3 Reasons Baby Boomers Are the Richest Generation in History

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A distorted analysis because it is static and not dynamic; and because it repeats the all too human fundamental attribution error (FAE). The FAE is the well-documented phenomena where we overemphasize the human dimension at the expense of looking closer at the context and situation. In the US, we had a 46% share of world GDP immediately after WWII and on an almost perfect slope our share of world GDP is now +/- 22%. Careful with that because financialization of our economy, along with the excesses of the military-industrial, medical-industrial, and legal-judicial-government complexes together capture +/- 70% of our GDP. It's well-known and well-discussed, but to be specific, it is customary for Asian CEOs to earn ten to fifteen times more than their base level employees. In 1965, American CEOs were earning twenty-four times the earnings of base level employees. Those days are gone. Looking at 2007 data, the nonpartisan United for a Fair Economy pegged US CEO pay at a staggering 344 times the average earnings of a US worker while the Economic Policy Institute put it at only 275 times higher. In point of fact, it has been getting worse for 90% of Americans for more than thirty years and total liabilities of the federal government are now $131.56 trillion at a time when total national assets are $78.31 trillion. To be fiscally sound, total debt should not exceed 80% of total assets or $62.65 trillion. The excess debt is $68.91 trillion; a number which assists those who use public affairs for private gain and which burdens this and future generations.

James VanOpdorp of AZ 3:58PM November 23, 2011

Richest generation indeed! Perhaps the numbers read as they do because we were the first generation where the two income household was a necessity and not merely an option. The cost of living has risen at an alarming rate over the past 30 to 40 yeas and our generatin was forced to resort to the use of credit cards, exorbitant interest rates, high home prices and failing urban schools which forced many of us out to the suburbs in search of safe and decent schools for our children.Once in those lovely 'burbs we were faced with school and property taxes which made 2nd jobs a must just to stay afloat.I,for one, am tired of being denigrated and lumped toether with others, in some silly, stereotypical image of my generation which is overly simplistic, not to mention insulting.Americans are among the hardest wworking individuals in the world and my generation among the hardest working of all. No Miss Brandon; we are not all self involved, spoiled ex hippies. As the old saying goes, "Walk a mile in my shoes, etc. "

ursula isaacs of NY 11:57AM January 18, 2009

As a member of the following generation, I ask boomers was it worth it? Your generations distrust of government and your desire to co-opt it or disable it? Your desire to have just the job you wanted and the destruction of career paths for those who followed? Your desire to channel 'good works' through 'innovative business models' along 'value paths' for 'targeted purposes' to niches... Your ability to have the adult life you wanted- while challenging the social compacts that previous generations labored to build for the child, the youth, the parent and the elder.
It is time now for this generation to accept that elder role. Let's see if fine things can be harvested. Perhaps their legacy as "challengers' will give us great methods, but we will not know until the Boomers pass their 'toys' to the next generations so that we can see how they will run without them.

black cat of CT 9:46AM January 17, 2009

I do not disaggree with the numbers presented, but there are some numbers conspicuiously missing:
ratio of icome to savings
ratio of assests to debt
But money is not the whole story to boomers. Personal relationships are wanting. Divorce rates are terrible.
Now that bomemrs are nearing retirement, perhaps we can focus on righting our ways.

ralph ferrara of NY 5:48PM January 02, 2009

...Not just for Boomers to turn-around their own fortunes, but those of our nation.
We Boomers collectively caused the turmoil the country and therefore the globe now face - we've been and still are in charge (we're in the majority in both the halls of Congress and as senior execs in the halls of commerce), we didn't save AND spent far beyond our means thus creating the "Live for today regardless of the consequences tomorrow" mentality, and, expanding on Hillbilly of TN's eloquent focus on our diligent refusal to take responsibility for our actions, we have an even greater determination to not see the immense power and influence we wield so we can further deflect responsibility for fixing the mess we've made.
That's the bad news. The good news is the flip side of the bad: We Boomers can collectively get our nation's economy back in the black, by reconnecting with and once again living the ideals of our youth. Two examples:
We of all generations understand the importance of being good to the planet (we began the eco-friendly processes/programs seen today), so simplifying our lives and insisting on reusable resources, both great economic revival tactics, are long-lost behaviors that we can reclaim.
We of all generations understand the destructive power of greed, having fought against "the man" e.g. big corporations that cared little for anything but lining their own pockets (watch "Ad Men" on AMC). Yet we became "the man"... We can immediately discontinue that behavior.
Yep, we have the power to fix this nation's primary ills. We did it a few decades ago when the messes were not of our making.
We can, and must do it again, now that they are.

BoomerCoach of FL 2:48PM November 23, 2008