Ageism

[jjdugen]

I'm getting the taste for this politics thing.

I'm approaching 70. (Probably ride my blade further and faster than most half my age). A product of the 'socialist' movement post ww2, good health, food, housing, education, etc. So I am a living testimony to the aims of the Atlee government.
Now it would appear that we baby boomers are living too long and there are too many of us.
There is a bulge of about 25 million people aged late 50's to 80's. Considerably less aged 25 -50. (Think of a wineglass, us as the bowl, with a long thin stem and a slightly larger base of 1 - 20year olds). Yes, we do seem to have had the best of things and have houses and pensions and are generally living reasonably well. As we get into senility, more of us will need a bit of looking after.
BUT!. Even though we might be living 'longer', we are not immortal. All the discourse on how we are straining the NHS, inflating the housing market etc ALL overlook one vital element of the argument. Within the next ten, maybe fifteen years, the vast majority of 'us' will be gone. Dead that is.
All the accumulated wealth and property will be redistributed. The jobs we hold will be freed. The pressure of housing and hospitals will diminish or even be eradicated.
Those of you in your 20's and early 30's will suddenly inherit a considerably emptier country. If you want a growth industry to invest in, get a funeral parlour!
Before you shout, 'immigrants' I would look a the demographics going forward. Leave us wrinklys alone, you will inherit all we have managed to accrue so stop all this fear mongering and jealous winging!
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The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[Itchy]

[Polarbear]

We are probably the last generation that will actually have enough money to begin to enjoy retirement. Yes, there will be an elite on big pensions but the workers can carry on till they drop.

I don't think it bodes well for the country at all.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Ste]

[M.C]

By the time you lot are dead you would have bankrupted the NHS and therefore the country

[Kickstart]

[Rogerborg]

[jjdugen]

'That's IF you have anything to inherit other than debts. 16 million people don't have a pot to pish in in the UK.'


I think you will find that the overwhelming debt of the population lies with the younger elements. Remember that the astronomical mortgages now demanded form a large part of that debt.
If the older gen are going on Saga holidays, they are not getting them on tick, its from their savings. (Unlike the youngsters who put everything straight onto their cards).
So, we all die off, in increasing numbers from now on. (You think a lot about death as you get to your allotted three score and ten). That's 25 million people gone. Lets say 15 million properties, as I see it, just wait a few years and you can have your pick. Yes, values will decrease, tough on those who saluted the flag and got themselves hitched to the banks for life. But, national debt will decrease rapidly.
All the jobs held down by the 50 - 68 year olds will become vacant, (Some 10 million BTW) as long as you have the skills to fill them.
Yes, the NHS will bear the burden, but end of life care is considerably cheaper than actual operations. And when we are gone, there will be no need for the level of hospital services we need right now.
No, on balance, you will inherit a country designed for 70 million people, but with an actual population of around 40 - 45 mill. Seems to me you are on a winner.
____________________
The CBR900RR has been sold. Aprilia Falco worms its way into my heart.
Try Soi 23 on Amazon for a good read.... Self promotion? Moi?

[Ste]

[Rogerborg]

[Tracey Suntan-King]

[Derivative]

I think that looking at finances is zooming out too far.

Money is a mechanism for distributing actual useful objects - we have an issue with the relative costs of those objects.

We had massive housebuilding in the past and we just, stopped. As we seemingly did with roads, railways, etcetera.

I don't really particularly attribute it to 'boomers' (there's plenty of suicidal chat on this by the youngers too), but I think that certain sectors of society have become too 'comfortable' and have started to sabotage progress.

We worry about views, green space, wildlife, basically everything that affects the comfort of those that already won, whilst ignoring the fact that boxing people in to flat shares and slowly prolifying the young does not make an efficient economy.

[Itchy]

[Derivative]

WRT this:

[M.C]

[Derivative]

I just think it's completely different in a way that isn't being appreciated.

'Sacrifice' is kind of a ... category error? It describes what happens if you're in the right group.

Yes, if you're on the borderline, you'll have to sacrifice - the point is that the border used to be at, say, 1 full time earner, later 2 full time earners, is now at 2 full time professional earners quite far into their career, and the employment market has shifted such that reaching that state is more difficult than it was before.

I don't think anyone is bothered by scrimping a bit, it's more achieving the required income, and specifically the fact that while individuals might be able to do it if they focus hard, the overall picture is one of far fewer people getting on.

[Derivative]

Oh, there's also stuff like student loans.

Back in the day it wasn't really required. 10% or so of the population got them, the ones that did got them free but we're talking about an elite here anyway.

Nowadays it's kind of standard for any job that isn't manual. The first step on the ladder in most careers is a graduate scheme.

So you have people taking three year courses in dog grooming to go and apply as an accountant.

Now, even if they do get the big money, they've got an added 9% marginal tax rate.

Again, not an absolute disaster, but another thing that pushes the boundary for affordability further up.

Of my close friends, at the moment extrapolating I'm the only one that has a chance of paying it off pre 35. Everyone else will basically be paying 9% above 17K forever. The 9K fees lot?

I mean, basically, it's a statistical problem. One can go self-employed, start a business, become a millionaire, buy three flats in Central London and it's a win. But the general picture isn't made up of these few success stories, it's made up of Sports Direct and Tesco and graduate salaries of 20K.

[Suntan Sid]

[Kickstart]

[M.C]

[Rogerborg]

In principle, house prices will drop as the Boomers die off and their mansions come on the market, or their offsprings' newly surplus homes.

In practice, all of the houses that come up on my father's 4-big-bed-detached estate are immediately snapped up by young asian families bearing sacks of cash.

Sometimes literally cash. His new next door neighbours are lovely young couple, very charming, wife looks about 14. They put up a dozen CCTV cameras, then vanished. Every few weeks, a convoy of pyjama wearing relatives turn up in Mercs and unloads stacks of boxes, then for the next few days there's a swarm of nedmobiles and scootays turning up all hours of the day and night.

Mid lever dealers, of course, but ever so polite when they're at home, no trouble at all.
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GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Kickstart]

[Derivative]

I think the inheritance argument is flawed mostly because it's based on some abstract concept of fairness, rather than the fact that housing is often a means to an end.

I think it makes sense for city workers to live nearby and for older folk that pop in every now and then for culture to live further out.

I see the prevalence of council estates in Central London in much the same way. The idea was presumably to mix rich and poor and foster community, but what it's turned into is mixing the extremely rich with the extremely poor, people that can't really understand each other at all.

So, yeah, it's not really based on greed, but rather what's best for the country, the economy, general happiness, etc. You want the productive workforce to actually feel like they're getting a good deal, rather than just slaving away until they're 50 at which point they'll inherit the house and it won't have mattered much what they did before.

[Kawasaki Jimbo]

Inheritance, ha! Dad died suddenly of a stroke in 2002 without troubling the NHS. Mum died recently after 8 years in a nursing home (Alzheimer's) funded by the sale of her own house. That money was about to run out and we three offspring were about to be means-tested before The State would consider supporting her care. In the end my parents were a net contributor to The State. I will be too provided I manage to work till I drop. A retirement would have been nice. Playing the game all wrong.

[Kickstart]