Boomer Remover

[nala]

Millennial here and it’s not bitterness. Some boomers are insufferable (some). It goes beyond the paid off house comment. It’s this sanctimonious talking down to. The world doesn’t work the same way that it did 40-50 years ago so boomer advice largely doesn’t apply. It doesn’t stop a lot of them from giving it though and acting like we’re all entitled morons.

For example I’m tired of hearing about how I should stop going to restaurants and travelling until my house is paid off. Average house prices in my area have gone from 100k to currently over 700k for anything with 2 bedrooms or more. Incomes have not increased in a way to make home ownership feasible for most of us. Why focus all of our energy on something that is beyond reach? At this rate the younger generation will be living with their parents until they’re 40+

Talking about paying off your own home is one thing, but projecting that expectation onto others is something else. This is only one example, but it’s annoying to be held to a standard that is flat out wrong for the current day. When I think “Ok Boomer” I’m referring to someone who is resistant to change, someone who refuses to look at the world outside of their personal (and dated) experience.

I still obviously don’t want anyone to die!

Not that I care to debate over generational differences—bc I did say it was cliche in an earlier post. But I think it’s interesting that you inferred the boomers were lecturing the millennials—when my wording didn’t indicate that at all. I did use the term bitter to describe millennials’ reaction bc I myself didn’t see that one person’s success merited such a bitter response. I found it rude and dismissive. I’m only 6 years older than those two millennials and I’m well on my way to paying off my house—so I don’t get the bitterness. And btw—millennials aren’t the first generation to travel or enjoy life. I’ve been doing both since I graduated from college. I mean. I’m on a diamond forum, after all. All generations have felt challenged But if you dwell on the hopelessness—you can become bitter—take it from someone who has experienced poverty, emotional abuse, the murder of a loved one, etc—those are all universal challenges regardless of the generation. I’m grateful I never had to blame any generations for my outlook on life—my outlook is something that I can control.

 

[chemgirl]

Of course you don't want your aged family members and people like me to die. I get it.

I thought my parents, your grandparents were insufferable, oh God, telling me how to raise my kids, my mother bought tons of old school tapes for my kids to watch (looney toons ha!) while visiting Nanny, my mom thought kids in front of the boob tube was a miracle, a baby sitter! nothing wrong with it.. boy that was tough...

You SHOULD stop eating out and traveling too much when you have a mortgage, pay it off, we paid 100.00$ per month extra on our mortgage in NC and Austin from 90 to 2010 (we moved, moved up houses etc but those were the years we had a mortgage).. so we were able to pay off our mortgage just in time to when our kids were starting college.. it was a life saver, but a big vacate was a trip to Grandma's and eating out was - well - never. Choices. Home prices in your area could not have increased from 100K to 700K without some people being able to buy those homes. It's true that salaries are stagnant.

My first home's mortgage in today's dollars was $117,972.70. 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom house on a road with a LOT of traffic. We sold it in 7 years for $236,000 when we bought the house in '78 I was 25 and made 6K a year, my ex made 14K a year so that was 20K (we were both college graduates) in today's dollars $84,618.48. Mortgage payment was, 367.00$ per month which is $1553.00 month in today's dollars, then we got divorced, (one of the best days of my life!).. in 1977 the inflation rate was 6.5% per year avg s 1.4%, in '79 the inflation rate was 12%, our incomes were not going up at that rate, I remember gas prices doubling in a few weeks in 74, I mean it was horrible.. the ONLY reason why I was able to move up was because my husband was STEM guy it was the beginning of programming and salaries moved due to competition, my husband's degree form 74 is Math and minor in Comp Sci because there was no major in it at the Univ of Illinois.. So save.

I don't understand WHY millenials think it was easy peasy for boomers, it wasn't. Most people in those days had 1 car, yup ONE car.. My dumbbutt ex husband wanted a Honda prelude so we had to pay DAP (dealer added proft!) of 1K in 1980 because it was very good on gas and the dealers just ripped one off, I hated it, he wanted the car because we commuted 18 mile to work..

See this is exactly what I mean.

 

[OreoRosies86]

See this is exactly what I mean.

It’s like... every time.

In the 60s/70s and when boomers were starting their families, even if you didn’t have much you generally had enough. Not anymore. Not even close.

 

[Tekate]

See this is exactly what I mean.

That's they cookie crumbles. Or at least that is what my mom would say to me I stand with my generation when I think they are right and I DO NOT when I think they are wrong and you can be assured we have the right to comment because we have experience. And you will too to the generations coming up, it's life.

 

[Mekp]

Every parent needs to prepare emotionally for the day their child shoves them in a nursing home against their will.

Edit - This is no joke. I’ve seen it happen time and time again to even the best parents. In my own family too. And during this pandemic.

This comment makes me so sad.

For many years I worked in a position where I determined an individual's capacity to consent or refuse admission to a nursing home and facilitated the applications to the homes. I never once saw anyone "shoving " their parent into a home with any malice. I saw these grown children sobbing while they looked.for reassurance that they had done everything possible to care for their parent. I saw children trying to care for parents who were so confused they were wandering away from their home naked, creating stove fires, becoming so agitated they were physically aggressive to their caregivers. I saw children quitting jobs and becoming financially overextended while trying to keep mom or dad at home.

The families I had concerns about usually resisted nursing homes (frequently so they had full access to the money) while not providing the care to keep their parent safe.

There should be no shame in placing a parent in an appropriate care environment.

 

[Tekate]

It’s like... every time.

In the 60s/70s and when boomers were starting their families, even if you didn’t have much you generally had enough. Not anymore. Not even close.

I don't think boomers had that many kids in the 60s or even early 70s, since the first boomer is 1946 in 1962 she would have been 16.. I personally as an early boomer only know of one of my friends had a child in the 70s, 1977 now. late boomers were born from 58 to 60 as the last boomers were in 1964.

When I knew people having kids I don't know how secure anyone felt, my sister had her kid in 80 and she lived in a 2 bedroom 1 bath house in Erie PA with a wood stove and she and her husband were both college grads.. I am a somewhat late boomer parent I was 35 when I had my first kid and 39 with the second.. I suppose it's possible that girls were having babies in the 60s that are boomers, I don't know how many children were born to boomers and in what years to be honest, I only know I was born 52 which makes me an early boomer.

anecdotally my sister sorta had enough because she and my BIL worked..I know upper class women who did not work but your teachers etc that were in my life all worked.


YMMV

 

[yssie]

This comment makes me so sad.

For many years I worked in a position where I determined an individual's capacity to consent or refuse admission to a nursing home and facilitated the applications to the homes. I never once saw anyone "shoving " their parent into a home with any malice. I saw these grown children sobbing while they looked.for reassurance that they had done everything possible to care for their parent. I saw children trying to care for parents who were so confused they were wandering away from their home naked, creating stove fires, becoming so agitated they were physically aggressive to their caregivers. I saw children quitting jobs and becoming financially overextended while trying to keep mom or dad at home.

The families I had concerns about usually resisted nursing homes (frequently so they had full access to the money) while not providing the care to keep their parent safe.

There should be no shame in placing a parent in an appropriate care environment.

Thank you for the work that you did @Mekp.

I wish this was the case. I wish I could trust that a facility trained to take care of my parents (I am not a trained caregiver and have no medical background) would do so with their emotional and physical health the foremost priority. Unfortunately, at least from what I’ve seen, that’s not often the case.

I feel the same way about daycare for infants and very young children, but we as a society prioritize child welfare over much else, so the egregious is sniffed out and snuffed out... And childcare is for the most part only part of the day. From what I’ve seen in my seventeen years in the USA, we don’t care for our elders the way they deserve, and for whatever reason their needs don’t inspire the fervent advocacy that other groups’ needs do.

 

[SallyB]

This comment makes me so sad.

For many years I worked in a position where I determined an individual's capacity to consent or refuse admission to a nursing home and facilitated the applications to the homes. I never once saw anyone "shoving " their parent into a home with any malice. I saw these grown children sobbing while they looked.for reassurance that they had done everything possible to care for their parent. I saw children trying to care for parents who were so confused they were wandering away from their home naked, creating stove fires, becoming so agitated they were physically aggressive to their caregivers. I saw children quitting jobs and becoming financially overextended while trying to keep mom or dad at home.

The families I had concerns about usually resisted nursing homes (frequently so they had full access to the money) while not providing the care to keep their parent safe.

There should be no shame in placing a parent in an appropriate care environment.

I used to work in eldercare. While there were definitely the “sobbers” there were also the “shovers”.
Keep in mind that family members typically show their best sides at these appointments.
Also keep in mind that 50-60% of nursing home residents never get a single visitor. Ever. Many don’t have living relatives, but many, many do. That’s telling as well.

 

[Mekp]

Thank you for the work that you did @Mekp.

I wish this was the case. I wish I could trust that a facility trained to take care of my parents (I am not a trained caregiver and have no medical background) would do so with their emotional and physical health the foremost priority. Unfortunately, at least from what I’ve seen, that’s not often the case.

I feel the same way about daycare for infants and very young children, but we as a society prioritize child welfare over much else, so the egregious is sniffed out and snuffed out... And childcare is for the most part only part of the day. From what I’ve seen in my seventeen years in the USA, we don’t care for our elders the way they deserve, and for whatever reason their needs don’t inspire the fervent advocacy that other groups’ needs do.

I do agree with you that elder care is sadly lacking and there is not the advocacy we see for "sexier" issues.

I live in Canada so I can only speak regarding my country, but I imagine the US has similar issues. I think Covid-19 has really highlighted where we have fallen down. In my province (Ontario) nursing home funding is completely insufficient. Each resident is funded by the government to receive a mere 6 minutes of care to get ready for the day. The payrates are not encouraging health care workers (many of whom are millenials who are trying to piecemeal a living wage together) to work in nursing homes so there is also a worker shortage.

I don't think its a viable option to not have care homes, though. I think we need to do better than we have. I think in my neck of the woods our government needs to adequately fund these homes (and eliminate the homes that are for profit) so that they can truly provide the care our seniors deserve.

 

[Mekp]

I used to work in eldercare. While there were definitely the “sobbers” there were also the “shovers”.
Keep in mind that family members typically show their best sides at these appointments.
Also keep in mind that 50-60% of nursing home residents never get a single visitor. Ever. Many don’t have living relatives, but many, many do. That’s telling as well.

I guess we have had very different experiences with our clients and their families.

I would be interested in understanding more about your data that indicates 50-60% of nursing home residents don’t ever have visitors. Is that data for a particular home or a region? I am currently in senior management at a nursing home and our data suggests approximately 15% don't have visitors any given month. I'd say less than 5% don’t ever have visitors.

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

Home prices in your area could not have increased from 100K to 700K without some people being able to buy those homes.

So save.

Most people in those days had 1 car, yup ONE car..

You know who can buy those homes? Boomers. Boomers who left university with no student loans because tuition was free, who have spent their lives buying up all the houses for rental investments and getting rich on capital gains, adding it to their non-means tested pensions.

Median house price in my city is $1 million. Average gross income is around 50k before tax, student loan repayments etc. Rent on a cheap small flat is $500/week, just for the rent, bills additional (and yes, that rent goes to boomer landlords who do the bare minimum to keep those properties livable). Please tell me how I can save a 20% house deposit simply by not going out for brunch?

And yes, most households have ONE old second hand car.

So yeah, I'm a little bitter.

 

[yssie]

the ONLY reason why I was able to move up was because my husband was STEM guy it was the beginning of programming and salaries moved due to competition, my husband's degree form 74 is Math and minor in Comp Sci because there was no major in it at the Univ of Illinois.. So save.

But what about the people who weren't - or whose husbands weren't - in STEM at an opportune time?

The way we pay teachers, social workers, law enforcement, caregivers... It's abysmal. We couldn't say more clearly "We don't value you". "Your expertise is not important in this society". "We don't need you".

And so here we are, with a shortage of people willing to take on these jobs at all, let alone people who are willing to give these jobs their minds and hearts. And, at the same time, we also don't foster the strong familial community that other cultures do. The end result is of course people with needs that go chronically unmet.

Isn't "okay Boomer" kind of just the corollary to "snowflake"?

Here's some data in (horrifying) black and white:

Estimated average annual salary of teachers in public elementary and secondary schools, by state: Selected years, 1969-70 through 2016-17

The primary purpose of the Digest of Education Statistics is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. The Digest includes a selection of data from many sources, both government and private...

nces.ed.gov

 

[SallyB]

I guess we have had very different experiences with our clients and their families.

I would be interested in understanding more about your data that indicates 50-60% of nursing home residents don’t ever have visitors. Is that data for a particular home or a region? I am currently in senior management at a nursing home and our data suggests approximately 15% don't have visitors any given month. I'd say less than 5% don’t ever have visitors.

Remember nursing home residents during holidays

It is time for the holidays, and everyone begins thinking about what they can do to make someone’s Christmas a little merrier. Remember, there are many nursing home residents that have very few or no…

www.examiner-enterprise.com

 

[OreoRosies86]

You know who can buy those homes? Boomers. Boomers who left university with no student loans because tuition was free, who have spent their lives buying up all the houses for rental investments and getting rich on capital gains, adding it to their non-means tested pensions.

Median house price in my city is $1 million. Average gross income is around 50k before tax, student loan repayments etc. Rent on a cheap small flat is $500/week, just for the rent, bills additional (and yes, that rent goes to boomer landlords who do the bare minimum to keep those properties livable). Please tell me how I can save a 20% house deposit simply by not going out for brunch?

And yes, most households have ONE old second hand car.

So yeah, I'm a little bitter.

My brother, a recent college graduate, makes $14 an hour, which is $2/hour more than my GRANDFATHER made when he was alive and working. My grandfather had two houses and 5 children, my grandmother was a housewife. It’s just absurd.

But yes, avocado toast is the problem here and this is why conversations like these never go anywhere.

 

[Mekp]

Remember nursing home residents during holidays

It is time for the holidays, and everyone begins thinking about what they can do to make someone’s Christmas a little merrier. Remember, there are many nursing home residents that have very few or no…

www.examiner-enterprise.com

They cite no source so it isn't data that can be relied on.

Family Involvement in Residential Long-Term Care: A Synthesis and Critical Review - PMC

The objective of this review is to critically synthesize the existing literature on family involvement in residential long-term care. Studies that examined family involvement in various long-term care venues were identified through extensive ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Lilith112]

@DAF lol as if this entire thread isn't people taking the phrase personally. Nevermind the fact that I just brought up basic overarching facts that are unrelated to parenting or individual choices e.g. Recessions, inflation outpacing income growth, college prices etc.

Moreover, if Gussie was trying to not be personal, calling younger gens "entitled brats" or saying we're accustomed to participation trophies is a funny way of staying impersonal. Tone policimg isn't cute, particularly when it's also hypocritical.

 

[chemgirl]

Of course you don't want your aged family members and people like me to die. I get it.

I thought my parents, your grandparents were insufferable, oh God, telling me how to raise my kids, my mother bought tons of old school tapes for my kids to watch (looney toons ha!) while visiting Nanny, my mom thought kids in front of the boob tube was a miracle, a baby sitter! nothing wrong with it.. boy that was tough...

You SHOULD stop eating out and traveling too much when you have a mortgage, pay it off, we paid 100.00$ per month extra on our mortgage in NC and Austin from 90 to 2010 (we moved, moved up houses etc but those were the years we had a mortgage).. so we were able to pay off our mortgage just in time to when our kids were starting college.. it was a life saver, but a big vacate was a trip to Grandma's and eating out was - well - never. Choices. Home prices in your area could not have increased from 100K to 700K without some people being able to buy those homes. It's true that salaries are stagnant.

My first home's mortgage in today's dollars was $117,972.70. 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom house on a road with a LOT of traffic. We sold it in 7 years for $236,000 when we bought the house in '78 I was 25 and made 6K a year, my ex made 14K a year so that was 20K (we were both college graduates) in today's dollars $84,618.48. Mortgage payment was, 367.00$ per month which is $1553.00 month in today's dollars, then we got divorced, (one of the best days of my life!).. in 1977 the inflation rate was 6.5% per year avg s 1.4%, in '79 the inflation rate was 12%, our incomes were not going up at that rate, I remember gas prices doubling in a few weeks in 74, I mean it was horrible.. the ONLY reason why I was able to move up was because my husband was STEM guy it was the beginning of programming and salaries moved due to competition, my husband's degree form 74 is Math and minor in Comp Sci because there was no major in it at the Univ of Illinois.. So save.

I don't understand WHY millenials think it was easy peasy for boomers, it wasn't. Most people in those days had 1 car, yup ONE car.. My dumbbutt ex husband wanted a Honda prelude so we had to pay DAP (dealer added proft!) of 1K in 1980 because it was very good on gas and the dealers just ripped one off, I hated it, he wanted the car because we commuted 18 mile to work..

I currently make $1200 per month in extra payments on my mortgage. My two bedroom townhome was $720,000 (and I have boomers ask when I’m going to buy a “real house”). An extra $100 per month would barely reduce the term length. Two cars is considered a luxury and definitely not the norm here. We both commute 45 minutes away from home and that’s considered good, many people at my workplace commute more than an hour each way.

Rent on a two bedroom here starts around $2600 per month for something basic so saving for a down payment isn’t really feasible for most.

Housing prices are so high because of lack of inventory. Older homes in the good school districts rarely come onto the market and new construction is purchased by investment firms.

There is a shortage of childcare so my sister had to pay $24,000 in a lump sum and that only covered the first 8 months for one child.

Eating out and travel is a drop in the bucket compared to everything else.

 

[qubitasaurus]

Of course you don't want your aged family members and people like me to die. I get it.

I thought my parents, your grandparents were insufferable, oh God, telling me how to raise my kids, my mother bought tons of old school tapes for my kids to watch (looney toons ha!) while visiting Nanny, my mom thought kids in front of the boob tube was a miracle, a baby sitter! nothing wrong with it.. boy that was tough...

You SHOULD stop eating out and traveling too much when you have a mortgage, pay it off, we paid 100.00$ per month extra on our mortgage in NC and Austin from 90 to 2010 (we moved, moved up houses etc but those were the years we had a mortgage).. so we were able to pay off our mortgage just in time to when our kids were starting college.. it was a life saver, but a big vacate was a trip to Grandma's and eating out was - well - never. Choices. Home prices in your area could not have increased from 100K to 700K without some people being able to buy those homes. It's true that salaries are stagnant.

My first home's mortgage in today's dollars was $117,972.70. 2 bedroom 1.5 bathroom house on a road with a LOT of traffic. We sold it in 7 years for $236,000 when we bought the house in '78 I was 25 and made 6K a year, my ex made 14K a year so that was 20K (we were both college graduates) in today's dollars $84,618.48. Mortgage payment was, 367.00$ per month which is $1553.00 month in today's dollars, then we got divorced, (one of the best days of my life!).. in 1977 the inflation rate was 6.5% per year avg s 1.4%, in '79 the inflation rate was 12%, our incomes were not going up at that rate, I remember gas prices doubling in a few weeks in 74, I mean it was horrible.. the ONLY reason why I was able to move up was because my husband was STEM guy it was the beginning of programming and salaries moved due to competition, my husband's degree form 74 is Math and minor in Comp Sci because there was no major in it at the Univ of Illinois.. So save.

I don't understand WHY millenials think it was easy peasy for boomers, it wasn't. Most people in those days had 1 car, yup ONE car.. My dumbbutt ex husband wanted a Honda prelude so we had to pay DAP (dealer added proft!) of 1K in 1980 because it was very good on gas and the dealers just ripped one off, I hated it, he wanted the car because we commuted 18 mile to work..

Lol I have to admit I haven't read the above -- and am procrastinating so sorry if this comes off a bit tong and cheek. But a 2 bedroom apartment far from the city here of about 1100 sq foot will set me back ~1.5 million dollars. In addition I will only get to own it for 99 years from the point of beginning of construction before it is repossessed by the government -- so probably I will get to own it for 85 years or so from the time when I buy it. Afterwards it will revert to the government. The government will charge me more than 117 k in taxes (in addition to the 1.5 million sticker price plus normal property buying fees) to buy this 2 bedder apartment for ~85 years.

These ~1.5 million dollar small 2 bedders are cheap apartments which are not in the city.

It is much more expensive in the city -- many districts have 4 million to 8 + million as their standard prices for apartments. In many districts a house on land which you can keep longer than 99 years, will cost you in excess of 20 million.

Who is buying these 1.5 million- 20 million dollar run of the mill apartments/houses? People from Hong Kong who think it is cheap -- because property prices there are even more extreme. It is not the people my age from Hong Kong (they are all protesting as it has become too expensive to buy a first home which was what made hong kong so volatile last year) generally it is the older generation who bought property in hong kong when it was more affordable. And made most of their wealth off buying and selling property through the massive inflation in prices.

I am in a stem field, I have a phd. Statistically speaking we are apparently top 1 % for income as a household. We have saved a lot, and had the benefit of families who saved their wealth to give us. Crazily we will some how afford a starter home that will need to be > 2 million dollars (+ ~200 k taxes) as we can't fit in a 2 bedder any more with children and a maid to care for and house. (before you ask I have to keep the maid. Workhours are so long here that we can't come home before 7 pm (indeed this is considered early here!) and there are no family members within 1000s of km of me so someone has to stay with us to care for my daughter. I could have chosen to never have a child -- most people I know who are my age have made this choice. Lol there are long running adverts about trying to get people to shack up and have a child -- including some super corny stuff like making love being patriotic -- plus large payouts for the birth of a child. But it doesnt work birthrate are falling off a cliff and it is no surprise why.). The question now is whether I should buy one even, if these prices are sustainable or not? I guess also is my career secure enough to take on the mortgage this will require? They're so high that I am almost the only one in my generation I know who can afford them.

There was a very famous quote from Lee Kuan Yew about how important home ownership is. He noticed that the people who owned homes did not loot riot and trash their surroundings. He said that the way to social stability was to ensure everyone could afford a home. Essentially implying this issue impacted all socio economic levels irrespective of how rich they were -- similar to several other statistics that show the rich and poor alike die much younger under certain social circumstances (think circumstances like high wealth inequality). Luckily here there is still government housing for citizens as a result of this insight. It does indeed seem to improve social stability.

 

[DAF]

@DAF lol as if this entire thread isn't people taking the phrase personally. Nevermind the fact that I just brought up basic overarching facts that are unrelated to parenting or individual choices e.g. Recessions, inflation outpacing income growth, college prices etc.

Moreover, if Gussie was trying to not be personal, calling younger gens "entitled brats" or saying we're accustomed to participation trophies is a funny way of staying impersonal. Tone policimg isn't cute, particularly when it's also hypocritical.

@Lilith112 Tone policing was far from what I was doing. I was merely commenting on what I thought were the most poignant comments in the thread. But tell me, how was I being hypocritical?

 

[Lilith112]

@Lilith112 Tone policing was far from what I was doing. I was merely commenting on what I thought were the most poignant comments in the thread. But tell me, how was I being hypocritical?

Trying to frame my response as "taking It personal" when there's plenty of other responses in this thread taking this topic pretty personally as well, ranging from calling/implying that younger gens are "entitled brats" or lazy. So yeah, it's s bit hypocritical for you to single out my post within this context.

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

Trying to frame my response as "taking It personal" when there's plenty of other responses in this thread taking this topic pretty personally as well, ranging from calling/implying that younger gens are "entitled brats" or lazy. So yeah, it's s bit hypocritical for you to single out my post within this context.

You really should learn what hypocritical means.... it does not apply to what you're trying to say.

ETA: Anyone can respond to whomever they want. You don't get to dictate what people write, or to whom they direct their comments. If you feel someone is offending you, you're welcome to report it to admin. In any case, if you don't like what people are saying, perhaps this thread/topic isn't for you.

 

[Lilith112]

You really should learn what hypocritical means.... it does not apply to what you're trying to say.

ETA: Anyone can respond to whomever they want. You don't get to dictate what people write, or to whom they direct their comments. If you feel someone is offending you, you're welcome to report it to admin. In any case, if you don't like what people are saying, perhaps this thread/topic isn't for you.

Hypocritical means applying a double standard. Aka calling out posts from youngest gens for "taking it personal" while being fine with insults such as "entitled brats" and whatnot.

Moreover, remarking on behavior isn't dictating how someone writes. Or unless that's not allowed in this thread? When did I everyone "dictate" how/who can respond to me lol?

 

[House Cat]

I’m just sitting back and taking it all in while the boomers confirm that all of the complaints about them are true. It’s as if they can’t help themselves.

 

[OreoRosies86]

I’m just sitting back and taking it all in while the boomers confirm that all of the complaints about them are true. It’s as if they can’t help themselves.

Bingo!

 

[Elizabeth35]

You know who can buy those homes? Boomers. Boomers who left university with no student loans because tuition was free, who have spent their lives buying up all the houses for rental investments and getting rich on capital gains, adding it to their non-means tested pensions.

Median house price in my city is $1 million. Average gross income is around 50k before tax, student loan repayments etc. Rent on a cheap small flat is $500/week, just for the rent, bills additional (and yes, that rent goes to boomer landlords who do the bare minimum to keep those properties livable). Please tell me how I can save a 20% house deposit simply by not going out for brunch?

And yes, most households have ONE old second hand car.

So yeah, I'm a little bitter.

I get what you are saying but let’s clarify a couple things.
I am a Boomer in the US. I did NOT receive free tuition. Obviously it was much cheaper as tuitions have rise far more quickly than wages.
Another point—the majority of boomers do NOT get pensions in the US. My parents generation is the last generation to widely receive pensions. The people I know who get pensions are teachers, cops, and union tradespeople. In other words—union employees.
Can you clarify what you mean by non-means tested pensions? Is that based on non-US residency?


Not sure what the statement about capital gains is meant to imply. Have many Boomers saved and invested in the stock market or real estate—probably. So we are somehow wrong for saving/investing for our non-pension funded retirement? How else would we fund our retirement since we don’t have pensions? Capital gains in US is taxable upon sale of the real estate or investment. Is your objection to the tax rates for capital gains in the US.

Sorry but I really want to understand your objections.
And ai am sorry about the bitterness you have. Any chance you can move somewhere that has more reasonable housing costs? I know many people who have done that.
I know there are many cities I can’t afford to live in—thus I sit in Illinois-lol.

 

[Volute]

I currently make $1200 per month in extra payments on my mortgage. My two bedroom townhome was $720,000 (and I have boomers ask when I’m going to buy a “real house”). An extra $100 per month would barely reduce the term length. Two cars is considered a luxury and definitely not the norm here. We both commute 45 minutes away from home and that’s considered good, many people at my workplace commute more than an hour each way.

Rent on a two bedroom here starts around $2600 per month for something basic so saving for a down payment isn’t really feasible for most.

Housing prices are so high because of lack of inventory. Older homes in the good school districts rarely come onto the market and new construction is purchased by investment firms.

There is a shortage of childcare so my sister had to pay $24,000 in a lump sum and that only covered the first 8 months for one child.

Eating out and travel is a drop in the bucket compared to everything else.

THIS. I suspect that like me, you also "did everything right" but this is the story I hear from my peer group all the time. I'm only better off in some ways because I invested with another friend before marriage, but it was a risky move and I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

In the meanwhile, I have given up having any sort of life during the pandemic (work/errands 1x a week max and then straight home to hospital grade cleaning) so that I can support and provide company for my sweet grandmother while (not all) boomers yell at me for wearing a mask and for holding back the economy by not rushing back to restaurants. I hope your townhouse has a roof deck so you can get away from it all.

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

To respond to the OP's original question on when did people become so insensitive as to wish a portion of the demographic population just basically die here is my thought. If you wish a person dead or a generation of people dead then that reveals your heart to me. I love and respect people with kind hearts. I avoid people with hate in their hearts.

 

[vintageloves]

You think we had it easy? My first mortgage was 21 5/8%. My husband made $17,000/ yr. lots of people were drafted for the Vietnam war. We had race riots, we realize there is division. I paid insane college tuition for my kids. My husband has been laid off three times. Ok Boomer.

Adjusting for inflation, that’s about 50K. Yes, that interest rate is insane, but it’s still owning a home and it sounds like it was on one income. It’s not the best example of having it harder compared to you average young person making 30K and when average home is 10x that much.

My generation has technological and social advances older ones could never have dreamed of. The generation beneath me even more so. But the trade has been a lowered ability to obtain basics like housing, healthcare and education. Many young people don’t own homes, will never own homes, won’t start families until later in life, and have debt. Many are resentful of the trade. Some wrongly blame innocent parties. Boomer eraser isn’t a term that will endear anyone. But neither are accusations of selfishness or narcissism.

No one wins the oppression olympics. All we can do is try to make things better. And for that to happen, young people need to be able to talk about their challenges without being talked over and talked down about past problems that no longer exist.

 

[CalliopeCladdagh]

I get what you are saying but let’s clarify a couple things.

Can you clarify what you mean by non-means tested pensions? Is that based on non-US residency?

Not sure what the statement about capital gains is meant to imply.

Any chance you can move somewhere that has more reasonable housing costs?.

Did you know, there's an entire world out there beyond the US?

By non-means tested I mean every person aged 65 and above here receives a govt pension regardless of their income or assets. So these boomers are literally being paid by us to sit around in all their investment properties that they buy to rent out or sell for capital gains, tax-free, and by doing so they price us out of home ownership. Capital gains tax has been debated here many times but the boomer politicians feel it will harm their "way of life". We almost managed to get it passed into law about a year ago, but it did not get past parliament.

The $1 million houses I mentioned are all around an hour from the city centre (to get closer is obviously more millions). I would love to live somewhere cheaper but unfortunately the main cities are where the jobs are, everywhere else is tiny/rural.

 

[Elizabeth35]

I am quite aware there is an entire world outside the US. And when people get condescending it devaluates any open dialogue which could help each side understand a little better.

I simply tried to understand some of your points as that is not how things work where I live. I knew the non-means tested statement indicated no-US residency.

Thank you for your clarifications. Your country has obviously policies that are extremely unfair and will drive younger people away. I can understand your bitterness better now that I understand the situation.