Hacker News Reader

Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump were all born within a year of each other, with Biden being 4 years older. There is a specific generation of politicians Born within a decade period who managed to get elected young and have clung to power in both parties very successfully, see John Bohner, Nancy Pelosi, and Ted Kennedy for other examples.

View on HN

Tyranny of the boomers, or apathy of gen X?

That's the question I always ask when viewing the gerontocracy.

In academia at least it's been very clear that the boomers were shameless about working long past the time they should retire, preventing gen Xers from rising to top positions.

Most broad statements including GenX really need to be qualified by noting its size (slightly greater than half) relative to either of the two pigs working their way through the python before and behind it. Three when you count GenZ.

Apathetic? Maybe. But even if we were all on the same page as a group (which we're not) I don't see how we have the numbers to force a systemic turnover on our own.

I am, of course, a member of GenX. Sometimes, as Planck said, progress has to happen one funeral at a time. None of this brings me any joy to observe.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com