Baby Boomers are Bust?

Discussion in 'Markets & Economies' started by RetardedMonkey, Jan 21, 2013.

  1. RetardedMonkey

    RetardedMonkey Active Member Silver Stacker

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    http://www.news.com.au/money/supera...boomers-are-bust/story-e6frfmdi-1226558570263

    This makes me laugh so much as someone considered to be part of Gen Y.

    Baby Boomers with the last 20+ years of massive financial gains in basically every sector, and they're all struggling to have enough money for retirement? Really?
     
  2. Auspm

    Auspm New Member

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    They did what they were told to do RM : Spend the kid's inheritance

    That said, I find generational debates on SS don't generally end well.
     
  3. RetardedMonkey

    RetardedMonkey Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Sounds like most debates on SS!
     
  4. Shaddam IV

    Shaddam IV Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    They are all guarantors for their kids mortgages. As the parents are so become their children. Boomers, GenX, GenY all have their own versions of greed, especially around property, generational conflicts have a lot of hypocrisy around them. Boomers are also victims of themselves, they inflated the bubble, now they have to retire into the result of that bubble.
     
  5. bordsilver

    bordsilver Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    Generalising across a wide variety of people is always flawed because of exceptions like nonrecourse, but it's essentially true. The "wealth" they accumulated was/is largely an illusion. Money only allows you to buy things, it doesn't produce things. This especially includes houses (and precious metals of course).

    Basically all the expectations they had about retiring were all an illusion. A small percentage will have enough worthwhile assets owned in their names that they will be able to buy the services of the younger generations to grow their food, make their beer, power their TVs, nurse them when they're sick, cut their toenails, wipe their bum etc. These are all "operating expenses" that largely come from the working population not from the retired population.

    The relatively scarcity of available workers per retiree means that the value of any assets that they thought they had will fall (and potentially quite significantly for many "assets"). Although the early boomers have been front-riding the wave, the bulk of the baby boomers will find that they are not retiring as early as they thought (even if they are only working part-time and/or volunteering for much longer) and their savings will not have the expected purchasing power.

    If more of their labour had been put into productivity improving (i.e. labour saving) technologies, then they would own the assets that freed up the labour to tend to their needs but instead a large chunk was squandered thanks to the screwed-up, distortionary, fiat-currency based, banking system and a swathe of parasitic Government programs/promises/etc. For a range of reasons, Australia (seems to be) in a much better position to ride through the effects of the ageing boomers compared to much of Europe which will most likely be ugly as all frick. Japan isn't too bad (although the tsunami set them back noticeably) but China will be screwed next decade unless substantial political and economic change is allowed to occur by the Party.
     
  6. Naphthalene Man

    Naphthalene Man Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Kids should stand on their own feet and not potentially put their parents in a position where they may lose out if the kids default for whatever reason... too expensive where you want to live? Too bad sunshine, that is life, move to where it isn't.
    My family are all in another State to me which is sad for me and can make life difficult with childminding at times but you cope.

    So i agree Jonesy, all generations have their version of greed.
     
  7. Shaddam IV

    Shaddam IV Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    The Baby boomers can't win. :p If they earned and saved enough money to cover their own costs during their final years they are called greedy by those younger than them who want what they have for themselves, if they didn't they are reviled for being a burden on the younger generations who have to pay for their care via pensions and Medicare.
     
  8. Dogmatix

    Dogmatix Active Member

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    I was thinking about this issue yesterday and came to the conclusion that much of the fault lays with the generation before the boomers.
     
  9. anonmiss

    anonmiss Active Member Silver Stacker

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    Please explain. :lol:
     
  10. Henry Wartooth

    Henry Wartooth New Member

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    Here's a bit of an "out there" theory of mine...

    Retirement is an ideological promise for heaven on earth. People put their faith in the system in the belief they will be rewarded in the after(work)life.

    What do people imagine their retirement to be like? They want to be carefree...have time to catch up with old friends...do the things they never had time to do...watch over their grandkids. Spooky!
     
  11. Dogmatix

    Dogmatix Active Member

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    The generation before the boomers were the ones that:
    - raised the boomers
    - created the govt policies up to now (roughly)
    - grew up in the great depression and should have known better
    - were probably a bit too much 'live life freely, it's short' to their kids due to the war
    - had too many kids!
    - allowed keynesian policies to continue
    - retired like it was the normal thing to do
     
  12. Dogmatix

    Dogmatix Active Member

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    I like your theory.
     
  13. renovator

    renovator Well-Known Member

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    Retirement is what you want it to be but will be defined by your savings or super .

    That being said i think too many people wait until they are too old to enjoy it .

    Work hard while you are young & healthy & try to make enough money to retire early

    Take life by the horns & have a go ,do what you HAVE to do so you so you can retire doing what you WANT to do .

    The reality is if your a doer you will never retire . I know many retired people & they are busy as ever doing what they WANT to do .Still making income albeit less than when they were working .

    I believe that having some income even in your retirement years is crucial even if it is small it will relieve the burden on your super or savings .
     
  14. Naphthalene Man

    Naphthalene Man Active Member Silver Stacker

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    I want to be that old guy in the public swimming pool in the morning who seems to be chatting more than he is swimming.
    I want to be the happy couple driving the campervan around Australia stopping only where it seems to be nice, occasionally taking the grandkids with us on school holidays.
    I want to be the old guy at the beach in the morning playing in the waves with his dog or drinking wine with friends in the evening.
    I want to be the old guy on TV teaching the grandkids to fish.
    I want to the couple travelling to places they haven't been before or liked previously and talking in a foreign language to the locals.

    To accomplish this i need funds to pay for my annual swim pass, funds to pay for the fuel for the caravan, funds to pay for the airfares and for the daughter to have children when she grows up.
    But most importantly i will need the health to enable me to do these things.

    When planing the financial health don't forget the physical health now. Forget the gym mirror junkies and stick with the cardio and high fibre diet. Keeping the heart active and the bowels healthy is the most important thing.
    Regular savings, regular exercise. :D
     
  15. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

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    I'm not going to disagree with your theory henry, but I would clarify that that theory is applicable to those of a welfare mentality.

    The idea of putting your faith in any system is fraught with disappointment and despair. Rather, we should be putting faith in our own abilities to prepare for our future, and not view retirement as a reward but as a consequence of careful planning and hard work.
     
  16. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

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    Piss clear and piss often.
     
  17. renovator

    renovator Well-Known Member

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    often ?....Prostate problem ? Yep good advice if its not clear by lunchtime you need more water .

    I wonder what i will be doing in my retirement maybe taking pics of exotic monkees on my arm would be nice :lol:

    [​IMG]
     
  18. mmm....shiney!

    mmm....shiney! Administrator Staff Member Silver Stacker

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    ^ fronkee, half frog half monkey??
     
  19. renovator

    renovator Well-Known Member

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    lol yeah its a bizarre little creature it has sticky feet like a frog too. .Thats an adult & as big as they grow. The eyes crack me up looks like someone scared the crap out of them
     
  20. willrocks

    willrocks Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

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    I seriously doubt any of them had anything to do with creating any policy.

    The government, past and present, makes its own policy independent of the public. For example who wanted GST? Income Tax? Fuel Levies? Terrorism Laws?
     

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