Although not specfic to being Middle Aged, certainly these sorts of thoughts come up more now than they did when I was in my 20s and 30s.

Please share your own thoughts and experiences.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...r-younger/

Quote:
There were more 24-year-olds in the U.S. than people of any other age in 2015. But for white Americans, 55 was the most common age, according to Census Bureau data.
In the histogram above, which shows the total number of individuals of each age last year, non-Hispanic whites tend to skew toward the older end of the spectrum (more to the right), while minority groups skew younger (more to the left).



http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/201...r-younger/

Day care (to the extent that it has any educational intent), pre-school, K-12 education, vocational schools, and colleges and universities -- whether Harvard or the late and unlamented Corinthian Colleges.

See subject line. From your experience, which of these two generations is more selfish?

I've been voting Libertarian since I was old enough to vote and they always lose.  But this year Gary Johnson is polling higher than any libertarian has in a presidential election.  Trump and Clinton are polling lower than ever.  I predicted that third parties would draw a significant portion of the vote this year, but it was my guess that that Clinton would get the highest percentage of the vote with Trump coming in second, Johnson third and Jill Stein fourth.  Now, after the whole Clinton email scandal, I'm starting to have hope that maybe Johnson could actually pull off a victory, if he actually makes it to the debates.  Yes, I know Clinton got away without being indicted, but the FBI director's statements were so damning that even her supporters are starting to turn against her.  And Trump?  I just don't see him gaining much more support after all the dumb things he's said.  Plus there's still plenty of time for him to put his foot in his mouth several more times.  Maybe I'm getting my hopes up to high, but I think Gary Johnson actually has a shot this year.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/03/politics/f...ended_pool

I like #8: 

8. The Powerball presidency.

This one is pretty much the nineteenth-century version of "lol nothing matters." Lawmakers in 1846 argued that the president should be chosen not by the people or Electoral College, but by random lottery: They literally wanted to pick a ball out of a bucket.

I don’t read many books by libertarian economists as a rule they lack original thinking, but I think Schumpeter’s “new class” might be relevant to my current thinking about class dynamics.  If anyone has read it could they give a summer of what Schumpeter and if they think it’s worthwhile?

We live in interesting and changing times.

Culturally, the best art and music is found on the ignored fringes, such as ambient music. It may be that ambient music will be what these years are remembered for. I like Justin Bieber and all, but what does it say about us that the best artists of our time are Justin Bieber, or one of Rags' favorite rock bands like Airborne? Or a girl pop star? PBS gives us "great performances," and there's endowments for the humanities, but that does not provide us with any achievement in these areas.

We don't think we can write great music or paint great paintings today. There is some greatness in architecture though, although it's little known. We mostly think greatness is technological invention and development. But technology alone will only leave a legacy of tools. What do we use them for? Texting while driving? Posting pictures of trips or parties? Tech is valued because of the economic power and wealth it brings. But again, this is only a means to a purpose we seem to have lost. Our advances in science are a value that will last, but as knowledge it only scratches the surface. So we also need to look deeper too toward the advances in our times in depth psychology and esoteric practices, and where they can lead us.

So we need to develop greater respect for and dedication to the creative arts.

We also live in times of paradigm shifts. These have retreated from public consciousness as the 4T has renewed and extended our obsession with economics. But the needs of the time still call us. We need to respect the Earth and its gifts to us. She makes our lives possible here. That means shifting the way we use the Earth to meet our needs; principally our energy technologies. We need to see that we live in a spiritual world as well as a physical one, so that we can revere and respect life, ourselves and all living beings, and not reduce them to objects for our use. We need to recognize our own consciousness and its depths, and further those trends of our time that release human potential and imagination. 

We need to see ourselves not as separate individuals, but as integral parts of the greater whole, and as wholes ourselves. We are interdependent on what we all can do for each other through sharing our wealth and our unique talents. We need to see that each of us has the economic opportunity to unfold our lives in peace and reasonable prosperity, rather than reserving these things for the fortunate few. We need to respect and honor all people, regardless of which group they are in, and to reduce fighting between us, and to do what we can to help depose the tyranny of corrupt, oppressive and murderous rulers, especially if they are our own. We need to support those movements that advance these paradigms, so that our living world is sustainable and fulfilling.

May America, and our times, be truly great. Happy Anniversary to the USA.

As I was watching one of Neils splendid talks, I got very fascinated by what he describes as "The New Nice". When it comes to music, this little tune describes it well, I think.

https://open.spotify.com/track/55FuRfZVFYWC7RmsvayZ3e

Done by GenXer Aphex Twin, he basically turned his back on his own generation and made this soothing little tune it is. It got everything we Millies want in a tune; contemporary subtlety. 

But what else should be included in this "New Nice" doctrine?

https://app.hedgeye.com/insights/52099-a...gears-down

Quote:

Quote:WHAT’S HAPPENING?
Shortly before the Brexit vote, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that a British exit could cut U.K. GDP growth by 0.8 to 3.0% in 2017. In the following year, 2018, it projected that Brexit would cut rest-of-EU GDP by 0.2 to 0.5% and rest-of-world GDP by 0.0 to 0.2%.
 
No news there: Few imagined that Brexit would be a stimulant. What’s less widely known is that the global economy was slowing down well before it entered the Brexit sand trap.
 
According to the IMF, GDP growth shrank from 5.0% in 2010 to 3.1% last year. The World Bank reports that global GDP growth fell from 3.8% in 2010 to 2.4% last year. The brief re-acceleration in 2014 kindled momentary optimism and then disappeared. Emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) have fared the worst, with growth sliding almost every year, while advanced economies have been zig-zagging well below 2% growth for years now. (The IMF and World Bank global growth rates don’t match due to the different ways they weight national GDPs...



https://app.hedgeye.com/insights/52099-a...gears-down