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Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

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Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#21

Post by seanmcdirmid »

ethbr1 wrote: post #19
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> PS: In the US, if younger people were as organized as AARP and participated in elections at similar rates, things would be better for them... Why limit that just to the US? Voter participation, unless mandatory like in Australia, is always skewed to the old.

I wasn't familiar with trends in other countries, so didn't want to speak to them. (Also, made some small edits to clarify)

You'll find pretty much the same things going on everywhere, so I wouldn't bother calling out the US, although I get why you did that; see: https://www.ageing.ox.ac.uk/blog/European-elections

I guess it might be more interesting to consider places where no one votes meaningfully (e.g. China), and if that somehow works to the advantage of youth (it probably doesn't).

Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#22

Post by 303uru »

xnx wrote: post #13

And yet everyone now has access to products and services not available to the richest people on earth 50 years ago: all of human knowledge, university classes, movies, music, and entertainment accessible from a small device that fits in our pocket.

The "don't worry about a house and healthcare kid, you've got a phone in your pocket" argument is tired and worn out.

Boomers also have phones, they also have far more wealth. Your point is moot.

Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#23

Post by 303uru »

7e wrote: post #9

The earth is full, so there's less natural wealth available per person. People are living longer. Further, the Ponzi scheme of population growth is slowing down, which means fewer people younger than you are available to support your wealth. This is not a surprise.

>the Ponzi scheme of population growth

The sooner younger generations figure this out the better. Boomers and older are absolutely fleecing us on Social Security (they paid much less tax into) and Medicare (they barely paid into).

Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#24

Post by foogazi »

incomingpain wrote: post #10

This is a huge deal. The silent generation got very wealthy rebuilding after wars. But all generations must do better than the last, otherwise pyramid schemes like 'retirement' are not viable. The boomers however never quite built the world as much. They needed to do much more. They left us holding tremendous debt and high taxes as they enter 'retirement' but they objectively never saved enough money to make retireme…

> Those younger generations will get to decide how much they charge for this service.

Unless they open the immigration spigot

Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#25

Post by antisthenes »

Take a step back and realize that in order for this statement to be not true, there would have to be the possibility of _endless_ exponential growth, which, on a single planet is technically impossible due to thermodynamic laws, regardless of how much techno-optimism copium you consume daily.

So yes, it's more difficult. It was never supposed to be easier. You live in a world where wealth is tied to energy per capita, and your parents used a lot more energy than you in the 60s and the 70s.

P.S. Also maybe realize that wealth shouldn't be the end all be all goal for people in general. There are multitude of things you can do without wealth and the most essential aren't necessarily energy-intensive.

Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#26

Post by bittercynic »

antisthenes wrote: post #25

Take a step back and realize that in order for this statement to be not true, there would have to be the possibility of _endless_ exponential growth, which, on a single planet is technically impossible due to thermodynamic laws, regardless of how much techno-optimism copium you consume daily. So yes, it's more difficult. It was never supposed to be easier. You live in a world where wealth is tied to energy per capita…

Ever-increasing wealth is probably not the best goal if you're already fairly wealthy, but below a certain threshold I think it should be near the top of your list.

If you can't afford a safe place to live, healthy food, and medical care, then getting above the threshold where you can will make a huge difference.

Re: Each New Gen Finds It More Difficult to Surpass the Wealth of Their Parents

#27

Post by incomingpain »

foogazi wrote: post #24
incomingpain wrote: post #10

This is a huge deal. The silent generation got very wealthy rebuilding after wars. But all generations must do better than the last, otherwise pyramid schemes like 'retirement' are not viable. The boomers however never quite built the world as much. They needed to do much more. They left us holding tremendous debt and high taxes as they enter 'retirement' but they objectively never saved enough money to make retireme…

> Those younger generations will get to decide how much they charge for this service. Unless they open the immigration spigot

>Unless they open the immigration spigot

That's going to happen no matter what. Canada for example needs about 5 million to 10 million per year. For the foreseeable future to repair the problem. Obviously that's not even possible.

Immigration is also not free.

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