Blogs Mar 15, 2013 at 8:58 am

Comments

2
The money is flowing to China's new middle class. They will never have unions.
3
Don't think these 56-to-64-year olds are any better off than those of 30 years ago. 30 years ago older people could look forward to pensions so had fewer assets counted. Today's seniors have 401(k)s that are worth considerably less than the pensions they forfeited. You're better off with an annuity paying $20,000 a year and $100,000 in the bank than you are with just $200,000 in the bank.
4
who are these people my age with net worth?

Even when you take into account my 401k, between student and car loans I have negative net...
5
Mr. Money Mustache is the solution
7
doesn't matter. all those young folks want to live in 140 sqft apodments. they don't need wealth...
8
@6 Yes, let's learn from the baby boomers that propagated the Cold War, gutted public spending, and pushed through the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. Let's ensure that the generation that follows us are EVEN WORSE off than we are!

No thank you.
9
We are not going back to the golden-age compromise

Says who? Remember, that golden age was the direct result of the great depression.
11
Before drawing sweeping generalizations, let's note that the report measures "average net worth", which in this day and age of inequality unseen in ~80 years, isn't very meaningful. It probably doesn't change the main conclusion that youth cannot accumulates wealth at the same rate their parents but median worth for 56-64 is likely not twice that of someone the same age 30 years ago.
12
If you earn less than six figures, your wealth is probably tied to property. When property values bounce back, we'll see numbers for that younger demo rise.

It won't change most of these peoples' standard of living any in the long term, but the next NYT article like this telling them how much everyone's suddenly worth will probably send them to Best Buy for a line of credit. Repeat every 7–10 years.
13
@10 - I don't think that's what Charles is talking about. He's referring, I believe, to the data showing that profitability was at an all time high in that era, and has been gradually declining ever since. Given the way capitalism is now spread around the globe, it looks pretty convincing that we'll never see the profits of that era -- profits which were shared in the form of higher wages, through organized labor struggle. The fat cats agreed to give the workers more pay for more productivity. A car factory worker could own a home and raise a family on his salary... something that cannot be done today.

@9 - A fair point. But:
(1) Do you really want to live through another Great Depression, just so we can have a potential shot at another economic 'golden age'? An unmitigatable disaster that would be world-wide in scope, and devastating to billions?
(2) The increased complexities and interrelationships of the "Global Economy" today, and the stats showing a very long trend of falling profitability suggest pretty strongly that we'll never see that era of capitalism again.
14
Not to disrupt the dysfunctional generational warfare many seem so keen on waging but you realize "averages" don't mean shit.

Most people - not the average person - but the vast majority of people 30 to 64 will NEVER be able to retire. NEVER. Their assets won't amount to shit. Their wealth didn't increase it went steadily down. Maybe 3% of 56 to 64 had their wealth skyrocket. THAT'S what "average" means.

So while you all are busy chewing the bitter leaves of generational hate and angst, the net result of how fucked this economy is will be old people working crappy jobs till they die.
The same few crappy jobs that 20 and thirty somethings would have been competing for to pay off their student loans.

And, if history is any guide, future 20 somethings will be cutting taxes to restrict entitlements in vengeance to their parasitic elders (you). Only fucking themselves more in the process because lo and behold everybody get's old.

So you can hate on the old people all you want. But that fact is your double fucked.


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