Cultural norms state we should be grateful to the generations who came before us; that our lives are built on the foundations they leave behind. A thought-provoking post on Room Eight argues otherwise–that our parents’ generation has, in effect, been stealing from younger Americans to fund massive pensions, Social Security, and healthcare costs. Is their greed the reason why so many institutions–both private and public–are on the brink of fiscal collapse?
[W]hat is 1973? The peak year for the median wage in this country.
All the generations who entered the work force after the deep 1970s recession have, aside from the very wealthy, been worse off than those who came before. They were on the wrong end of “two tier contracts” in every unionized industry. Their wages were suppressed by the their employer’s need to pay for the early retirement of those who came before, but in most of the private sector they only received 401Ks rather than pensions. These generations had to pay the vastly higher payroll taxes imposed in 1983 throughout most or all of their working lives, limiting their ability to save. And they have already had their Social Security retirement age increased from 65 to 67, also as part of the 1983 Social Security deal.
Basically, the divide between the best off and worst off generations in America runs down the center of baby boom, between the 1960s “flower children” generation (the one that gets all the attention) and (my) 1970s “stagflation” generation, one that probably deserves the very limited attention it gets — Generation Greed was followed by Generation Apathy. Later generations are worse off still.
