How the Baby Boom Generation Works

After World War II, young families settled down to the business of making babies -- lots of babies. From 1946 to 1964, America saw an unprecedented increase in birthrates. These U.S. kids became known as the baby boomer generation. This huge bunch spans the gamut socially, politically and economically; nevertheless, boomers share a few common ties. Here are a few of our favorites, courtesy of a 2006 survey of baby boomers conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau:

Though it's impossible to know for sure which child was the very first person born into the baby boomer generation, there are a couple of strong contenders. USA Today credits Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, born one second past midnight on Jan. 1, 1946, as the original baby boomer [source: Welch.] The New York Times, on the other hand, credits Aloysius Nachreiner (known as Al, or sometimes Butch) of Buffalo, N.Y., with the distinction [source: Barry].

The past three sitting American presidents -- Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama -- are baby boomers; however, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney, two of the most famous musicians of the boomer's heyday, actually belong to the pre-boomer "silent" generation.

Numbers and facts can only tell part of the boomer's story. We'll fill in the gaps with some baby boomer characteristics on the next page.

Probably more than anything else, boomers are known as social and political rabble-rousers. As author Leonard Steinhorn argues, "A better America is the true legacy of the baby boom generation." Here are just a few of the noteworthy causes associated with the baby boomer generation:

Disillusioned by the Vietnam War and the dire economic climate of the '70s, baby boomers traded revolution for recreation as the '70s came to a close. Rock 'n' roll made way for disco and the sexual revolution took hold. Dubbed the "me" and the "now" generation, the idealists of the '60s became the yuppies of the '80s. Nevertheless, the old optimism still informs the media's portrayal of the boomer generation. "Jack & Bobby," a short-lived WB television series, starred Christine Lahti as professor Grace McCallister, the quintessential baby boomer: an active, youthful, ultraliberal history professor devoted to feminism and her many other pet causes.

Even fact-driven CNN begins an article on the boomers' precarious financial situation as they reach retirement with an anecdote about aging boomers acting like youngsters "dancing wildly and waving their arms in the air to the unintelligible lyrics of 'Louie, Louie'" [source: Trickey]. Indeed, as the first baby boomers approach retirement age, the evidence suggests that they don't plan on going quietly. Read all about baby boomers retiring in the next section.

On Jan. 1, 2011, the first baby boomers began turning 65. For the next 19 years, nearly 10,000 boomers will reach that milestone every single day [source: Barry]. Boomers aren't going gently into that good night, however. Instead, they are, as Dan Barry says in The New York Times, "redefining what it means to be older." For one thing, they aren't retiring from the workforce at 65 the way their parents did. For another, exercise, healthy eating and preventative medicine make them the healthiest bunch of fledgling retirees the world has ever seen. They don't look old, and they don't act old. For baby boomers, 60 is the new 40 and "Grandma" is "Glam-Ma" [source: Zissu].

Not everything is coming up roses for boomers, however. In 2008, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study on depression showed a nearly 20 percent increase in suicide rates for adults aged 45 to 54. For women in this age group, the rate increase jumps to 31 percent [source: Clark]. Researchers are investigating the increased used of prescription drugs as a possible cause. Another hypothesis is that boomers simply haven't lived up to the lofty aspirations of their youth. Boomers are also ill-prepared financially for retirement compared to their predecessors. Whether because of poor planning or because their best-laid plans were derailed by inflation in the '80s, the dot-com bust of the '90s and the recession of the '00s, many boomers are approaching retirement age without a significant nest egg.

It would be a mistake, however, to assume that they're approaching the end of life with a fizzle. Countering the news about increased suicide rates for baby boomers are the results of a recent Gallup poll, which show a marked increase in overall happiness starting around age 50 [source: Cohen]. With a generation as large as that of the boomers, it is completely plausible that their moods might range from happy to despairing, just as they themselves span the gamut between liberal revolutionary and staunch conservative.

One thing's for sure: As boomers retire and begin to affect the resources of entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, they are once again forcing a national conversation on public policy. Who knows? Maybe the debate will spark some of that old ingenuity, and the boomers will come up with a novel way around or through the question.

Still curious about this famous (and sometimes infamous) generation? Head over to the next page for a wealth of baby boomer-related content.