Lately I’ve been reading more pieces about the approaching succession crisis that will be the long-delayed hand-off of power from the seemingly eternal Boomers to the rapidly aging Gen Xers and Millennials.  That will release a massive bottleneck of jobs and wealth that should—if AI doesn’t put us all out of work—lift those generations to higher levels in the corporate and academic worlds, while also allowing the unfortunates of Gen Z a chance to get a job.

Writer Aaron Renn has covered the topic:  https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/the-boomer-paradox-jeff-giesea

He also helpfully linked to a trilogy of essays by Jeff Giesea detailing the ramifications of what I call the “Post-Boomer Collapse“:

• The Boomer Reckoning No One’s Ready For
• Boomer Caregiving Will Wreck Our Politics
• The Long Boomer Farewell

Each of these essays gives a sense of what will come as the Boomers continue to grow older and, ultimately, die off.

For all the vitriol poured on this generation (and I’m guilty of it as well), their passing will bring with it major shockwaves.

It’s why I advocated a year ago that the Boomers still lingering in leadership positions should go ahead and step down.  If they do so thoughtfully over the course of the next few years, they could groom successors and assure a smoother transition.  If they stubbornly cling to their roles (“I just love to work!”), I fear that we’ll experience a competency vacuum on an unprecedented scale.

We all know stories of post-colonial African nations in which, having ousted the colonizers, the local people don’t know how to maintain the advanced infrastructure left to them.  Maybe a few folks know how to keep existing systems running, but as they retire or die off, no one is proficient enough to keep things running.  The power plant coasts for a few weeks with whatever coal was shoveled in last (I don’t know in detail how power plants work, so don’t crucify me over this illustration), then people wonder why their lamps don’t work anymore.

Heck, if all the nuclear engineers disappeared today, I wouldn’t know how to run a nuclear power plant (see the prior paragraph, which used a coal-burning plant, but you get the idea).

Similarly, if we lose huge amounts of institutional knowledge over the span of ten years without trained successors, we’re doomed.  Thankfully, many organizations have engaged in succession management, but I suspect we’re in for a world of pain—or, at the very least, some unpleasant ruptures.

All the more reason for the Boomers to loosen their grip and let the next generations have a turn at the wheel.

With that, here is 26 April 2025’s “The Post-Boomer Collapse?” (original on SubscribeStar):

Tim Dillon’s favorite generation—the only generation to “grow older but not wiser“—seems permanent.  The ubiquity of Boomerdom in all aspects of American life for over seventy years gives the demographic cohort the veneer of eternity, a massive, limitless generation that will never die—and never stop working.

Dr. Fiancée and I are both the children of Boomers, and our parents very much represent the good Boomer traits of hard work, diligence, self-restraint, etc.  They possess some of the more benign aspects of Boomerism, like a love of buying random trinkets at Target, but they aren’t mired in the soulless consumerism that infested so much of their generation.  In other words, “Not All Boomers Are Like That.”

But, goodness, a lot of them are like that:  temperamental with service professionals (doctors, waiters, administrative assistants, airline attendants, and anyone else who provides some kind of service); pennywise-and-pound-foolish; extravagant in their self-indulgence, but miserly in the extreme; gluttonous for public services, without any regard to the social contract; and (I strongly suspect) fearful of death.

They also absolutely refuse to leave the workforce, while simultaneously refusing to adapt to new economic realities.  I’ve read that Millennials (my generation, which is not exactly rose-scented, either) are aspiring Boomers, which is true:  we’ve spent most of our disjointed careers trying to appease the vagaries of Boomer corporate leadership in the oft-vain attempt to build decent lives for ourselves.  We grew up suckling at the teat of Boomer largesse, only to have the bottle stripped away in early adulthood; many of us (and I would partially include myself in this analysis) have been striving to get back to the relative ease and luxury of our childhoods ever since.

Granted, I know how the Boomers will respond, because I have written on this topic before.  I get it; it’s not nice or even fair to have your entire generation called out (believe me, as a Millennial, I know:  apparently, all of our problems stem from wanting to put avocado on our toast, not the fact that we started our careers during the Great Recession and have endured repeated economic downturns).  But before you go post a rant on Facebook about how “entitled” my generation is (a bit rich, but the Boomers aren’t exactly known for their introspection), let me say something positive:

Boomers—we need you.

Well, we need you to hand over the reins of the institutions to the rest of us.  You had a good run, but it’s time to settle into a relaxing and lavish retirement.

If Boomers don’t do that, we’re going to find ourselves rapidly in a situation where no one knows how to maintain anything.  The Boomer insistence on working forever has had the consequence of preventing huge numbers of younger people from gaining any practical experience in leadership.

Succession management is yuge.  Preparing the next generation(s) to lead and build—and not just in the lame, feel-good way we talk about in school—is crucial if we’re going to keep the remnants of our society running effectively.

Granted, I don’t think the majority of Boomerdom has run society very well, but they’ve kept things afloat.  Maybe that’s good enough.  Maybe younger generations can do better.  I have no great faith in the youth of America, but they at least deserve a shot to build something they think can work.

For all of their faults, Boomers do work—hard.  They don’t work very efficiently, but they will grind out what has to be done.  Grinding is tedious, though, and we can find a balance between hard work and quality-of-life.  After all, what is the point of constant grinding if you aren’t going to enjoy yourself a bit?

The Boomers seemed to learn that lesson well—perhaps too well.  But there has to be a way to balance the demands of real, good, quality work with the need for leisure, reflection, and rest.

What got my mind churning about this topic was a video by Carl Benjamin, also known as Sargon of Akkad.  Benjamin is a Gen Xer, the children of the early Boomers who grew up as latchkey kids and were largely ignored.  Benjamin notes that Gen Xers constitute the plurality of small business owners, and notes that Millennials (my generation) are far less willing to start businesses.

The video really rings true.  We Millennials have always strived to be company men, and it is certainly an ethos that was drilled into our heads by our mid-Boomer parents:  find a good place to work, climb the corporate ladder, don’t rock the boat, live a good life.  Unfortunately, the very miserliness of the Boomers has made it difficult to climb that ladder, which is substantially shorter and possessed of far fewer rungs than the ladder our Boomer forebears climbed.

I suspect that we’ll survive the passing of the Boomers, but as their last public act, the Boomers should train up the Millennial and Zoomers; vacate their high-paid positions; and replace themselves with people who desperately need a good income.  After years of selfishness, make this one selfless gesture (and maybe downsize from your massive homes in the process, so we can actually afford housing); give society and your progeny a chance to succeed—or even to just enjoy the quality of life you believe is your birthright.

Of course, expecting Boomers to be selfless after decades of selfish hording of resources and homes and money is probably a pipe dream.  But miracles do happen, and there are good Boomers out there with the resources and the abilities to make life better for their descendants.  Maybe they can lead the charge.

Time will tell.  In the meantime, keep hustling.  You have no other choice.