Boo Hoo Boomers!
Is it just me or does everyone love a sweeping generalisation? Without them, there’d be no breakfast radio, that’s for sure.
Australia’s most famous demographer Bernard Salt wrote a very provocative article yesterday about baby boomers bleeding the nation dry.
Baby boomers are people born after their dad’s got back from WWII. People born between 1946 and 1961 – people raised on the sheep’s back in Australia – the generation that has earned the most from the property boom – the generation that could buy a newsagency for a couple of thousand dollars, put in the hard yards and walk away a millionaire, with no nasty debt or multinational competition.
And Bernard Salt says they’re the most selfish generation Australia has ever seen.
Mr Salt wrote his article in response to the protesting pensioners getting their gear off in Melbourne this week.
He says the generation before baby boomers is ‘the frugals’ - people born in the 1920’s and 30’s, surrounded by catastrophe: they were born between world wars with a Great Depression thrown in for good measure. The generation we could all learn from.
Unlike their children, Frugals aren't motivated by money or status and they are largely happy in retirement. Bernard Salt claims the Frugals make little or no demand on the national budget because most of them are grateful for the pension. They never expected nor received a cent for free.
Boomers, according to Mr Salt are about to show us exactly how selfish they are. He claims no matter how much money they have to retire on, it still won't be enough. And, unlike their Frugal parents, boomer retirees will be whining long and loud for the next 20 years about how hard done by they are.
(I submit this from the safe haven of 'generation x', whatever that means....feel free to discuss....)
Australia’s most famous demographer Bernard Salt wrote a very provocative article yesterday about baby boomers bleeding the nation dry.
Baby boomers are people born after their dad’s got back from WWII. People born between 1946 and 1961 – people raised on the sheep’s back in Australia – the generation that has earned the most from the property boom – the generation that could buy a newsagency for a couple of thousand dollars, put in the hard yards and walk away a millionaire, with no nasty debt or multinational competition.
And Bernard Salt says they’re the most selfish generation Australia has ever seen.
Mr Salt wrote his article in response to the protesting pensioners getting their gear off in Melbourne this week.
He says the generation before baby boomers is ‘the frugals’ - people born in the 1920’s and 30’s, surrounded by catastrophe: they were born between world wars with a Great Depression thrown in for good measure. The generation we could all learn from.
Unlike their children, Frugals aren't motivated by money or status and they are largely happy in retirement. Bernard Salt claims the Frugals make little or no demand on the national budget because most of them are grateful for the pension. They never expected nor received a cent for free.
Boomers, according to Mr Salt are about to show us exactly how selfish they are. He claims no matter how much money they have to retire on, it still won't be enough. And, unlike their Frugal parents, boomer retirees will be whining long and loud for the next 20 years about how hard done by they are.
(I submit this from the safe haven of 'generation x', whatever that means....feel free to discuss....)
posted by Caroline Hutchinson at 9:14 AM
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