Baby boomers have now 'gobbled up' nearly one-third of America's wealth share

[Kadee]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who takes serious offense to the term “gobbled up”.

For the most part, we all worked our a-s-s-e-s off to get what we have today. Some of the younger generations want it all now. They want McMansions and fancy cars without having to work for them and earn them.

If we have a flaw, maybe allowing them to think that’s OK as they were growing up was the flaw because we all wanted better for our children than what we had.

I am so sorry if I offend anybody by the fact that I worked my hind end off and so did my husband to buy this 25 acres and build our retirement farm on it. And we did it without college degrees.

Actually my husband quit school when he was a junior in high school, but he had a genius mentality, was honest, and worked hard at his job.

I made everybody angry because I didn’t go to college. I chose not to go to college because I heard too many stories about how the professors tried to rewire a person’s thinking and I wasn’t about to have that happen. Instead I went to work for General Motors wiring division making more money than I ever would’ve made once I got out of college. I actually had high school dropouts to the left of me and college graduates to the right of me because they couldn’t find a better paying job than GM’s wiring division.

I never turned down overtime and what extra money that brought I put in the credit union.

That’s it for my rant on the term “gobbled up.“

I’ve got to,say I agree with you 100% @Imogene we got off our back sides and worked for what we wanted ..we didn’t sit thinking about being a would be ~ if we could be ,we didn’t eat out ,we didn’t want everything right Now ….we didn’t have 2 ….ultra modern cars …on hire purchase …we had second hand furniture ..often bought at op shops or a hand me down from someone

We “owned “ our home by the time we were late 40’s ….HOW … ?? ?
because we stayed home in school holidays and Christmas ,we didn’t have to fly out to some destination ..every three months , during school holidays ~the flight company’s have to put on extra flights during S.H to cope with demand.
If we had a holiday ,it was with an old hand me down tent ️…. and it was usually a few days over Christmas at a caravan park 20 km from where we lived ( C P ..at a beachside suburb ) …that same caravan park is now all big flash cabins starting at $350, a night …no such thing as camping ….oh no …it has all the stuff like jumping castles / gyms / huge pools / spa‘s / saunas / sky walk thing …walking wires ~ in air swings ….you name it ….due to DEMAND ….

We no longer live in the city ,( Adelaide) where that caravan park is , however we drover past the CP on our way
to harbour town recently , while in the city …we was shocked it looks more like a small suburb now …than a nice green leafy CP as it was when we had a few days there during Christmas / which is mid summer here ….in Australia

Here in Australia it shows airport waiting areas in school holidays ,they are packed to the brim with young family’s going away for holidays …..and those same people are screaming from the rooftops ..they can’t offord to buy a home …..WELL ….they need to ask themselves WHY ?? ….

Both hubs and I are second time rounders , we both have kids who are all in late 40’s ~ 50’s ( We've been married 39 years )
and they are already fighting between them selves who should be entitled to ~ what percentage of our wills

Well we’ve saved them getting anymore grey hairs worrying about that ,by recently updating / changing our wills

 

[Dr.Colosso]

Had to look up "horeca" which turns out to be training for the hotel and hospitality industry. In the US, most hospitality jobs are considered low skill and therefore pay minimum wage or slightly above.

Upper management members earn good wages, but general staffers do not. Head chefs do ok, line cooks not so much. Like I said, low skill. That's probably why it's a stepping stone industry for immigrants here, and apparently also in Holland.

If your son went back to school to train for a career with more promising earning opportunities, kudos to him.

I don't understand why you seem to be so angry about this.

I just think it's very unfair. There are for instance Dutch people who make comments online like: those foreigners need to speak Dutch when they serve me. So arrogant. Be happy someone is willing to serve you for that pay and it's unfair that they have to work so much.

I found a petition and signed it. Teens in Holland earn way less than in the rest of Europe. They make billions of profit at the expense of them.

 

[StarSong]

Fair is such an arbitrary word. Age really isn't the driver of a positive work ethic. As I grew up the fast food jobs were a stepping stone for first job youngsters. It was a starting point or maybe just a place for a young person to earn some pocket money. I never saw such employment as a place to make a living. I saw how my parents and siblings developed skills and made themselves more and more marketable as employees.

Exactly so.

 

[IrishEyes]

I guess someone stole my share of that gee whiz!

 

[StarSong]

My children all have bachelor's degrees, one also has a master's and another a project management certification. Along with their employed spouses, all made sure to land in careers that pay enough to cover their expenses (including mortgage payments) plus some extras. Some

One son's children are quite young —still in daycare/preschool — so their money is sometimes a bit tight, but in a couple of years they should be fine.

@Kadee, I'm sorry your kids and steps are focusing on their inheritances. Not a good look for them and must put a sour taste in your and your husband's mouth.

 

[Sunkist]

I guess someone stole my share of that gee whiz!

and mine, too!!!

 

[Kadee]

My children all have bachelor's degrees, one also has a master's and another a project management certification. Along with their employed spouses, all made sure to land in careers that pay enough to cover their expenses (including mortgage payments) plus some extras. Some

One son's children are quite young —still in daycare/preschool — so their money is sometimes a bit tight, but in a couple of years they should be fine.

@Kadee, I'm sorry your kids and steps are focusing on their inheritances. Not a good look for them and must put a sour taste in your and your husband's mouth.

Yep ..most certainly did ..and not were they fighting about who gets what some of them ( hubs kids ) put it in writing to us
@StarSong
Hubs kids stated ….that they should be entitled to 50% ….( he’s got 2) and the other 50% split between my ( 5 kids )

We've made drastic changes on our barrister / lawyers advice … ( we requested his advice )

He added a paragraph in our wills how the kids are disrespectful / rude and at the time of changing our wills 3 weeks ago , we was showing no signs of any impairment in our thinking , no signs of dementia/ mental heath issues
Im coming 80 and hubs is 78

I don’t know why adult kids even expect to get a share of our estate let alone stating their % they think they are entitled to

 

[Rider77]

Relying on inheritance was never a thought that entered my mind. My parents worked hard and provided for us but money was always tight. The grewup and lived in the depression years, and with limited education working hard was the only alternative for the basics of food and shelter.

In more recent times I am very familiar with the family of a man who worked to obtain a college education and moved on to establish a highly successful business. Over the years he accumulated the wealth of a successful selfmade business man. With the educational opportunities he afforded his children two of the four established very solid lives, one a doctor and the other a business man whose success even exceeded that of his father. The remaining two children present slightly different profiles.

The oldest of the four children had moderate success. Frollowing college and service in the military as a commissioned officer after a few years in the business world the trajectory flattened. He still enjoys a resonable life style but not ever near that which was exemplified by their father. The fourth sibling never really launched and demonstrated the results of a series of bad decisions. Quitting college after one year, he depended on the generosity of a wealthy father and never earned more than a modest income.

At the recent death of their father the burden of care for their ailing mother and father fell to and was faithfully carried out by the two successful children. The two remaining siblings displayed jealousy of the success achieved by two of the children, neither put forth any serious effort to assure the welfare of their parents care. The least successful of the four remained dependent on the farther's wealth and displayed a distance sence of greed attentive mainly to the size of a sought after inheritance.

It's more than sad to see this story play out and it has caused a great deal of hurt among the four children. They had good parents and opportunity was theirs to build upon. I see the same traits in many of the younger generation today with half or less pursuing earned success. While others are content in mediocrity or dependence.

 

[Dr.Colosso]

Look here's a kind boomer or is he GenX.

 

[CarolfromTX]

Gobbled up wealth? I got news for that reporter. I worked for it, I invested it wisely, I lived within my income. I didn’t take anything from anyone that I didn’t earn. As for Social Security, I paid into it for years.

 

[Paco Dennis]

Here is some interesting reasons to contemplate also...

The "gobbling up" of wealth by the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) isn't just a matter of "working harder"; it is the result of a perfect storm of economic timing that may never be replicated.
While Boomers currently hold over 50% of all U.S. wealth (and closer to one-third of the total share in specific high-growth categories), the "how" behind this imbalance comes down to four structural pillars:
1. The "Right Time" Real Estate Boom
Boomers entered the housing market when the barrier to entry was historically low.
* Price-to-Income Ratio: In 1970, the median home cost about $23,000—roughly 2.5 times the median household income. Today, that ratio has ballooned to over 5 or 6 times income in many areas.
* Compounding Equity: Because they bought early, they didn't just pay off their homes; they sat on an asset that appreciated by roughly 500% since the early 1980s. This created a "wealth flywheel" that younger generations, currently priced out of the market, cannot access.
2. The Golden Era of the Stock Market
Boomers’ prime earning years (the 1980s through the early 2000s) coincided with one of the greatest bull markets in history.
* The 401(k) Shift: They were the first generation to utilize the 401(k), which was introduced in 1978. They were able to pour pre-tax money into a market that averaged 10% annual growth for decades.
* Asset Concentration: Today, Boomers hold roughly $23 trillion in stocks—an amount that alone exceeds the entire net worth of the Millennial generation.
3. Education without the Debt "Anchor"
Boomers benefited from a period where higher education was heavily subsidized by the government.
* In the 1970s, a summer job could often pay for a year of tuition.
* Because they entered the workforce debt-free, their "disposable income" could go immediately into assets (houses and stocks). In contrast, Millennials and Gen Z often spend their first two decades of work paying off the cost of entering the workforce, missing out on years of compound interest.
4. Demographic Weight & Policy Influence
As the largest generation for most of their lives (approx. 76 million people), Boomers have held the "voting floor."
* Political Priority: Policy has often favored asset owners over laborers (e.g., lower capital gains taxes vs. higher payroll taxes).
* The Pension Safety Net: Many Boomers still have "Defined Benefit" pensions, a security blanket that has almost entirely vanished for younger workers, who must now bear 100% of their own retirement risk.
The Resulting Problem
This imbalance creates a liquidity trap for the economy. When wealth is concentrated in an older demographic that is moving into a "preservation" phase rather than a "spending/innovation" phase, it slows down economic mobility. Younger generations are stuck "renting" their lives (housing, cars, even software) from the generation that owns the assets.
Would you like to explore how the "Great Wealth Transfer"—the expected inheritance of this money—might eventually change this dynamic, or should we look at the specific policy shifts being proposed to fix it?

 

[RambleTamble]

Here is some interesting reasons to contemplate also...

The "gobbling up" of wealth by the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) isn't just a matter of "working harder"; it is the result of a perfect storm of economic timing that may never be replicated.
While Boomers currently hold over 50% of all U.S. wealth (and closer to one-third of the total share in specific high-growth categories), the "how" behind this imbalance comes down to four structural pillars:
1. The "Right Time" Real Estate Boom
Boomers entered the housing market when the barrier to entry was historically low.
* Price-to-Income Ratio: In 1970, the median home cost about $23,000—roughly 2.5 times the median household income. Today, that ratio has ballooned to over 5 or 6 times income in many areas.
* Compounding Equity: Because they bought early, they didn't just pay off their homes; they sat on an asset that appreciated by roughly 500% since the early 1980s. This created a "wealth flywheel" that younger generations, currently priced out of the market, cannot access.
2. The Golden Era of the Stock Market
Boomers’ prime earning years (the 1980s through the early 2000s) coincided with one of the greatest bull markets in history.
* The 401(k) Shift: They were the first generation to utilize the 401(k), which was introduced in 1978. They were able to pour pre-tax money into a market that averaged 10% annual growth for decades.
* Asset Concentration: Today, Boomers hold roughly $23 trillion in stocks—an amount that alone exceeds the entire net worth of the Millennial generation.
3. Education without the Debt "Anchor"
Boomers benefited from a period where higher education was heavily subsidized by the government.
* In the 1970s, a summer job could often pay for a year of tuition.
* Because they entered the workforce debt-free, their "disposable income" could go immediately into assets (houses and stocks). In contrast, Millennials and Gen Z often spend their first two decades of work paying off the cost of entering the workforce, missing out on years of compound interest.
4. Demographic Weight & Policy Influence
As the largest generation for most of their lives (approx. 76 million people), Boomers have held the "voting floor."
* Political Priority: Policy has often favored asset owners over laborers (e.g., lower capital gains taxes vs. higher payroll taxes).
* The Pension Safety Net: Many Boomers still have "Defined Benefit" pensions, a security blanket that has almost entirely vanished for younger workers, who must now bear 100% of their own retirement risk.
The Resulting Problem
This imbalance creates a liquidity trap for the economy. When wealth is concentrated in an older demographic that is moving into a "preservation" phase rather than a "spending/innovation" phase, it slows down economic mobility. Younger generations are stuck "renting" their lives (housing, cars, even software) from the generation that owns the assets.
Would you like to explore how the "Great Wealth Transfer"—the expected inheritance of this money—might eventually change this dynamic, or should we look at the specific policy shifts being proposed to fix it?

That's a great summary. We didn't "gobble up" anything. We didn't work harder and we're not smarter than other generations. We just had good timing.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Sadly, none of it is rocket science and most of it is as boring as watching paint dry.

The biggest ‘struggle’ for me was to be patient and allow my meager savings and investments to compound over time without tapping them to satisfy wants or provide solutions to everyday problems.

Start young, when you can least afford it, and stick with it.

“Success is where preparation and opportunity meet.” - Bobby Unser

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”
– Thomas Edison

 

[Dr.Colosso]

Here is some interesting reasons to contemplate also...

The "gobbling up" of wealth by the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) isn't just a matter of "working harder"; it is the result of a perfect storm of economic timing that may never be replicated.
While Boomers currently hold over 50% of all U.S. wealth (and closer to one-third of the total share in specific high-growth categories), the "how" behind this imbalance comes down to four structural pillars:
1. The "Right Time" Real Estate Boom
Boomers entered the housing market when the barrier to entry was historically low.
* Price-to-Income Ratio: In 1970, the median home cost about $23,000—roughly 2.5 times the median household income. Today, that ratio has ballooned to over 5 or 6 times income in many areas.
* Compounding Equity: Because they bought early, they didn't just pay off their homes; they sat on an asset that appreciated by roughly 500% since the early 1980s. This created a "wealth flywheel" that younger generations, currently priced out of the market, cannot access.
2. The Golden Era of the Stock Market
Boomers’ prime earning years (the 1980s through the early 2000s) coincided with one of the greatest bull markets in history.
* The 401(k) Shift: They were the first generation to utilize the 401(k), which was introduced in 1978. They were able to pour pre-tax money into a market that averaged 10% annual growth for decades.
* Asset Concentration: Today, Boomers hold roughly $23 trillion in stocks—an amount that alone exceeds the entire net worth of the Millennial generation.
3. Education without the Debt "Anchor"
Boomers benefited from a period where higher education was heavily subsidized by the government.
* In the 1970s, a summer job could often pay for a year of tuition.
* Because they entered the workforce debt-free, their "disposable income" could go immediately into assets (houses and stocks). In contrast, Millennials and Gen Z often spend their first two decades of work paying off the cost of entering the workforce, missing out on years of compound interest.
4. Demographic Weight & Policy Influence
As the largest generation for most of their lives (approx. 76 million people), Boomers have held the "voting floor."
* Political Priority: Policy has often favored asset owners over laborers (e.g., lower capital gains taxes vs. higher payroll taxes).
* The Pension Safety Net: Many Boomers still have "Defined Benefit" pensions, a security blanket that has almost entirely vanished for younger workers, who must now bear 100% of their own retirement risk.
The Resulting Problem
This imbalance creates a liquidity trap for the economy. When wealth is concentrated in an older demographic that is moving into a "preservation" phase rather than a "spending/innovation" phase, it slows down economic mobility. Younger generations are stuck "renting" their lives (housing, cars, even software) from the generation that owns the assets.
Would you like to explore how the "Great Wealth Transfer"—the expected inheritance of this money—might eventually change this dynamic, or should we look at the specific policy shifts being proposed to fix it?

Here is some interesting reasons to contemplate also...

The "gobbling up" of wealth by the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) isn't just a matter of "working harder"; it is the result of a perfect storm of economic timing that may never be replicated.
While Boomers currently hold over 50% of all U.S. wealth (and closer to one-third of the total share in specific high-growth categories), the "how" behind this imbalance comes down to four structural pillars:
1. The "Right Time" Real Estate Boom
Boomers entered the housing market when the barrier to entry was historically low.
* Price-to-Income Ratio: In 1970, the median home cost about $23,000—roughly 2.5 times the median household income. Today, that ratio has ballooned to over 5 or 6 times income in many areas.
* Compounding Equity: Because they bought early, they didn't just pay off their homes; they sat on an asset that appreciated by roughly 500% since the early 1980s. This created a "wealth flywheel" that younger generations, currently priced out of the market, cannot access.
2. The Golden Era of the Stock Market
Boomers’ prime earning years (the 1980s through the early 2000s) coincided with one of the greatest bull markets in history.
* The 401(k) Shift: They were the first generation to utilize the 401(k), which was introduced in 1978. They were able to pour pre-tax money into a market that averaged 10% annual growth for decades.
* Asset Concentration: Today, Boomers hold roughly $23 trillion in stocks—an amount that alone exceeds the entire net worth of the Millennial generation.
3. Education without the Debt "Anchor"
Boomers benefited from a period where higher education was heavily subsidized by the government.
* In the 1970s, a summer job could often pay for a year of tuition.
* Because they entered the workforce debt-free, their "disposable income" could go immediately into assets (houses and stocks). In contrast, Millennials and Gen Z often spend their first two decades of work paying off the cost of entering the workforce, missing out on years of compound interest.
4. Demographic Weight & Policy Influence
As the largest generation for most of their lives (approx. 76 million people), Boomers have held the "voting floor."
* Political Priority: Policy has often favored asset owners over laborers (e.g., lower capital gains taxes vs. higher payroll taxes).
* The Pension Safety Net: Many Boomers still have "Defined Benefit" pensions, a security blanket that has almost entirely vanished for younger workers, who must now bear 100% of their own retirement risk.
The Resulting Problem
This imbalance creates a liquidity trap for the economy. When wealth is concentrated in an older demographic that is moving into a "preservation" phase rather than a "spending/innovation" phase, it slows down economic mobility. Younger generations are stuck "renting" their lives (housing, cars, even software) from the generation that owns the assets.
Would you like to explore how the "Great Wealth Transfer"—the expected inheritance of this money—might eventually change this dynamic, or should we look at the specific policy shifts being proposed to fix it?

How can you solve this? What they do here now is let people with median or lower incomes pay less taxes and it's forbidden to ask way too much rent (they work with a point system). They tax people who rent out houses absurd much. This last thing doesn't solve much.

Yes the Canadians left who wanted to ruin it totally, but the ones renting out houses were mostly just people with one extra house who were now like: mkay bye and either sold it to the renter or someone else. They just have to build more houses, but it takes ages talking and then they only build for the rich. Just build some cheap flats. The Dutch dream is: Little housy, little tree, little animal. Everyone wants a small house with a nice small garden 4 by 4 meter or something, but that's not possible. Yes it's annoying when the neighbour upstairs whines, but so be it. Just growl and she'll leave you alone. Build flats.

 

[StarSong]

* Price-to-Income Ratio: In 1970, the median home cost about $23,000—roughly 2.5 times the median household income. Today, that ratio has ballooned to over 5 or 6 times income in many areas.

One of the many reasons I don't quote AI is that their info is so skewed.

House prices in 1970 were mostly irrelevant. I was 17 in 1970. Since most Baby Boomers were born in the 50s, very few were buying homes in 1970. We bought our home in 1983 when we were both past 30. It cost $135K, and we had to put $27K down, plus pay closing costs, so roughly $30K. Let me tell you, saving that amount of money took YEARS, and we made pretty good salaries.

Let's not forget the interest rates... our mortgage was at 13-7/8%.

I won't bother picking apart other aspects, but suffice it to say that very few who were raising families back then had a lot of spare change to play the stock market. Did you? I certainly didn't.

 

[seadoug]

Ditto for me. I bought my first home in 1983, and my ARM interest rate was over 14%. I lost money when selling that house. Also, on the condo and home I sold in the early 90's. The first home I made money on I bought in 1998 and sold in 2006 due to the inflated prices from the real estate "bubble". That means the buyers who bought my home lost money within 2 years. Homes have not always been a "slam dunk" investment.

Re: the following statement, I was born in 1957, so I'm smack in the middle of the Baby Boomers. By far, my best earning years were from 2011 to 2020. I was barely paid enough between the 1980s and early 2000's to pay my bills. My salary in 1985 was $27k with potential bonus. I had no money to put into the stock market or a 401k. Sorry, but I don't agree with much of the timing analysis.

The Golden Era of the Stock Market
Boomers’ prime earning years (the 1980s through the early 2000s) coincided with one of the greatest bull markets in history.
* The 401(k) Shift: They were the first generation to utilize the 401(k), which was introduced in 1978. They were able to pour pre-tax money into a market that averaged 10% annual growth for decades.
* Asset Concentration: Today, Boomers hold roughly $23 trillion in stocks—an amount that alone exceeds the entire net worth of the Millennial generation.

 

[Harry Le Hermit]

I also have access to the FED data, as well having already conducted research into the Census Bureau.

It puzzles me, as to why the original article stated 70 and over as having 31% of the wealth, which would include members of generations previous to the boomers. The FED data from quarter 4 of 1989, has generations older than boomers, having 81% of the wealth. The rest was almost all boomers at 19%, with the oldest at 43. Similar age for Gen X yields 10% and for millennials at 7%.

The boomers overtook the older generations in quarter 2, of 2005. The oldest boomers being 59. I would suggest that as generations become empty nesters, more disposable income becomes available for wealth building. There would also be wealth being transferred via inheritance to the following generation.

 

[Brookswood]

Children are too expensive. Reducing generational wealth is their revenge on us.

 

[Dr.Colosso]

Children are too expensive. Reducing generational wealth is their revenge on us.

I can't blame them that they don't want kids. What I liked about getting kids was that I got to spend time with them. If you're forced to always work and put em in child care you can better just take cats like my neighbours. 2 full time incomes, fancy big apartment and when they go on a holiday or a weekend away I watch the cats.

 

[Brookswood]

I can't blame them that they don't want kids. What I liked about getting kids was that I got to spend time with them. If you're forced to always work and put em in child care you can better just take cats like my neighbours. 2 full time incomes, fancy big apartment and when they go on a holiday or a weekend away I watch the cats.

To each his own. I would never tell people who don’t want kids that they should have them anyway. But I do wonder. When they grow old and can’t quite take care of themselves who will watch out for them? Their cats? I think not.

 

[JustDave]

I don't know how relevant this is, or even if I'm correct, but wasn't the Baby Boomer generation the one where wives went out into the work force in large numbers? I don't know if that made us wealthy or if it happened because of necessity. It felt like survival to me. My wife and I struggled financially for years, before we could finally buy a set of tires for the car without having to eat Top Ramen Noodles for the month.

 

[OneEyedDiva]

The bigger question, for me, is what happens to the younger generations, born after say 1970 (my children and grandchildren), when Social Security starts running out of money (sometime after 2030)!

I sincerely hope to be able to leave my son a healthy six figure inheritance to supplement whatever he has coming in. He does have a 401K but I don't know how that's doing. I also hope there's enough $$ for my grandchildren and other loved ones to get something. SS is actually not supposed to run out of money, but last I read, reduce everyone's SS by 23% . Here's a synopsis from Brave browser's search with yet a different start date (from what I've seen previously) for the reduction.

"The Social Security trust fund is projected to become insolvent in 2033, and by 2035, beneficiaries could face a 23% reduction in benefits if no legislative action is taken. At that point, the program would only be able to pay about 77% of scheduled benefits using incoming payroll tax revenue. The 2025 Social Security Trustees Report updated the estimated depletion date to the first quarter of 2033, moving it up from previous projections."

I've been warning people about this for years, some refused to believe it will happen. I've also been advising the young folks to save diligently and aggressively from the day they start working. None of my grandchildren want to have children, so that should help their financial situations.

 

[spectratg]

I sincerely hope to be able to leave my son a healthy six figure inheritance to supplement whatever he has coming in. He does have a 401K but I don't know how that's doing. I also hope there's enough $$ for my grandchildren and other loved ones to get something. SS is actually not supposed to run out of money, but last I read, reduce everyone's SS by 23% . Here's a synopsis from Brave browser's search with yet a different start date (from what I've seen previously) for the reduction.

"The Social Security trust fund is projected to become insolvent in 2033, and by 2035, beneficiaries could face a 23% reduction in benefits if no legislative action is taken. At that point, the program would only be able to pay about 77% of scheduled benefits using incoming payroll tax revenue. The 2025 Social Security Trustees Report updated the estimated depletion date to the first quarter of 2033, moving it up from previous projections."

I've been warning people about this for years, some refused to believe it will happen. I've also been advising the young folks to save diligently and aggressively from the day they start working. None of my grandchildren want to have children, so that should help their financial situations.

Great post, but your last sentence concerns me. My six grandchildren are not old enough yet to be thinking about having children, but many of my two sisters' grandchildren (there are 28 total) who are older also feel that way. Does not bode well for the future of the human race?

 

[smiley]

my parents were poor post war hard workers who made me and my siblings into baby boomers - go blame them - they're six feet under?

 

[OneEyedDiva]

Great post, but your last sentence concerns me. My six grandchildren are not old enough yet to be thinking about having children, but many of my two sisters' grandchildren (there are 28 total) who are older also feel that way. Does not bode well for the future of the human race?

Neither does the route we are taking now Spectrag! Wars, mass murders because "they" don't like someone's race, religion, orientation or ideology. Too much of that is happening now. I wouldn't bring a child into this world now if I was still at child bearing age. My oldest grandson will be 37 this month, my youngest will be 22 next month and there are three more in between. I feel for them. They have to worry about getting shot at work or on the college campus, or while in church, synagogue or mosque or at the shopping mall.

Too many people can't afford to feed and house themselves, let alone a child or children. The cost of raising a child from birth to 21 has become astronomical. especially if college is in the plans. Regular folks are being priced out of the rental and housing markets. Our infrastructure is detereorating, or worse being destroyed. Money (to fix) seems to be more important than life saving fixes. The educational system just got whacked and we are poised to see a further dumbing down of our children (check U.S students' ranks compared to children in other countries). So if the education is poor, especially for the poor, what chance is there (for many) to get good jobs when the current competition is global?

We are also not taking care of our planet. Climate change is going to bring about some devastating events that we are already starting to see. It is predicted that many coastal cities and towns will be underwater by 2050. When I first started reading about this, the timeline was the end of the 21 century! Atlantic City is on the list. My granddaughter wants to stay there after college.
https://www.thetravel.com/15-usa-ci...rwater-by-2050-10-already-on-the-ocean-floor/

NOAA map showing predicted submersions:
MSN

Our ecosystems are getting screwed up. Some animal species are becoming extinct. Our oceans are so polluted that soon eating certain fish may actually be dangerous. Animals raised for food are being injected with hormones and antibiotics. We've got GMO and and other fake foods (including fake meat). Yeah....really a great world for innocent children to be raised in !! Rant over!