Although I don't always agree with his politics, I like a lot of the thinking of Charles Hugh Smith. This, for example.
But the global reality is the Baby Boom generation is so large that it dwarfs the younger generations. Regardless of any other conditions, this reality negates all the promises issued to retirees: as the ratio of workers paying substantial taxes on their full-time earnings to retirees slips below two workers to one retiree, there is no way the workers can support the lavish costs of healthcare and old age pensions without becoming impoverished themselves.
via charleshughsmith.blogspot.nl
In a word, yes.
A few years ago my very smart SIL said to me at dinner one night, "our generation may not be willing to support yours in the way you might like when you retire".
My reply to Adam and my darling daughter was that it would not matter whether they were willing or not, with a shrinking population, the size of the economy would prohibit it. The only possible way to do it would be for their generation to have 4 homes, 12 cars, 24 big-screen TV's, 11 fridges and freezers, 234 computers etc etc etc, you get the picture; and to do it all on borroweed money.
I sincerely hope that nobody in their generation could be quite that stupid.
The reality is also that my generation cannot, and will not retire, because the money those who were saving assiduously think they have set aside is not there. It has been wasted, gambled, lost, stolen or burned in any number of scams, schemes and frauds and what was left is even now being punted on the highest share market "valuations" in history in a vain attempt to recover the losses and be able to pay the stated funds when due. And when that time comes we will discover that we can't afford to retire, we will have to keep on working, further depriving our kids of the ability to earn enough to support themselves, let alone us.
At some point, as the boomers flood past 65 full of expectations that they get to take it easy on the backs of their kids and grandchildren, the said offspring are going to get seriously pissed off.
No, SERIOUSLY pissed off. As in, "well mama and papa, you had a great time living it up and wrecking the planet and using all the wealth for yourselves and leaving us with depleted resources and polluted landscapes and no energy, so now we can't afford to feed and house both you and my kids, so you need to find another solution".
The healthiest, longest lived generation in history is going to be faced with their own kids demanding to know how soon they can die so the next generation can have anything like a reasonable life. Quelle paradox, quelle ironie, quelle horreur.
The only question is how close that moment is. Try this.
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