Many people would support the idea that family gatherings might be a good time to avoid politics. However, if someone else opens that door and starts, then all bets are off. Unfortunately, in this day and age, these sorts of debates often end in someone being deeply wrong and then getting angry when faced with the truth.
After listening to a boomer relative rant about government spending and people getting “free money” for far too long, a man decided to actually make him face the facts. The result was family drama, arguments and Thanksgiving probably being canceled.
Some people don’t let the fact that they are wrong get in the way of discussing the economy
Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages (not the actual image)
So a man decided to give his boomer relative the cold, hard numbers
Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual image)
Image credits: halt_spell
The boomer has a very limited view of how the government actually spends money
In the broadest sense of the word, the boomer in this story is correct, the US federal government spends an absolutely enormous amount of money on social security. For example, in 2024, the US government spent $6.75 trillion, of which 22% was spent on social security and 13% was spent on Medicare. That is about $1.48 trillion and $877 billion, respectively. So in the case of this boomer, the US government disproportionately spends on people like him. If he’s paid his taxes, he deserves it, but it doesn’t entitle him to suddenly get angry at other taxpayers who might need help as well.
Incidentally, if you’ve seen those videos captioned “this is why we don’t have healthcare” with footage of some new jet or stealth bomber, just know that the US this year spent the exact same percentage of money (13%) on defense as Medicare alone. This is not to say that Medicare shouldn’t be expanded, but it’s not like there is some magical fount of money the government can dip into at any point without repercussions.
It’s also worth noting that Federal spending has remained quite steady over the last decade, indeed, only “spiking” in 2020 and “leveling off” in 2022. The boomer from this story should perhaps consider the events of 2020 and who was in office before continuing to rant, but as this story demonstrates, his feelings can’t handle the facts.
Similarly, on top of the nearly one trillion spent in Medicare, an additional 10% of the Federal budget ($971.1 billion) is devoted to other parts of health coverage. This includes, for the most part, grants given to states for Medicare, the operating budgets of Medicare centers and other programs, for example, vaccines for children. One wonders if this boomer believes that not-yet-vaccinated kids fall under the category of “lazy people.”
Image credits: Hasan Albari (not the actual image)
Politics have a way of causing family tension
The real issue isn’t necessarily being misinformed about how the Federal government spends US taxpayer money, it’s a giant topic with a lot of figures and nuance. Instead, this story underlines a more prominent problem many people face whenever elections are coming up, the difficulty in dealing with a person who simply throws a tantrum when reality doesn’t match up to the delusion-land they have constructed in their head.
It’s difficult to have your worldview broken, but it is, ultimately, for your own good. However, many families, for this very reason, take “precautions” to limit drama at the dinner table. It’s almost a sad irony that, in the case of the US, Thanksgiving and Christmas follow the election every four years, leading to many, many awkward discussions of anything but what is happening in the country.
However, the “boomer” in this story, importantly, is the one who decided to talk politics once those floodgates are open, then anything goes. “For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind,” as is written in the book of Hosea 8:7 (American Standard Version), which is yet another topic of things most families do their utmost to avoid. Unfortunately, particularly among some older folks, isolation means they don’t have moderating voices and they succumb to more polarized talking points.
Ultimately, as so many comments suggest, a Thanksgiving without this fellow sounds like a considerably better time, as he probably won’t see the irony of eating all sorts of food that others have paid for and prepared. It’s not the first or last time political opinions have ended up splitting families apart. The real question is, who is willing to put in the work to bridge those gaps and who even wants to. However, it’s telling that, more often than not, it’s someone wondering “should I forgive my relative for how they voted?” and not “how will my vote affect other people?”
Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual image)
The man shared some more in the comments
Others shared their frustrations with the boomer’s line of thought
Netizens also posted similar stories in the comments
