to think that the baby-boomer generation are ripping off the young?

[Upwind]

It has been mentioned on several threads here recently. The baby-boomers tend to hold the more powerful positions right now and they seem to be more than happy to deny younger generations the advantages they enjoyed. Especially in terms of affordable housing but also pensions, free university education etc.

see this transcript of a speech on social justice across the generations

I see what you mean. Boomers were called the "me" generation, and they certainly appear to be living up to that stereotype of selfishness. I'm very biased though, I have a terrible relationship with my selfish boomer parents. Last year my family became homeless and dad didn't even consider letting us stay in one of his three houses. Meanwhile, my mother was enjoying her three bedroom house all alone in one of the richest areas in the country. So you you can see why I'm bitter

The Baby Boomers had it so good. Pensions, cheaper housing etc. And they complain, complain, complain. DH always tells his dad how much more he has to earn now to afford the same things his dad had.

I agree the babyboomers seem to have benefitted from more advantageous economical conditions than younger generations.

However, I think it is an issue for individuals to deal with. After all, if parents have done well it is up to them whether they choose to pass some of that wealth on to their children or to get pissed in Spanish retirement complexes for the rest of their lives.

Ah yes, the complaining

because they have to pay council tax, poor things

ahhh, but when the 'baby boomers' are old, and infirm they will have to turn to their families (or the state) and will be a burden...

and our generation will have great responsibilites in looking after (or not) our parents!

ie. an eye for an eye... perhaps?

this is ripe for a times/telegraph style 'poor me' article. they had it good but it was unsustainable. get over it.

Haven't read the link but there are also plenty of baby boomers who also deplore how things have turned out for the next generation.

Mercy - in my experience few of them acknowledge that things are harder now and the media & politicians ignore these issues.

Boomers witter on about how hard it was for them, they had to make do with second hand furniture in their first home etc. Never mind that they could afford to buy a family-sized home where someone with an equivelant job today would be renting or buying a small flat in the arse end of commuter-ville. Decent social housing is also very hard to come by these days.

My MIL talks about how she chose to give up work as though her own DD or DILs are selfish for not doing the same. We don't have a choice. To have some minimal quality of life we will have to work long hours.

Yes..agree with Mercy.My pil are very much aware of how good they had it and seem to spend a great deal of time working out how best to pass on what they have accumulated. (to grandchildren btw..not to us.)

troutpout (love the name) - your in-laws are probably being quite tax efficient by passing on their wealth to grandkids instead of you so it's nice of them to do so.

Goat - I agree it was unsustainable and I don't begrudge them having had it good. For every babyboomer who up sticks and pisses up their pension on cheap booze in Spain and cruises there are 10 times as many others who plan to pass on their wealth or have already contributed towards getting a foot on the housing ladder.

My parents are poor so this is one problem i'll never have to deal with.

Upwind, we must know some very different people then! (although I agree with you re politicians etc).

But we shouldn't be blaming an entire generation or even any individuals of that age group that we happen to know.

And also, don't forget that our generation does have things like much better maternity leave & pay amongst other things, women's rights in general are better.

I don't actually blame individual boomers & I do agree that there are plenty who deplore how things have turned out for us. But in general I think they, as a generation, are ripping us off. And I think they mostly prefer not to think about it or simply don't realise. Ad nauseum we are told we are throwing money away on rent - we calmly explain again that we can't afford to buy, how much it would cost us in mortgage payments to buy a house like theirs and the boomers very often express surprise. Like the idea that house prices always going up more than wages could eventually cause serious problems is just not on their radar.

Yet house prices rising is usually reported as good news though it only benefits people who are downsizing or inheriting! The pensions issue is cheerfully passed on - our generation will just have to work longer to pay the boomers pensions. Tough luck that students are so heavily in debt. Tough luck that nearly every entry level job requires an expensive degree - even if there is no obvious reason one might be needed.

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Not sure whether they are selfish, but they've certainly been very very lucky economically.

I'm very unhappy with the idea that the solution is for older people to do the decent thing and pass their wealth on to their children/grandchildren. This can only leave a legacy of a yet more divided society.

Quite - it is causing more inequality amoung our peer group as the ones who are lucky enough to have parents who are willing and able to help can just get on with their lives. And it will get worse as time goes by.

They have also had the benifit of cheap energy and will have used up most of the resources so their grandchildren cannot use it - they will also not be alive to see the consquences of their actions such as global warming.

We could go back to free uni edeucation etc but it would mean a masssive hike in taxes.

I am lukcy my parents lent us money to get our foot on the housing ladder - I am an only child - if there were 2 of me then clearly I would have got less!

Although surely alot of that generation will need all their savings to pay for care in their old age!

Yes, the hyperinflation of house prices has already created a situation where most first time buyers simply cannot buy unless they have wealthy parents who are prepared to give substantial help.

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I guess at our ages, dh and I are Babyboomers but I don't see that we have had it particularly easy. We haven't made a huge amount of money on property (lived in the 'wrong' places, moved at the 'wrong' times), we didn't benefit from maternity/women's equality rights, we lived through much uncertainty about job security (I know just one person who has worked in the same place their entire careers, most people have been made redundant at some point) and have suffered age discrimination once over the age of 40. It's ironic that now dh is in his 60's, he's actually more in demand than he was 15/20yrs ago, when he was 'too old' . We've paid out for our dc's university education (not that we begrudge a penny of it) and lost out on pensions which we were told were as safe as the Bank of England. And now we have the issue of taking care of elderly parents while still having to work ourselves. As I said on a previous thread, I don't know anyone of our age who lives a life of Riley or anyone who who has retired early so I refute the idea that there has been some Halcyon age which has now passed by.

I think in years gone by there was some element of loyalty from employers that seems vitally lacking today. Noone seems to value their current staff by offering any incentive to stay with them, and in cases I have seen just taken jobs away wholesale and sent the work abroad to be done supposedly cheaper to the same standards.
If none of us can count on our jobs year in year out then we are destined to be career nomads- and this is where many people of my age are going to miss out pensionwise in the future, where co pensions aren't open to those on temp contracts, or open till been with co for a certain length of time.
I for one have about six months of pension contributions in- and have been employed FT for ten years. Know I will be worse off in my old age than those who have been able to stay in a job for any length of time.

who do we mean by babyboomers? Do you mean my mum who is 59 and had 3 kids (She was born in 1948)

I would have thought so, beanie.

Suedonim, my mum would agree with you (as I do). Tbh, I can't really think of very many things which were easier for my mum when she was a younger woman. Equal pay for women didn't even exist until she was nearly 40.