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I've said it before, but the millennial generation will not be kind to boomers when the history books are written. Our parents have basically fucked us over in

I've said it before, but the millennial generation will not be kind to boomers when the history books are written. Our parents have basically fucked us over in a million different ways, but especially with housing. I see a ton of boomers who have basically shredded the economy by creating multiple bubbles in the stock market and housing, destabilized the middle east and thrust us into many unwinnable wars, blown through all the home equity they had with home equity credit lines, never saved for retirement, and now expect to be taken care of by social security and medicaid during retirement. This is apparently what happens when you have a strong cultural revolution during the 60s, but everyone grows up and gets greedy. Although I'm not too optimistic the millennial generation won't do the same exact thing when they turn 40... edit: forgot to mention wars...

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
rubicon33 8y ago
Yea, this article is really not surprising to anyone who isn't a boomer. I look around and see smart, hardworking people with some of the "best" jobs in the nation (doctors, lawyers, programmers, etc.) who can't afford to buy a home. Between student debt, the cost of living, nearly 50% taxation (and rising in CA), wage stagnation, and real estate greed... it's nearly impossible even for those young people who are doing well. If you ask me, the boomer generation certainly left it (far) worse than they found it. Thanks, boomers, for de-regulating banks, leading to financial instability that continues to this day. Thanks, boomers, for the 2007 Great Recession. Thanks, boomers, for buying up homes in 2008 at a discount, and selling it back to the next generation at an exorbitant price. Your "investment" is literally why we have a housing crisis. Thanks, boomers, for the massive mismanagement of federal, and local governments. Thanks for the wars, boomers. Thanks, boomers, for some historical wage stagnation. It's no surprise that people are struggling to afford a home, and waiting to start a family.
- Lionsion 8y ago
  > Yea, this article is really not surprising to anyone who isn't a boomer. I look around and see smart, hardworking people with some of the "best" jobs in the nation (doctors, lawyers, programmers, etc.) who can't afford to buy a home. Between student debt, the cost of living, nearly 50% taxation (and rising in CA), wage stagnation, and real estate greed... it's nearly impossible even for those young people who are doing well. If you ask me, the boomer generation certainly left it (far) worse than they found it. Is this a national problem you're seeing, or one specific to CA/NYC/etc.? I suspect it much be a local problem, since I can't see doctors, lawyers, and programmers having a hard time affording a home outside a few very specific locations.
  - rubicon33 8y ago
    I think the issue of wage stagnation, student debt, and all the issues that come with the wars and poor government management are felt across the nation by young people. That said, I think the housing "crisis" is really specific to certain areas. In CA what we're seeing is that it's very hard to afford a home in certain areas.
- woolvalley 8y ago
  A lot of these patterns have been in place since the 70s. I don't think it's as simple as blaming a diverse age cohort.
  - awat 8y ago
    I think there is some truth to this for sure. But speaking from a here and now perspective it’s hard to not take this stance. My wife and I make a good bit more than the average income for our area and at 27 we aren’t going to be even close to affording the house I was born into. That house was bought by my parents at 23 with my father working part time.
    - nostromo 8y ago
      Part of that is simply population growth. The creation of the automobile opened up a ton of land for new, cheap housing. That lasted for a few decades, but the land is now developed and the population is much larger and evermore urban, so the gold rush is over. There may be a chance to develop our way to cheaper housing, but you'll be getting less land and less space for more money.
      - awat 8y ago
        Agreed, there are timeliness and environmental variables to living costs and land for sure. The fear here seems to be that being a doctor or lawyer to use the cliche won’t secure you housing and that landowner becomes a profession that trumps all in terms of income and social class. I don’t mean this to be disingenuous I realize thats always been true to a certain extent but the extent is important.
    - rubicon33 8y ago
      Yup, similar story here. My wife and I hold "great" jobs right now. Some of the best in the nation. Yet we can't afford anything close to what our parents could when they were 10 years younger than we are now. And it just pisses me off to no end when we see shit like this from the boomers: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/news/millennials-home-buying-avocado-toast/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/news/millennials-home-buying... These people have no idea how lucky and easy they had it compared to what young people are dealing with now. The deck, is stacked.
- TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
  We need to be careful here. Boomers aren’t a homogeneous whole we can point a finger at and lay blame. Some Boomers, sure.
crdoconnor 8y ago
Driving you to this conclusion is part of that plan: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/identity-politics-and-the-stoking-of-generational-warfare.html https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/identity-politics-an... "A particularly potent political grouping would be for older people, particularly retirees, to team up with young people on economic issues. So it’s not surprising that some political mavens are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. One of the strategies of the plutocrats comes from financier Jay Gould : “I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half,” except this time, they aren’t even having to hire one half to turn it against the other. Just as I’ve noticed an sharp uptick in women’s identity articles, I’ve also seen a ramping up of generational warfare and anti-baby-boomer messaging (I have as much antipathy towards broad comments about baby boomers as I do women). This phenomenon admittedly has deeper roots, since billionaire Pete Peterson has been campaigning against Social Security and Medicare since the mid 1980s, and presenting old people as something society can’t afford is part of his strategy. But he’s been joined by fresh troops, such as Fix the Debt and billionaire Stan Druckenmiller’s overt campaign to turn young people against older ones, The Can Kicks Back."
nostromo 8y ago
> destabilized the middle east The middle east was destabilized before most Boomers were born or when they were young children. Blaming grandma for people fighting in the Middle East is ridiculous. > expect to be taken care of by social security and medicaid during retirement. Social Security was created in 1935 before a single Boomer was born. Medicaid was created in 1965. Boomers would at most be 20 years old or at minimum 1. > thrust us into many unwinnable wars Young people actually supported the Iraq War at a higher rate than did older Americans. http://www.people-press.org/2002/10/17/generations-divide-over-military-action-in-iraq/ http://www.people-press.org/2002/10/17/generations-divide-ov...

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

rubicon33 8y ago

Yea, this article is really not surprising to anyone who isn't a boomer. I look around and see smart, hardworking people with some of the "best" jobs in the nation (doctors, lawyers, programmers, etc.) who can't afford to buy a home. Between student debt, the cost of living, nearly 50% taxation (and rising in CA), wage stagnation, and real estate greed... it's nearly impossible even for those young people who are doing well. If you ask me, the boomer generation certainly left it (far) worse than they found it. Thanks, boomers, for de-regulating banks, leading to financial instability that continues to this day. Thanks, boomers, for the 2007 Great Recession. Thanks, boomers, for buying up homes in 2008 at a discount, and selling it back to the next generation at an exorbitant price. Your "investment" is literally why we have a housing crisis. Thanks, boomers, for the massive mismanagement of federal, and local governments. Thanks for the wars, boomers. Thanks, boomers, for some historical wage stagnation. It's no surprise that people are struggling to afford a home, and waiting to start a family.

Lionsion 8y ago
> Yea, this article is really not surprising to anyone who isn't a boomer. I look around and see smart, hardworking people with some of the "best" jobs in the nation (doctors, lawyers, programmers, etc.) who can't afford to buy a home. Between student debt, the cost of living, nearly 50% taxation (and rising in CA), wage stagnation, and real estate greed... it's nearly impossible even for those young people who are doing well. If you ask me, the boomer generation certainly left it (far) worse than they found it. Is this a national problem you're seeing, or one specific to CA/NYC/etc.? I suspect it much be a local problem, since I can't see doctors, lawyers, and programmers having a hard time affording a home outside a few very specific locations.
- rubicon33 8y ago
  I think the issue of wage stagnation, student debt, and all the issues that come with the wars and poor government management are felt across the nation by young people. That said, I think the housing "crisis" is really specific to certain areas. In CA what we're seeing is that it's very hard to afford a home in certain areas.
woolvalley 8y ago
A lot of these patterns have been in place since the 70s. I don't think it's as simple as blaming a diverse age cohort.
- awat 8y ago
  I think there is some truth to this for sure. But speaking from a here and now perspective it’s hard to not take this stance. My wife and I make a good bit more than the average income for our area and at 27 we aren’t going to be even close to affording the house I was born into. That house was bought by my parents at 23 with my father working part time.
  - nostromo 8y ago
    Part of that is simply population growth. The creation of the automobile opened up a ton of land for new, cheap housing. That lasted for a few decades, but the land is now developed and the population is much larger and evermore urban, so the gold rush is over. There may be a chance to develop our way to cheaper housing, but you'll be getting less land and less space for more money.
    - awat 8y ago
      Agreed, there are timeliness and environmental variables to living costs and land for sure. The fear here seems to be that being a doctor or lawyer to use the cliche won’t secure you housing and that landowner becomes a profession that trumps all in terms of income and social class. I don’t mean this to be disingenuous I realize thats always been true to a certain extent but the extent is important.
  - rubicon33 8y ago
    Yup, similar story here. My wife and I hold "great" jobs right now. Some of the best in the nation. Yet we can't afford anything close to what our parents could when they were 10 years younger than we are now. And it just pisses me off to no end when we see shit like this from the boomers: http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/news/millennials-home-buying-avocado-toast/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/15/news/millennials-home-buying... These people have no idea how lucky and easy they had it compared to what young people are dealing with now. The deck, is stacked.
TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
We need to be careful here. Boomers aren’t a homogeneous whole we can point a finger at and lay blame. Some Boomers, sure.

crdoconnor 8y ago

Driving you to this conclusion is part of that plan: https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/identity-politics-and-the-stoking-of-generational-warfare.html https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/11/identity-politics-an... "A particularly potent political grouping would be for older people, particularly retirees, to team up with young people on economic issues. So it’s not surprising that some political mavens are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen. One of the strategies of the plutocrats comes from financier Jay Gould : “I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half,” except this time, they aren’t even having to hire one half to turn it against the other. Just as I’ve noticed an sharp uptick in women’s identity articles, I’ve also seen a ramping up of generational warfare and anti-baby-boomer messaging (I have as much antipathy towards broad comments about baby boomers as I do women). This phenomenon admittedly has deeper roots, since billionaire Pete Peterson has been campaigning against Social Security and Medicare since the mid 1980s, and presenting old people as something society can’t afford is part of his strategy. But he’s been joined by fresh troops, such as Fix the Debt and billionaire Stan Druckenmiller’s overt campaign to turn young people against older ones, The Can Kicks Back."

nostromo 8y ago

> destabilized the middle east The middle east was destabilized before most Boomers were born or when they were young children. Blaming grandma for people fighting in the Middle East is ridiculous. > expect to be taken care of by social security and medicaid during retirement. Social Security was created in 1935 before a single Boomer was born. Medicaid was created in 1965. Boomers would at most be 20 years old or at minimum 1. > thrust us into many unwinnable wars Young people actually supported the Iraq War at a higher rate than did older Americans. http://www.people-press.org/2002/10/17/generations-divide-over-military-action-in-iraq/ http://www.people-press.org/2002/10/17/generations-divide-ov...