[galileoreloaded]

11. try that. f ing computers :)

[MattBaggins]

14. Let me google that for you

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=SS+is+not+a+ponzi+scheme

[galileoreloaded]

15. cute! irrelevant.

[MineralMan]

5. I'll go you one better. I decided in 1965 not to father any children at all.

So, you can relax.

[HereSince1628]

6. Well, I DID encourage thousands of kids to think about population impacts...

Most people aren't in such a situation.

Granted, it's not like I was Dan Rather, or Morley Safer presenting to tens of millions of tv viewers, but I did.

And I probably produced many scores of teachers who parroted the same ideas.

[wandy]

7. Now now don't be so hard on you're self. If you look at it in just the .......

right way the planet is something of a reverse Ponzi scheme. If we were to continue to breed like rabbits, as the full quiver folk would have us do. If we continue to consume fossil fuels at the rate Charles and David Koch would be pleased with. If we lust for material wealth to fatten the profits of our multinational corporate overloads. Well. That's when the reverse Ponzi scheme comes into play.
We become a pyramid sitting on it's point rather than it's base. Social Security will be the least of our problems.
That one for one human replacement won't fix all of the problems.
But it is a start.

Trust me on this one. We're likely to be around long enough to fix this Social Security problem.
We 'boomers' have dealt with a lot worse.

[eilen]

12. Don't be so hard on yourself. I have a theory

My stepfather had 6 kids, he died of lung cancer at 62, never collected a penny. His kids had at least 8 kids by last count. My father (3 kids who had 7 kids) died of lung cancer at 69, having collected SS for 7 years. He also had medicare but also a very good gap policy. His 3rd wife died at 59 (2 kids), her husband #1 died many years prior to her--they never collected a dime of SS. Their kids have reproduced to beyond replacement. Mom is still kicking at 70 (on SS for 8 years). She has advanced lung disease and still smokes so take heart, she is on borrowed time.

Anyway, so long as alcohol, cigarettes, and the multiple horrible chemicals used for pesticides, food containers and cleaning products as well as GMO foods and HFCS are allowed, we will remain in surplus of retirement monies. Once the numbers turn on us, they will throw another war or release another pandemic virus/antibiotic resistant bacteria/retrovirus and/or killer addictive drug. It makes lots of money for the weapons industry, the pharmaceutical companies and the prison industry.

In my hospital they always play a little lullaby when a baby is born. Never a little dirge when someone dies. It skews the perspective. Just open your Sunday paper, the obit section is always bigger than the birth announcements.

[AverageJoe90]

13. Good post here(though I seriously doubt The Population Bomb was Leftist per se). n/t