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The great wealth transfer reality check

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Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#61

Post by AshamedBadger56 »

Keep in mind these charts are almost useless if you're trying to determine how much the typical millennial or gen x person has compared to boomers.

I'd go as far as to say it's misleading at best to portray "The kids are alright" and that "Gen X and millennial heirs are starting from a position of strength", when the charts used to back that up are based on net worth per capita, a very poor metric to use for this. They might as well say "A small portion of the kids, that happen to be in the top ~10%, are alright".

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#62

Post by irishcoffee »

jakeydus wrote: post #60
loeg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do not have tens of millions of hungry people unless you're including being a bit peckish before lunch time.

USDA says that 13.7% of US households experienced food insecurity in 2024 [0]. Extrapolate that against population and you get 47 million people. [0]: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/fo... EDIT since I can't reply to irish-coffee for some reason: nobody said literally starving, OP said experiencing hunger or deprivation.

> Food insecurity is the limited or uncertain access to enough safe, affordable, and nutritious food to live a healthy life. It means people do not know where their next meal will come from or cannot buy enough healthy food because they lack money or other resources

Pretty big gap between literal starving and food insecurity.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#63

Post by SoftTalker »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #55
citizenpaul wrote: post #24

What is shocking to me is how can so many boomers still have a mortgage? They could buy a house when you could easily get one for >plant to do a Skip gen trip? I have no earthy idea what this could mean but they just casually drop it in there. Thats how you can tell what social class you were born into. I had a school friend whom's grandparents were one of these in the list it seems. The bought him a 3bed/bath house…

> What is shocking to me is how can so many boomers still have a mortgage? If you have a low-interest mortgage then it doesn't make financial sense to pay it off any faster than you have to. I know many people that carry a mortgage they could easily pay down but choose not to purely on financial optimization grounds.

Yes as long as you actually invest the money you would otherwise be using to pay down the mortgage into something that has a higher return than the mortgage is costing you. This isn't difficult to do, but a lot of people don't do that, they just spend the money.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#64

Post by SoftTalker »

atleastoptimal wrote: post #3

80% of the GDP over the next two decades will be siphoning money out of baby boomers (medical care, retirement homes, luxury cruises) before their children see a cent of it. Coupled with AI taking everyone's job, the end result is neo-feudalism where familial dynasties call all the shots.

> siphoning money out of baby boomers (medical care, retirement homes, luxury cruises)

This has been happening for a while already.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#65

Post by SoftTalker »

Jtsummers wrote: post #59
alephnerd wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In California, a big difference is earthquake retrofitting. Older houses often aren't retrofit until sale, and retrofitting is expensive. Also, I've noticed newer houses (2000s-present) are airier and have more natural light compared to older (pre-90s) houses.

> Also, I've noticed newer houses (2000s-present) are airier and have more natural light compared to older (pre-90s) houses. This depends a bit more on the specific era of the home, rather than just being pre-90s, but it's particularly present in 1970s housing stock. The energy crisis led to a style of home design that favored small windows (energy efficient windows weren't yet really a thing, or at least not widely…

Yeah, go back to 1950s or earlier and you are into the pre-AC era, houses had big windows, big covered porches, and higher ceilings.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#66

Post by mikestew »

mae3x wrote: post #14
mikestew wrote: post #2

Despite TFA coming from Visa, of all places, I found it to be a read worthy of my time. Basically, inheritances might not be as large as one might suspect, and the all that "inheritance spending lift" might already be happening (my parents are blowing my inheritance). I might take issue with the conclusion at the very bottom that GenX and Millenials are ahead of Boomers on a capital per-capita basis. That might be tr…

"my parents are blowing my inheritance". Really? It is their money, not yours. I think you mean, "my parents are spending down their savings."

I meant when I wrote. I just might not have meant it as seriously as you seem to think.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#67

Post by tonymet »

FloorEgg wrote: post #33
tonymet wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read about revolutionaries, they really don’t care who they eat. Be prepared to be involuntarily labeled a boomer

When certain people are convinced that all wealth and success are only achieved through exploitation, then it's easy to lack empathy and consideration for anyone more wealthy or successful than them.

it only takes a concerted group to convince the rest (I'm talking about history not virtue).

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#68

Post by Aurornis »

jakeydus wrote: post #60
loeg wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do not have tens of millions of hungry people unless you're including being a bit peckish before lunch time.

USDA says that 13.7% of US households experienced food insecurity in 2024 [0]. Extrapolate that against population and you get 47 million people. [0]: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/fo... EDIT since I can't reply to irish-coffee for some reason: nobody said literally starving, OP said experiencing hunger or deprivation.

You have to read their definitions. The broad 13.7% category includes everyone who was uncertain about being able to afford food.

You have to drill down to "very low food security" to reach the point where someone reports having reduced their food intake, which is a 5.4% number.

Still higher than I'd like! But it's not 47 million people.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#69

Post by CamJN »

jimbob45 wrote: post #10
boringg wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bold assessment.

It’s not. If you have older parents today, you can do the math on what activities they’re doing and quickly determine that you’re never going to see a cent from them. My friends all report the same. I may sound salty but I’m not. I’ve spent enough time on Reddit to know that the real nightmare is when your parents didn’t save anything and can’t still work. Then, you’re obligated to take care of them and they actively…

> Then, you’re obligated to take care of them

No, you very much are not.

Re: The great wealth transfer reality check

#70

Post by SoftTalker »

loeg wrote: post #43
SoftTalker wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may look nicer, and have more features, but it's probably not built any better. Older homes were built with copper plumbing, plaster walls, solid hardwood floors, wood trim, and plywood subfloors, roof deck, and sheathing. New homes use PVC or PEX pipes, drywall, OSB (basically glued-up wood chips) instead of plywood, laminate floors, and plastic or styrene trim. The only things really better today are insulation…

The new building methods and materials are genuinely better. (Criticizing OSB and glazing plywood is crazy. They're both just composite wood products. OSB is totally fine for what it's used for.)

Having seen OSB fall apart when it gets wet vs plywood which can delaminate but is still solid wood, I would disagree. OSB works if you can ensure it stays dry.
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