Evidence-based generational economic critiquefrom @fmsmith319

Themes

• generational inequality
• economic policy
• social contract
• political accountability

Techniques

• direct address
• rhetorical questions
• data presentation

Post caption

Did the Silent and Boomer generations pull the ladder up behind them?

Text overlays

• title · beginning

  Did the Silent and Boomer generations pull the ladder up behind them?

• informational · beginning

  The Social Security Act was signed into law on August 14, 1935. It went into effect in stages: payroll taxes and first lump-sum payouts began in January 1937, and regular monthly recurring benefits officially started in January 1940.

• informational · beginning

  *and coverage expanded significantly in the 1950s

• informational · beginning

  The U.S. Interstate Highway System officially started on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. The original plan authorized 41,000 miles of roads with an initial 13-year funding window spanning from 1957 through 1969.

• informational · middle

  Medicare passed into law when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 on July 30, 1965. The historic bill-signing ceremony took place in Independence, Missouri, where former President Harry S. Truman was enrolled as the very first Medicare beneficiary.

• informational · middle

  Medicaid was established on July 30, 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Social Security Amendments of 1965 into law. The legislation created both Medicare and Medicaid as a joint federal and state program to help provide medical care for people with low incomes.

• informational · middle

  Housing in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s was viewed primarily as a place to live rather than a quick way to get rich. Over time, financial rules changed, and houses started to be seen as major wealth-building assets and investments.

• informational · middle

  NIMBY stands for "Not In My Back Yard". In housing, it describes local residents who oppose new real estate projects—such as apartment buildings, denser housing, or affordable housing—built near their homes, often trying to protect their neighborhood look, parking, and property values.

• informational · middle

  In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the yearly in-state tuition and required fees at public 4-year colleges in the U.S. averaged roughly $240 to $400 in the 1960s, $400 to $800 in the 1970s, and climbed from $800 to over $1,500 by the late 1980s.

• informational · end

  During the 1980s, higher education shifted from a public good to a private good or private investment. Funding models changed as governments cut public spending. Colleges raised tuition prices. Students and families began to view a degree as a tool for personal financial gain instead of a shared community benefit.

• informational · end

  Total U.S. student loan debt stands at approximately $1.86 trillion, spread across more than 42 million American borrowers. This massive total represents the second-largest category of household debt in the nation, impacting consumer spending, homeownership rates, and retirement planning.

• informational · end

  The U.S. national debt stands at roughly $39.9 trillion in mid-August 2026 and is on track to cross the $40 trillion threshold. Over the past four decades, federal borrowing has surged from roughly $1.6 trillion in the mid-1980s to nearly $40 trillion today, driven by continuous budget deficits, economic rescue packages, and rising interest costs.

• informational · end

  In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan introduced major tax cuts rooted in supply-side economics (often called "trickle-down economics"), aiming to spur business investment and economic growth by significantly lowering top individual income and corporate tax burdens.

• informational · end

  Stock buybacks were effectively greenlit in the United States in 1982 when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced Rule 10b-18. This safe-harbor provision provided a clear legal framework for companies to repurchase their own shares without running immediate risks of charges of market manipulation.

• informational · end

  In the 1980s, American companies shifted from traditional pensions to 401(k) plans to cut costs and shift investment risk onto workers. Following a 1978 tax law and key 1981 IRS rules, employers rapidly replaced guaranteed lifetime benefit pensions with self-directed savings plans.

• informational · end

  Modern private equity dominance began in the 1980s. This era marked the first major boom of leveraged buyouts (LBOs), fueled by relaxed government rules on pension funds, the rise of high-yield "junk" bonds, and high-profile mega-deals like the $31.1 billion takeover of RJR Nabisco in 1988.

• informational · end

  Super PACs started in early 2010. They were created because of two major legal decisions. These rulings allowed groups to raise and spend unlimited amounts on political ads.