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The younger Boomers also got the shaft compared to older Boomers.
My parents are 65. When they came into the workforce, pensions were on the way out for the private sector. Many older Boomers ended up with private sector pensions.
A lot of Boomers ended up losing a lot in 2008 - by the time they "made it back," COVID hit, or it was time to retire.
Most of the ~65 year olds I know have at least one living parent, most of whom are to an age that at least some level of help is needed.
Gen-X has long been ignored in American society, primarily due to being a very small generation brought about by the collapse in birth rates during the 1970's. The Boomers have also hung on for a long time, and the Millennials were a baby boomlet of their own, and so Gen-X continued to be ignored.
However, Gen-X are now in the prime of their careers and likely to be at the height of their earning power over the next decade. Demographer Peter Zeihan has made a compelling case on several podcasts I've listened to that as we reach peak Boomer retirement, Gen-X won't have the numbers to replace them all, Millennials are 5 years behind in terms of skills/careers because they came of age in the Great Recession, and Gen-Z is locked into social media algorithms rather than working and building skills. This will lead to an extremely favorable job market for Gen-X over the next decade until Millennials catch up and Gen-Z (hopefully) matures.
I've also been thinking that on top of that favorable job market, as the Boomers die, Gen-X will inherit their parents' wealth and because they were from small families, won't have to split it with very many siblings.
Will society finally start paying attention to us, and will resentment and jealousy be the cause?
No, I don't think society will start paying attention to GenX.
Most people are broke. That means the percentage of people in GenX who get significant inheritances will be pretty small. And with the wretched state of finances (high levels of both public and private debt--not to mention the massive amount of money printing that's been done since 2008) in the United States as well as other countries, there's no assurance there will be inheritances to be passed down as they have been in the past.
Where is all of this sudden wealth going to come from?
Boomers are roughly ages 59-76 (1946-1964). Many are still working and are hardly elderly. Some still have kids at home/in college and also have elderly parents.
Generation X are roughly 42-58 (1965-1981). Most are still working. Many still have kids at home along with elderly parents.
They are referred to as "The Sandwich Generation" for a reason.
There is some debate on where the birth years for Boomers end and GenX begins. Generational Theory historians Strauss and Howe put the starting birth year for GenX at 1961. The demographic baby boom did continue until 1964, but those born starting in 1961 exhibit different attitudes than the Boomers. Strauss and Howe also put the first year of the Boomer generation at 1943, a few years before the demographic baby boom began.
The younger Boomers also got the shaft compared to older Boomers.
My parents are 65. When they came into the workforce, pensions were on the way out for the private sector. Many older Boomers ended up with private sector pensions.
A lot of Boomers ended up losing a lot in 2008 - by the time they "made it back," COVID hit, or it was time to retire.
Most of the ~65 year olds I know have at least one living parent, most of whom are to an age that at least some level of help is needed.
This is why historians Strauss and Howe say the first GenX birth year actually began in 1961, a few years before the demographic baby boom ended. I notice a shift in attitudes (as well as people getting the shaft with pensions, etc.) going back to the 1958 birth year.
Gen X has largely lived their lives under the radar, so from that perspective there's not much appetite among some of us Gen X to have attention paid to us now. We've been here all along, doing our thing.
Yes, that's true. I'm sort of like this individually, anyway. There are advantages to being under the radar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by id77
It's going to vary individual to individual, but I also see Gen X as having been at the right place and the right time in terms of the job market for most of their working years. We could get into fields like technology and healthcare before they became saturated and were in prime position to invest through two major recessions to grow wealth. If there's Gen X still waiting for their turn, they likely already missed their chance.
Many of us are doing better than our parents ever did.
I agree that if, by age 40, you're still broke and/or don't have decent paying employment, your chance of ever being in a good financial position is low.
It may be true many of us are doing better than our parents, but "many" is kind of vague. "Many" could mean 35% or 65%. Are a majority of us doing better? I'm not so sure about that.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 04-26-2023 at 06:24 PM..
There is some debate on where the birth years for Boomers end and GenX begins. Generational Theory historians Strauss and Howe put the starting birth year for GenX at 1961. The demographic baby boom did continue until 1964, but those born starting in 1961 exhibit different attitudes than the Boomers. Strauss and Howe also put the first year of the Boomer generation at 1943, a few years before the demographic baby boom began.
Well, if Gen X started in 1961 then there are even more Gen Xers retired (or dead) by now and more Boomers retired (or dead) already. So I'm still not seeing where this sudden windfall is coming from.
If anything, those numbers would indicate that many Gen Xers have already risen to peak earning years and are now out on the golf course and pickle ball courts.
Well, if Gen X started in 1961 then there are even more Gen Xers retired (or dead) by now and more Boomers retired (or dead) already. So I'm still not seeing where this sudden windfall is coming from.
Agreed. I don't see the sudden windfall happening. In any case, it's unwise to hope for a windfall. The best windfall is the one you didn't see coming.
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Originally Posted by springfieldva
If anything, those numbers would indicate that many Gen Xers have already risen to peak earning years and are now out on the golf course and pickle ball courts.
Yes, certainly older GenXers.
I'm only 52 and my peak earning years likely have already passed.
Gen-X has long been ignored in American society, primarily due to being a very small generation brought about by the collapse in birth rates during the 1970's. The Boomers have also hung on for a long time, and the Millennials were a baby boomlet of their own, and so Gen-X continued to be ignored.
However, Gen-X are now in the prime of their careers and likely to be at the height of their earning power over the next decade. Demographer Peter Zeihan has made a compelling case on several podcasts I've listened to that as we reach peak Boomer retirement, Gen-X won't have the numbers to replace them all, Millennials are 5 years behind in terms of skills/careers because they came of age in the Great Recession, and Gen-Z is locked into social media algorithms rather than working and building skills. This will lead to an extremely favorable job market for Gen-X over the next decade until Millennials catch up and Gen-Z (hopefully) matures.
I've also been thinking that on top of that favorable job market, as the Boomers die, Gen-X will inherit their parents wealth and because they were from small families, won't have to split it with very many siblings.
Will society finally start paying attention to us, and will resentment and jealousy be the cause?
I caught this article yesterday about the "transfer of wealth by 2030 from boomers dying". It also touches a little on broke boomers who did not save for retirement. There are a good amount of boomers that I know that are hurting for money.
Millennials are expected to hold five times as much wealth as they do today by 2030, when they're estimated to inherit over $68 trillion from boomers.
The massive wealth inherited by millennials will decrease inequality between the generations in the U.S. but will likely worsen it overall, experts told Newsweek.
The change in fortune for millennials—a generation thwarted by a series of recessions, costly real estate, and heavy student debt—has the potential to significantly change the U.S. financial and political landscape.
American boomers alone are estimated to hold more than $53 trillion out of the total $431 trillion of privately held assets worldwide, according to Boston Consulting Group (BSG) data as of 2020. And the collective riches of the boomer generation is expected to grow in the coming years, as the world's financial wealth is expected to surge by $65 trillion between 2020 and 2025, as reported by Forbes, surpassing a total of $500 trillion.
With the expected transfer of wealth from boomers to millennials (a much smaller cohort than the previous one), the wealth inequality gap between the two generations will finally be corrected—though wealth inequality in general is likely to be exacerbated.
While millennials may be relatively in poor economic shape now, a study by research and consulting firm Cerulli has estimated that by 2045 there will be $84.4 trillion in wealth transferred to younger generations, mainly in the form of inheritance. According to the report, millennials are expected to inherit $72.6 trillion out of the total wealth transferred in that 25-year period, while the rest is expected to go to charities.
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Originally Posted by springfieldva
Go over to the caregiving forum if you want to get an idea as to what adult children are being left these days.
There's a poster who got a call that her mom needed someone to come stay with her ASAP so she quit her job and moved across the country to live with her mom. After a couple of years of back breaking, soul crushing caregiving the mom died leaving the poster with an old falling down house filled with junk. Last she checked in, she was about ready to have a nervous breakdown. That's quite an inheritance don't ya think?
Many older retirees wind up selling their homes and moving into easy maintenance Independent Living apartments which help them stay independent for as long as possible. They use the proceeds from the sales of their house and belongings to pay their rent and otherwise provide for themselves.
I really do not know many people getting much in the way of inheritances these days. But Alice is welcomed to dream on if she wants to.
According to the OP, her health seriously suffered, she doesn't have health insurance to afford to go to a doctor or two.
Lots of us gave her suggestions but she hasn't been back. In her first post so said she didn't think she would get support from anyone on city-data or something negative like that. Posters had a lot of compassion for her. Hopefully she'll come back to see it.
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Originally Posted by tmtex
Well I wont be rich. Had I known how often IT gets laid off I would have never picked that.
I saw an article yesterday about Southwest airlines hiring a lot of work from home employees.
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