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?

Good luck to you, Willow, wherever you end up.

Yep, you were told that if you paid interest only on your mortgage and also into a sort of insurance policy, your mortgage would be paid off at the end of the term. Lots of us were not told that there might be a shortfall. In fact, we were told there would be an additional bonus. It was a major financial scandal.

Is there not a compensation scheme for that? Like PPI?

You had to deal directly with the company that sold you the endowment policy. I am guessing that there were many, like me, who dealt with independent financial advisers who were no longer traceable, and so nothing could be done.

Look, all I'm trying to say us that nothing is as black and white as it might seem to you when you look backwards in time. House prices are a major issue for you now, I accept that. And of course, that is really a major, major issue. That really isn't any generation's fault though. Look at the podcasts I recommended earlier. Also, I think there is more pressure in the workplace. Working hours are stupid in my profession, and being available 24/7 is a curse on mankind. Otherwise, I think your generation have it much easier.

You cannot comprehend the extent of the sexism that existed when I was younger. Or the racism, although I am white, so I wasn't on the receiving end of that.

Your generation HAS it much easier - darn!

Some lost most of their pensions in Equitable Life too and no they were not handed hand outs like today for mis-sold things.

You can either spend your life jealous of others, wailing and nashing of teeth or you can just get on with it and work hard and do the best you can. The latter tends to make most people happier.

This just shows me the current generation are me me me, want it all right not without working hard for it. We got our pensions by striking and working to improve social mobility.

Margaret, do you think you are helping here? I can assure you that I work with young people who work their socks off. Do you want our brightest and best to move away?

Why are we fighting amongst ourselves? Why aren't we asking each political party what their intentions are?

Again Jilly it's interesting re equitable life. As I said earlier my father is one of the oldest baby boomers and he had an equitable life pension. He always says he was lucky that he wasn't 10 years older as when it all blew up he had enough time to sort it. So once again this was worse for the bomb dodgers who had to do national service.

tbf there is not a time of history prior to and including ww2 that I would have wanted to live through for different reasons. I've been thinking about that and it puts this whole debate into perspective really.

Grimbletart I am with you all the way both in age and attitude.
I do think our generation (born in 40s) have had both the best of times and the worst of times. I worry a lot about the world our granchildren are inheriting. It was ever thus, massive lessons are learned and then forgotten. There seems to be a cycle of social incompetence where just as things should be getting better along comes war, recession etc and back we swing!

Leave it out, Margaret. You told everyone earlier that you'd never worked, so how did you go on strike.

Margaret best one yet!

Please excuse lack of question mark!

Yes, it's hard to pick a continuous period in the past which would have been better for most people. My children are teenagers so I am a bit older than some on here so never sure if I am a boomer or too young to be one but the idea things were or are easy is never really true for most people.
It's also unfair to compare things in the sense that children today only know today. It is hard for them to be grateful they have central heating and probably fewer chilblains and may be more food and clothes when that's all they've had.

Why are we fighting amongst ourselves? Why aren't we asking each political party what their intentions are?

Because divide and conquer is how our democracy is run these days.

And even if a candidate who did want real change stood up and everyone listened, you can still bet people would vote tory to stop labour getting in, and people would vote labour to stop tory.

We were practically taught in high school that anything else is a protest AKA wasted vote.

One can dream though

I dont think central heating is a big deal, my mum talks fondly of getting dressed in bed. For me the bigger deals of the past are starvation, not being able to afford coal, zero health and safety at work, the wars, rape being the woman's fault. But these are generally longer term historical issues rather than bb ones. I do think it puts the carping between the advantages of two advantaged generations into perspective though. We're talking within the last 100 years .

But I think housing for very young people is a real problem.

I've been following this over the past couple of days and it seems to me that one of the issues here and in particular the problem with Margaret's stance is that she doesn't seem to accept that times have changed.

No one is saying that she should have her husband's pension taken away from her and I for one am glad that she and others in her position are being provided for and not plunged into poverty because she didn't go out to work.

But the fact of the matter is that this isn't how things work now. Women aren't expected to stay home and run the home and raise the children, and society isn't set up for this to be the norm. It's not often possible for a family to survive on the one wage and so both parents have to go out to work. Men are expected to contribute to the running of the household both practically and financially and so are women. Pensions aren't as generous, or available at 60, and the value of a pension doesn't go as far, especially considering that many pensioners will still be paying a mortgage or, have a substantial rent to pay. Not everyone can afford to buy and whilst that may have also been true before there is also far less social housing available.

You work as hard (or maybe harder) now than you had to a generation or two ago, and have less to show for it at the end. It's not laziness or a me me me attitude, it's just how it is.

Ok yes we have and do things that baby boomers wouldn't have dreamed of in their youth, or would have considered pure luxury. But they are often just things that are today's norm. And that's just it, the norm is different now. But please remember that part of that norm is slogging your guts out to a much older age, and even then having less to show for it.

I don't think anyone believes that all baby boomers live in million pound houses on generous final salary pension schemes with second and third homes, after retiring at 55 after entering the workplace without massive debts hanging over them. What we are saying is that no-one with those limited skills and talents will be able to acquire what those baby boomers that do have all that. No matter how hard they work.

There will still be people who reach wealthy positions as a result of talent and hard work or contacts. But for the average teacher or IT repair man, they are highly unlikely to end up in a £600,000 + house retired at the age of 55, financially secure for the rest of their lives, as long as they keep the foreign holidays to 2 or 3 a year.

On top of that, they will have to incur serious debt (unless they are lucky with their parents) just to reach a level playing field with their peers when looking for a job. Their job, once they get it, will probably be harder and they will be assessed more on their performance.

And yes, Grimbletart does give some evidence of how it wasn't all a bed of rose, but some of these are very subjective. Other things were nicer in the past too - personally I would have enjoyed quieter roads with less traffic, so that you don't have to wrap yourself in hi-viz and flashing lights every time you venture out without a car. Less restrictive parking would have been good too. Being able to live on one salary would have been a nice choice. And we still get sexually harassed and paid less than men.

I'm planning to move to equador. I've spend a few months there and we would have a better quality of life, dh has been offered contracts there. No heating or cooling ever needed, food is much better and with a garden you can grow most things year round as its constant spring.

I would be pleased if this thread widened a bit to address what British Boomers could or should have done differently to make life easier for subsequent generations.

I'd learn to spell Ecuador before you go!

TheChandler: I was very clear that my views were subjective (aren't everyone's to some degree)? I was trying very hard to be fair and honest.

Agree about the roads - I remember fondly as a teenager whole days spent out on my bike, feeling pretty safe. These days, apart from the high viz and helmets I spend half the time wondering if I am going to have to dive into a ditch to avoid the traffic.

Yes, sexual harassment still happens - in many ways worse than in my day - think teens being pressured into sex acts they don't want just because their other half has been dribbling over porn sites. I think though now, young people are more likely to be believed (not always of course - think Rotherham etc.) The pay gap is much smaller than it was though.

I wouldn't have wanted to live on one salary for more than a minimum time anyway - I believe in independence! But I wasn't typical of my generation….

Hmm grovel: what do you think BBs could or should have done differently?

grimble, I don't miss the unreliabilty of cars though! Setting off on a long journey was much too exciting.

grimble, I honestly don't know because every time I think of something we might have done better I can see contrary arguments. I specifically said British Boomers because I feel that we have been carried on a tide of technology, globalisation etc over which we have had limited control.