Construction At…, you raised some good points, even if you do seem a little too sorry for yourself. I just want to point out that not all boomers are in the same situation.
Early boomers
Speaking broadly, early boomers had less competition than average for good jobs, and if they saved diligently and bought houses and stocks, they were rewarded with returns on those asset that are the greatest in history. When they start retiring very soon, they will sell their stock portfolios at enormous prices and buy retirement homes in beautiful out-of-the-way places at modest prices. The people who do best are always the ones that get in earliest.
Late boomers
I am a late boomer. I studied full-time until I was 27, and by the time I could afford stocks or a house, they were so expensive I couldn’t bring myself to pluck down the money. I just worked harder, 80-100 hours a week. As my income and savings advanced, so did the prices. I still haven’t bought my first home. When I’m old and I sell the stocks that I recently purchased at prices 10 times higher than 1980 prices, they will probably have depreciated a large amount after 15 years of selling by earlier boomers.
So it would be nice to choose when you’re born. But on the other hand, I was lucky to be born into a family that was kind and loving and gave me a good education and lived in the first world in the 20th century. Not a bad hand, after all, and to boot I’ll enjoy a few new inventions my older boomers won’t live to see.
