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Isn't it normal for people who have more productive years behind them already (and thus more savings etc.) to own a bigger share in the economy? Today's Gen Z-e

Isn't it normal for people who have more productive years behind them already (and thus more savings etc.) to own a bigger share in the economy? Today's Gen Z-ers will too be retired 40-50 years from now, and will also own lots of assets then.

fweespeech 5y ago
https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-millennials-are-running-out-of-time/#:~:text=buy%20a%20home.%E2%80%9D-,Net%20worth,of%20just%20%2491%2C000%20in%202019 https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-millennials-are-runn.... > In almost every way measurable, millennials in the U.S. at 40 are doing worse financially than the generations that came before them. > Now, if predictions of a long, post-Covid economic boom are to be believed, this may be the last opportunity an entire generation has to build wealth before heading off into retirement. Eh, Millennials are measurably worse off than boomers or Gen X were at their age.
Grimm1 5y ago
If you do a point to point comparison Millenials own much less at the same point in their life than Boomers did.
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  Why are we comparing against boomers specifically? Perhaps it would be fairer to compare against the average of past 5 generations, and not a cherry-picked example.
  - Grimm1 5y ago
    Gen X has less than Boomers, the Silent Generation has less than Boomers. Boomers together have more wealth than the next 3 generations put together.
scottLobster 5y ago
Bigger, sure. But the oldest US millennials are turning 40 now, and own around 5% of the wealth. Likewise when the US Boomers were the age millennials are now they owned about %20 of the wealth collectively.
- candiddevmike 5y ago
  I wonder if the oversized tech millionaire/billionaire millennials inflate the amount of wealth the majority millennials actually hold. Judging by the number of millennials I know anecdotally living with their parents, I don't think most millennials own a lot of assets.
  - burntoutfire 5y ago
    The same phenomenon is probably much more pronounced among the boomers.
- the_solenoid 5y ago
  And, buying power was wayyyyy stronger for them. As a % of income, housing tended to cost a fraction of what is currently the norm. It's not uncommon for boomers to just have 2-3 properties because in a middle class job you could afford it.
- refurb 5y ago
  But the boomers were a much bigger percent of the population than millennials are today, so of course they’d own more?
  - stnmtn 5y ago
    Do you think these percentages line up? What about the relative cost of a semester of college in 1970-80 vs today? Or the relative cost of housing?
    - refurb 5y ago
      Someone did some math on the cost of housing taking into account lower interest rates (thus lower payments), plus inflation and actually outside of a few select markets, houses don't cost that much more.
the_solenoid 5y ago
In a perfect world, that makes sense. But, wages have been flat since pretty much the 80's for the vast majority of workers (weather tracking inflation and/or productivity) while common long term investments like housing have become out of reach due to supply issues, brought on by... rich people and companies buying up all the properties and seeking rents (both foreign and domestic), and retirement has moved from pensions to whatever mess we have now. There is also the huge issue of student loans basically setting back a whole class of people more and more over the years. I have friends who have student debt and very nice paying jobs, but the debt still set back plans for home buying and family planning by 5-10+ years for a lot of them.
- HPsquared 5y ago
  Just think where we'd be if all that money spent on higher education had instead gone towards housebuilding, we'd all be better off.
w-j-w 5y ago
In general, yes, but this is a question of magnitude. Compared to when Boomers were the same age, Gen Z have less money and assets. The worry is that this indicates that many of those from Gen Z 40-50 years from now will own assets because they inherited them, which is wildly inequitable.
officeplant 5y ago
33 currently, not sure how I will ever retire or own a house. Wages in the US have stagnated for the majority of my lifespan. My states infrastructure is completely falling apart while everyone ignores it. Environmental change is hitting us harder every year. If there isn't much of a change in the coming years I don't have much hope for the generations after me. Currently my future lies in me building out a van to live in eventually while I save up to escape the Southern US.

fweespeech 5y ago

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-millennials-are-running-out-of-time/#:~:text=buy%20a%20home.%E2%80%9D-,Net%20worth,of%20just%20%2491%2C000%20in%202019 https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2021-millennials-are-runn.... > In almost every way measurable, millennials in the U.S. at 40 are doing worse financially than the generations that came before them. > Now, if predictions of a long, post-Covid economic boom are to be believed, this may be the last opportunity an entire generation has to build wealth before heading off into retirement. Eh, Millennials are measurably worse off than boomers or Gen X were at their age.

Grimm1 5y ago

If you do a point to point comparison Millenials own much less at the same point in their life than Boomers did.

burntoutfire 5y ago
Why are we comparing against boomers specifically? Perhaps it would be fairer to compare against the average of past 5 generations, and not a cherry-picked example.
- Grimm1 5y ago
  Gen X has less than Boomers, the Silent Generation has less than Boomers. Boomers together have more wealth than the next 3 generations put together.

scottLobster 5y ago

Bigger, sure. But the oldest US millennials are turning 40 now, and own around 5% of the wealth. Likewise when the US Boomers were the age millennials are now they owned about %20 of the wealth collectively.

candiddevmike 5y ago
I wonder if the oversized tech millionaire/billionaire millennials inflate the amount of wealth the majority millennials actually hold. Judging by the number of millennials I know anecdotally living with their parents, I don't think most millennials own a lot of assets.
- burntoutfire 5y ago
  The same phenomenon is probably much more pronounced among the boomers.
the_solenoid 5y ago
And, buying power was wayyyyy stronger for them. As a % of income, housing tended to cost a fraction of what is currently the norm. It's not uncommon for boomers to just have 2-3 properties because in a middle class job you could afford it.
refurb 5y ago
But the boomers were a much bigger percent of the population than millennials are today, so of course they’d own more?
- stnmtn 5y ago
  Do you think these percentages line up? What about the relative cost of a semester of college in 1970-80 vs today? Or the relative cost of housing?
  - refurb 5y ago
    Someone did some math on the cost of housing taking into account lower interest rates (thus lower payments), plus inflation and actually outside of a few select markets, houses don't cost that much more.

the_solenoid 5y ago

In a perfect world, that makes sense. But, wages have been flat since pretty much the 80's for the vast majority of workers (weather tracking inflation and/or productivity) while common long term investments like housing have become out of reach due to supply issues, brought on by... rich people and companies buying up all the properties and seeking rents (both foreign and domestic), and retirement has moved from pensions to whatever mess we have now. There is also the huge issue of student loans basically setting back a whole class of people more and more over the years. I have friends who have student debt and very nice paying jobs, but the debt still set back plans for home buying and family planning by 5-10+ years for a lot of them.

HPsquared 5y ago
Just think where we'd be if all that money spent on higher education had instead gone towards housebuilding, we'd all be better off.

w-j-w 5y ago

In general, yes, but this is a question of magnitude. Compared to when Boomers were the same age, Gen Z have less money and assets. The worry is that this indicates that many of those from Gen Z 40-50 years from now will own assets because they inherited them, which is wildly inequitable.

officeplant 5y ago

33 currently, not sure how I will ever retire or own a house. Wages in the US have stagnated for the majority of my lifespan. My states infrastructure is completely falling apart while everyone ignores it. Environmental change is hitting us harder every year. If there isn't much of a change in the coming years I don't have much hope for the generations after me. Currently my future lies in me building out a van to live in eventually while I save up to escape the Southern US.