Generation Glum

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Originaly Baby Boomers were the part of my generation that was born in 'The Baby Boom' after the Second World War. I, being born in 1954, was considered at the end or after 'The Baby Boom'. There was another name for my generation ?Yuppie?. Now they are using the name for the sub-part to name the whole part. Its like calling all mammals humans.

Joan 12:18PM January 18, 2009

Being part of a large generation has its advantages in the aggregate (including collective impact on mainstream culture and business), but a large generation often penalizes individual members.
Millions of Boomers have not had the opportunities to achieve their goals due to numerous socioeconomic factors, including competition for entry-level jobs, corporate downsizing and offshoring of jobs. Generational competition has further limited the number of opportunities for top-paying jobs; only so many positions exist at the C-level. Guaranteed retirement benefits have evaporated and morphed into defined contribution retirement plans, placing retirement assets at risk in the stock markets.
This generation's greatest social accomplishments -- mainstreaming of gender and racial inclusiveness in the workplace –- have also led to greater economic competition among its members. While nearly 30% of the generation have college degrees, 70% don’t. This has further limited economic opportunities as the nation has shifted from a manufacturing to a knowledge economy, beginning in the mid-1980s.
Chronic underemployment and accelerating costs of raising children has influenced lower retirement savings rates (with one-third of the generation economically insolvent today), thus diminishing a real sense of independence and economic security.
Second, this research points to ageism as a factor influencing the lives of many. People in their fifties cannot as easily find other jobs after layoffs. Those lucky enough to find comparable career jobs often face substantial reductions in wages and other benefits.
Third, many in this generation are sandwiched between parents with failing health and adult children who have returned home as "twixters." Millions of Boomers are now experiencing enormous financial and/or psychological burdens due to caretaking. (You'll appreciate this point if the time has come for you to take care of your parents in assisted living and/or a college-educated daughter who chooses instead to work as a barista and live at home.)
Fourth, we live in a youth-centric culture, thanks in part to the influence of Boomers when they were young. Marketers and members of the media communicate hundreds of messages every day that associate aging with loss, decline and lesser value. This has been a longstanding tradition in this country and now incongruent with demographic reality. It's difficult for members of such a vital and engaged generation to accept being marginalized.
This is a time of enormous cultural and sociological transformation as nearly one in three American adults has passed the threshold of 50. The nation is just beginning to adjust to an unprecedented era when the old outnumber the young, and the pressures fomented by this adaptation are falling squarely on the shoulders of the Boomer generation. In the short term, these are pretty gloomy realities.
Brent Green
Author, Marketing to Leading-Edge Baby Boomers
http://boomers.typepad.com

Brent Green of CO 10:07AM July 22, 2008

It's no wonder that baby boomers are glum. Who wouldn't be with the media and organizations in the “retirement business” — mutual funds, insurance companies, real estate developers, and the like — telling them that their retirement is going to cost millions of dollars that boomers don't have. But the truth is that the retirement being peddled today on every street corner is actually a "dream retirement" that few will actually be able to afford.
The ultra-high standards of living that people achieve today using credit cards and other types of credit are based on the assumption that they will have an unlimited future during which they’ll tighten their belts and pay all the borrowed money back. Unfortunately, people can't carry this lifestyle into retirement unless they become rich, and that’s unlikely.
Yet with a little smart planning, retirement is a goal that can be achieved, albeit with more modest lifestyle than what's currently being marketed. Boomers I talk to "get happy" in a hurry when they realize that the secret to a successful retirement is not to try (and most likely fail) to amass a huge retirement nest egg, but rather to find a retirement lifestyle that fits their budget. The fact is that most post-retirement lifestyles are less extravagant than that prior to retiring. That's not necessarily a bad thing, however. It might do Americans and the planet some good if we all consumed less.
Jonathan Edelfelt
Author of Who Said You Need Millions? Retirement Strategies for the Rest of Us
www.WhoSaidYouNeedMillions.com

Jonathan Edelfelt of TX 8:51PM July 21, 2008

When growing up, for 30 years Baby Boomers were defined by people born prior to 1960. Someone, which the press has picked up on, now defines it all the way to 1964. Being born in 1964, I hate to be thought as of baby boomer. I plan to work until I die. I do not need some retirement age defined that tells me when to shut down my mind and shut down my ability to work.
My advice: work harder, plan better, no excuses.

AG Nunn of MO 4:10PM July 21, 2008