Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/05/2014 09:07 -0500
Isn’t it ironic that the demographic in America that has seen the largest job growth during the ‘recovery’ turned out in droves to vote (against the incumbents) while the generation that remain mired in student debt, living at home with their mom-and-dad in record amounts, and having lost hope of the American Dream were apparently uninterested in ‘change’. Perhaps, just perhaps, the elder generation still believes there is a difference between the two parties… or perhaps they are the ones who are most pissed as the promises of sipping margaritas on a golden beach in retirement is crushed into the reality of working to your grave at Home Depot…
Irony?
h/t @NBCNews
Which is ironic given that the Over-60s (and only over-60s) have been hired in droves…
Here is the breakdown of job gains by all age groups since the start of the depression in December 2007: 5.5 million jobs “gained” in the 55-69 age group. What about the core, 25-54 demographic? Negative 2.04 million.
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As Bloomberg’s Richard Breslow noted this morning,
U.S. midterm elections yday turned out pretty much like the polls suggested; I was a little surprised to see how many stories led with economy and how many exit polls said that — it may have been the economy, but it’s not that it’s doing particularly poorly. If anything, the numbers are doing ok, it’s that people felt the distribution of the “ok” had got the balance out of whack, that neither party was listening to Main Street, aka, the citizenry.
Democrats had the bad misfortune of being the Ins, and the Ins got thrown out. This really was a wakeup call for the establishment writ large, not particularly a poke at the Democrats other than more is expected from them
Having said that, elections have consequences, so we’re in for an interesting period; I did read one portfolio manager in Europe saying this would be good for the economy, decision making would pick up. I don’t see it – I think you just have an electorate that felt deserted by the people they thought would protect them, and Washington became synonymous with Wall St. Helps explain a lot of more populous frustrations globally.
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Forget racism, prepare for ageism.
Withdrawal of consent can only take an “Atlas Shrugged” path.
The young cannot be taxed out of that which they don’t produce. The future promises absolutely phenomenal levels of inter-society conflict, and young vs old is but one among many fault lines we will see deepen.
I have no doubt that the RAGE unleashed by a social mood decline on the scale called for now will see violence over race, sex, age, and darn near every other possible conflict point.
Our current Apogee of Politics has pushed everyone into one big room, where everyone is told to put property (money, etc.) into the pot in the middle and everyone is shoving each other to take money and property OUT of the pot.
Right now, the 80th to 99.9th percentiles are paying all the taxes but watching the 99.9th percentile run off with most of the pot while throwing some of it at the 0-80th percentiles to keep them from rioting and burning down the cities.
The 80th-99.9th percentiles are getting PISSED about this. I see it everywhere I go.
They’re getting PISSED, but as long as their situations don’t degrade too much, they have too much to lose by letting their rage boil over into action.
That will change when many lose their jobs and their homes and their 401(k) balances in the coming deflationary collapse. Then, the backbone of what is keeping America’s lights burning will let their RAGE boil over, and I’m guessing their targets will be, in no special order:
1. Blacks & Hispanics, who rightly or wrongly are deemed to be milking the government for money.
2. Poor people in general, who rightly or wrongly are seen as poor out of choice, not happenstance.
3. Non-English speakers, LGBT and everyone else who in recent times has won “special status” in courts, which translated to vast sums of public money being spent on their pet interests.
The reservoir of RAGE is brim-full and lapping over the dam (of “something to lose”) that currently holds it back.
As Gerald Celente points out, “When people no longer have something to lose, they lose it.”
I need to find a deep cavern in which to sit out the coming spasm of RAGE as it washes the continent and the world.
dc, agree. It’s very possible that we are not quite there yet. See my note under “Bring on $900 Gold’. This struggle to recover has already lasted far longer than anyone could have…hoped? anticipated?…expected?…