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Dead or retired Baby Boomers equals job opportunities. It's a morbid but very true fact nobody is discussing. In 2006 everyone was talking about what was going to happen when the Baby Boomers retired. How employers were going to get more HB1 Visas to help fill empty positions when there were more jobs than employees to fill them.
It is still going to be that way I think. I'm under 30 and very optimistic in the next five years you will see a 20% decline in the number of Baby Boomers still in the work force. We are currently at 10% completely dead according to many of the Baby Boomer death counters you can download. The fall of the Baby Boomers will reopen the corporate ladder and you will see the currently stagnant workplace once again a place for endless opportunity as workers that have held the same jobs for over 20 years go away.
The first wave of Baby Boomers are turning 65 right now. Now the Baby Boomers are going to argue that they are going to reinvent retirement but, there is one flaw to that thinking, people get old and die. The vibrant spokesperson for this movement Dennis Hopper, where is he now?
So today I am a former Army Officer, Bachelors in business, pursuing my MBA, have a small business at home, and work for a menial wage at a menial job. Tomorrow I could be in a high paying job that affords me a wage to be able to take my current business or a new one to a full-time venture because I took a dead or retired Baby Boomer's job.
My point is this. New jobs don't necessarily need to be created, the old ones just need to be filled with new workers. And the sound of that clock ticking might be frightening to the Baby Boomers, but to those of us in Gen Y that sound is GROOVEY!
Greatest Generation - Had to rebuild a decimated economy that their parents left behind, and fight an intense war against a dedicated and megalomaniacal enemy. They overcame their parents' excesses, became frugal, and set about advancing technology as fast as they could.
Baby Boomers - Inherited America's economy at its pinnacle, actively didn't participate in the economy, and lived in drug-fueled hippie communes while living off their parents' largess. Then immediately sold out their principles once Reagan promised them more money. They could've helped end the war in 'Nam if they'd spent more time voting and less time eating the brown acid.
Boomers: This country's mess is your fault. Gen Y is the group that's going to pull us out, and it won't be with any help from you people. You people turned us into your parents. I sincerely hope that we don't make the same mistakes they did and pump out a generation like you.
Gen X - Why is this even called a generation? It's more of a ragtag group of kids whose selfish boomer parents forgot their pill one day. Apathetic latchkey kids, an in-between generation who hates the boomers for abandoning them and hates the Y'ers for not being abandoned enough. Inexplicably bitter, rarely helpful, and apathetic. I'm sure they'd be a lot more productive if they could stoop so low as to give a crap about what they're doing.
Gen Y - Has to rebuild a decimated economy thanks to the excesses of their parents, is currently engaged in two wars against a dedicated and megalomaniacal enemy, wants to develop new technologies as soon as our nation is back on its feet from the bad economy and those two wars. This is also the most entrepreneurial generation since the "Greatest Generation."
Their sense of entitlement comes from a little thing called "principle." "Principles" are certain moral convictions that you stand by because it's the right thing to do. Boomers had them until daddy's money ran out, and so sold theirs 30 years ago.
Y'ers have every right to feel entitled. It's not right to have your pension raided after decades of service, a practice Boomers began. It's not right to focus only on your own life span and not those of your children, as the Boomers repeatedly do. And it's not right to grab as many dollars as you can by any means possible, regardless of who you hurt.
Generation Y IS the exact opposite of the Boomers. That's a great sign for the future of this country. Boomers are just upset because they won't get the credit (stealing credit for another generation's accomplishment is also CLASSIC Boomer).
One thing that I no longer ever hear mentioned is the impending retirement of the baby boomers. By the late 2010s, millions of baby boomers will be approaching retirement age while at the same time the Milliennial generation will be entering their prime working age. Could this be what the economy needs? It seems as the baby boomers retire, more and more jobs will open up for younger generations to fill thus finally bringing down unemployment. I have even seen some websites predict labor shortages...i.e. unemployment well below 5% when this happens. Being that as of now, the main factor preventing economic recovery is the high unemployment rate, could it be that the generational shift from baby boomers to millennials/Generation X will end the recession/depression? I also would think a housing recovery may be possible as millennials who as of 2010 are by and large still living with their parents or in a college dorm will enter the housing market by 2019. Is this something to be optimistic about or will it cause unprecedented economic hardship? Thoughs?
Overall, more people retired and drawing Social Security and Medicare benefits will be a big drag on the economy. The economy is going to slow down big time unless something changes such as:
1. Boomers work longer
2. We create a more cost effective medical system and/or people change to healthier lifestyles, especially eating habits.
3. They reduce Social Security benefits for Boomers (unlikely unless there's another economic crisis).
4. We innovate like crazy (eg--we kick our oil addiction, since 1/2 our trade deficit is from imported oil. We find some other new technology that will make our economy more efficient, although I don't know what that will be).
Dead or retired Baby Boomers equals job opportunities. It's a morbid but very true fact nobody is discussing. In 2006 everyone was talking about what was going to happen when the Baby Boomers retired. How employers were going to get more HB1 Visas to help fill empty positions when there were more jobs than employees to fill them.
It is still going to be that way I think. I'm under 30 and very optimistic in the next five years you will see a 20% decline in the number of Baby Boomers still in the work force. We are currently at 10% completely dead according to many of the Baby Boomer death counters you can download. The fall of the Baby Boomers will reopen the corporate ladder and you will see the currently stagnant workplace once again a place for endless opportunity as workers that have held the same jobs for over 20 years go away.
The first wave of Baby Boomers are turning 65 right now. Now the Baby Boomers are going to argue that they are going to reinvent retirement but, there is one flaw to that thinking, people get old and die. The vibrant spokesperson for this movement Dennis Hopper, where is he now?
So today I am a former Army Officer, Bachelors in business, pursuing my MBA, have a small business at home, and work for a menial wage at a menial job. Tomorrow I could be in a high paying job that affords me a wage to be able to take my current business or a new one to a full-time venture because I took a dead or retired Baby Boomer's job.
My point is this. New jobs don't necessarily need to be created, the old ones just need to be filled with new workers. And the sound of that clock ticking might be frightening to the Baby Boomers, but to those of us in Gen Y that sound is GROOVEY!
It is not their retiring, it is their reduction in sending after age 50 that hurts. We are now going to see the full brunt of having a smaller demographic in their peak age for sending. This smaller demographic is also saddled with their own debt, and trillions in societal debt. Just look at the consumer expenditure survey for the data.
Gen Y will be what turns us around to growth, in about 10 years.
I don't think baby boomers are really going to "retire". A lot of "Retirement" (the concept of it), is slick marketing from stock brokerage companies, mutual funds. Look at the retirement and money gurus of the last 10-15 years, guys like david bach, "money experts" on oprah.
They all sort of assume..."Well if you save X, at 10% a year, in 30 years you'll be a millionaire." But how many people get that compounded 8 or 9% a year for 20 or 30 years? Less than you realize. Or if you just cut out that $5 latte, in 20 years, times 846 days, that's X dollars. Many retirement assumptions were as unrealistic as the Nasdaq in the mid to late 90's.
I agree with the general tone of your post. But I disagree somewhat (not eompletely here).
As you mentioned, the current recession is the result of problems that have built up over a long period of time and were pushed forward.
One of those problems was a low savings rate. Most other developed countries (not all) save at rates in the neighborhood of 10%. America is now saving around 6%, which is really on the low side of normal. Why is it that so many people protested they couldn't save a dime when times were good (the savings rate was close to zero from the late 1990s to 2008)??? Yet now people can save 6%???? Something was wrong there--and it was with our priorities (collectively speaking).
By the way, if you'd invested in an index fund that was 60% stocks/ 40% bonds, you would have gotten a positive return over the last decade. Problem is, most people are ignorant about investing, are not taught about it in schools, and get no guidance from their employers because of fear of lawsuits. I think 401Ks are great...but you don't throw people in a row boat without even giving them oars to row with, for heaven's sake!
Here are the returns for Vangaurd Balanced Index (VBINX) as of 1/3/11:
So over long periods of time, 7% to 8% is doable without taking overwhelming risks.
Someone making a modest salary of $30,000 per year and saving 10% of his/her salary ($250 per month) at 7.75% would have:
$336,501 after 30 years
$542,944 after 35 years
$817,288 after 40 years
800K won't provide a luxury lifestyle in 40 years, but I bet will will still be more than what most people have. The biggest part of the problem is that people just don't save. Interestingly enough, 800K at a 4% withdrawal rate, which is considered prudent by most financial planners, will provide $32,000 in income, and give the retiree the ability to adjust upward for inflation every year.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 01-03-2011 at 10:22 PM..
The more I think about it (I'm 32), the baby boomers are just completely full of s*it. All they care about is.....me, me, me, me, me, me. They're still listening to Barbara Streisand, 40 years!!! after they saw her in the 60's. They can't give up their youth.
I don't think there's been any other group of people in the history of the world that worships youth the way boomers do. It's their sickness, and the world has passed them by.
Where was Singapore in 1960? A dirt tract? Where was most of Asia? Nothing.
Where was China in the 60's? Farmers. Look what they've let happen in 40 years. While they still listen to Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond....China has $2 trillion in foreign reserves. We're broke. Singapore and Asia is running circles around us educationally. Asia is laying the track for the next leg up in world commerce and industrialization (high speed trains, graduating top engineers, saving and investing for the future!). We're here worrying about Gary Coleman and handing illegals driver licenses.
The decline in education since the 60's, must be one of the steepest declines in the history of the 1st world. How to fix the economy?Get back to the standards in the 60's.
They've let so much junk fester in 40 years. Subprime? Environmental concerns? Peak oil? Losing the global education race? Corruption? Fraud?
Look at Wall St over the last 40 years. More and more corruption has been allowed to set in (until it almost brings down the entire system). I think back to the teachers I had (boomers) in middle school and highschool in the 90's....just full of s*it. Obsessed with holding onto that tenure and getting that next paycheck....results take a back seat. Now look at the results. Look at the average comment on yahoo. People can barely spell or function.
The decline in spelling is almost ungodly. But the boomers are still unwrapping those new Streisand cd's. The generation before the boomers didn't let so many problems fester. Subprime? Wasn't around in the 60's. Educational crisis? Exploding costs of college? Wasn't around in the 60's. Corruption? Moral decay? Not to the level it is now. Funny how in almost every area......education, finance, housing, environment, family, morals/values...almost everything is 10x worst now for gen y inheriting the world, than was the case when the boomers got started in the world in the 60's.
-With boomers and retirement, from my observations, they just never got on the ball. They had more than enough time to save (decades) when times were good (80's and 90's). I don't think they're really clear on their values. That's how they start believing, save $5 for this latte, and retire in 20 years. They should have thought of that 20 years ago.
It's funny, some boomers (and older) I know, aren't materialistic, but they still don't save. How do you have nothing accumulated by age 60 or 70, if you go to the library, shop at thrift stores, and live sort of a quiet life?
A lot of it is the schools. We've been walled off for too long. We don't learn enough about those other countries saving 10%.We've had this walled off educational strategy for 30 or 40 years. We don't learn enough about the rest of the world. Now it's almost too late.
So over long periods of time, 7% to 8% is doable without taking overwhelming risks.
It certainly is, but as you said people just don't invest wisely. Common mistakes that prevent them from achieving that "easy" 7-8 percent return:
- They are too conservative, parking their 401k money in a stable value, money market, or short term bond fund so they don't get that kind of growth. Tough times like we experienced in 08-09 only reinforce this as they get all giddy that they avoided the huge drop, not realizing how short term their victory is.
- If they are in stocks they get scared and move funds in and out, so end up selling on drops and missing the gains. I had all sorts of coworkers doing this when DOW was near 7k, "I can't take anymore I shifted my money" and they probably didn't get back in until it was over 10k again.
Greatest Generation - Had to rebuild a decimated economy that their parents left behind, and fight an intense war against a dedicated and megalomaniacal enemy. They overcame their parents' excesses, became frugal, and set about advancing technology as fast as they could.
Baby Boomers - Inherited America's economy at its pinnacle, actively didn't participate in the economy, and lived in drug-fueled hippie communes while living off their parents' largess. Then immediately sold out their principles once Reagan promised them more money. They could've helped end the war in 'Nam if they'd spent more time voting and less time eating the brown acid.
Boomers: This country's mess is your fault. Gen Y is the group that's going to pull us out, and it won't be with any help from you people. You people turned us into your parents. I sincerely hope that we don't make the same mistakes they did and pump out a generation like you.
Gen X - Why is this even called a generation? It's more of a ragtag group of kids whose selfish boomer parents forgot their pill one day. Apathetic latchkey kids, an in-between generation who hates the boomers for abandoning them and hates the Y'ers for not being abandoned enough. Inexplicably bitter, rarely helpful, and apathetic. I'm sure they'd be a lot more productive if they could stoop so low as to give a crap about what they're doing.
Gen Y - Has to rebuild a decimated economy thanks to the excesses of their parents, is currently engaged in two wars against a dedicated and megalomaniacal enemy, wants to develop new technologies as soon as our nation is back on its feet from the bad economy and those two wars. This is also the most entrepreneurial generation since the "Greatest Generation."
Their sense of entitlement comes from a little thing called "principle." "Principles" are certain moral convictions that you stand by because it's the right thing to do. Boomers had them until daddy's money ran out, and so sold theirs 30 years ago.
Y'ers have every right to feel entitled. It's not right to have your pension raided after decades of service, a practice Boomers began. It's not right to focus only on your own life span and not those of your children, as the Boomers repeatedly do. And it's not right to grab as many dollars as you can by any means possible, regardless of who you hurt.
Generation Y IS the exact opposite of the Boomers. That's a great sign for the future of this country. Boomers are just upset because they won't get the credit (stealing credit for another generation's accomplishment is also CLASSIC Boomer).
Wow such insight to the biased mind is revealing to say the least, such a display of absolute ignorance is always a reason to wonder about the value of public education not to mention the lazy minds that are produced in such a system. A little reading of US history would show the fallacy in thinking that the average citizen regardless of age has a say in the way government works, ditto for the corporate world, no CEO is going to go down to the plant to seek the blessings of agreement from his boomer workforce. The bad things that have been done to each of us by these two entities connotes no blame on the part of the average Boomer or any other generation for that matter.
Being born in a certain time frame has no correlation to power, the Boomers didn't run anything as a group marching in lockstep, every generation of American's has had their elite classes who run things, that this needs pointing out is truly pathetic, most students of history can readily see the trend, the elite rule, and the low man takes orders, period. if you are upset about the way things have been going in America then you have a some company with a lot of the Boomers who also got screwed by these same elites.
I dissed my in-laws in the other similar thread, but what can I say, they deserve it.
In-law ma and pa are in their early 60's and have refinanced their house so much that they now owe around 110% of what it's worth (despite the fact they've lived there for 25 or so years). Both still work full-time in low end jobs, have no health insurance, no retirement, no assets and even have adult children living with them still.
I suspect this is not an uncommon arrangement. Many boomers will work until the day they die and still leave huge debts behind. Millennials and Xers will not have an easy go at it, but hopefully we've learned something by watching our parents and will actually build a little bit of wealth by the time we're old instead of squandering it.
Here again we have an entire generation of folks lumped together for the purpose of a verbal beating, not to mention the obvious attempt toward self aggrandizement. I'd expect that the truly enlightened would have the ability to articulate what is obvious: Every generation has it's fools, thieves, beggars and saints, of course that isn't so readily apparent to those who spend a lot of time engaged in self congratulatory diatribes.
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