The slump in disposable income of young people

I thought I'd link this article analysing the slump in the prosperity of young people over the last 30 years.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/revealed-30-year-economic-betrayal-dragging-down-generation-y-income

 

It makes for incredibly compelling reading. There has always been an expectation of parents dating back centuries that their young will be better off than they were. However this data calls into question that assumption.

Edited March 7, 2016 by Mister M

I thought I'd link this article analysing the slump in the prosperity of young people over the last 30 years.

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/revealed-30-year-economic-betrayal-dragging-down-generation-y-income

 

It makes for incredibly compelling reading. There has always been an expectation of parents dating back centuries that their young will be better off than they were. However this data calls into question that assumption.

Not very surprising though is it and something some of us knew would happen.

Yeah, read it earlier, pretty depressing for people of that generation.

I'm on the cusp and seem to have 'gotten away with it'...

You do also see alot of folk shun manual or trade jobs, and the odd 'need' to work or live in London.

 

I'm not disagreeing with the article, but there do seem to be some odd choices taken which has started to become the norm.

I'm firmly a generation Y'er and I saw this coming 5-10 years ago. My baby boomer relatives scoffed at the suggestion then, and they still do now. They are the have it all generation and they have sold the rest of us down the river.

 

Edit to add: The article seems to confuse generation Y with millennials who I thought were a different generation. Millennials were presented to me as digital natives born later in the '90s and into the '00s.

Edited March 7, 2016 by biotechpete

and yet I see more and more young people with iphones, 3 year old cars, designer specs, branded clothing .... all of which we never had.

 

An example. My bro's friend's son decided to move in with his girl. Dad managed to acquire a TV for son. It was nearly new and hardly used. But son rejected it cos it was a cheap brand and he NEEDED a Panasonic or Sony and wouldn't accept anything less. So TV went to a more needy home. Maybe disposable income is slumped because income was disposed of in a non-prudent way ??

Not surprising at all. It's the principle of communicating vessels in full effect.

 

I daresay late X-ers have it nearly as bad in many of the cited countries: they'll be the 40-somethings shouldering the income tax heavy lifting.

and yet I see more and more young people with iphones, 3 year old cars, designer specs, branded clothing .... all of which we never had.

 

An example. <...>

You're assuming that's all paid cash with disposable income. I have news for you

I'm firmly a generation Y'er and I saw this coming 5-10 years ago. My baby boomer relatives scoffed at the suggestion then, and they still do now. They are the have it all generation and they have sold the rest of us down the river.

 

Edit to add: The article seems to confuse generation Y with millennials who I thought were a different generation. Millennials were presented to me as digital natives born later in the '90s and into the '00s.

 

I am a retired 'baby boomer' and would agree we had it much better than young people today but I didn't sell anyone down the river. I have grown up children who have young children themselves and know they do not have an easy life. We didn't go on lots of expensive holidays, we put extra money into pensions. Neither have we ever been the sort of people who feel the need to upgrade to the latest technology (laptops, TV's, mobile phones etc.) as soon as the next version comes out. We shop at Lidl and Aldi and know how to cook, we don't buy ready meals or takeaways. You need to look further for who is to blame.

You're assuming that's all paid cash with disposable income. I have news for you

This is true ... but ... Whether it's money you've earned, handouts from relatives or credit facilities, it's available and ready to be disposed of in return for sexy goods. And once its acquired, that's the lifestyle you're in (for now .. until the timebomb hits)

I'm firmly a generation Y'er and I saw this coming 5-10 years ago. My baby boomer relatives scoffed at the suggestion then, and they still do now. They are the have it all generation and they have sold the rest of us down the river.

 

Edit to add: The article seems to confuse generation Y with millennials who I thought were a different generation. Millennials were presented to me as digital natives born later in the '90s and into the '00s.

 

I fall just inside the baby boomer generation and I saw this coming so I made good provision for my offspring.

Yes the disposable income of young people has declined in the last 5 to 10 years cause of the conservatives that's who to blame closing businesses, firms there's no jobs for them no contract jobs it's crappie about time people stood together to get the ****s out

I am a baby boomer. We really are the lucky generation. We missed the 2nd World War, many of us missed rationing. We hitched round the world, slept in caves in Greece, traveled North America, lived very cheaply in London for many years with a vast choice of well paid and interesting work. We bought cheap houses, did them up and moved up the housing ladder. Retired with decent pensions. And what of our children, there is little left for them in this globalized economy with the elite taking the largest share.