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'''Total Boomer Luxury Communism''' ('''TBLC''') is a term which refers to policies that redistribute wealth from the younger people to older people in the [[United States]]. Coined in 2025 by Russell Greene in an article in ''[[The American Mind]]'', Greene and users of the term argue that the term accurately characterizes the modern [[Social programs in the United States|American welfare state]] as a massive, state-managed redistribution scheme which prioritizes the leisure and lifestyle of the [[Baby boomers|Baby Boomer]] generation at the expense of the economic well-being of [[Millennials]] and [[Generation Z]].<ref name="americanmind.org">{{Cite web |title=What Is Total Boomer Luxury Communism? |url=https://americanmind.org/salvo/what-is-total-boomer-luxury-communism/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=The American Mind |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-15 |title="Total Boomer Luxury Communism" - FREOPP |url=https://freopp.org/newsletter/total-boomer-luxury-communism/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-16 |title=Trump’s Missing Young People |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trumps-missing-young-people/ |access-date=2026-09-12 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-10 |title=Social Security: The debate about who should get it |url=https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/04/09/generational-wealth-retirement-baby-boomers-millenial/ |access-date=2026-09-12 |website=Deseret News |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The term is a linguistic subversion of "[[Fully Automated Luxury Communism]]," a modern [[techno-utopian]] idea from [[Marxism|Marxist]] intellectuals and the title of a book by [[Aaron Bastani]], which imagines a post-scarcity future enabled by automation.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004681385/BP000013.xml |title=Analysing Darkness and Light: Dystopias and Beyond|chapter=Chapter 3 A Brave New World in the Making: Fully Automated Luxury Communism as a Political Dystopia |first=Joonas|last=Martikainen|page=66–87|doi=10.1163/9789004681385_005 |access-date=2026-04-16 |publisher=Brill}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2019-07-10 |title=Could fully automated luxury communism ever work? |url=https://www.huckmag.com/article/could-fully-automated-luxury-communism-ever-work |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Huck |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-12-29 |title=The Palace of the Future Is Nearly Complete |url=https://communemag.com/the-palace-of-the-future-is-nearly-complete/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Commune |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
== Origins == | == Origins == | ||
The term emerged as a critique of entitlements as the [[Third rail (politics)| | The term emerged as a critique of [[Entitlement program|entitlements]] as the "[[Third rail (politics)|third rail]]" of American politics. While [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] rhetoric since the 1980s has traditionally called for a reduction in the size of the federal government, TBLC theorists argue that the state did not actually shrink but was repurposed into a vehicle for intergenerational wealth transfer. | ||
The phrase itself is composed of four distinct modifiers. "Total" implies | The phrase itself is composed of four distinct modifiers. "Total" implies redistribution is not a peripheral feature of the economy but its central, invisible driver, influencing everything from [[national debt of the United States|national debt]] to the defense industrial base.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-18 |title=If You Care About Young Americans, You Have to Talk About Entitlements |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/if-you-care-about-young-americans-you-have-to-talk-about-entitlements/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=National Review |language=en-US}}</ref> "Boomer" identifies the primary beneficiary class as the Baby Boomers, who currently hold approximately half of the real estate value in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Carmel |date=2026-04-13 |title=Boomer–Zoomer Housing War |url=https://firstthings.com/boomer-zoomer-housing-war/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=First Things |language=en-US}}</ref> "Luxury" denotes that the current benefit structures far exceed the original "safety net" intent of keeping seniors out of poverty, instead funding high-end amenities like golf, horseback riding, and social club memberships through government-subsidized programs like [[Medicare Advantage]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Boomer Entitlement? – Law & Liberty - Russell Greene |url=https://lawliberty.org/podcast/boomer-entitlement/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Law & Liberty |language=en-US}}</ref> Finally, "Communism" identifies the mechanism as a multi-trillion dollar, state-administered scheme that disregards market-based returns in favor of politically expedient, mandated transfers.<ref name="americanmind.org"/> | ||
=== Fully Automated Luxury Communism === | === Fully Automated Luxury Communism === | ||
The term TBLC is a | The term TBLC is a parody of [[Fully Automated Luxury Communism]] (FALC), a concept popularized by writer [[Aaron Bastani]].<ref name=":0" /> Bastani wrote a book with the same title. In his book, Bastani framework suggests technological disruptions will eventually reduce the marginal cost of production to near zero, which will allow for a society where the state provides high-level luxury as a basic right. | ||
== Federal entitlements == | |||
The core of the TBLC framework lies in the mathematical reality of [[Expenditures in the United States federal budget|federal spending]], which has become increasingly skewed toward the elderly. Modern federal spending is dominated by "mandatory" programs that operate without annual [[Congressional appropriation]]s. Together with interest payments on the national debt, these programs account for approximately 73% of the federal budget.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-04-10 |title=Social Security: The debate about who should get it |url=https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/04/09/generational-wealth-retirement-baby-boomers-millenial/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Deseret News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2023-06/Mandatory_Fast_Facts_PDF.pdf|first1=Romina |last1=Boccia |first2=Dominik |last2=Lett |title=Fast Facts about Mandatory Spending|website=Cato Institute|date=June 2023}}</ref> | |||
=== Social Security === | |||
Originally designed as a [[social safety net]] to prevent destitution among seniors, [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] evolved into a mechanism for large-scale [[income redistribution]], which often favors the wealthy.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=2026-03-18 |title=Opinion {{!}} The nation’s accelerating self-assassination |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/03/18/national-debt-baby-boomers-medicare-social-security-trillions/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Further, Social Security benefits now often exceed the income per year for a single individual and for a household.<ref name=":1" /> This income level often places retirees in the top percentiles of global wealth, exacerbating [[wealth inequality in the United States]] between the young and the elderly. | |||
===Medicare, Medicaid and property taxes=== | |||
The "luxury" aspect of the phrase is most explicitly demonstrated in the administration of Medicare Advantage programs and Medicaid asset exemptions. Medicare Advantage, the privately administered portion of Medicare (Part C), has been critiqued for covering non-medical, lifestyle-oriented expenses as "supplemental benefits". These benefits include taxpayer-funded greens fees at golf courses, tennis lessons, horseback riding | The "luxury" aspect of the phrase is most explicitly demonstrated in the administration of [[Medicare Advantage]] programs and [[Medicaid]] asset exemptions. Medicare Advantage, the privately administered portion of [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] (Part C), has been critiqued for covering non-medical, lifestyle-oriented expenses as "supplemental benefits". These benefits include taxpayer-funded greens fees at golf courses, tennis lessons, horseback riding and ski trips.{{citation needed|date=September 2026}} | ||
Furthermore, the "means-testing" for Medicaid long-term care has been criticized for its generous asset exemptions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Russ |title=Boomer Communism Is Bankrupting America |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/boomer-communism-is-bankrupting-america |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=www.thefp.com |language=en}}</ref> Retired millionaires, in the United States, are the largest recipient of welfare.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rugy |first=Veronique de |date=2025-12-18 |title=The U.S. is stealing from Millennials and Gen Z to make boomers even richer |url=https://reason.com/2025/12/18/the-u-s-is-stealing-from-millennials-and-gen-z-to-make-boomers-even-richer/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Further, many states allow | Furthermore, the "[[means-testing]]" for Medicaid long-term care has been criticized for its generous asset exemptions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greene |first=Russ |title=Boomer Communism Is Bankrupting America |url=https://www.thefp.com/p/boomer-communism-is-bankrupting-america |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=www.thefp.com |language=en}}</ref> Retired millionaires, in the United States, are the largest recipient of welfare.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rugy |first=Veronique de |date=2025-12-18 |title=The U.S. is stealing from Millennials and Gen Z to make boomers even richer |url=https://reason.com/2025/12/18/the-u-s-is-stealing-from-millennials-and-gen-z-to-make-boomers-even-richer/ |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Further, many states allow seniors to deduct property taxes, contributing to the increase in asset values, while downward pressure on younger families due to increased housing prices.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Millsap |first=Adam A. |title=Is "Total Boomer Luxury Communism" Ruining America? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammillsap/2025/11/26/is-total-boomer-luxury-communism-ruining-america/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251230131503/https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammillsap/2025/11/26/is-total-boomer-luxury-communism-ruining-america/ |archive-date=2025-12-30 |access-date=2026-04-16 |work=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>{{unreliable source inline|date=September 2026}} | ||
== | == Criticism == | ||
The TBLC framework has faced backlash from | The TBLC framework has faced backlash from critics who view it as a form of manufactured generational warfare designed to distract from economic class struggle. Josh Mound, in ''[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]]'', argues this narrative is a cynical attempt to convince younger generations to dismantle their own future benefits by misrepresenting wealth inequality as an intergenerational struggle, rather than an [[class struggle|intraclass struggle]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=By |title=Choose Class War, Not Boomer Resentment |url=https://jacobin.com/2026/04/social-security-inequality-boomers-taxes |access-date=2026-04-16 |website=jacobin.com |language=en-US}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | {{Reflist}} | ||
[[Category:Taxation and redistribution]] | |||
[[Category:Social security in the United States]] | |||
[[Category:Baby boomers]] | |||
Latest revision as of 16:55, 2 October 2026
Total Boomer Luxury Communism (TBLC) is a term which refers to policies that redistribute wealth from the younger people to older people in the United States. Coined in 2025 by Russell Greene in an article in The American Mind, Greene and users of the term argue that the term accurately characterizes the modern American welfare state as a massive, state-managed redistribution scheme which prioritizes the leisure and lifestyle of the Baby Boomer generation at the expense of the economic well-being of Millennials and Generation Z.[1][2][3][4]
The term is a linguistic subversion of "Fully Automated Luxury Communism," a modern techno-utopian idea from Marxist intellectuals and the title of a book by Aaron Bastani, which imagines a post-scarcity future enabled by automation.[5][6][7]
Origins
The term emerged as a critique of entitlements as the "third rail" of American politics. While conservative rhetoric since the 1980s has traditionally called for a reduction in the size of the federal government, TBLC theorists argue that the state did not actually shrink but was repurposed into a vehicle for intergenerational wealth transfer.
The phrase itself is composed of four distinct modifiers. "Total" implies redistribution is not a peripheral feature of the economy but its central, invisible driver, influencing everything from national debt to the defense industrial base.[8] "Boomer" identifies the primary beneficiary class as the Baby Boomers, who currently hold approximately half of the real estate value in the United States.[9] "Luxury" denotes that the current benefit structures far exceed the original "safety net" intent of keeping seniors out of poverty, instead funding high-end amenities like golf, horseback riding, and social club memberships through government-subsidized programs like Medicare Advantage.[10] Finally, "Communism" identifies the mechanism as a multi-trillion dollar, state-administered scheme that disregards market-based returns in favor of politically expedient, mandated transfers.[1]
Fully Automated Luxury Communism
The term TBLC is a parody of Fully Automated Luxury Communism (FALC), a concept popularized by writer Aaron Bastani.[6] Bastani wrote a book with the same title. In his book, Bastani framework suggests technological disruptions will eventually reduce the marginal cost of production to near zero, which will allow for a society where the state provides high-level luxury as a basic right.
Federal entitlements
The core of the TBLC framework lies in the mathematical reality of federal spending, which has become increasingly skewed toward the elderly. Modern federal spending is dominated by "mandatory" programs that operate without annual Congressional appropriations. Together with interest payments on the national debt, these programs account for approximately 73% of the federal budget.[11][12]
Social Security
Originally designed as a social safety net to prevent destitution among seniors, Social Security evolved into a mechanism for large-scale income redistribution, which often favors the wealthy.[13] Further, Social Security benefits now often exceed the income per year for a single individual and for a household.[13] This income level often places retirees in the top percentiles of global wealth, exacerbating wealth inequality in the United States between the young and the elderly.
Medicare, Medicaid and property taxes
The "luxury" aspect of the phrase is most explicitly demonstrated in the administration of Medicare Advantage programs and Medicaid asset exemptions. Medicare Advantage, the privately administered portion of Medicare (Part C), has been critiqued for covering non-medical, lifestyle-oriented expenses as "supplemental benefits". These benefits include taxpayer-funded greens fees at golf courses, tennis lessons, horseback riding and ski trips.
Furthermore, the "means-testing" for Medicaid long-term care has been criticized for its generous asset exemptions.[14] Retired millionaires, in the United States, are the largest recipient of welfare.[15] Further, many states allow seniors to deduct property taxes, contributing to the increase in asset values, while downward pressure on younger families due to increased housing prices.[16]Template:Unreliable source inline
Criticism
The TBLC framework has faced backlash from critics who view it as a form of manufactured generational warfare designed to distract from economic class struggle. Josh Mound, in Jacobin, argues this narrative is a cynical attempt to convince younger generations to dismantle their own future benefits by misrepresenting wealth inequality as an intergenerational struggle, rather than an intraclass struggle.[17]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "What Is Total Boomer Luxury Communism?" (in en-US). https://americanmind.org/salvo/what-is-total-boomer-luxury-communism/.
- ↑ ""Total Boomer Luxury Communism" - FREOPP" (in en-US). 2026-03-15. https://freopp.org/newsletter/total-boomer-luxury-communism/.
- ↑ "Trump’s Missing Young People" (in en-US). 2026-04-16. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/trumps-missing-young-people/.
- ↑ "Social Security: The debate about who should get it" (in en). 2026-04-10. https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/04/09/generational-wealth-retirement-baby-boomers-millenial/.
- ↑ Martikainen, Joonas. "Chapter 3 A Brave New World in the Making: Fully Automated Luxury Communism as a Political Dystopia". Analysing Darkness and Light: Dystopias and Beyond. Brill. p. 66–87. doi:. https://brill.com/display/book/9789004681385/BP000013.xml. Retrieved on 2026-04-16.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Could fully automated luxury communism ever work?" (in en-GB). 2019-07-10. https://www.huckmag.com/article/could-fully-automated-luxury-communism-ever-work.
- ↑ "The Palace of the Future Is Nearly Complete" (in en-US). 2019-12-29. https://communemag.com/the-palace-of-the-future-is-nearly-complete/.
- ↑ "If You Care About Young Americans, You Have to Talk About Entitlements" (in en-US). 2025-12-18. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/if-you-care-about-young-americans-you-have-to-talk-about-entitlements/.
- ↑ Richardson, Carmel (2026-04-13). "Boomer–Zoomer Housing War" (in en-US). https://firstthings.com/boomer-zoomer-housing-war/.
- ↑ "Boomer Entitlement? – Law & Liberty - Russell Greene" (in en-US). https://lawliberty.org/podcast/boomer-entitlement/.
- ↑ "Social Security: The debate about who should get it" (in en). 2026-04-10. https://www.deseret.com/politics/2026/04/09/generational-wealth-retirement-baby-boomers-millenial/.
- ↑ Boccia, Romina; Lett, Dominik (June 2023). "Fast Facts about Mandatory Spending". https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/2023-06/Mandatory_Fast_Facts_PDF.pdf.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Opinion | The nation’s accelerating self-assassination" (in en-US). The Washington Post. 2026-03-18. ISSN 0190-8286. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/03/18/national-debt-baby-boomers-medicare-social-security-trillions/.
- ↑ Greene, Russ. "Boomer Communism Is Bankrupting America" (in en). https://www.thefp.com/p/boomer-communism-is-bankrupting-america.
- ↑ Rugy, Veronique de (2025-12-18). "The U.S. is stealing from Millennials and Gen Z to make boomers even richer" (in en-US). https://reason.com/2025/12/18/the-u-s-is-stealing-from-millennials-and-gen-z-to-make-boomers-even-richer/.
- ↑ Millsap, Adam A.. "Is "Total Boomer Luxury Communism" Ruining America?" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adammillsap/2025/11/26/is-total-boomer-luxury-communism-ruining-america/.
- ↑ By. "Choose Class War, Not Boomer Resentment" (in en-US). https://jacobin.com/2026/04/social-security-inequality-boomers-taxes.