That boomers should should avoid criticising younger people when..

[TeaCake5]

They are the "the worst users of drink and drugs"

www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/23/wednesday-briefing-baby-boomers-worst-drinkers-and-drug-users

I guess they can afford to with housing not being a problem for them - people in their 20s and 30s have no spare money for drink and drugs!

Absolutely is the intergenerational infighting stoked by the right wing press, all part of the government's divide and rule policy. We're all being shafted by the system not just 'millennials'. As a 1950's woman my state pension was further delayed by 2011 Act just a few years before retirement, leaving no time to plan to make up that shortfall (see WASPI who are campaigning for many destitute and disadvantaged 1950's born women). My working life has been similar to many of yours today - worked since 17, mature student degree via OU, single parent for a few years, made all the adjustments and juggling with childcare that you all do - not easy. Helped child with deposit for a house and gave them a lovely wedding, my total pleasure to do both. But this is the point, there is now much more inequality amongst young people as a generation themselves. Some are like mine and get advantages of trickling down of capital to help them, others who do not have these advantages are playing catch up, and in some cases never can. I worked at a school in a very disadvantaged area and trust me, my blood boils at the situation. The system is stacked against ordinary young people. However while people keep voting for this disgusting government, nothing will change. Makes me laugh that people don't seem to get Jeremy Corbyn's massive appeal to the youngsters - I would say he gives them hope!!! Love his rallies!!! Hope there will be some political and social change before long, before society as we have known it ceases to exist and we descend further into the morass of corrupt self interest and no compassion for our fellow man which this political ideology is encouraging.

I'm gen x I think?
Born in 1972
Grow up in poverty....no indoor toilet until I was 12/13, no central heating either
NHS started being defunded under thatcher so waiting 18 months for emergency surgery was the norm (certainly happened to me)
My dad was made redundant twice in the 80s
It was quite grim really
I did well at school though and stayed in for a levels...no uni for me. Couldn't afford it - no mummy or daddy to help me out
Difference seems to be that I don't begrudge my dc their more pleasant life.
Boomers seem to want to return us all the 1950s...why? Why do they seem glad that their kids and gc will be poorer than them?
Very sad

Bollocks to the generational stereotypes!
I bought my first 2 bed house in 1991 in the Midlands on a 15% mortgage interest rate. I'd been working since 16 yrs old and lived at home and saved my money. I sold it 11 years later for £30k more than I paid for it (having spent £8k replacing the wooden single glazed windows with UPVC after 9 years) and as it was a shit endowment mortgage, I lost even more money.
Unless you lived in the South East, most of us haven't made a killing in the property market but just got by. I had my first ever foreign holiday in my mid twenties and only a few holidays abroad since then. Going to University from school was only for the priviledged few as I went to a crap Comprehensive school but I studied via evening classes and got a degree whilst working full time in my late twenties. I paid course fees back then which the privileged full timers didn't at the time. Some even got grants to live on.
When my parents died my inheritance came to less than 10k (which I used to replace my windows).
If you're complaining about property prices down South, move up North where I lived and buy a cheap 2 bed starter home.

It's not a generational thing but Rich people v Poor people.
Always has been.

It's is generational
And geographical
And socio political
It's a complex issue
It's more than boomers v millennials - although the right wing press are stoking up the hate quite well just as they did pre EU ref :(

I'm a millenial, my parents are 'boomers'. My mum (and dad) had it way harder than I have had it and that goes for most millenial/boomers I know!

People moaning about comments like if you gave up up coffee and iphone you could have a deposit - honestly, I agree (to some extent) with the comment. We (most of our generation) have so much more than our parents had - and when I say so much more I'm talking about STUFF. Pointless, needless stuff. We are the generation of consumers who thinks nothing of spending £100 on a pair of trainers or a new coat, another £100 on a haircut/colour. £100s on phones and gadgets. My grandad cut my mums hair for free, my mum wore MY old trainers to save buying new, we wore hand-me-downs and clothes from charity shops. That, and working 60hrs a week, was how my mum managed to save for a deposit and pay off the mortgage!

Most people my age who moan they can't afford a house are wasting stupid amounts of money on spray tans, nights out, hair cuts, nails done, gadgets (where they could buy cheaper ones ie iPhone vs cheaper model) - and they always NEED the latest model. They buy high end clothes and make up at high end prices. They must have a holiday abroad at least once a year.

I shop in charity shops, I buy second hand gadgets and furniture, I haven't been to a hairdressers in over 7 years (I cut my own), I never have my nails done or any beauty treatment for that matter, my trainers are Tesco own brand that cost a tenner. I don't spend money on holidays/nights out. I don't run a car (too expensive/waste of money). I've enough for a deposit now because I was willing to go without for so long - there are not many of my peers that I know who are willing to go without all those things.

Of course this is just generalising and not everyone boomer/millenial is like that but it's been my experience.

My parents were baby boomers and grew up in considerable financial hardship. They worked from the age of 16 until their 60s with my mother taking a few years out for child rearing (no free childcare or nursery until we started school). Worked hard to save for a deposit on a house. Endured crippling interest rates, high unemployment levels, high interest rates. Couldn't afford foreign holidays or any luxuries.

They are now retired both with a small private and state pension. Mortgage paid. They provide me with free childcare, help on every level and will drop everything to help me and my brother, as well as helping us financially after they die. They are unselfish, caring and adore their grandchildren.

So fuck off with your whinging, self pitying, entitled shit and stop generalising.

I suppose I'm in between the two. Housing was already expensive when I was looking to buy a house; we live in a nice detached house so we've done all right now we're settled.

But the world is a different place now. When I was growing up, there weren't many McDonalds or Burger Kings or Pizza Huts, there was only fish and chips and Wimpy, and Chinese takeaways.

You couldn't buy a coffee at Starbucks. And no one went out to restaurants regularly, I can count on two hands the number of times I went out for meals, it was a big occasion.

But nobody got into debt like they do now. So it's swings and roundabouts.

Both myself and my husband were born in the mid to late 80s. Our parents outright own their homes, however they were never extravagant with their spending. Both sets were born in the 50s.
My dad often tells me about the house he bought for 5 grand (!!!) but obviously 5 grand was a lot more than it is now so it is all relative! I remember when they bought their current house for 55 grand in 2000, they've just sold it for 200,00!
However, I have managed to buy my own home by moving to a different town (where house prices are a lot cheaper! 95 grand for my small 3 bed semi!).

I'm also born 1964 and am bemused by this fantasy that everyone of my age is living it up on a fatcat pension in Surrey. There are rich and poor in every generation, and I think we could all do with remembering that the 'blame the boomer' thing was started and fanned by Tory MPs and the media.

Yes, I am paying a mortgage and that puts me in a place of privilege within the disgusting mess that is the current housing market. Yes, I have a pension though it is small and I won't be claiming it till I'm nearly 70. Yes, I benefitted from free university education. I feel angry about how younger people have been shafted in these areas (and remember that this is my children too).

But that doesn't mean my life has all been easy, just because of my age. I was raised on benefits by a single parent in a grotty flat with no inside toilet and no hot water. I had free school lunches at a school where that meant you wore a black tag round your neck (paid for lunches wore white!). I was a young lesbian at a time when homophobia was savage. My family suffered horrible racism.

At the risk of sounding like the old lefty I am, we all need to remember that this is about capitalism and class politics. By all means be angry with the politicians and business leaders and media magnates who are sitting in their country estates, networking with their Eton mates and telling the rest of the country to pull themselves up by their boostraps. But it is a complete diversion from the real issues to think that the enemy is the two generations above you.

It's generation X I've always found the most insecure in lots of ways. I just scrape out that generational being born in 1985. I can't quite put my finger on it but I've worked with so many women of that generation and they definitely look down on the younger generation.

"You don't remember the 80s"

"You're so young"
^
"You're just a baby." (^At 30 )

They were also the first generation where it was really common to put off have kids until they were older in their 30s meaning any millennial having kids in their 20s was seen as "kids having kids."

When I was a teenager I worked with some brilliant women who were 50 plus and all born before 1960. They were wonderful, fun, upbeat on life and always saying how young they felt and looked good for their age etc. Then a few years later I remember being shocked when I worked in a new job with younger women who were, I suppose you could say from "generation X" all born late 60s/70s, because they kept saying how old they felt and how much older they were than me and complained about the younger generation who they referred to as kids. They had this real hang up about needing to be seen as the older, wiser "grown up." I just kept thinking; you are 10/15 years younger then the woman I used to work with yet they never told themselves they were old nor had a need to make younger people feel inferior.

I used to think they were so much more grown up when I was in my 20s and they were 30 to maybe 45. Now I am in my 30s and they are all 40 plus and still have this hang up about kids younger than them they just look rather sad.

It was only that block age group born around late 60s to late 70s who had such a hang up and for some reason wanted to be seen as older and more superior. The generational before that, baby boomers, had a much younger and nicer attitude to the younger generation. The whole thing was bizarre.

Ketzele....YES!
Absolutely

I think that says more about your workplace tbh.
Frankly that is utter drivel that all women born in 60/70s look down upon millennials.

Ugh at this comment by Puggsville
"If you're young now then enjoy your health and all the opportunities you have that boomers couldn't even dream of. Don't be bitter and resentful - just grab life!"

I know I'm being over sensitive but I'm sick of people assuming young = healthy. I have more health problems and disabilities than you can shake a stick at. I'm not actually resentful of previous generations but I wish SOME people would fuck off with the assumptions. I grab life, at every chance, I nearly didn't have it. I couldn't let that little snipe go unchallenged. Also, it's offensive to the younger baby boomers who are in their late 50s - hardly old and ailing as a general group, although some will have health problems, of course.

born in 50s and like many others working at 15 no bathroom or indoor toilet. Enjoying myself now to make up but when you remember state pension is around £500 ish with full contribution and not claiming benefits,thats not generous. Many people my age have been careful and managed to save and I dont deny were fortunate with housing. As you have to sell up to benefit from it its more helpful to the next generation once I pop off than me

The thing with all those saying that boomers and older people had a 15% mortgage rate don't realise that a) house prices were much much much lower and that b) wage inflation was matching mortgage rates so actually they weren't any worse off. Much better to be paying 15% on a £100k house when your wage is also increasing by inflation every year than to be paying 2% on a £500k house with no pay rises.

The boomers had it very easy and they want the younger generation to continue paying for their perks. In a few years there will be more younger people eligible to vote than older people and I'm pretty sure they are going to repay the generosity at the ballot box.

It wasn't just my work place I saw it. Having had my kids in 20s, a lot of the mums I came across were in their 30s/early 40s and I used to watch their attitude and approach to things with interest because I found it bizarre. This doesn't apply to everyone of course but it was just a reoccurring theme I found from that generation and they still do it now. Anyone born after 1983 or whatever is still a kid to them because they don't remember the 80s. Shock horror!

Yes, younger people (sorry, MrsNoMates!) do spend money on coffees, eating out, phones blah de blah. But to some extent it's because the bigger ticket items are totally off the table. What's the point in scrimping and saving for a house... when you'd be going without for years - possibly for ever and still not be able to buy anything at all, let alone something remotely decent that would be worth all the sacrifice.

Regarding inheritance there will be great winners and great losers. My friend has just inherited £1.5 million because her parents died quickly and had a (very ordinary) London house. Other people inherit O because their parents needed care, or their parents lived in, say, Peebles.

Also there is the council house envy thing now, which absolutely did not exist when I was young. People used to want to escape council housing, now people's eyes mist over with envy when hearing about someone's secure tenancy on a new-build property which would cost £400K on the open market.

I was born in the 50s.
We grew up never having a holiday. We only got new clothes at Easter. Smacking was an accepted form of discipline both at home and school...even the use of a strap.
When we got a full time job, often at age 15/16 we had to pay board money to our parents or hand over all our wages and were given a small amount back. We fought for better working conditions and wages and now have to listen to young people slagging off unions.
I couldn't afford a mortgage. You couldn't get finance for a car unless you got a bank loan and to get that you had to have an interview with the bank manager. We saved for basic furniture and couldn't afford to change it when we were fed up of it.
We didn't have regular hair or beauty appointments and a night out meant 2 drinks and home before midnight. We didn't eat out or could afford to. We didn't expect to have what we couldn't afford or borrow to have fun.
When I married our first home was a council flat and we had no furniture. Our wages were low. I earned a lot less than male colleagues doing the same job.
It's took many years before we got a proper home of our own.
Now I hear millennials whingeing we had it so easy and look how well off we are? When our parents died they left nothing.
We lived then and now. You have only lived now, so I think we see both more clearly.. We lived poorly and worked for a better future for ourselvs. Younger people now have started with a better life and are worried about their future. I don't blame them because it does look shit.
High rents, greedy landlords, people achieving on the backs of the less well off. Think about what you vote for....that would be a start.

I don't see the point of making this a generation vs generation thing

Because once again, this generation is going to be worse off than the last.

Gottagetmoving I think you have just hit the nail on the head there. Boomers (not all of course ) started out with nothing and strived towards a better life and a better standard of living. Because they did that, the younger generation started life with a better standard of living then their parents did (because that is the life their parents worked towards having) but to move out would mean a considerable drop in standards of living. However, the difference is the younger generation don't have the same opportunity to work towards a better life like their parents did because quite frankly it's too expensive and they end up in rented accommodation with a greedy landlord taking all their wages.

Baby boomer is meant to cover the 20 years after the war.

However the late Boomers such as myself were the reclassified as Gen Jones(1964) Punk, Regan and Thatcher, and the Ruth of MTVwere what defined Gen Jones rather than peace love and hippies of the Boomers. Gen Jones is a cynical and stressed generation (no shit Sherlock! 😁)

Gen X starts about 1964/65, but they do cross over. I think Gen C is defined by that book Gen X. It's the defining things that set you where you belong.

Oh and just for the record I'm 59 and voted 'remain

I'm a similar age and also voted remain.

Interestingly, the age 25 - 34 age group had a 58% turnout, whilst the 55 - 64 age group had a turnout of 81%. So it could have been very different.

Hate the line from boomers "if you gave up up coffee and iphone you could have a deposit". Just fuck off. Aren't you lovely.

Kind of like;

Baby boomer starts out with a bar of happy shopper tin of beans as a kid then as an adult has the opportunity to get a nice tin of Heinz beans.

Younger generation has tin of Heinz beans as a kid (because their parents had the opportunity) then moves out and drops to happy shopper beans. The difference is it is a million times harder for said person to work towards having the Heinz beans like their parents and some probably never will. And that's not because they have an iPhone!

gottagetmoving great post. also caned at school or blackboard rubber thrown at you. Pupil could live off the compo if a teacher did that today