Bad News, 80s Kids – They Say We’re In A Permanent Recession
Millennials, we may never get ourselves out of the recession, but it’s not totally our fault either, we just sort of have to deal with it.
By nowproducerdave on May 24, 2018
I know, I know, everyone is tired about hearing the older generation talk about millennials. They say they’re irresponsible, don’t work, want high paying jobs, etc. But hear me out on this story, it’s not like usual. They say if we were born in the 80s, we’re in for a tough time.
It’s a long story and a lot of numbers, so I’ll do my best to summarize here. Basically, they figured out that people born in the 80s were earning “less than expected” after the last recession circa-2010. The older generations, our parents, only did a little bit worse than expected. Our grandparents generation is actually doing better than expected. To tack a number on the equation, someone born in the 80s, on average, is doing 34% worse than expected. Our parents only took about a loss in the teens of percent. Our grandparents came out about 17% ahead of what was expected.
Most of the “losses” come in the form of debts. The 1980s generation is generally the most educated generation. With education comes student loans, and entry-level jobs (and pay). We’re struggling to make enough to own a home, or if we do, it’s a balance to stay ahead on everything. Our parents generation bought homes when prices were lower, and most didn’t lose a whole bunch of value, though a lot did go down. Our grandparents bought many years before prices were high, and paid them off early. And even after values dropped during the recession, they’re still technically ahead vs. what they paid. What I’m saying is it’s not the amount of money in the bank, it’s the value of assets vs. debt that’s hurting us. See a lot more in-depth explanation here.
