Boomers

"Baby Boomers (and I confess I am one): prepare to squirm and shake your increasingly arthritic little fists. For here comes essayist Helen Andrews."--Terry Castle With two recessions and a botched pandemic under their belt, the Boomers are their children's favorite punching bag. But is the hatred justified? Is the destruction left in their wake their fault or simply the luck of the generational draw? In Boomers, essayist Helen Andrews addresses the Boomer legacy with scrupulous fairness and biting wit. Following the model of Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians, she profiles six of the Boomers' brightest and best. She shows how Steve Jobs tried to liberate everyone's inner rebel but unleashed our stultifying digital world of social media and the gig economy. How Aaron Sorkin played pied piper to a generation of idealistic wonks. How Camille Paglia corrupted academia while trying to save it. How Jeffrey Sachs, Al Sharpton, and Sonya Sotomayor wanted to empower the oppressed but ended up empowering new oppressors. Ranging far beyond the usual Beatles and Bill Clinton clichés, Andrews shows how these six Boomers' effect on the world has been tragically and often ironically contrary to their intentions. She reveals the essence of Boomerness: they tried to liberate us, and instead of freedom they left behind chaos.

Much has been written about the profound impact the post-World War II baby boomers had on American religion. But the lifestyles and beliefs of the generation that has followed--and the influence these younger Americans in their twenties and thirties are having on the face of religion--are not so well understood. It is this next wave of post-boomers that Robert Wuthnow examines in this illuminating book. What are their churchgoing habits and spiritual interests and needs? How does their faith affect their families, their communities, and their politics? Interpreting new evidence from scores of in-depth interviews and surveys, Wuthnow reveals a generation of younger adults who, unlike the baby boomers that preceded them, are taking their time establishing themselves in careers, getting married, starting families of their own, and settling down--resulting in an estimated six million fewer regular churchgoers. He shows how the recent growth in evangelicalism is tapering off, and traces how biblical literalism, while still popular, is becoming less dogmatic and more preoccupied with practical guidance. At the same time, Wuthnow explains how conflicts between religious liberals and conservatives continue--including among new immigrant groups such as Hispanics and Asians--and how in the absence of institutional support many post-boomers have taken a more individualistic, improvised approach to spirituality. Wuthnow's fascinating analysis also explores the impacts of the Internet and so-called virtual churches, and the appeal of megachurches. After the Baby Boomers offers us a tantalizing look at the future of American religion for decades to come.

“Particularly relevant in an election year...This book is full of data—on the economy, technology, and more—that will help millennials articulate their generational rage and help boomers understand where they’re coming from.” —The Washington Post “Jill Filipovic cuts through the noise with characteristic clarity and nuance. Behind the meme is a thoughtfully reported book that greatly contributes to our understanding of generational change.” —Irin Carmon, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Notorious RBG Baby Boomers are the most prosperous generation in American history, but their kids are screwed. In this eye-opening book, journalist Jill Filipovic breaks down the massive problems facing Millennials including climate, money, housing, and healthcare. In Ok Boomer, Let’s Talk, journalist (and Millenial) Jill Filipovic tells the definitive story of her generation. Talking to gig workers, economists, policy makers, and dozens of struggling Millennials drowning in debt on a planet quite literally in flames, Filipovic paints a shocking and nuanced portrait of a generation being left behind: -Millennials are the most educated generation in American history—and also the most broke. -Millennials hold just 3 percent of American wealth. When they were the same age, Boomers held 21 percent. -The average older Millennial has $15,000 in student loan debt. The average Boomer at the same age? Just $2,300 in today’s dollars. -Millennials are paying almost 40 percent more for their first homes than Boomers did. -American families spend twice as much on healthcare now than they did when Boomers were young parents. Filipovic shows that Millennials are not the avocado-toast-eating snowflakes of Boomer outrage fantasies. But they are the first American generation that will do worse than their parents. “OK, Boomer” isn’t just a sarcastic dismissal—it’s a recognition that Millennials are in crisis, and that Boomer voters, bankers, and policy makers are responsible. Filipovic goes beyond the meme, upending dated assumptions with revelatory data and revealing portraits of young people delaying adulthood to pay down debt, obsessed with “wellness” because they can’t afford real healthcare, and struggling to #hustle in the precarious gig economy. Ok Boomer, Let’s Talk is at once an explainer and an extended olive branch that will finally allow these two generations to truly understand each other.

How ministry leaders can help older adults be a vital part of Christian community With the explosion of the older adult population, this important book explores the opportunities and challenges that this presents for the Christian community. Amy Hanson challenges us to let go of many old stereotypes regarding aging and embrace a new paradigm that sees older adults as active, healthy and capable of making significant contributions. Debunks the myths of aging that keep us from fully embracing the potential of people in life's second half Offers suggestions on how to re-invent ministry with older adults Focuses on unleashing older adults to serve and make an impact on churches and congregations A volume in the Leadership Network series The author shows church leaders how they can unleash the power of the baby boomer population to strengthen their congregations.

In his "remarkable" (Men's Journal) and "controversial" (Fortune) book -- written in a "wry, amusing style" (The Guardian) -- Bruce Cannon Gibney shows how America was hijacked by the Boomers, a generation whose reckless self-indulgence degraded the foundations of American prosperity. In A Generation of Sociopaths, Gibney examines the disastrous policies of the most powerful generation in modern history, showing how the Boomers ruthlessly enriched themselves at the expense of future generations. Acting without empathy, prudence, or respect for facts--acting, in other words, as sociopaths--the Boomers turned American dynamism into stagnation, inequality, and bipartisan fiasco. The Boomers have set a time bomb for the 2030s, when damage to Social Security, public finances, and the environment will become catastrophic and possibly irreversible--and when, not coincidentally, Boomers will be dying off. Gibney argues that younger generations have a fleeting window to hold the Boomers accountable and begin restoring America.

Lots of marketers paint a rosy picture of the lifestyle of baby boomers as they enter the retirement years. But authors Moschis and Mathur, basing their findings on 20 years of surveys among baby boomers and their parents, tell it like it is. Many baby boomers have saved little money for retirement; their health is worse than that of their parents; and while both generations say travel is in their futures, many will not have money enough to rent a budget motel a few miles from home. But the picture is not all bleak. Moschis and Mathur use their findings to discuss how people can live longer, more satisfying lives. In addition, they apply those findings to marketing and advertising, advising businesses how to use the attitudes and mindsets of mature consumers to create products and services for them as well as to make those products and services more appealing to older customers.

Capitalizing on what is arguably the most important social phenomenon of our time and place—the aging of America—this book shows organizations how to market specifically to baby boomers in their third act of life. The graying of America is undeniable, with an estimated 10,000 boomers turning 65 every day. But to dismiss the baby boomer generation as a group no longer worth marketing to would be foolish. According to the Census Bureau, in 2029—the year when the last boomer will have turned 65—there will still be more than 61 million boomers, roughly 17 percent of the projected population of the United States. Boomers will still be the wealthiest generation in the United States until at least 2030, according to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, with their share of net household wealth to peak at 50.2 percent by 2020. Boomers 3.0: Marketing to Baby Boomers in Their Third Act of Life describes how to market to baby boomers from a cultural perspective, specifically addressing the demographic group of baby boomers in their later adulthood—a period that will continue for the next two to three decades. The author uses the term "3.0" to indicate the baby boomers' third phase of life and explains how this third act of life will differ from earlier periods; accordingly, organizations should take a different approach to marketing to them than in the past. This book offers a way to contextualize business objectives within a culturally based, forward-thinking framework that fully leverages the opportunities presented by what is perhaps the biggest and most affluent customer base in history. Readers will be able to use the strategies described to map territories to stake and mine in targeting boomers, create meaningful relationships with individuals in this group, and communicate effectively with boomers to offer them products and services.