OK Boomer; Normal friction or wealth and social inequality symptom

OK Boomer: fessing up that we’ve had it good

More interesting than the article itself is the storm (compared to other topics) of comments it generated.

Is this just normal intergenerational friction or is there something more to it. A symptom maybe that many young people feel our capitalist economy is not delivering appropriate wealth, social and environmental outcomes?

 

I think there are definite advantages the boomer generation have benefited from that younger generations are unlikely to benefit from. That is not an attack on boomers. If I was a boomer I would have tried to take advantage of those benefits too.

However, it is also a fact that if trends continue, there will simply be too few people of working age, paying taxes, to support boomers in continuing to reap the benefits of those advantages. Again, not an attack on boomers. Simply a statement of fact.

It is human nature to try to protect what has been gained. It is also human nature to tend to believe everything gained has been done so through one's own hard work and effort and that one has received no help along the way. This flows into the belief that "if I can do it through hard work, sweat and tears than anyone can and there is no reason to change anything."

So yes, I think there is something "more to it" than normal inter-generational friction. Is it warranted? That depends on your viewpoint. Will it go away? Not so long as the boomers want to continue to benefit from those advantages no longer available to younger generations and so long as younger generations see only the benefits the boomers have and not the hard work and effort they also put it.

 

Yep, I am a boomer and I had it easy .

Like when I owned a take-away food shop 35 years ago and we were opened 12 hours/days, 7 days/week, 365 days/year (with no staff). We were even opened on Christmas Day .

Yep, 84 hours per week plus admin after that. A 35 hour workweek would have been a holiday .

I long for those easy days NOT.

Younger generations think working a “double shift” means working 8 hours. They have no idea what hard work is.

 

Not sure anecdotal evidence is a good measure for this argument.

 

Better than BS .

 

Haha The "no idea what hard work is" reference a gee up or sweeping generalisation?

 

That is absolute rubbish!

Sure some of the Gex X...Y...and Z are lazy...

But a LARGE majority are not. They are incredibly hardworking probably more so some of the Baby Boomers...some I know are crazy that they are working over 70 hours a week. Sure there are issues with some not spending their money well as they are focused on instant gratification.

But I do have to agree it is a lot harder than it used to be....I too used to think this way till I started talking to some these Ys and Zs. Most ARE not lazy...but they do spend a lot. But having said that a lot are in unstable jobs and combined with high prices in Sydney/Melbourne I feel sorry for them as they struggle.

I am all for the current review of the pension system. I do not feel that the govt should be handing money to people with homes worth say $1.5m in Sydney....$1m in Melbourne...etc. It is not fair to the younger generations to continue to subsidize the Baby Boomers. Some of the BBs are so ridiculous they are gaming the system just for the pension...enough is enough!

You need to get out...and talk to how some of the younger generation is struggling...causing so much not only financial stress but emotional stress. It peeves me...that we have idiots in govt and selfish Baby Boomers......who can't empathize here.

 

Perhaps it's hyperbole such as this that younger generations are tired of, and why it's nigh impossible to have a constructive conversation about any of the points raised in the article.

Oh I forgot, if you have anything bad to say about the system that's in place you're a whinger who just needs to work harder.

Anecdotal evidence is all you will find from the regular contributors on these forums.

 

My unwanted broad-strokes 2 cents...

Boomers had it great, but also had to work hard. They produced incredible culture and counter culture. But I'd say they could be classed as somewhat greedy and selfish.

Gen X - if they cottoned onto things early they put themselves in a fantastic position, but they too also had to work hard for a long time before fruit was borne. Culturally, western societies peaked (even higher than the 50s) during the Gen X age and produced entertainment that will never be reached again. As Parents they have failed horribly and stumbled a fair bit after they became adults.

Millennials and younger - Social Media is destroying them and it's not really their fault. The "my personal narrative" thingy they hold as the most important thing is more selfish than the Boomers. But again that's what allowing young people access to the greatest drug ever created, social media, has done. It's also the fault of the parents from Gen X.

It's a mess for young people, but for those that do work hard AND work smart and wait for their chances, there will always be opportunities.

Oh and the popular culture associated with this gen is vapid and driven by ego and agenda and not art.

 

This post is quiet silly.

I am 30, and regardless of what age or generation it is, if you work hard you will be rewarded.
I studied full time at uni, worked 2 jobs (40hrs a week) and played sport semi professionally for about 7 years. I would leave home at 5am and get home at 10pm 6 days a week plus study and work on Sundays. So when I compare you to me, you were lazy.

But your generation still had it easy in comparison, financially and will continue to in the future. We are the lucky country after all, but you cant be just surviving on luck forever.

Australia in the future will not be Australia of the past, there is a huge 20/30/50 year transition going on. Essentially the effects of globalisation and that good places attract people. With more people there is more competition, so unless you are in that 5% top end, it will always be hard going. I think Australia will slide back into just the norm, not a leading country by any means.

But the difference is now, people are being priced out of locations, I've had many friends move out of Sydney because its just not affordable. I am sure it happened previously but that was probably relocating from Surry Hills to Campbelltown, not Sydney to Broken Hill and I don't have an issue with this, because if you put the hard work in and you will be rewarded.

I think the issue is how its managed by governments, the ageing population, fossil fuel export mgmt, the rich with a 10mil home still receiving a pensions. I would think that the retirement age may be up around 75-80 in 30 years. So that means my working life could be from 15 to 80, rather than 12 to 55. Who has it easier?

 

I think Australia is still a land of opportunity and reward for anyone who has motivation. Work hard, manage your money well, don't over spend or over indulge in debt - if this is your blueprint then anyone can be successful here.
I have an 18 year old son who is often gob-smacked by wealth he sees around him - people with nice cars, nice houses, boats and so forth. He still cant understand how people can get so rich.
He actually does understand, but can't see himself there yet. It seems too far off and unattainable.
What he hasn't seen is those people who started young and built up to those levels over years of work (but also often lots of debt).
He's a little bit in the "I want it now" group.

 

My parents gave us 100% but despite them being "baby boomers" it was next to nothing financially. (I don't know if it was bad cards or their own doing, but it was what it was) Ironically my upbringing set me up perfectly to prosper financially in an Australia that still had good social mobility. So I think my parents did a great job and they were awesome people.

As a Gen X parent with the eldest approaching adulthood, I’m completely stuffed if I know what to do as a parent for the best.

Is the social mobility still there in Australia if you hold back on giving them financial resources to toughen em up and make them more self-determined?

What psychological impact is there if they feel you are holding back.

Has Australia become a class society based on home ownership and family wealth?

If there is a class system developing – is there a basis for a feeling of entitlement?

Is it a case of the more you give them the more you stuff them up?

So many people seem to have strong opinions on this intergenerational stuff, so they must have this all worked out. But I’m completely lost as to how this intergenerational thing works and whether as a parents we should hold back to avoid instilling a sense of entitlement or enable a life for my kids that is/will be very different than mine – whether that will be better or worse in the long term if they are not self-driven I don’t know but I do know our decisions have ramifications and I have no idea what’s for the best – so I relate strongly to your opinion of stumbling as parents.

Wish the little buggers came with a manual and a chapter on all circumstances.

 

Some of my boomer mates are struggling in retirement cause the bloody adult children won’t leave home and still expect meals, accomodation, alcohol, use of cars etc for free. In one case the daughter is 23 lives free at home and even tags along on holidays letting parents pay for most things. They’re coming up to our place for a week or more in the new year. Daughter tagging along as usual and will let everyone else pay for everything.

Boomers unite, remove the kids from the Will and tell them to get stuffed.

 

I dont see a class system developing; just an attitude change. There have always been rich and poor etc.
Once upon a time, people looked up to successful people, success in their jobs, and people who displayed their wealth. People were incentivised (is that a word? ) to be like them. Now there seems to be a lot more of the hate-the-rich voices about, unfortunately.

 

My view... this dynamic always existed. However two things:
1) It has been amplified because society has become more competitive
2) Social media means the conversation has the reach and scale to lift the profile of the conversation into the mainstream in a way like never before (especially prevalent to point 1)

 

I thought you "double shifted" when the clutch had burned out and you had no other option than to rev the engine sufficiently for the gears to sync rather than crunch. Try telling that to the younger generations and they'll look at you like:

 

All too common - they go to uni, then to honours year, post grad, then doctorate. By the time they're 30, haven't worked a day in their lives and are so attitudinally overqualified that the words 'do you want fries with that' have never passed their lips.

3) The Baby Boomer parents simply aren't dying as quickly as the previous generations so not leaving their wealth to their heirs
4) What's left of the wealth is diluted to more surviving/squabbling siblings (so they each get less)
5) Those who do inherit well, further subdivide the assets into apartments which aren't affordable for their peers due to being better located than the properties on the outskirts of the city or slums which the boomers were able to purchase but are now prime real estate.

 

My Baby Boomer parents gave us everything we needed, shelter, food, reality checks and a kick out the door. At which point I found out how expensive everything was, after rent, utilities, food and public transport to work, there was $15 a week to spend (equivalent of a cheap Chinese meal in 1987). As a Generation X soul I have had a great life (to date) and am grateful that as an average Australian I am in the top percent or 2 in the world on a wealth basis.
The further afield I look for comparisons the better life looks.

Our 22 year old son who was a lost soul 2 years ago (this may be normal but was quite distressing as parents) has benefited from the combination of work (where he has found mentors) and a Peter Thornhill day (where he found a process to achieve wealth and a home). He believes the future is bright!!

 

Fully agree. Many struggling Gen X lawyers are in need of more Millennial clients in order to make ends meet. Win win.