Boomer self-interest – here we go again

Oh dear. It’s baby boomer bashing time again. I can’t help but think that some of these journalists write their articles just for the click-bait headlines. This time Troy Bramston’s headline is For nation’s sake, boomer self-interest must end (It’s behind a pay wall – sorry – but here’s a quote.)

“There has never been a generation that has received so much government support, whether it be free education and healthcare or lucrative tax perks alongside superannuation, such as negative gearing and franking credits, while living most their lives in eras of full employment with cheap housing, and using their assisted wealth creation to live comfortably in retirement at the expense of other generations.”

As usual, the writer talks about all of us Boomers as though we’re disgustingly wealthy, with $3m+ superannuation assets. In my dreams, dude. None of my retired friends has anything like that amount. By the way, I see no problem in taxing that level of wealth at 30% instead of 15%. BUT… it must be indexed otherwise the 80,000 people affected (0.5% of the population) will rise. We all know about bracket creep – it’s the same thing.

I’ve written more than once about this tendency to kick old people. Journos describe us (US!) as entitled, selfish, privileged etc etc. My first response to one of these articles was in 2019 where I refuted the writer’s claims from my own experience. It’s all relative, isn’t it? 17% interest rates, times of very high unemployment, no child care, no expectation of a four bedroom, two bathroom, two garage, air-conditioned home with an outdoor kitchen and a theatre room…

Nothing’s changed so I won’t say it all again. This is far and away the most read article I’ve ever written.

Baby Boomer Bashing

At the height of the pandemic in 2020 we had Coronavirus: Perks and loopholes can’t endure as we run up debt. To which I responded:

Somebody has to pay – guess who?

Then in 2022 it was Greedy and pampered, our boomers are more than OK. Again, it’s a great headline to upset the elderly.

Greedy, pampered Baby Boomers

And since I started this post with a quote from Troy Bramston, here’s another one. It puts it all into perspective.

Troy said, “Those who attacked the government for broken promises and raiding superannuation accounts may have been surprised when Newspoll on Monday showed very strong support for the government’s changes, with 64 per cent in favour and just 29 per cent against. Even most baby boomers approved. It is a sign perhaps even the boomers now realise they have had it too good for too long.”

Not sure about the too good too long bit, Troy. But at least you’ve admitted we’re not all consumed with ‘self’. By the way, have you heard of the Bank of Mum and Dad? Or the sub-branches involving brothers and sisters, or grandparents? I think you’ll find quite a few of the Gen X’s, Millennials, and Gen Z folks have had help from those institutions.

It’s a pity I probably won’t be around when the Boomer bashers get to retirement age. It would have been fun to hear them bleat about the moving goalposts and such.

In case you’re not sure of these generational tags,

• The Greatest Generation (born 1901-24)
• Silent Generation (1925-45)
• Baby Boomers (1946-64)
• Generation X (1965-80)
• Millennials (1981-96)
• Gen Z (1997-2012).

A Year-by-Year Guide to Different Generations and Their Parenting Styles is a fun article which can tell you a bit more about these stereotypes.

You may have guessed Midjourney did the cover photo for me. It’s much, much easier than trying to find something that might, maybe, sorta fit the tone of what I’ve written.

If you like reading historical fiction you might care to look at my recommendations.