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My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - Cocoa_Puff - 09-21-2020

Range 1:

Silent Generation - born from March 29, 1929-April 12, 1945, a.k.a. About half of C/O 1947-Majority of C/O 1963 (roughly 1929-1944)
Born when Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were president of the United States, and were adults after the war, during '50s America, and by the time JFK was assassinated.



Baby Boomers - born from April 12, 1945-November 22, 1963, a.k.a. About half of C/O 1963-Older members of C/O 1982 (roughly 1945-1963)
Born when Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy were in the White House, after FDR passed away but before JFK's assassination. They came of age in the '60s, '70s, and very early '80s in a tumultuous period.


Generation X - born from November 22, 1963-January 20, 1981, a.k.a. Majority of C/O 1982-About half of C/O 1999 (roughly 1964-1980)
Born after the assassination of JFK during the Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon-Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter administrations before Ronald Reagan entered office. They came of age in the '80s and '90s during the AIDS epidemic, Challenger explosion, Cold War, OKC bombing, etc.


Millennials - born from January 20, 1981-January 20, 2001, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 1999-About half of C/O 2019 (roughly 1981-2000)
Born after Ronald Reagan entered office during the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations before George W. Bush entered office. They came of age in the first two decades of the 21st century during 9/11, War on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Great Recession, 2016 election, etc.


Generation Z - born from January 20, 2001-January 20, 2017, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 2019-About half of C/O 2035 (roughly 2001-2016)
Born after Bush entered office during the Bush and Obama presidencies before Donald Trump entered the White House (Trump babies and beyond are definitely Gen Alpha). They are currently coming of age and growing up right now during the coronavirus pandemic (their first major coming-of-age event) onward.



Range 2:

Greatest Generation - born from April 12, 1927 and earlier, a.k.a. Majority of C/O 1945 and earlier (roughly 1926 and earlier)
Born during the Calvin Coolidge (and any other preceeding president) administration and came of age during the Franklin D. Roosevelt (and any other preceeding president) administration, during the Roaring 20's, Great Depression, and WWII.


Silent Generation - born from April 12, 1927-November 22, 1945, a.k.a. About half of C/O 1945-Older members of C/O 1964 (roughly 1927-1945)
Came of age when Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy were in the White House, after FDR passed away and generally after WWII ended but before JFK's assassination. Born in the later end of Calvin Coolidge's, Herbert Hoover's, Franklin D. Roosevelt's, and the very beginning of Harry S. Truman's presidencies.


Baby Boomers - born from November 22, 1945-January 20, 1963, a.k.a. Majority of C/O 1964-About half of C/O 1981 (roughly 1946-1962)
Came of age after the assassination of JFK during the Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon-Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter administrations before Ronald Reagan entered office. Born during the Truman, Eisenhower, and JFK presidencies.


Generation X - born from January 20, 1963-January 20, 1983, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 1981-About half of C/O 2001 (roughly 1963-1982)
Came of age after Ronald Reagan entered office during the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations before George W. Bush entered office, also during the prosperous '80s and '90s decades. Born during the JFK, LBJ, Nixon-Ford, Carter, and Reagan presidencies.


Millennials - born from January 20, 1983-January 20, 1999 or 2003, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 2001-About half of C/O 2017 or 2021 (roughly 1983-1999 or 1983-2002)
Came of age after Bush entered office during the Bush and Obama presidencies, and maybe even Donald Trump's first term (if he loses this year's election) but definitely before Biden or Donald Trump's second term. Born during the Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and possibly the early Bush Jr. administration.


Generation Z - born from January 20, 1999-TBD or January 20, 2003-TBD, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 2017 or 2021-TBD (roughly 1999-TBD or 2003-TBD)
Came of age at Trump's presidency at the earliest or is going to come of age during the Biden presidency.



To sum both of these ranges up:

Indisputable members of the Greatest Generation - born from April 11, 1927 and earlier (roughly 1926 and earlier)
Full birth years = 1926 and earlier


Cuspers of the Greatest and Silent Generation - born from April 12, 1927-March 29, 1929 (roughly 1927-1928)
Full birth year = 1928
Absolute peak of the cusp = sometime around March-April 1928


Indisputable members of Silent Generation - born from March 30, 1929-April 11, 1945 (roughly 1929-1944)
Full birth years = 1930-1944
Absolute peak of the generation = sometime around March-April 1937


Cuspers of the Silent and Baby Boomer Generation - born from April 12-November 22, 1945 (roughly 1945)
No full birth years
Absolute peak of the cusp = sometime around July-August 1945


Indisputable members of the Baby Boomer Generation - born from November 23, 1945-January 19, 1963 (roughly 1946-1962)
Full birth years = 1946-1962
Absolute peak of the generation (numerically) = sometime around June 1954
Absolute peak of the generation = IMO August 9, 1956 (they came of age the day of the crossover between Nixon resigning and Ford being sworn in, and they are what I would consider to be the most stereotypical Baby Boomer presidents (going by Boomer "coming-of-age"), while LBJ was an early Baby Boomer president and Carter was a late Baby Boomer president.


Cuspers of Baby Boomers and Generation X - born from January 20-November 22, 1963 (roughly 1963)
No full birth years
Absolute peak of the cusp = June 21, 1963


Indisputable members of Generation X - born from November 23, 1963-January 19, 1981 (roughly 1964-1980)
Full birth years = 1964-1980
Absolute peak of the generation (numerically) = sometime around June 1972
Absolute peak of the generation = IMO August 9, 1974 (they were born the day of the crossover between Nixon resigning and Ford being sworn in, and they are what I would consider to be the most stereotypical Gen X presidents (going by Gen X birth dates), while LBJ was an early Gen X president and Carter was a late Gen X president.


Cuspers of Generation X and the Millennial Generation - born from January 20, 1981-January 20, 1983 (roughly 1981-1982) 
Full birth year = 1982
Absolute peak of the cusp = January 20, 1982


Indisputable members of the Millennial Generation - born from either January 21, 1983-January 19, 1999 or 2001 (roughly 1983-1998 or 1983-2000)
Full birth years = 1984-1998 or 1984-2000
Absolute peak of the generation = January 20, 1991 or 1992, combining it would be July 20, 1991


Cuspers of the Millennial and Z Generation - born from either January 20, 1999-January 20, 2001 or January 20, 2001-January 20, 2003, combining both would be January 20, 1999-January 20, 2003 (roughly 1999-2000, 2001-2002, or both 1999-2002)
Full birth years = 2000 or 2002, 2000-2002 combined
Absolute peak of the cusp = January 20, 2000 or 2002, combining it would be January 20, 2001


Indisputable members of Generation Z - born from January 21, 2001-most likely approximately January 19, 2015 or 2017 or January 21, 2003-most likely approximately January 19, 2015 or 2017 (roughly 2001-2014 or 2016, or 2003-2014 or 2016)
Full birth years = 2002-2014 or 2016, or 2004-2014 or 2016
Absolute peak of the generation = January 20, 2008 or 2009, or January 20, 2009 or 2010, combining it would be January 20, 2009


Cuspers of Generation Z and Alpha - TBD, but possibly January 20, 2015-somewhere between January 20, 2017 and 2019 (the date is totally tentative; roughly 2015-2016 or 2018)
Full birth years = 2016, possibly 2016-2018
Absolute peak of the cusp = January 20, 2016 or 2017, combining it would be July 20, 2016



RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - jleagans - 10-21-2020

(09-21-2020, 05:24 PM)Cocoa_Puff Wrote: Range 1:

Silent Generation - born from March 29, 1929-April 12, 1945, a.k.a. About half of C/O 1947-Majority of C/O 1963 (roughly 1929-1944)
Born when Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were president of the United States, and were adults after the war, during '50s America, and by the time JFK was assassinated.



Baby Boomers - born from April 12, 1945-November 22, 1963, a.k.a. About half of C/O 1963-Older members of C/O 1982 (roughly 1945-1963)
Born when Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy were in the White House, after FDR passed away but before JFK's assassination. They came of age in the '60s, '70s, and very early '80s in a tumultuous period.


Generation X - born from November 22, 1963-January 20, 1981, a.k.a. Majority of C/O 1982-About half of C/O 1999 (roughly 1964-1980)
Born after the assassination of JFK during the Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon-Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter administrations before Ronald Reagan entered office. They came of age in the '80s and '90s during the AIDS epidemic, Challenger explosion, Cold War, OKC bombing, etc.


Millennials - born from January 20, 1981-January 20, 2001, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 1999-About half of C/O 2019 (roughly 1981-2000)
Born after Ronald Reagan entered office during the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations before George W. Bush entered office. They came of age in the first two decades of the 21st century during 9/11, War on Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Great Recession, 2016 election, etc.


Generation Z - born from January 20, 2001-January 20, 2017, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 2019-About half of C/O 2035 (roughly 2001-2016)
Born after Bush entered office during the Bush and Obama presidencies before Donald Trump entered the White House (Trump babies and beyond are definitely Gen Alpha). They are currently coming of age and growing up right now during the coronavirus pandemic (their first major coming-of-age event) onward.



Range 2:

Greatest Generation - born from April 12, 1927 and earlier, a.k.a. Majority of C/O 1945 and earlier (roughly 1926 and earlier)
Born during the Calvin Coolidge (and any other preceeding president) administration and came of age during the Franklin D. Roosevelt (and any other preceeding president) administration, during the Roaring 20's, Great Depression, and WWII.


Silent Generation - born from April 12, 1927-November 22, 1945, a.k.a. About half of C/O 1945-Older members of C/O 1964 (roughly 1927-1945)
Came of age when Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy were in the White House, after FDR passed away and generally after WWII ended but before JFK's assassination. Born in the later end of Calvin Coolidge's, Herbert Hoover's, Franklin D. Roosevelt's, and the very beginning of Harry S. Truman's presidencies.


Baby Boomers - born from November 22, 1945-January 20, 1963, a.k.a. Majority of C/O 1964-About half of C/O 1981 (roughly 1946-1962)
Came of age after the assassination of JFK during the Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon-Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter administrations before Ronald Reagan entered office. Born during the Truman, Eisenhower, and JFK presidencies.


Generation X - born from January 20, 1963-January 20, 1983, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 1981-About half of C/O 2001 (roughly 1963-1982)
Came of age after Ronald Reagan entered office during the Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton administrations before George W. Bush entered office, also during the prosperous '80s and '90s decades. Born during the JFK, LBJ, Nixon-Ford, Carter, and Reagan presidencies.


Millennials - born from January 20, 1983-January 20, 1999 or 2003, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 2001-About half of C/O 2017 or 2021 (roughly 1983-1999 or 1983-2002)
Came of age after Bush entered office during the Bush and Obama presidencies, and maybe even Donald Trump's first term (if he loses this year's election) but definitely before Biden or Donald Trump's second term. Born during the Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, and possibly the early Bush Jr. administration.


Generation Z - born from January 20, 1999-TBD or January 20, 2003-TBD, a.k.a. More than half of C/O 2017 or 2021-TBD (roughly 1999-TBD or 2003-TBD)
Came of age at Trump's presidency at the earliest or is going to come of age during the Biden presidency.



To sum both of these ranges up:

Indisputable members of the Greatest Generation - born from April 11, 1927 and earlier (roughly 1926 and earlier)
Full birth years = 1926 and earlier


Cuspers of the Greatest and Silent Generation - born from April 12, 1927-March 29, 1929 (roughly 1927-1928)
Full birth year = 1928
Absolute peak of the cusp = sometime around March-April 1928


Indisputable members of Silent Generation - born from March 30, 1929-April 11, 1945 (roughly 1929-1944)
Full birth years = 1930-1944
Absolute peak of the generation = sometime around March-April 1937


Cuspers of the Silent and Baby Boomer Generation - born from April 12-November 22, 1945 (roughly 1945)
No full birth years
Absolute peak of the cusp = sometime around July-August 1945


Indisputable members of the Baby Boomer Generation - born from November 23, 1945-January 19, 1963 (roughly 1946-1962)
Full birth years = 1946-1962
Absolute peak of the generation (numerically) = sometime around June 1954
Absolute peak of the generation = IMO August 9, 1956 (they came of age the day of the crossover between Nixon resigning and Ford being sworn in, and they are what I would consider to be the most stereotypical Baby Boomer presidents (going by Boomer "coming-of-age"), while LBJ was an early Baby Boomer president and Carter was a late Baby Boomer president.


Cuspers of Baby Boomers and Generation X - born from January 20-November 22, 1963 (roughly 1963)
No full birth years
Absolute peak of the cusp = June 21, 1963


Indisputable members of Generation X - born from November 23, 1963-January 19, 1981 (roughly 1964-1980)
Full birth years = 1964-1980
Absolute peak of the generation (numerically) = sometime around June 1972
Absolute peak of the generation = IMO August 9, 1974 (they were born the day of the crossover between Nixon resigning and Ford being sworn in, and they are what I would consider to be the most stereotypical Gen X presidents (going by Gen X birth dates), while LBJ was an early Gen X president and Carter was a late Gen X president.


Cuspers of Generation X and the Millennial Generation - born from January 20, 1981-January 20, 1983 (roughly 1981-1982) 
Full birth year = 1982
Absolute peak of the cusp = January 20, 1982


Indisputable members of the Millennial Generation - born from either January 21, 1983-January 19, 1999 or 2001 (roughly 1983-1998 or 1983-2000)
Full birth years = 1984-1998 or 1984-2000
Absolute peak of the generation = January 20, 1991 or 1992, combining it would be July 20, 1991


Cuspers of the Millennial and Z Generation - born from either January 20, 1999-January 20, 2001 or January 20, 2001-January 20, 2003, combining both would be January 20, 1999-January 20, 2003 (roughly 1999-2000, 2001-2002, or both 1999-2002)
Full birth years = 2000 or 2002, 2000-2002 combined
Absolute peak of the cusp = January 20, 2000 or 2002, combining it would be January 20, 2001


Indisputable members of Generation Z - born from January 21, 2001-most likely approximately January 19, 2015 or 2017 or January 21, 2003-most likely approximately January 19, 2015 or 2017 (roughly 2001-2014 or 2016, or 2003-2014 or 2016)
Full birth years = 2002-2014 or 2016, or 2004-2014 or 2016
Absolute peak of the generation = January 20, 2008 or 2009, or January 20, 2009 or 2010, combining it would be January 20, 2009


Cuspers of Generation Z and Alpha - TBD, but possibly January 20, 2015-somewhere between January 20, 2017 and 2019 (the date is totally tentative; roughly 2015-2016 or 2018)
Full birth years = 2016, possibly 2016-2018
Absolute peak of the cusp = January 20, 2016 or 2017, combining it would be July 20, 2016

All of this ! You are a god ! Still skimming but what else you got ?


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - jleagans - 10-21-2020

Gen z has to include folks being born now as we are indisputably still in the 4T


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - jleagans - 10-21-2020

How did you end up with January 1983 as a millennial start? Not saying I disagree with it , just curious your rationale


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - pbrower2a - 10-22-2020

At this point, Joe Biden seems sure to break the expectation that the Silent will be shut out of the Presidential succession. He seems, as does many other Silent men, to meld (as Howe and Strauss suggest) Civic-like (work ethic, rationality, working within the System, and being as Establishment as is possible, staying active intellectually and physically deep into elderhood) and Idealist-like (vision, principle, devout religiosity) traits. I see him as a sharp break from the current Skowronek cycle and as a strange bridge from the New Deal era (he got an early start in high-level politics) to what follows the neoliberal era. About as able an understudy of an above-average President likely to serve as a model for subsequent Presidents as is possible, he may bot have the two terms as President that one typically associates with above-average Presidents. Such will not be his fault. He will be past 80 when it is time for him to contemplate a bid for re-election.


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - pbrower2a - 10-22-2020

(10-21-2020, 02:29 PM)jleagans Wrote: Gen z has to include folks being born now as we are indisputably still in the 4T

Early-wave Missionaries were born in the Civil War years (including 1860, which had the first skirmishes in Bloody Kansas). Children born in 1943, 1944, and 1945 are in the Boom Generation even if they arrived in small numbers (the huge number of children of the Boom Generation started to be born in 1946.

I see the COVID-19 plague defining the Homeland generation by disrupting many of the normal rites of passage of youth from First Communions to the tirst day of kindergarten, senior proms, including Cub Scout and Brownie activities, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, debutante balls, 4H fairs, Scouting events, and high-school graduations. They are also sure to see the craziness of the current 4T (mostly a rearguard defense of the worst traits of the bad habits of the Culture Wars and the collapse of some prominent characters). The Homeland Generation may not remember 9/11 but it will certainly hear much about the "Enrob" scandal as a model of how to not do business.  

I expect large organizations to make drastic reforms of themselves just to survive the next round of an economic meltdown. I would not be surprised that President Trump tanks the economy on his way out as revenge upon people that he considers to have 'betrayed' him; he is that vile and vindictive a person. Political choices will decide what troubled entities survive and which ones fail. There won't be enough resources to prop up pathological organizations, and I can easily see plenty of corrupt organizations deemed "too big to save" instead of "Too Big to Fail". Such will heavily reflect the values of Generation X (yes, Generation X has values!) that favor small business over entities that gave few of them any reasonable chance to get ahead within them. Consider that small business lacks the means for buying political influence that monopolistic, vertically-integrated companies have.


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - jleagans - 10-27-2020

(10-22-2020, 12:47 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:
(10-21-2020, 02:29 PM)jleagans Wrote: Gen z has to include folks being born now as we are indisputably still in the 4T

Early-wave Missionaries were born in the Civil War years (including 1860, which had the first skirmishes in Bloody Kansas). Children born in 1943, 1944, and 1945 are in the Boom Generation even if they arrived in small numbers (the huge number of children of the Boom Generation started to be born in 1946.

I see the COVID-19 plague defining the Homeland generation by disrupting many of the normal rites of passage of youth from First Communions to the tirst day of kindergarten, senior proms, including Cub Scout and Brownie activities, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, debutante balls, 4H fairs, Scouting events, and high-school graduations. They are also sure to see the craziness of the current 4T (mostly a rearguard defense of the worst traits of the bad habits of the Culture Wars and the collapse of some prominent characters). The Homeland Generation may not remember 9/11 but it will certainly hear much about the "Enrob" scandal as a model of how to not do business.  

I expect large organizations to make drastic reforms of themselves just to survive the next round of an economic meltdown. I would not be surprised that President Trump tanks the economy on his way out as revenge upon people that he considers to have 'betrayed' him; he is that vile and vindictive a person. Political choices will decide what troubled entities survive and which ones fail. There won't be enough resources to prop up pathological organizations, and I can easily see plenty of corrupt organizations deemed "too big to save" instead of "Too Big to Fail". Such will heavily reflect the values of Generation X (yes, Generation X has values!) that favor small business over entities that gave few of them any reasonable chance to get ahead within them. Consider that small business lacks the means for buying political influence that monopolistic, vertically-integrated companies have.

Boomers do not start until the end of WWII, period.  1946 is the first undisputed Boomer year.  Strauss Howe don't even get to decide that date as history and society etched it out.

Agreed on the rest, Zoomers have been in classic Artist generation stance since their start (9/11).

Trump won't have the power or the attention span to tank the economy.  The Republicans refusing to do anything in the Senate is a bigger concern that will probably be fixed in Feburary ASAP, but time is of the essence and we're gonna lose two months.


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - Anthony '58 - 08-31-2022

Like the idea of 1999 as the first birth year of Gen Z - because it pretty much means that no Gen Zers have any functioning memory of 9/11.


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - Eric the Green - 08-31-2022

(08-31-2022, 12:15 PM)Anthony Wrote: Like the idea of 1999 as the first birth year of Gen Z - because it pretty much means that no Gen Zers have any functioning memory of 9/11.

That doesn't mean much, since the 2008 crash and NOT 9-11 was what started the 4T, which will last until about 2029.


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - Eric the Green - 08-31-2022

(10-27-2020, 03:33 PM)jleagans Wrote:
(10-22-2020, 12:47 AM)pbrower2a Wrote:
(10-21-2020, 02:29 PM)jleagans Wrote: Gen z has to include folks being born now as we are indisputably still in the 4T

Early-wave Missionaries were born in the Civil War years (including 1860, which had the first skirmishes in Bloody Kansas). Children born in 1943, 1944, and 1945 are in the Boom Generation even if they arrived in small numbers (the huge number of children of the Boom Generation started to be born in 1946.

I see the COVID-19 plague defining the Homeland generation by disrupting many of the normal rites of passage of youth from First Communions to the tirst day of kindergarten, senior proms, including Cub Scout and Brownie activities, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, debutante balls, 4H fairs, Scouting events, and high-school graduations. They are also sure to see the craziness of the current 4T (mostly a rearguard defense of the worst traits of the bad habits of the Culture Wars and the collapse of some prominent characters). The Homeland Generation may not remember 9/11 but it will certainly hear much about the "Enrob" scandal as a model of how to not do business.  

I expect large organizations to make drastic reforms of themselves just to survive the next round of an economic meltdown. I would not be surprised that President Trump tanks the economy on his way out as revenge upon people that he considers to have 'betrayed' him; he is that vile and vindictive a person. Political choices will decide what troubled entities survive and which ones fail. There won't be enough resources to prop up pathological organizations, and I can easily see plenty of corrupt organizations deemed "too big to save" instead of "Too Big to Fail". Such will heavily reflect the values of Generation X (yes, Generation X has values!) that favor small business over entities that gave few of them any reasonable chance to get ahead within them. Consider that small business lacks the means for buying political influence that monopolistic, vertically-integrated companies have.

Boomers do not start until the end of WWII, period.  1946 is the first undisputed Boomer year.  Strauss Howe don't even get to decide that date as history and society etched it out.

Agreed on the rest, Zoomers have been in classic Artist generation stance since their start (9/11).

Trump won't have the power or the attention span to tank the economy.  The Republicans refusing to do anything in the Senate is a bigger concern that will probably be fixed in February ASAP, but time is of the essence and we're gonna lose two months.

1943 works fine as the first Boomer year, since generations begin a few years earlier than turnings. I think we have gone over this before Smile

All the S&H dates work; Pew demographic dates do not, and they are not even generations; just arbitrary demographic groups. All of Gen Z so far are very typical civic Millennials. The next prophets will begin in 2025.


RE: My Specific Presidential Generation Range (s) Theory - pbrower2a - 09-01-2022

I will have to recognize that Donald Trump did not  tank the economy on his way out as revenge upon people that he considers to have 'betrayed' him; he is that vile and vindictive a person, or so I thought. Maybe he did not have the ability to do so. If he took classified information, then he may have done so in revenge against the CIA and the Armed Forces who "failed" to preserve his failed Presidency after January 20, 2021. He is that vile and vindictive a person.

We will face economic insecurity again. As a nation we did not learn the "right" lessons that America learned during the Great Depression because we endured only half the meltdown. We agreed collectively on the need to prevent a full replay of the three-year meltdown of 1929-1932, but we did not get the social reforms necessary for solving the deficiencies in American political and economic life that made the Crash of 2008 (a close parallel to the Crash of 1930, the unforeseen destruction of asset values and the onset of high levels of unemployment). In 2010 the super-rich had the assets with which to buy the political system; in 1932 they were too concerned with survival of their assets to waste money on corrupting the political process. 

About half our politicians truly believe that he who holds the gold rightly makes the rules that we must all obey, one of which is "Smile through your suffering, ye peons!" They use conspicuous consumption, often under the cover of the fraudulent word "luxury", as a salve for overall unhappiness and debasing fear in life.