Yet Another Reason to Despise the Boomers
I like to make the argument with my friends that as Generation X, we are at the whims of the Baby Boomers and the AARP. Because they make up such a large proportion of US population that their shear numbers mean that any political or economic moves will be to benefit themselves and not necessarily the county as a whole. I bring this up because on the front page of the USA Today was an interesting article about the wealth difference from this generation gap.
I haven’t checked their data but this is the first time that I have read about this disparity. The fact that there is a wealth gap makes sense because younger generations have not had time to accumulate a large amount of savings. I am sure they are picking the data that fits their story but here are some interesting numbers:
- ages 55-59: median net worth rose 97% over the past 15 years to $249,700 in 2004. Median income rose 52%
- ages 35-39: median net worth fell to $48,940 and median income fell 10%
After looking at the data I don’t know what is more concerning; the fact that there is an increasing spread or the fact that half of all 59 year olds have less then $250,000 saved for their impending retirement.
The rest of the article goes on to ask the question why is a poorer younger generation subsidizing a wealthier older generation in the form of Social Security and Medicare taxes.
All in all a pretty interesting article with some really good tidbits.
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:35 AM
Good post. I’ll have to PM you with more thoughts on this because it’s something I worry about too.