Boomers, Meet Cuspers
| Mon Jan. 12, 2009 9:07 AM PST
Looking for a marked-down home in a marked-down country? From CNN:
The real estate market is so awful that buyers are now scooping up homes for as little as $1,000.
There are 18 listings in Flint, Mich., for under $3,000, according to Realtor.com. There are 22 in Indianapolis, 46 in Cleveland and a whopping 709 in Detroit. All of these communities have been hit hard by foreclosures, and most of these homes are being sold by the lenders that repossessed them.
"Foreclosures have turned banks into property management companies," said Heather Fernandez, a spokeswoman for Trulia.com, the real estate Web site. "And it's often cheaper for them to give these homes away rather than try to get market value for them."
So, give up lattes, mani-pedis, and Netflix for awhile, and buy a piece of the "greatest nation in the world."
You know, growing up a dispossessed, poor black girl, sharecroppers' fourth of sixth: Even I thought better of America than this. I thought my biggest problem was shoving my way in line. I never thought my kids would find no line at all.
Why am I bitter? Here's why: After the much-vaunted "boomers," it's not 'God bless America,' a la Kate Smith.
It's not, 'God damn America,' a la Jeremiah Wright.
It's 'God save America,' a la every citizen living today and to come.
Perhaps that's why this other CNN article spoke to me so loudly:
Rarely has there been a year when so many things went out of style in such a short time: not just investment bankers, gas-guzzling vehicles, corporate jets, conspicuous consumption and political polarization, but also a whole generation.
After strutting and tub-thumping and preening their way across the high ground of politics, media, culture and finance for 30 years, baby boomers have gone from top dogs to scapegoats in barely a year.
As baby boomers lose their authority and appeal, generational power is shifting one notch down: to cuspers (born roughly 1954-1965), who arrived in style in 2008 with their first truly major figure, Barack Obama (born 1961).
We 'cuspers' missed both the postwar baby boom and 'flower power.' But we do inherit the mess the 'die before I'm 30 crowd' engendered. We've been quiet too long.
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Comments
Don't blame an entire generation for the failings (and excess greed)of those few (and those of the other generations around it) that have caused the downfall of our once-great nation. I know I haven't reaped the rewards that the corporate honchos have enjoyed - I'm still living paycheck-to-paycheck, and sometimes not even that.
Second Bill's motion. The whole generational thing is such lame politics. People are supposed to hate each other because of age? Sheesh.
The 60s radicals never controlled politics in this country - it was just the people who hung around the fringes. Absorbed the aura, but none of the spine. See Bill and Hillary.
But there is a gram of truth here - the older brothers and sisters are moving out the door and the younger are moving in.
I agree with Bill. I grew up in a large family. My mom was a stay at home mom. At christmas each kid was happy to get 1 gift. But the dinner table was great. Mom may our dresses. We never had the fancy shoes and cloths. My parents didn't have a savings account. We lived from payday to payday. But back then gas for your car was cheap. You could buy a hamburger, fries and shake for a $1.00 get change.
Debbie, the Boomer values you talk about have been around since Adam. Don't forget the Hippies and the Anti-War folks, the original "change" people. Some have kept it real without selling out to the man. Some of us are in the "Emerald Triangle" raising our crops for the nation, close to the earth. We just laugh at this developing depression. Adversity builds character. It will be good for these sell outs to get close to the real values. The people in the City can raise their own vegetables in their backyard. During WWII half the vegetable crop was raised that way. Yes this depression will bring many good things. Better learn to love it.
