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Can we please dispense with the generational us vs. them threads? They serve no purpose, other than to tick people off.
As is true for younger Baby Boomers and their parents. This is nothing new; it's a result of a lousy economy since the early 1970s and the collapse of domestic manufacturing.
Huh. I wish.
I hope your post is sarcasm ...
Dear Millennials: I'd retire tomorrow if I could, and leave to you my $45,000/year, 60-hour-a-week job. I'd also lovingly bequeath to you my 15-hour-a-week moonlighting job.
But alas, I'll likely be working until I drop dead.
Ok so one generation benefited more from an economic sweet spot and then things went back to normal.
I don't get the jealousy and I know they are not all wealthy anyway. Your average boomer next door didn't cause the current situation for millennials.
A comparison of millennials (adults currently ages 25 to 35) with earlier cohorts (Gen-Xers and late baby boomers) when they were the same age shows....they are behind in almost every economic dimension.
It turns out that the wealth-to-income ratio for millennials is not only below that for Gen Xers and late Baby Boomers now, it is also projected to remain lower through their lifespans.
I knew millennials had a bad start in their career launch due to a lousy economy coupled with major college debt, but didn't know financial difficulty is expected to continue for their lifetime.
No wonder the millennials overwhelmingly picked Bernie over Clinton in the last democrat presidential primaries. millennials are our largest generation, even larger than the massive boomer generation, and many can't envision having the financial success that the two previous generations have experienced.
it must be frustrating for millennials to think about funding Social Security and medicare from their paychecks to support wealthy baby boomers, the richest generation in US history. Millennials are, after all, struggling to reach for their own American dream.
I think the political American landscape is in for a sea change very soon. who knows what that will mean, but I wonder if the battle will be between the boomers and the millennials.
It's pretty easy to see that. My parents are early Boomers, which makes me an early Gen X. Even though , both my wife and I have fairly decent jobs (combined around $160) we still won't do as well as my dad did, on a single income. He retired as a degreed skilled tradesman from Chrysler after 41 years...at the age of 59. Their home, cottage , all vehicles are paid off. And now , after 13 years of retirement, I still don't think he's had to dip into his investment accounts. They are still living on pension/SS. That is something I know my wife and I won't be able to do.
Back in his time you either went to college, which not everyone could do, or got into a trade. Both would make one successful if you were driven. Growing up I don't remember us living in McMansions or having nice cars. Actually the first cool car my parents purchased while I was in HS.
That lousy economy kept Boomers working instead of retiring and leaving open jobs for Millennials.
So, really, a lot of this is the fault of these wealthy Boomers.
I see.
Folks are supposed to ditch their livlihoods, jettison their status and prosperity, and embrace calculated failure because Millennials are too lazy or stupid to procure decent work.
It's pretty easy to see that. My parents are early Boomers, which makes me an early Gen X. Even though , both my wife and I have fairly decent jobs (combined around $160) we still won't do as well as my dad did, on a single income. He retired as a degreed skilled tradesman from Chrysler after 41 years...at the age of 59. Their home, cottage , all vehicles are paid off. And now , after 13 years of retirement, I still don't think he's had to dip into his investment accounts. They are still living on pension/SS. That is something I know my wife and I won't be able to do.
Back in his time you either went to college, which not everyone could do, or got into a trade. Both would make one successful if you were driven. Growing up I don't remember us living in McMansions or having nice cars. Actually the first cool car my parents purchased while I was in HS.
What you typed above, is pretty much my experience.
Parents are early Boomers and I guess I'm a Gen X? I don't know. I'm a few years too old for Millennial though. My dad had a skilled job, union, no college degree - pretty much sole support of the family while I was growing up. Nice house, 2-4 week summer vacations, pension, paid off his house at age 42. Retired by age 55. Also hasn't touched his retirement accounts.
I thought I did everything right. Scholarship, college degree, lots of student loans to make it happen. Top of my class - STEM field. By the age he bought his first house (25) I was fighting against the real estate bubble. I couldn't afford nearly what he could at similar ages. I buy used cars. My wife and I both worked in STEM fields. Yet, every dollar we earned, it was like COLA went up by $1.50. Had to pack up and leave and go where things were cheaper. Pensions are uncommon now. Good healthcare is non-existent. I'm always one bad break (health-wise) away from financial ruin. Last year two "minor incidents" with kids cost about $10,000 at the ER. And both were things that should be handled at the ER. No idea why things cost what they do.
I know that one can't compare an individual baby-boomer to an individual Gen Xer or Millennial. You'll always find great disparity as such. But, it is hard to not compare myself to my father and wonder what I'm doing wrong here.
Folks are supposed to ditch their livlihoods, jettison their status and prosperity, and embrace calculated failure because Millennials are too lazy or stupid to procure decent work.
Gotcha.
At a minimum the baby boomers could pitch in to help restore the financial stability of Social Security and Medicare for future generations instead of supporting politicians that promise boomers they will get their full payments and lower taxes while the young people are left with nothing. Boomers have spent decades ignoring upcoming issues in favor of their own greed and now act like they are not the cause of the problems. As a generation, the boomers have been negligent in their duties to the generations that will come after them and have been content to feed like vampires with not a care for what happens after they get their piece of the pie.
A good example would be the talk of cuts to SS. The boomers and the politicians they vote for always make sure to include an exemption to any cuts for themselves. Which makes no sense to me, the last generation that still has access to pensions, retiree health coverage, and benefited from the post war booming economy are much better positioned to take cuts in their SS payments than the later generations with their self funded 401ks, skimpy employer matches, stagnant wages, and massive run ups in the cost of housing.
Boomers always make sure to game the system in their favor and whine when they are called out on it.
At a minimum the baby boomers could pitch in to help restore the financial stability of Social Security and Medicare for future generations instead of supporting politicians that promise boomers they will get their full payments and lower taxes while the young people are left with nothing. Boomers have spent decades ignoring upcoming issues in favor of their own greed and now act like they are not the cause of the problems. As a generation, the boomers have been negligent in their duties to the generations that will come after them and have been content to feed like vampires with not a care for what happens after they get their piece of the pie.
A good example would be the talk of cuts to SS. The boomers and the politicians they vote for always make sure to include an exemption to any cuts for themselves. Which makes no sense to me, the last generation that still has access to pensions, retiree health coverage, and benefited from the post war booming economy are much better positioned to take cuts in their SS payments than the later generations with their self funded 401ks, skimpy employer matches, stagnant wages, and massive run ups in the cost of housing.
Boomers always make sure to game the system in their favor and whine when they are called out on it.
I am GenEx (cue Nirvana)
We had our own brief- very, very brief- bush war with the Boomers.
Can't say it did much good or I enjoyed it. Seems kind of stupid now that I look back. Made up my mind to control my own destiny rather than look for scapegoats or allow bad government policy to impede me.
Comparing yourself to any prior generation is fun, but ultimately a fool's errand.
College Tuition went through the roof under the Baby Boomers, while they where helped by tax paid schools.
Offshoring went up under the Baby Boomers. Now they want them back? MAGA.
SS and Medicare is disappearing for the next generations because Baby Boomers dont want to pay taxes, while they reap all the benefits themselves.
Medical costs has exploded, under the Baby Boomers.. crippling Millennials due to simple medical issues.
Mom and Pop stores has been decimated under the Baby Boomers, who demands cheap goods, produced offshore, and sold in megastores.
Immigration from highly educated Europeans where killed by the Baby Boomers, and immigration from 3 world nations exploded under the Baby Boomers.
And then they blame their grandchildren of ruining America... who have to live in the mess the Baby Boomers created.
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