Mortgage interest rates increased to above 12 percent in the mid-eighties,[14] making it virtually impossible to buy a house on a single income.
De-industrialization arrived in full force in the mid-late 1970s and 1980s; wages would be stagnant for decades, and 401(k)s replaced pensions, leaving them with a certain abiding "jonesing" quality for the more prosperous days of the past.
[16] While charismatic leaders like John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. inspired millions of older Boomers to work for—and witness—positive social change, Generation Jones were in elementary school or not yet born.
[17] The Woodstock pop festival (1969) was a defining moment for older Boomers; Generation Jones tends to remember the Watergate scandal (1972–1974) and the cultural cynicism it begat.
[18][19][20][21] Pontell has appeared on TV networks such as CNN, MSNBC, and BBC, discussing the cultural, political, and economic implications of this generation's emergence.
[22][23][24] In the business world, Generation Jones has become a part of the strategic planning of many companies and industries, particularly in the context of targeting Jonesers through marketing efforts.
Influential journalists, like Clarence Page[33] and Peter Fenn,[34] singled out Generation Jones voters as crucial in the final weeks of the campaign.