Saying Goodbye to the Most Impactful and Consequential of All the Generations
The baby boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, is beginning to exit the national stage, leaving behind a complex legacy shaped by postwar prosperity and social upheaval. Unlike the widely celebrated 'Greatest Generation,' boomers face a less reverent farewell amid deep societal divisions and mounting fiscal pressures. Their retirement poses significant challenges for the U.S. economy, healthcare system, and intergenerational equity.
- ▪The baby boomer generation consists of over 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, following World War II.
- ▪Boomers control 52 percent of U.S. household wealth and 40 percent of real estate value, while also dominating top political offices.
- ▪Social Security and Medicare, which primarily benefit boomers, account for 40 percent of the federal budget.
- ▪The worker-to-retiree ratio in the U.S. has dropped from 5 to 1 in 1960 to about 2.5 today.
- ▪Within five years, the U.S. will have more people over 65 than under 18, with nearly 70 percent of seniors expected to need long-term care.
- ▪The national debt exceeds $40 trillion, and the U.S. runs a two-trillion-dollar annual budget deficit, complicating responses to aging-related challenges.
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Saying Goodbye to the Most Impactful and Consequential of All the Generations Rick Moran | 12:05 PM on May 02, 2026 AP Photo, File We were originally referred to as "baby boomers," the generation born in the immediate aftermath of World War II. From 1946 to 1964, the U.S. Census Bureau tells us that more than 76 million babies were born. Advertisement googletag.cmd.push(function () { googletag.display("div-gpt-300x250_3"); //googletag.pubads().refresh([gptAdSlot["div-gpt-300x250_3"]]) }); Why 1964 as a cutoff point? That's the year that the birth control pill was introduced in the U.S., and the birth rate began to decline.Today, we're simply referred to as "Boomers." We grew up in a period of massive wealth creation, painful social change, and the specter of nuclear annihilation hanging…
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