to ask if you're pissed off with the Baby Boomers?

[DamFineBeaver]

Because people who are currently young-ish adults (MN's main demographic?), and younger, will be paying for the lavish lifestyle they've enjoyed?
The money borrowed for their nice big pensions will be paid back by us and our children.

Does this mean they shouldn't spend so much time in Tenerife?

Bm...your sums don't add up!
What help is there for a school leaver now?
No apprenticeships
No jsa until they have been out if work for weeks - ridiculous sanctions that mean if your bus is running late/you are ill you lose your benefit.
Work fair scheme
You have no idea what you are talking about.

Tanith, it was lazy of me to say that TBL invented the internet. However, i think you will agree that it wasn't quite as well used in the 80's, 90's or even 2000's as it is now.

The point is that there are pros and cons to being born at any point in history (although I can honestly say that I am glad to be alive now and don't wish my children were born in the fifties or sixties).

Of course people should argue against particular policy issues. However blaming your problems on everyone of a particular age is stupidity bordering on prejudice.

These whiney threads are getting tedious.

What do you want we boomers to do about it? Die quickly? Nice.

We paid for the pensions of previous generations, we brought in equal pay, we fought for the right to abortion. We did quite a lot of other good stuff as well but don't let that get in the way of your self pity.

Ageist shite. Really pissed off with these threads.

bloomingMargaret: "Buying a house in many ways is much better these days".

Are you having a laugh!!?? Have you failed to notice how much house prices have increased in the last 12 years?

Utterly ridiculous statement. Not many people can save up a deposit for a mortgage these days as they are paying an extortionate amount in private rents. Our family have had to move 6 times in the last 10 years due to the insecurity of private rentals (ie. the landlord decides to sell up etc.). We are now privately renting an ex-council house (oh the irony) for £850/month and there is absolutely no long-term security of tenure. I have seen the impact this insecurity has had on my family over the years and it's not good.

Oh and just to add insult to injury after waiting on the 'Social Housing' list for over 8 years we have now been chucked off it as 'we don't fit the criteria'. We don't fit the criteria because the goalposts have been moved. We are a hard working family (both employed), no hope of ever becoming home owners and we're not prepared to play the system and make ourselves homeless. I'd love to know who does fit the criteria these days!

Cheap, affordable housing is a basic human right as far as I'm concerned. Either social housing, home ownership or long-term secure private rentals where you can bring up a family without the threat of being evicted.

bloomingMargaret - I'm sorry to say it but you seem to be a bit out of touch with what's going on in this country at the moment.

Yes, a bit. It's probably unfair. But people who put their financial success down to hard work and completely fail to recognise the incedible benefit they've received from rising houseprices (and the effect on future generations of this) do tend to piss me off. Mind you, my dad is like this and he's the pre-war generation, not a baby boomer. So really its smug people with a limited grip on financial realities that annoy me.

Well in my family my parents (baby boomers) lost out due to successive redundancies for my dad and my mum who lost her skills when she gave up work to look after the kids. They live a very basic poverty-line lifestyle and will do for the rest of their days. On the other hand my husbands parents retired early, my MIL will likely live longer on her final salary pension than the number of years she worked (teacher). They both inherited substantially and benefited from rising property prices. Receiving the winter fuel allowance is the subject of many dinner party jokes with friends whereas it's a lifeline for my parents.

I did feel cross at the latest OAP gift (savings bonds) knowing full well my generation will likely work until we die and certainly leave nothing for our children once our care is paid for.

Out of interest has anyone done a comparison of living here versus emigrating (anywhere worldwide)? If there's a website I'd love to see a link.

There are apprenticeships now. If you think there should be more the next general election is in May.

In fact, the sensible thing to do would be to work out what you think should be done and publicise your ideas on one of the many social media platforms that are available these days.

Yes that's my point fireside - i was agreeing with you that 'not fair that today's workers are paying today's pensions' is not really a logical complaint - of course they are, who else could be paying them?

Sorry woolly i knew you were. I was in a rush before I went out and forgot to acknowledge that.

I started off gently supporting blooming but now somewhat embarrassed by her subsequent posts. Oh the luxury of saving 1/3 of income as a pensioner.

Well, in some other countries the money people pay to the government towards their state pension is ring-fenced and invested to pay that pension in years to come. Just saying.

Is it ageist if the insults are against younger people? Lazy, wasteful etc.

Of course. How many baby boomers are there? It is statistically likely that alot of them will be idiots, as with any generation.

The Tories believe that their votes can be bought. I hope the Tories are wrong, if they are, then I will have the utmost respect for the Boomers for resisting the path of self interest. I really don't care whether they are idiots or not, I care about the country they have helped shape and the legacy they are leaving for their grandchildren. If they can do some good going forward then they will be my heroes, basically.

Just saying.

I do so hate that little sentence. What does it mean, besides "So fuck you and your opinion"?

I know Nomama. I had a moment of madness and used it on a thread recently. Not my finest hour.

Sorry. I use it when other people imply there is no opinion than their own.

It just sounds very mocking, dismissive - which is how BarbarianMum says she meant it - to chide the person she was responding to. It does that job really well, by the way!

How did you read it, Toughas? I really can't see how it means anything else.

It is, to use another MN favourite, very PA.

Sorry what is wrong with being careful and saving 1/3rd of my income?!

I have a house to maintain so I always like to keep some spare just in case. In the last month I have needed to get some roof tiles replaced (120pounds) and have a new central heating pump installed (320) so I was very thankful I had some money in the kitty to cover these.

i was agreeing with you that 'not fair that today's workers are paying today's pensions' is not really a logical complaint - of course they are, who else could be paying them?

Actually, many pensioners receiving pensions from defined benefit schemes paid for their own pensions because they are funded schemes (even some public sector schemes are funded).

The disquiet some people feel about the unfunded schemes is that the T&Cs have been changed. Today's pensioners supported the unfunded pensions of previous generations, sure, but they received the same deal, they made the same level of contributions, broadly, as had been historically made. And they are now getting broadly the same level of benefits (as well as benefitting from structural changes to the economy that happened during their lifetime). The current generation of pension recipients from unfunded schemes (e.g. retired teachers) are being supported by workers who are not getting the same T&Cs, who are paying vastly increased contributions at the same time as being given a much less good deal themselves for the future.

Oh, entirely agree, Merrymouse

In its early days, the WWW seemed to be used mostly to look up song lyrics and other lists of information. Certainly, I think if anyone had suggested we'd be doing most of our shopping online, people would have been incredulous.
In fact, an internet cafe was refused planning permission at the time because the planners felt that the internet was just a phase, like CB radio

I'm not a baby boomer, though.
Too young