Reality Bites: Why Gen X-ers Will Have a Rough Retirement

As Gen Xers it seems we can point to what we do to contribute to the problem. But how do you appreciate the realities these stats point to -- that we are making less than our parents' generation, delaying marriage and family longer to, realizing that today's 4yr degree is like a 2yr degree three decades ago -- when that's the ONLY reality you've seen your entire life? Every time this type of story is done there's people looking for easy scapegoats. I suppose blaming each other and our greedy consumer habits is easier than facing realities that are far less manageable than they were for our parents or their parents at similar ages. You can save all the money you want but that has nothing to do with the fact that earning power is actually less. The only reason we have more to show for less disposable income is because inexpensive imports that didn't exist in the 1970s and prior have made today's 20" TV set equivalent to yesterday's toaster. The thing is, the technology is changing so fast that even our CDs and DVDs will go the way of the 8-track tape before long, as are analog TV sets. Gen X because they have grown up with it. also fail to comprehend just how sophisticated market research has become. If you have an endless supply of $5 gas you can go to the farmer's market for fresh foods, another grocery chain for cereal (to get the special) and another for meat or dairy. But if you buy all that in the club card stores, they use your buying habits to figure out how to apply pricing strategies that will cause you to spend more on one item (milk) to make up the discount you got on another (cereal). The more efficient this process becomes, the more we spend without even realizing that we are voting for the problem with our pocketbooks. Studies have shown that inner city moms pay more for food because liquor stores and mini marts are more commonplace than supermarkets. And the folks in the suburbs shopping at the club warehouse stores are actually spending more too, the studies show. But since this is all our society knows now we think it is inevitable to pay $5+ for gas (the Europeans have been paying that much and more for years), we believe that is okay for rent on an apartment to cost virtually as much as a mortgage payment, for school to leave students in debt for 10-15 years, for employers to demand 60 hours a week including the electronic leashes (Blackberries) they expect us to carry, and to work harder for less pay, for less vacation days than Europeans and to do it all for fewer benefits. What are we aiming for here -- a class of indentured servants? Or do we not see it because we are like frogs in a pot of water who don't have the perspective to jump out before we are boiled alive? Rather than blame each other -- true though it may be that some people bring economic problems on themselves by living beyond their means -- we need to see the big picture here and pose a united front. Otherwise our elected leaders won't act.

Diana of CA 10:19PM July 01, 2008