Here is a blog someone sent me earlier today, which quotes from this posting, as it appeared on CNN, but which ties the pushback against boomers to prime angst. (See our trend paper on that topic in Publications.) This blog is reproduced without any proofreading, fact-checking, or editing.

Greed, Excess and the Real Estate Meltdown
December 25, 2008

The housing market continued to show extreme weakness according to reports out this Christmas Eve. Prices dropped by the largest amount in over 40 years. Existing home prices fell 13.2 percent, to $181,300 from $208,800, the largest drop since data started being collected in 1968 and likely the largest decline since the Great Depression. Sales of existing homes fell 8.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 4.49 million units in November compared with October and were down 10.6 percent compared with the same period a year ago. The Commerce Department reported sales of new single-family homes fell 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 407,000 in November. It was the slowest sales rate in 18 years and down 35 percent compared with a year earlier.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Tom Brokaw’s book “The Greatest Generation,” that classic about our parents and their incredible sacrifices during World War II. What I’ve been thinking about actually is this: What book will our kids write about us? “The Greediest Generation?” “The Complacent Generation?” Or maybe: “The Subprime Generation: How My Parents Bailed Themselves Out for Their Excesses by Charging It All on My Visa Card.”

THOMAS FRIEDMAN
NEW YORK TIMES

Entitlement Programs, Rip-offs and Bailouts; Oh My!
It amazes me the youth of this country isn’t in all out revolt. They pay into programs that have $60 trillion in obligations beyond the current funding with a promise there will be some left for them. Some are just now graduating college in the worst economy since the Great Depression. And why? Because the spawn of the Greatest Generation didn’t realize that debt has to be paid. What’s next? Are we going to subsidize their retirements? I bet they will expect us too.

The Real Estate Meltdown; What Happened?
In short, the perfect storm. The government was hell bent on making home ownership available to all Americans. This started with President Clinton and was expanded by President Bush. The lack of government regulation along with new investment vehicles opened the door for enterprising scammers. Low and behold, mortgage companies could approve mortgages on un-credit-worthy purchasers while pocketing huge profits and then selling the paper as “mortgaged backed securities”, thereby assuming zero accountability. Beyond belief, the rating agencies (Moodys) rated the paper as AAA (it should have had junk status). This caused “false demand” which drove real estate prices up (supply demand). Eventually, even conservative companies joined in because stockholders were wondering why the conservative (smart) companies weren’t producing returns like the “jet setters”.

Still the watchdogs (Congress) slept and the risk taking increased. As real estate prices soared, so did the crazy lending practices. Soon, loans were being made on properties with over-inflated values at 100% LTV to people with Beacon Scores of 550. Then came the no income verification loans. Prices continued to soar due to false demand. As prices continued to skyrocket, even those with good credit stepped up to larger and larger homes. Others kept refinancing and buying toys with the proceeds. The belief was this real estate appreciation was never going to end.

Option ARM & ALT-A Loans
These were loans designed for good credit risks that also assumed real estate values would soar forever. Loans designed to allow people with solid credit to upgrade with very small introductory payments. Some of these loans were made as low as 1% interest to entice unsuspecting buyers into the low payments on homes they couldn’t afford. Of course, these loans reset at a predetermined time and a predetermined rate making refinancing mandatory. This is the next wave of bad housing news coming. There is know way to refinance these loans due to falling housing values. These are not sub-prime loans. These loans were perpetuated on unsuspecting/uneducated consumers. The default rate is already high on these loans (50+%) prior to resetting. Almost all of these loans reset from 2009-2011. The estimated default loss is as high as $1.5 trillion.

Money for Nothing Get Your Checks for Free
Dire Straits. That is what we Americans find ourselves in now. The government is shooting every bullet they have available. Unfortunately, the government realizes the only way out of this is for Americans to assume more debt. Our economy is not going to grow without you going deeper into debt. Some countries in the world can actually afford items, they pay cash. Paying cash is the definition of affordability. I doubt Americans are now willing to assume an ever increasing debt load. I dare believe we have learned our lesson. And that is why we are headed for the Great Depression II. The American economy is mostly based on consumerism. We are the world’s great consumers. At least the “Baby Boomer” generation has been. I now wonder if they are “has been”? How much longer are the younger generations going to be willing to finance the “boomers” follies?
Unfortunately, America’s “Greatest Generation” spawned America’s “Worst Generation”.

Who’s to blame for the economy going into serious decline?
The short and easy answer is greedy boomers. This is the generation that knew better than their cautious, fuddy-duddy parents, the generation that protested, that had ideals and marched to the beat of defiant music: “Street Fighting Man,” “We Want the World and We Want It Now,” “Hope I Die Before I Get Old.” It’s the generation that pursued pleasure, proclaimed “I can have it all” and refused to grow old — “50 is the new 30,” etc. And now, after years of taking credit for changing the world, baby boomers are taking the rap for the reversal of fortune that’s shaking the world.

Whatever history may decide, today’s commentators and pundits of all ages have decided that boomers, the dominant cohort in many developed countries, are guilty. And whether they’re really to blame, what counts is that they look like they are. Their profile fits.
Marian Salzman
CNN

And tha… tha… tha… that’s all folks!!!

I worked for the executive branch of the Federal government for 21 years in Washington DC. Every 4 to 8 years new people came in vowing to change DC. Not much happened. And the US is still the best country in the world.

One thing that did happen, though, way before, was and end to the draft, something probably all boomers have experience with. I have no sympathy for those who did not have to face the possibility of being sent to war against their will. “Cuspers” as you put it, as well as Gen X'ers don't have a clue as to what that is all about. Video games and belly aching about having to pay Social Security (as everyone before them has done) is really their claim to fame.

I never liked working, but I did it and am now in great financial shape. “Cuspers” will do the same.