Every government since the Baby Boomers turned 18 has prioritised their interests over everyone else's, so some Boomers assume they’re due for some bad luck.
For the whole of their lives, Baby Boomers have been the largest block of voters in Australia. It is possibly for that reason that they have had a lot of luck when it comes to government policy. However, that doesn’t stop them from getting worried whenever Australia changes its Prime Minister.
The fear is that a new PM will say “Look, you guys have had a very good run of things, but other generations are doing it tough. They need our help.” Thankfully, no PM has been silly enough to do that.
We caught up with Neville Thompson (70), a boomer who has been watching Scott Morrison like a hawk, looking for signs of generosity in any direction other than his.
“The first concern I have is obviously the tax breaks. There’s been talk around the traps that the tax breaks for owners of investment properties may be on the table. Well I own quite a few properties, so guess what else is on the table if anyone touches those tax breaks? That’s right, my vote!”
We asked Neville which Prime Ministers have done the best job since the Boomers started calling the shots.
“Over the years, pretty much all of them have done an adequate job, with massive superannuation concessions, tax breaks and the like. But I like Abbott. He didn’t just quietly tweak things in our favour. He really rubbed it in their faces, which I thought was fun. That 2014 budget was an effing masterpiece. He even had the balls to call THEM leaners, and implied that WE were the lifters. It was bloody marvellous.”
So as the nation anxiously scrutinises our new Prime Minister, we can only hope for Neville’s sake that Mr Morrison doesn’t forget who decides who wins elections in this country.
The early signs are good for Neville.