Baby boom... and bust

Baby boom... and bust
[17 August 2006 - BBC] Baby boomers like to trumpet their generation's achievements. But their fondness for conspicuous consumption and foreign travel has led to many a modern-day ill, from rising debt to environmental woes. ... Now, as the boomers become "ageing hipsters", we're constantly being reminded of their achievements. They gave us rock 'n' roll (which might explain the recent book, Baby Boomers and Hearing Loss), mod cons, the space race, computer science, and a rebellious disregard for the stiff-upper-lipped attitudes of earlier generations. But did the baby boomers also leave behind a negative, even destructive legacy? With their thirst for "stuff" - bigger houses, better cars, tastier grub - did they give rise to a culture of selfish consumption? And by challenging old-fashioned moralism, did they inadvertently nurture a climate of promiscuity - even fuelling the spread of STDs? More