Divide and conquer is the oldest game in the book. And a lamb shall lead them!
A reader writes, wondering whether they are being trolled by Fox News (say it ain't so!) by "articles" claiming that "Boomers" bought up all the houses and "Millennials with children" only own 14% of the housing stock. The reader points out that Millennials with children make up 14% of the population. If anything, they are over-represented in the statistics - do none of them rent?
But it is true today - and 50 years ago - that older people tend to have more wealth by dint of being around for a long time and saving money and taking advantage of compound interest. I saw a plea from a 30-year-old online who cried that the world was "unfair" because at age 30 they had hardly any savings! How could they afford to retire at this rate?
Well, as I noted time and time again, at age 30, my net worth was negative. I had started a 401(k) but it was vastly overshadowed by $38,000 in student loans - about the equivalent of $90,000 today. But less than 30 years later, I retired and today am living comfortably, if not extravagantly. Life isn't all that bad.
Of course, when I was 20-something it seemed like I was getting a raw deal - or I could have looked at it that way. Our generation, or should I say, my older siblings' generation (the "Woodstock Generation" - no thank you, Hillary!) whined a lot about the "generation gap" during the 1960's. "They don't understand us! We just want peace and love! We don't want to turn to materialism like their generation!"
A scant decade later, they cut their hair and quit marijuana and took up cocaine and invented Disco. Yea, boomers - I hate them too! They went from peace and love to "I've got mine, jack! You get yours!" One of the authors of "Steal This Book" became a Wall Street investor and right-wing Republican. People change over time.
And yea, life is unfair and each succeeding generation has it different than the previous. Some things are better, some worse. For example, I was never at risk for polio, which was a disease that scared the crap out of my parents as they were at risk for it (and even their President had it!). Today, well, the new generation is at risk for it, but because they are making shitty choices - egged on by foreign agents.
My parents had a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired home on a lake. Pretty sweet deal, although my older siblings had left home by then - they had to grow up in more plebeian circumstances. And even though I made as much if not more (even adjusting for inflation) as my Dad did, I would never be able to afford a house like that - or even pay the taxes! I know this because I tried. It was fun, but expensive fun.
As population increases, some things become more scarce. And land is one of those things. So it never struck me as "unfair" that my parents could afford a lake house and I could not. Indeed, when I was a kid, some of the mansions on the lake were selling for cheap, as no one could afford the heating bills! Today, they have been sold to a new generation of wealthy people who have lovingly restored them to their former glory. They are all pretty much out of reach from me, though. For some reason, I am not angry about this - it just is what it is, and my life is different than theirs.
Maybe growing up there gave me another perspective, too. A lot of these "rich folks" that we are supposed to be jealous of are, in fact, miserable souls. I recounted before about the alcoholism, mental illness, and suicide rates among the people who equated money with happiness. Think about it, why is the "richest man in the world" (he isn't) so freaking unhappy all the time? Why do his own children want nothing to do with him? It is a pattern often repeated.
I have also believed that much of the "counter-culture" and "generation gap" of the 1960's was aided and abetted by foreign influencers. It is not some astounding claim - our own agencies spread influence in foreign countries in that era - and even today. We literally installed governments in some third-world countries. We beamed propaganda behind the iron curtain. It is a game every country plays, so let's be grown-ups and stop pretending it isn't happening and didn't happen. And let's stop pretending that we are not influenced by it.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Vietnam war protests, free love, drug use, and so on were helpful to the cause of the Soviet bloc and harmful to America. This is not to say these were caused by Soviet agents, only that, no doubt, they fanned the flames of domestic discontent. There have always been people protesting for "Peace" in America, but positing that the only way to achieve it is to surrender. In order to have "Peace" you either have to have a meeting of the minds between the two opposing parties, or have one party completely surrender. You can't do peace from one side only.
And the sex and drugs? Lots of fun, but they derailed the minds of a generation of young people. And I say this from personal experience, having taken a twelve-year detour in life in pursuit of getting high. Some pull out from this nosedive, others crash and burn - I've seen it. And it still goes on today - with far more powerful drugs, too.
Today we have social media and our friends from overseas are quite good at breeding discontent. Whenever you see a posting about how rotten things are and how someone else has it so much better, well, you can bet the seeds of this are being nourished by the Russian Internet Research Agency. Not a day goes by when I don't see some posting that "Guaranteed Annual Income" or "Redistributing the Wealth" are the only solutions to our problems.
Problem is, neither has a snowball's chance in hell of ever happening, which is by design, as this creates perpetual discontent. And even if enacted, well, they would not change much. If you have $100,000 in student loans from your degree in religious studies and are working at Starbucks, nothing is going to change much. But whose fault is that? Oh, yea, "They" told you to go to college and get a useless degree and "They" told you to borrow money. Problem is, the "student loan crises" has been going on for well over a decade - were you not aware of this when you signed the loan documents? Or did you think you were a special case and this would not apply to you?
It is true that a lot of the housing stock in America is owned by older Americans. And I know people who own two or three or even four homes and visit them for only a few weeks a year. It makes no sense to me as you can stay at a top-of-the-line hotel in the Presidential Suite for less money that what they are paying in property taxes and insurance. But all of that is about to change.
Some are calling it the "Silver Tsunami" - when all the boomers start to shuffle off the mortal coil, an awful lot of real estate will hit the market at once. Of course, much of it will be in retirement communities and resort areas - of little use to working-class younger people. But it will affect the overall housing market and perhaps soften prices if not outright cause them to collapse - as they did in 2008 and in 1989. Demographics drives markets.
When will this happen? Hard to say as people don't die off all at once (except during wars and epidemics). The earliest boomers, if we use the standard definition, were born in 1947. The trend peaked in 1960, the year I was born, and tapered off until 1964 - although I don't think someone born in 1964 is a "post-war" baby, particularly since two wars had intervened since World War II. If we assume the "average" lifespan in America of about 77 years, well, the first boomers should have all died off last year. But they didn't.
Lifespan averages are misleading. They include things like infant mortality (far more common with the older generation than with ours) and youthful mishaps (motorcycle accidents, etc.). If you live to be 60 years old, the odds of you living beyond 77 are much higher as a result. But then again, the oldest person in the world is maybe in the hundred-teens and that crown changes hands on a weekly basis. From what I see, living in God's waiting room, most folks who live beyond 60, shuffle off the mortal coil, in their mid-to-late 80s or maybe 90s. A few make it to 100, but not far beyond. Those that do, usually sell their houses before then.
So the "boomers" should start dying off between 2030 and 2040 or so - in the near future, but not the immediate future. Meanwhile, the population of America keeps increasing, due to birth rates as well as immigration. The "Silver Tsunami" may not be a sudden event, but a gradual easing, if that.
In the meantime, enjoy the lamb.
