Wealth Gap Between Old and Young

1stindoor · 11-07-2011, 14:43

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/wa...t_ever/?page=1

That's right, we have more money and we have a yard....

Damn kids...get off my lawn!!!

Quote:

"It makes us wonder whether the extraordinary amount of resources we spend on retirees and their health care should be at least partially reallocated to those who are hurting worse than them," said Harry Holzer, a labor economist and public policy professor at Georgetown University who called the magnitude of the gap "striking."

A moron by any other name...

BOfH · 11-07-2011, 14:56

Blah blah blah blah

Quote:

Older Americans tend to have higher net worth because they are more likely to have paid off their mortgages and built up more savings over time.

....From hard work, something many of my generation seem to lack in understanding. I will blame the older generation for LBJ though.

GratefulCitizen · 11-07-2011, 15:08

Wealth is accumulated over time when you produce more than you consume.

When productivity is rewarded (get to keep the fruits of your labor) you get more productivity.
When slothfulness is rewarded (get the fruits of someone else's labor) you get more slothfulness.

When, on average, a society produces more than they consume, there is abundance, growth, and life.
When, on average, a society consumes more than they produce, there is scarcity, decay, and death.

This is why capitalism and private property produce life, while socialism and collective property produce death.

greenberetTFS · 11-07-2011, 15:18

"It makes us wonder whether the extraordinary amount of resources we spend on retirees and their health care should be at least partially reallocated to those who are hurting worse than them," said Harry Holzer....

WTF,This guys an asshole for making that statement........

Big Teddy

Badger52 · 11-07-2011, 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOfH

I will blame the older generation for LBJ though.

Who ended up where he did because a better man was murdered.

Disclaimer: Then again, my whole side of the family was AuH20 and LBJ talk was grounds for getting one's mouth washed out.

I too now have a yard and own the roof over my head. Where's that M1...?

BOfH · 11-07-2011, 15:34

Harry Holzer:

Harvard, Georgetown, Klinton Administration, Urban Institute(an LBJ creation). Explains quite a bit doesn't it. I guess *celebrated* progressive policy professors don't need to worry much about social security, retirement and the like. *How are those "mucho dinero" fellowships working out for you, Harry?

*No offense intended to academia that actually teach/research things that are, well, useful.

BOfH · 11-07-2011, 15:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badger52

Who ended up where he did because a better man was murdered.

Disclaimer: Then again, my whole side of the family was AuH20 and LBJ talk was grounds for getting one's mouth washed out.

I too now have a yard and own the roof over my head. Where's that M1...?

True that. I own my yard and roof..well sort of...Fannie May owns part of it too

, that said, my %20 down payment wasn't dropped into my lap by some fairy or Uncle Sugar; My wife and I worked for it, and worked hard. Now if I can just get my daughter to can this "It's broken, lets buy a new one" nonsense, I'll be in good shape.

tom kelly · 11-07-2011, 15:46

They should have un-plugged Dick Chaney 20 years ago, and used those resources for academica ?

mark46th · 11-07-2011, 16:35

Let's see... My wife and I work for 40-50 years, scrimp and save, make some good financial decisions so we can live out our lives in relative comfort. Now we are evil because someone who hasn't done any of these things feels slighted?

Someone needs to straighten things out. The citizens of this country used to envy the rich and strive to become wealthy. Now, rather than earn wealth, these cry babies want someone to give it to them. Move to Greece or Latin America and tell me how socialism is working.

Richard · 11-07-2011, 16:39

"Takes money to make money"

Forsooth, guess ye olde adage holds true.

And so it goes...

Richard

cold1 · 11-07-2011, 18:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

"Takes money to make money"

Forsooth, guess ye olde adage holds true.

And so it goes...

Richard

An old man along time ago told me
"I am too busy making a living to make money"

Took me a long time ( i was a teenager) to know what he was talking about.

I am only 39 and see the difference between my generation and todays kids. I still dont understand them. Some work is beneath them and most pay is too. The ones I have had working with me spend too much time on the smart phones and cant get the work done. They feel like money should be given to them when they need it and they NEED alot of things. Instant gratification is the norm for the ones I have seen.

GratefulCitizen · 11-07-2011, 18:15

Poverty.

I'm sure that those rich people over 65 remember being young and poor.
They remember what it was like to face a lack of employment opportunity.

They remember being forced to stay out of the workforce, collecting unemployment for 99 weeks, getting free healthcare, using their smartphones to bemoan the horrible economic conditions to the world while watching cable tv errr... HDTV on their 2 year-old out-of-date plasma; all the while complaining about being overweight because they can't afford a gym membership.

Those rich folk over 65 can probably relate.

DevilSide · 11-08-2011, 13:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen

Poverty.

I'm sure that those rich people over 65 remember being young and poor.
They remember what it was like to face a lack of employment opportunity.

They remember being forced to stay out of the workforce, collecting unemployment for 99 weeks, getting free healthcare, using their smartphones to bemoan the horrible economic conditions to the world while watching cable tv errr... HDTV on their 2 year-old out-of-date plasma; all the while complaining about being overweight because they can't afford a gym membership.

Those rich folk over 65 can probably relate.

Lol wow, this is an interesting article though. My Dad was 65 when he passed, born and raised in poverty, actually grew up in a shanty town from the great depression. Told me stories about having to stand in soup lines once or twice a day. He served his country, went to work, but he didn't exactly end up rich but he got by for what family he had.

1stindoor · 11-08-2011, 14:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevilSide

...he didn't exactly end up rich but he got by for what family he had.

I guess that depends on how you define it. He's remembered for serving his country, his work ethic, and taking care of his family by his son...pretty rich in my book.

cat in the hat · 11-08-2011, 14:17

a lot of older people did not go to college on govt loans either.

30=40 years ago, if you wanted to manage a restaurant or motel, you worked your way up in the industry. now kids earn a degree first then complain that Chili's will not hire them as a General Manager right off of the street.