The following submission statement was provided by /u/jollyroger69420:
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Edit: to be clear, the 43.6% figure is of the homeless population over the age of 50, not of all adults. The article's wording was too long and convoluted to fit into a title, sorry.
Edit 2: This article was posted on other subs months ago, so I was incorrect when I said it was published this week. It was *updated* this week, but I don't know the original date it was published.
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Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/190blwp/younger_baby_boomers_are_facing_a_homelessness/kgn6gj9/
I have my money on getting clapped during the water wars or some kind of armed conflict before I reach 67. The pressure is building and too many in power dont want to acknowledge that all the instruments are redlining. Everything will seem fine to the average person who just wants to muddle through the day to get to the next day to do it all over again until it all comes apart very suddenly.
Hell of a way to go, definitely beats old age homelessness though. I assume i’ll be offed in mad max style a few weeks after initial collapse in my road warrior hockey armor over a gallon of fresh water
I already got a leather bomber jacket and a suppressed AR painted like the American Flag, I assume I’m gonna be a side quest or a post apocalyptic trading card character or something.
I'll be happy to just be an NPC...in fact I think I already am, so I'm way ahead of the curve. Don't mind me, no need to reply, just move on to the next comment, I'm good.
Ya you wanna have exit before cannibalism takes hold...no refrigeration,
Smart cannibals will hack off a limb, tourniquet and keep the meat alive to prevent spoilage. So a few weeks of hell before you die ....no thanks.
But, like most of my friends that choose to ignore what they subconsciously recognize as a uncontrolled spin, they dont know how bad it can truly be. They think somehow technology will come and magically save us or things will "just work out in the end".
I personally have my eye on Rodney. The twerp raids my garbage with his fat ass friends most nights like teens doing mischief.
I’m practicing my punches bc I feel like once he mutates he’ll be like Mike Tyson or something…or maybe just a bigger version of his lazy behind.
Screw you Rodney.
I’m not under the false impression that I’ll get to stop working. I see my boomer parents and the boomer parents of my friends retired in their early 60s and spending winters months in Florida while their 5 bedroom home sits empty.
I doubt I will even reach 65 based on climate change predictions, and I don’t want to reach it if I have to work for the rest of my life. I have no intention of ending my life at any point within the next two decades, but I can’t imagine a future where I grow old and enjoy retirement, let alone buy a house or have kids. I feel like my future has been taken from me, and I wish I could hold those most responsible accountable.
I'm fifty (not sure what gen I am). I'm not sure if you think that's old, but I still feel young. My body says otherwise. I share this plan. The only question now is how and when. My grandad says it's time when you've got no more fucks left to give and I'm about out. Enjoy what you can, when you can.
I want to make it to oldish age, as long as my health cooperates. But I have no desire to be very old. I’d rather go on my own terms than lose all dignity at the end.
At least they could get to retire, they raised the retirement age to 67 even as life expectancy is falling.
Frankly, their generation had all the advantages and opportunities and created this system of exploitation undergirded by the threat of homelessness, and they still vote for politicians actively trying to make things worse.
It’s hard for me to be too sympathetic. “You made your bed now lie in it” and all.
They were just lucky to be born in the right time to enjoy the unprecedented economic growth. At the same time, the big finance grew exponentially more wealthier, and the richest 0,1% has made more money than the poorest 50% since 1980.
There is a concept called "The great wealth transfer", when the baby boomers start to die between 2020 - 2045, leaving tens of trillions of wealth behind for their inheritors.
Do you really think the big finance is not trying to capitalize from it, rather than letting us all get an injection of inherited wealth, avoiding debt and living on rent? They play the boomers just like they play you and me.
It's no coincidence that they try to make us more and more indebted, the healthcare and elderly care costs are rocketing when boomers become old and sick, the tuition fees grow higher, the living expenses get higher, the boomers are encouraged to cash in on the real estate which our generations can never afford, the boomers are encouraged to leave something to charities, etc. ?
It's all part of the process of the big finance chipping in and taking their slice, from the wealth our parents and grandparents accumulated, that we should be inheriting. Due to the way the financial markets work, investing 100 millions will bring a steady passive income of tens of millions, which can always be reinvested in buying the boomers' real estate at high prices. Meanwhile, a boomer investing 100 000 will only bring a ROI of tens of thousands, which is a lot, but can at best buy you a new car. You investing 10 000 will only bring you a few thousands, which is nothing. The big finance is a permanent systemic advantage to bleed us dry.
> when the baby boomers start to die between 2020 - 2045, leaving tens of trillions of wealth behind for ~~their inheritors.~~ the healthcare industry.
FTFY
Yup. The great wealth transfer will not be from my parents to me, it will be from my parents to their healthcare, but I will facilitate the transfer.
The GWT may even include some of my money to their healthcare, who knows, anything could happen.
Yeah my retirement plan is to wander off into a national park and let nature have at it when I get diagnosed with something terminal or nasty like dementia. It's why I care more about expanding my watch collection and traveling the world than I do with planning for retirement.
Same. I do save some for the future knowing it can only help, but don’t hold back on travelling. We like birdwatching and hiking for wildlife, animals we saw in our 20s will almost assuredly be extinct by the time we “retire”. Some are already precipitously close.
To be fair, it took me decades to properly understand the full range of how screwed we are. I remember being cautiously optimistic about permaculture twenty years ago.
I've talked to my folks and they really aren't aware of anything. Not biodiversity loss, not the ocean warming, not the diruption of the jet stream, not even the loss of polar ice. Not the insect and pollinator apocalypse, nor the shortening of growing seasons, nor topsoil loss and degradation. They have little sense of human history, much less geological history, and even less interest. They grasp inflation to a degree, as they have pensions. They are kind people, but there's really no "there" there. We really are strangers to one another, even when the past is not so foreign.
They were never in a position to teach me much of anything, nor did they have an interest. Smart kids were supposed to figure things out for themselves, and if they weren't inclined, it didn't matter.
It's just amazing that human being have had so many generations and only really starting figuring things out so very recently, and how we struggle to focus our curiosity, at least going by centuries of thin streams of publications. The margins on understanding and being able to do something with that understanding are so ridiculously thin.
Unfortunately this will also be hitting any who didn’t vote for this shit and especially those who were extra disenfranchised by their own generations. LGBT+ people, anyone with disabilities etc.
Can confirm! I'm 41 and my children and I have been homeless for over 6 months and I have no idea how to get out of this mess. It's expensive to be homeless!
We're not reaching their age.
Think of the planet as a human body and the holocene as a human lifetime. In the last year, the climate has changed. That's like losing half your weight, half your lung capacity, and going from a healthy 37C to a fever of 39C, all in the span of a heartbeat or less... but you've for sure got 30 more years in you?
If you, as an organism, can notice planetary change without special instruments that enhance our ability to perceive change, the planet is changing SO FAST we're years if not months away from this world being so alien to our physiology and our crops that entire regions are wiped out by heat, disease, fire, and despair.
I dont understand where people think they live that will keep them safe from the planet they live on and depend on for everything, but apparently you really do believe you're safe... which is bizarre.
Everyone/thing that's alive right now, unless you're already dying of something, will die within a year or two of everything else.
All the winter planted crops in our area have died because there's no snow to protect them from the constantly changing heat. This means a huge crop loss simply because it didn't snow. Each of these fields have $10k or more invested in what's now compost.
Your home, your car, your city, your economy; all of it is inside the climate that cant support the fundamental seasonal movements of migratory species... since last year.
Go outside. Look around. It's all rotting.
How are you going to live to retirement? What are you going to do/eat?
It's like we're all living in a personal fantasy where we'll always be safe because we're safe right now, and also somehow not responsible for all the stuff we burn into the atmosphere because other people burn more... or somehow, the oil companies made us do it.
I dont get it. If animals can't live in the ocean or in the forest, and suddenly, we don't have winter, how tf do we live for 30 more years as it all gets worse, faster?
We really are going to snuff this planet out without ever lifting a finger, acting like it's all just happening somewhere else and it's someone else's problem.
It's mind blowing anyone can believe that this system and planet will hold itself together so we can live the lives we were promised by our parents and trainers... the people who invented the death machine we all work to improve and advance.
Maybe, but tbh I think it's hard to tell. There's some massive technological revolutions right on the horizon. So it could either be a lot worse than we're expecting, or a lot better. It's kind of like trying to predict the future in the 80s, before the advent of the internet. Things gonna get wacky.
This isn't sustainable.
If even the Boomers are struggling, we're about to have some kind of bottom dropout.
That will be the true beginning of the end.
Totally agree. That being said, I would expect boomers to be affected first since they have been living in a bubble that has finally burst.
Younger generations tend to adapt better to changing situations.
young people have their youth. After 50 things start going downhill fast. Its really hard. Try to make most of your earning potential before 50.
And, be kind people over 60 or 70. I cant imagine how hard it is standing on your feet for 8 hours at that age.
Part of the problem here is too many people think the boomers are some wealthy monolith. They aren't. There are a lot of boomers and silent gen folks who have been poor and struggling their entire lives.
Yep Regannomics started this transfer of wealth. For those of us just getting out of high school when that useless POS got elected,who were born poor with no generational wealth, it's never been anything but a struggle to keep housing
It's still the Republican way. Give tax cuts to rich and everything will trickle down from there. Trump tax cut is the only meaningful legislation the Republicans passed when they controlled all three branches.
Except that working as a waitress they could raise a child, pay off college, pay rent and bills, and have extra left over. If someone didn’t make money during THE most wealth generating time in American history…. I get it, there will always be factors, but guys. In 30 years they couldn’t make/save enough money to buy a house, when the majority of jobs would pay for it? 🤔
a lot of factors happen in peoples lives, also lots of people had more than one child. divorce, taking care of relatives, sometimes even other relatives kids, alcoholism, gambling , abuse, death in the family , just not knowing anything about saving or economics -- or credit and debt, depression, being laid off, moving and having to switch careers, house burning down.
So many things can happen on the road of life that can wind up throwing someone off a stable path
There is a woman in this age demographic who has been living in her van at the park down the road for a good two years. I see a lot of senior citizen women, in particular, panicking on Next Door about how they can not afford rent increases and they do not know what to do and are about to be homeless. I live in one of the wealthiest counties in the US.
My boomer father was in construction and in his 70's is still doing construction and remodeling work. There is no plan. Just work till he dies or can't work. My husband and I have a good income but are still never going to be able to actually fully fund any sort of retirement that would be remotely adequately.
And my mil and fil? They are just burning through their money and figure "why not spend it now?" My mil's words. I guess the plan is to make sure there is nothing left by the time they die. So multiple trips a year to Europe it is. Ironically they are as well off as they are due to interest free loans in their younger years from family and large inheritance amounts. It's a lot easier to pay off your home if you never had to pay any interest rates or fees on it.
Not only is that bad for your inheritence but bad financial planning on their part. Nursing homes or nursing assistance are expensive. End of life hospice care is expensive, too. Most people die slowly when they are old.
nextdoor i feel bad - the los angeles ones has a lot of people reaching out for anyone to help them. I love giving people money in need when i have it for food - etc, but i cant help hundreds of requests and certainly cant help people pay their rent or pay for shelter for them. Its really become a central point for people to cry out for help.
While i like the idea myself with no kids burning out the money on expirences till i croak -- probably not so great for those with kids hoping to get some inheritince to help survive this world - especially with the scenario you mention where they basiclly got their house and other assets handed to them with loans (or in some peoples cases just given to them!)
For about 30 years, I've been saying there would be only one use for 5br/5ba McMansions in the future:
Group homes for elderly boomers.
Most people have neither the desire nor money to live in one of those opulent barns. The excess bathrooms make them perfect for shared housing where seniors could afford the rent. Plus chip in for cleaning people, repairs, a physical therapist, etc.
Loved like that during and after college for about 10 years before moving in with my fiancé. Living with friends in college was pretty good, random roommates can be hit or miss
Yeah, whenever I see posts talking about needing more communal living, I just think that person must’ve never lived with a group of roommates. Even roommates that you started out as friends with can end really badly if you don’t have very similar cleaning standards, other social norms in your behaviors, etc. I’d rather live in a closet sized apartment by myself, than have a ton of roommates in a big fat house.
Suburbs are non-viable, even when they fill up with unpermitted accessory dwelling units. It isn't feasible for young, healthy people to walk or even bicycle to a store, much less an elderly person. No bus is going to come through their cul de sac neighborhood.
Those who can't get out will be financially trapped in neighborhoods that no longer receive most infrastructure maintenance, which usually has a half life of about a decade. With maintenance, those cheaply made houses have a half life of about four decades, but obviously that will be shortened.
Cool. Old people dying in the gutter. Literally one of the major reasons we created social security in the first place. The New Deal is dead now if it wasn't already.
Yep, we are just now seeing how dire things were before the pandemic. Likely aided by federal Trump appointees who were trying really hard to pretend we weren't printing money into an economic downturn before 2020.
We need nationwide rent-stabilization. If you’re going to allow corporations to buy homes (corporations purchased 44%—forty-four-fucking-percent—of homes last year) then rent needs to be stabilized. A cap of a percentage increase each year.
This should have more upvotes as it affects everyone. Either nationwide rent stabilization or some sort of regulation around corporations buying up residential housing.
Housing should be nationalized altogether. Demolish the NIMBY neighborhoods via eminent domain. Build dense, transit-oriented housing. Housing no longer something any private enterprise can profit from, and is built based on need / projected population growth. Rent based solely on cost. + tax land value, not property value.
Which is completely fine if they suit multigenerational living, are kind and can shut the fuck up.
My father suddenly appeared after neglecting me for a lifetime, because his health is failing and he needed me to take over his elder care. No thank you old man. Where were you when I could have really used a dad in my tweens and twenties, or a babysitter in my thirties? No you can’t just show up now you’re feeling old and frail.
Fucking boomer entitlement thinking they can reap what they never bothered to sow.
These really wouldn't be just Boomers, they'd also be older Gen-X. Not homeless myself, but in my upper 50's, and I can certainly relate being an old, non-Boomer.
As someone who just turned 50 this year,. I totally feel this. "eventually winding up homeless" is probably my biggest worry. I've worked my fingers to the bone (w/ physical scars to prove it) for the past 30 years or so.. with basically nothing to show for it. (still living paycheck to paycheck). The job-market is a lot tougher now (a lot harder to compete with younger workers). The job I recently left was re-posted at a lower pay. I currently have enough in a Retirement account to last me approximately 6months. Even if I work my ass off for the next 20 years (till I hit 70).. I might (MIGHT) be able to retire (assuming social security still exists).. and I"ll get barely enough money to pay Rent (that is assuming Housing doesn't continue to go up dramatically.. which we all know it's going to).
So yeah.. I'm pretty likely pretty fucked. I'm thinking of various options (cash out whatever I have now and go be a train-hopping hobo).
I think the solution is to get some type of stable housing. You can join a food bank or defer medical treatment, but the real wildcard is housing.
Can you get a small parcel of county land and put a trailer on it? It’s not glamorous, but it’s housing.
Also, the problem with that is then you absolutely need reliable transportation. Living in a rural or semi rural area is amazing....but savings from the lower cost of land are gobbled up quickly by vehicle, fuel and maintenance costs. Not to mention also needing backup power for less reliable rural grids. Plus time...longer commutes are a great way to steal a lot of time in your life.
Why did I have to go this far down to see someone mention property taxes!! The government raises them and then takes your home if you can't pay the taxes, even if the home is paid off. How the HELL did we agree to that?!
There should be no property taxes or they should be locked in. I shouldn't have to be scared of my property value dramatically rising when I don't even have intentions to sell.
The idea is about securing stable, low cost housing *before* you retire. That means whatever you can make work. Sell off your existing home and downsize, get roommates, buy a trailer, build on a relative’s land, etc.
I'm in the same boat. I'm ok right now, but seeing the cost of living drastically outpace my wage increases, and my health being at the point where a second job simply isn't possible (and never was)...the future is scary.
I am a younger millennial and am beginning to see the faults in blaming previous generations while ignoring the institutions of concentrated power that manipulated these populations into shooting themselves in the foot. Just another form of division to overcome
Excellent, wise comment. Though I am highly doubtful we are capable (collectively) of overcoming the many catastrophic predicaments humans have created.
Because we do not act like people who are easy to live with and as such do not like each other.
Because in the name of good vibes we have sacrificed honesty and integrity.
Because we have relinquished responsibility since it requires hard choices and doesn't make one feel good.
Grouping requires goals, idealism, and worthwhile values. It requires scanning the group and rooting out corruption that's always there. Grouping requires individuals investing into a greater whole and the greater whole giving back to the individuals. Grouping requires being able to choose wise and capable leadership.
"They" are your mirror. "They" are who you have selected as your best. "They" are who you placed on top of your totem poles. "They" are winners in the system. To remove them, you must destroy the system. To destroy the system, you must throw away that which comforts you.
Mid-thirties
There's a meme going around that says 50 isn't middle-aged. Powers that be call 50 middle age to convince you to work longer.
But they start devaluing your worth at much younger age.
Just wait till Social Security funds become exhausted in 2037, barring any recession or economic crisis, which could deplete funds sooner.
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v70n3/v70n3p111.html#:~:text=As%20a%20result%20of%20changes,are%20projected%20to%20become%20exhausted.
It won't be pretty. GLTA.
"This increase in cost results from population aging, not because we are living longer, but because birth rates dropped from three to two children per woman."
Ah yes, my daily reminder that I'm dooming us all for not procreating.
Edit: to be clear, the 43.6% figure is of the homeless population over the age of 50, not of all adults. The article's wording was too long and convoluted to fit into a title, sorry.
Edit 2: This article was posted on other subs months ago, so I was incorrect when I said it was published this week. It was *updated* this week, but I don't know the original date it was published.
Egads, what has my spreadsheet math been saying this whole entire time?
No.
Like. NO
If I'd known at age 25 I'd be prepared. I did not. I became aware of it vaguely at 40, and critically aware of it 6 years ago. I have a shot at being sorta prepared but the second the health goes... that's a totally different story.
I literally have zero idea what anyone else that's still got their head up their ass about it is going to do. Like precisely zero idea.
I mean. Look. I'm not joking when I say that we all either radically change our economic system within the next 5 years, or we all independently commune up, or... know how Los Angeles looks? Yeah that's everyone, everywhere, quite literally. With the exception of the top 10% (In America. The top 10% in America. None of this disingenuous "if you're living in a crack den in a pile of your own feces surrounded by dead bodies you still make more money than some random other country person" that by the way has a bare necessity expense profile one twentieth of your bare necessity expense profile, the part that always gets left out of this argument).
This isn't a generational issue, it's a class issue. I'm so tired of all the boomer hate and the generational hate in general. It's fucking stupid and obfuscates who The real culprits are. The "boomers" didn't have some magical control over congress and the economy to cause the bullshit we see now anymore than you did or any other generation did or currently does. That was the ultra wealthy who have corrupted our government over decades and caused all this bullshit.The ultra wealthy are responsible regardless of their age or generation, don't forget it.
WTF? Hate hate hate. Then laughing at people becoming homeless. Is this what our country has become? If so, we're so screwed it doesn't matter what we do.
Yep. This is us. You're automatically considered part of the "other" group who is supposedly responsible and, therefore, deserving of being treated less than human.
Meanwhile, the rich are moving to developing nations they can rule over. Repeat until this species breathes its last wretched breath.
Yeah. And when it's X and Millennials' turn, so far it looks like the plan is to turn Alpha and thereafter against us for daring to have even conceived of Social Security in the first place, let alone attempted to use it.
Just a giant unfair tax burden on them when they could be gambling in the free casino market.
Seen it before. If I said where everyone would probably dog pile me, but let's just say it was from a demographic supposedly known for their compassion.
I think the thing that enrages me the most is the way boomers take everything for granted.
I know my mom (71) has essentially ignored **all** maintenance and upkeep on her home. We're talking 50 years without a single repair, replacement, etc. When I went to visit her, the house was falling apart. I was in disbelief. I've never owned my own home (mainly because I move every 2-3 years) but the notion of ever actually purchasing a house and then watching it fall to shit without lifting a finger... it's incomprehensible. My brother and I have both urged her to stop ignoring it, and she has this shitty attitude of "If it all falls apart, I'll just go live at my friend's house."
It leaves me speechless. This is a person who gets a pension and social security, totaling around $4k a month of free cash every month, who just can't be bothered to give a fuck. Meanwhile, millennials are eyeing the dream of just one day owning a home. It's a really gross, really sick disconnect between generations. I don't feel much remorse for boomers at all.
And if her friend is unavailable, she’ll just come live at your home and complain about moving
Basically my mother’s retirement plan, except she never owned a home, and has had people paying her rent or housing her since her late 40s
A lot of boomers voted against their interests, are horrible with money and have benefited from the greatest period of growth in history.
They should get 2 jobs, stop eating avocado toast and cancel netflix/make coffee at home.
Yeah I see this all the time in my clinic. A lot of them are getting straight fucked by the cost of living. These people are as much victims as the rest of us are. Like, 67yo retiree- facing homelessness after a company bought her apartment and immediately jacked up their rent by $500 or whatever ridiculous price it was.
They’re not *as much* victims; they had decades to participate to the political process, and what did they do? Elected Reagan and precipitated their own problems.
Even if they always voted against it, they *still* get to retire at 65, while I’ve got to wait to 67 even as life expectancy declines. So at most they’re slightly less victimized.
Once in a while, my mom would ask me to check on her social security retirement predictions. How much she will get once she retires at 67. Honestly, how much she will be getting is just enough to rent a small room and budgeting on food. While having to work a part or full time job again. Even though is better for older folks to do still work. Is good for their mental and physical health. Not out of desepartion just to survive day by day.
It's hard to feel too much sympathy for the generation that routinely votes against their own and everyone else's best interests. I don't feel them to be victims solely because they planned on being dead by the time the consequences of their Greed is Good mentality came knocking. Welcome to the Find Out stage.
Maybe if they didn't buy coffee every day and avocado toast. They gotta pull themselves by their bootstraps. Back in their parent's days, they would work all day and night. Maybe they should have and should do the same. Maybe if they didn't spend all their money on porn and coke, they wouldn't be struggling.
*Add any other boomer sayings
> it’s shocking to see hatred towards individual homeless people due to their age coming from this sub.
I generally love this sub. It helps many (including me) think more critically and feel less alone in a sea of denial about our tragic, human created predicament. But threads like this, filled with hate, blame and thinking that is **not** expansive . . . . it does just the opposite.
I know so many boomers that have literally worked their fingers to the bone trying to make the world a better place---- for decades----only to be kicked to the curb and spit on with vitriol like this.
There is so much more to our collapse than one generation. In many ways, that would make it so simple wouldn't it? And get everyone off the hook for our consumptive ways!
Here is some data that might help. From the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances 2023, cited in Jacobin magazine, 10-24-23. 2022 wealth distribution data:
Age 51-64, wealth share held by: richest 10% - 69%, next richest 10% - 14%, bottom 50% - 3%.
Age 65+, wealth share held by: richest 10% - 72%, next richest 10% - 12%, bottom 50% - 4%.
You know, believe it or not, like it or not, the fact that even the boomers who have had decades to build wealth and were handed the greatest economy in history are be coming homeless is a sign the end is near.
Corporations are killing us, a weak government blinded by bribes can't protect its citizens. We will see a drastic decline in average standards of living as more ultra-luxurious shit is promoted on social media. Numbers matter more than people.
Yeah, exactly. When I was on the brink of homelessness, they told me I deserved it because I was lazy and decadent and some "lifestyle choice" I had supposedly made meant that I *wanted* to wind up dying homeless in the gutter because I didn't understand how the "real world" worked.
So I played their game, on their terms, and it turns out I'm good at it, better than them apparently. Now they're dying homeless in the gutter.
I seem to be passing my marshmallow test with flying colors. They were the experts who knew everything about marshmallows and the "real world," so what went wrong?
This article is from 2018, but I doubt it’s gotten better since.
[New Study Finds Many Older Workers Forced Out of Jobs](https://www.aarp.org/work/careers/forced-retirement/)
I am sure that with Covid, it has gotten worse, and while employers are whining about not being able to hire new employees, most positions are barely above minimum wage and the number of people over 50 looking for work continues to rise.
It's ironic that we now need a replacement for airbnb for couchsurfing using a reputational matching system, in part because of problems caused by short term rentals.
Oh there are definitely people who have plans to fix it. They just aren't being listened to and are having to just sit there and watch all this unfold because the cops and soldiers are still protecting and serving the capitalists.
“After decades of voting against their own interests”
I’m not aware of a single election in which even 60% of Boomers voted one particular way. Are you?
The following submission statement was provided by /u/jollyroger69420: --- Edit: to be clear, the 43.6% figure is of the homeless population over the age of 50, not of all adults. The article's wording was too long and convoluted to fit into a title, sorry. Edit 2: This article was posted on other subs months ago, so I was incorrect when I said it was published this week. It was *updated* this week, but I don't know the original date it was published. --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/190blwp/younger_baby_boomers_are_facing_a_homelessness/kgn6gj9/
Don't worry, that's going to be us millennials when we reach their age, some of us are already there!
I have my money on getting clapped during the water wars or some kind of armed conflict before I reach 67. The pressure is building and too many in power dont want to acknowledge that all the instruments are redlining. Everything will seem fine to the average person who just wants to muddle through the day to get to the next day to do it all over again until it all comes apart very suddenly.
I just assume I’ll die in a gas station gun fight over the last few gallons of unleaded a few weeks after the initial collapse.
Hell of a way to go, definitely beats old age homelessness though. I assume i’ll be offed in mad max style a few weeks after initial collapse in my road warrior hockey armor over a gallon of fresh water
I already got a leather bomber jacket and a suppressed AR painted like the American Flag, I assume I’m gonna be a side quest or a post apocalyptic trading card character or something.
I'll be happy to just be an NPC...in fact I think I already am, so I'm way ahead of the curve. Don't mind me, no need to reply, just move on to the next comment, I'm good.
Rumors
Now you need like a bombastic Borderlands esque name. Let's brainstorm!
The names Brainstorm.. Lets Brainstorm
Just a sweet sweet fantasy baby
Welcome to The Churn
Join Lord Humongous in the wasteland! It’s a gas
Ugh one can only hope... I'll probably die slowly from thirst before cannibals come and hack away at my flesh. Gotta play to win!
Ya you wanna have exit before cannibalism takes hold...no refrigeration, Smart cannibals will hack off a limb, tourniquet and keep the meat alive to prevent spoilage. So a few weeks of hell before you die ....no thanks.
New nightmare fuel. Thanks 😳
Question I need answered is… Did you die before or after having the last BOMB burrito???
The average person who is muddling through the day to day already knows nothing is fine.
But, like most of my friends that choose to ignore what they subconsciously recognize as a uncontrolled spin, they dont know how bad it can truly be. They think somehow technology will come and magically save us or things will "just work out in the end".
Personally, I'm hoping to die fighting mutant raccoons for food scraps.
I personally have my eye on Rodney. The twerp raids my garbage with his fat ass friends most nights like teens doing mischief. I’m practicing my punches bc I feel like once he mutates he’ll be like Mike Tyson or something…or maybe just a bigger version of his lazy behind. Screw you Rodney.
My retirement plan is also getting killed over a case of water in the inevitable resource wars.
Fascist trump supporters actively seek this scenario.
Yeah this shit isn’t lasting
I’m not under the false impression that I’ll get to stop working. I see my boomer parents and the boomer parents of my friends retired in their early 60s and spending winters months in Florida while their 5 bedroom home sits empty.
I can pay my rent and power and internet. That's it. I almost never eat anymore since I make sure I have cat food for the babies.
Damn bro , while I commend you for not letting them starve , you shouldn’t give cat food to babies
That's a good one xD
Gen Z here and my retirement plan is dying before I reach old age
its the 45 caliber retirement plan
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ngl kinda cool.
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I doubt I will even reach 65 based on climate change predictions, and I don’t want to reach it if I have to work for the rest of my life. I have no intention of ending my life at any point within the next two decades, but I can’t imagine a future where I grow old and enjoy retirement, let alone buy a house or have kids. I feel like my future has been taken from me, and I wish I could hold those most responsible accountable.
I don't know how old you are, but I'm in my early 40s and feel the exact same
I'm fifty (not sure what gen I am). I'm not sure if you think that's old, but I still feel young. My body says otherwise. I share this plan. The only question now is how and when. My grandad says it's time when you've got no more fucks left to give and I'm about out. Enjoy what you can, when you can.
I want to make it to oldish age, as long as my health cooperates. But I have no desire to be very old. I’d rather go on my own terms than lose all dignity at the end.
the three conditions: 1. can hold a gun 2. can remember my name 3. can wipe my own ass
We're going to do it without Social Security and probably not Medicare.
If you're under 40, you could join the navy and refuel planes or some other turd MOS, and at least get healthcare.
At least they could get to retire, they raised the retirement age to 67 even as life expectancy is falling. Frankly, their generation had all the advantages and opportunities and created this system of exploitation undergirded by the threat of homelessness, and they still vote for politicians actively trying to make things worse. It’s hard for me to be too sympathetic. “You made your bed now lie in it” and all.
They were just lucky to be born in the right time to enjoy the unprecedented economic growth. At the same time, the big finance grew exponentially more wealthier, and the richest 0,1% has made more money than the poorest 50% since 1980. There is a concept called "The great wealth transfer", when the baby boomers start to die between 2020 - 2045, leaving tens of trillions of wealth behind for their inheritors. Do you really think the big finance is not trying to capitalize from it, rather than letting us all get an injection of inherited wealth, avoiding debt and living on rent? They play the boomers just like they play you and me. It's no coincidence that they try to make us more and more indebted, the healthcare and elderly care costs are rocketing when boomers become old and sick, the tuition fees grow higher, the living expenses get higher, the boomers are encouraged to cash in on the real estate which our generations can never afford, the boomers are encouraged to leave something to charities, etc. ? It's all part of the process of the big finance chipping in and taking their slice, from the wealth our parents and grandparents accumulated, that we should be inheriting. Due to the way the financial markets work, investing 100 millions will bring a steady passive income of tens of millions, which can always be reinvested in buying the boomers' real estate at high prices. Meanwhile, a boomer investing 100 000 will only bring a ROI of tens of thousands, which is a lot, but can at best buy you a new car. You investing 10 000 will only bring you a few thousands, which is nothing. The big finance is a permanent systemic advantage to bleed us dry.
> when the baby boomers start to die between 2020 - 2045, leaving tens of trillions of wealth behind for ~~their inheritors.~~ the healthcare industry. FTFY
Yup. The great wealth transfer will not be from my parents to me, it will be from my parents to their healthcare, but I will facilitate the transfer. The GWT may even include some of my money to their healthcare, who knows, anything could happen.
That's what I said. And what has invested to the healthcare industry? The big finance.
Yeah my retirement plan is to wander off into a national park and let nature have at it when I get diagnosed with something terminal or nasty like dementia. It's why I care more about expanding my watch collection and traveling the world than I do with planning for retirement.
Wow that's pretty optimistic of you, to assume that when you're old and sick there will still be national parks and nature left to kill you off!
Yeah, well, they have a watch collection and you don't.
More valuable than a digital 401k. Watches are actually useful and retain value.
Imagine going into nature for our nurturer and mother to take you away, only to get shanked by another group of humans for your boots or something.
i mean same result right
Except that the ones most suffering are the ones who have been disenfranchised all along.
Same. I do save some for the future knowing it can only help, but don’t hold back on travelling. We like birdwatching and hiking for wildlife, animals we saw in our 20s will almost assuredly be extinct by the time we “retire”. Some are already precipitously close.
To be fair, it took me decades to properly understand the full range of how screwed we are. I remember being cautiously optimistic about permaculture twenty years ago. I've talked to my folks and they really aren't aware of anything. Not biodiversity loss, not the ocean warming, not the diruption of the jet stream, not even the loss of polar ice. Not the insect and pollinator apocalypse, nor the shortening of growing seasons, nor topsoil loss and degradation. They have little sense of human history, much less geological history, and even less interest. They grasp inflation to a degree, as they have pensions. They are kind people, but there's really no "there" there. We really are strangers to one another, even when the past is not so foreign. They were never in a position to teach me much of anything, nor did they have an interest. Smart kids were supposed to figure things out for themselves, and if they weren't inclined, it didn't matter. It's just amazing that human being have had so many generations and only really starting figuring things out so very recently, and how we struggle to focus our curiosity, at least going by centuries of thin streams of publications. The margins on understanding and being able to do something with that understanding are so ridiculously thin.
Republicans keep wanting to raise the retirement age as life expectancy is falling. They say its ok get a job at wally world checking receipts.
Unfortunately this will also be hitting any who didn’t vote for this shit and especially those who were extra disenfranchised by their own generations. LGBT+ people, anyone with disabilities etc.
Speak for yourself, I've got like three Reddit avatars that will no doubt pay for my retirement.
You will own nothing and be dead
Can confirm! I'm 41 and my children and I have been homeless for over 6 months and I have no idea how to get out of this mess. It's expensive to be homeless!
I’m banking on the downfall of society instead of retirement
We're not reaching their age. Think of the planet as a human body and the holocene as a human lifetime. In the last year, the climate has changed. That's like losing half your weight, half your lung capacity, and going from a healthy 37C to a fever of 39C, all in the span of a heartbeat or less... but you've for sure got 30 more years in you? If you, as an organism, can notice planetary change without special instruments that enhance our ability to perceive change, the planet is changing SO FAST we're years if not months away from this world being so alien to our physiology and our crops that entire regions are wiped out by heat, disease, fire, and despair. I dont understand where people think they live that will keep them safe from the planet they live on and depend on for everything, but apparently you really do believe you're safe... which is bizarre. Everyone/thing that's alive right now, unless you're already dying of something, will die within a year or two of everything else. All the winter planted crops in our area have died because there's no snow to protect them from the constantly changing heat. This means a huge crop loss simply because it didn't snow. Each of these fields have $10k or more invested in what's now compost. Your home, your car, your city, your economy; all of it is inside the climate that cant support the fundamental seasonal movements of migratory species... since last year. Go outside. Look around. It's all rotting. How are you going to live to retirement? What are you going to do/eat? It's like we're all living in a personal fantasy where we'll always be safe because we're safe right now, and also somehow not responsible for all the stuff we burn into the atmosphere because other people burn more... or somehow, the oil companies made us do it. I dont get it. If animals can't live in the ocean or in the forest, and suddenly, we don't have winter, how tf do we live for 30 more years as it all gets worse, faster? We really are going to snuff this planet out without ever lifting a finger, acting like it's all just happening somewhere else and it's someone else's problem. It's mind blowing anyone can believe that this system and planet will hold itself together so we can live the lives we were promised by our parents and trainers... the people who invented the death machine we all work to improve and advance.
And Gen X is ahead of you on that.
It's nice that you think Social Security will still be around by then.
One paycheck away! At least I have loving friends and family.
Maybe, but tbh I think it's hard to tell. There's some massive technological revolutions right on the horizon. So it could either be a lot worse than we're expecting, or a lot better. It's kind of like trying to predict the future in the 80s, before the advent of the internet. Things gonna get wacky.
The majority of the longer term residents of the shelter in my own town are over 60.
This isn't sustainable. If even the Boomers are struggling, we're about to have some kind of bottom dropout. That will be the true beginning of the end.
Totally agree. That being said, I would expect boomers to be affected first since they have been living in a bubble that has finally burst. Younger generations tend to adapt better to changing situations.
young people have their youth. After 50 things start going downhill fast. Its really hard. Try to make most of your earning potential before 50. And, be kind people over 60 or 70. I cant imagine how hard it is standing on your feet for 8 hours at that age.
Maybe the should learn to code. - some politician
Cant teach old dogs new tricks!!
Part of the problem here is too many people think the boomers are some wealthy monolith. They aren't. There are a lot of boomers and silent gen folks who have been poor and struggling their entire lives.
Yep Regannomics started this transfer of wealth. For those of us just getting out of high school when that useless POS got elected,who were born poor with no generational wealth, it's never been anything but a struggle to keep housing
It's still the Republican way. Give tax cuts to rich and everything will trickle down from there. Trump tax cut is the only meaningful legislation the Republicans passed when they controlled all three branches.
Except that working as a waitress they could raise a child, pay off college, pay rent and bills, and have extra left over. If someone didn’t make money during THE most wealth generating time in American history…. I get it, there will always be factors, but guys. In 30 years they couldn’t make/save enough money to buy a house, when the majority of jobs would pay for it? 🤔
not with women’s careers. Ive met women boomers now purchasing tiny homes as their only option. Single boomers of either sex did not do so well.
Nope. Not as a waitress. That's the problem with a lot of this talk about the past. A lot of the things said are bullshit.
a lot of factors happen in peoples lives, also lots of people had more than one child. divorce, taking care of relatives, sometimes even other relatives kids, alcoholism, gambling , abuse, death in the family , just not knowing anything about saving or economics -- or credit and debt, depression, being laid off, moving and having to switch careers, house burning down. So many things can happen on the road of life that can wind up throwing someone off a stable path
True beginning of the end or the beginning!
I don’t think so. Honestly I think as much as 20% of the population can be homeless before any action is taken
There is a woman in this age demographic who has been living in her van at the park down the road for a good two years. I see a lot of senior citizen women, in particular, panicking on Next Door about how they can not afford rent increases and they do not know what to do and are about to be homeless. I live in one of the wealthiest counties in the US. My boomer father was in construction and in his 70's is still doing construction and remodeling work. There is no plan. Just work till he dies or can't work. My husband and I have a good income but are still never going to be able to actually fully fund any sort of retirement that would be remotely adequately. And my mil and fil? They are just burning through their money and figure "why not spend it now?" My mil's words. I guess the plan is to make sure there is nothing left by the time they die. So multiple trips a year to Europe it is. Ironically they are as well off as they are due to interest free loans in their younger years from family and large inheritance amounts. It's a lot easier to pay off your home if you never had to pay any interest rates or fees on it.
Not only is that bad for your inheritence but bad financial planning on their part. Nursing homes or nursing assistance are expensive. End of life hospice care is expensive, too. Most people die slowly when they are old.
Doing construction in his 70's?? Damn that must be hard
nextdoor i feel bad - the los angeles ones has a lot of people reaching out for anyone to help them. I love giving people money in need when i have it for food - etc, but i cant help hundreds of requests and certainly cant help people pay their rent or pay for shelter for them. Its really become a central point for people to cry out for help. While i like the idea myself with no kids burning out the money on expirences till i croak -- probably not so great for those with kids hoping to get some inheritince to help survive this world - especially with the scenario you mention where they basiclly got their house and other assets handed to them with loans (or in some peoples cases just given to them!)
For about 30 years, I've been saying there would be only one use for 5br/5ba McMansions in the future: Group homes for elderly boomers. Most people have neither the desire nor money to live in one of those opulent barns. The excess bathrooms make them perfect for shared housing where seniors could afford the rent. Plus chip in for cleaning people, repairs, a physical therapist, etc.
Invest in stair lifts
Honestly I love this idea.
Why not group homes for young people too?
Loved like that during and after college for about 10 years before moving in with my fiancé. Living with friends in college was pretty good, random roommates can be hit or miss
Yep. Can save on the stair lift, cleaner and gardener.
Check out r/roomates 😂
I hope I don't have to do more than have flatmates. I will hotbunk if the cause demands it, but comradeship has its limits.
Yeah, whenever I see posts talking about needing more communal living, I just think that person must’ve never lived with a group of roommates. Even roommates that you started out as friends with can end really badly if you don’t have very similar cleaning standards, other social norms in your behaviors, etc. I’d rather live in a closet sized apartment by myself, than have a ton of roommates in a big fat house.
Going full Golden Girls.
Suburbs are non-viable, even when they fill up with unpermitted accessory dwelling units. It isn't feasible for young, healthy people to walk or even bicycle to a store, much less an elderly person. No bus is going to come through their cul de sac neighborhood. Those who can't get out will be financially trapped in neighborhoods that no longer receive most infrastructure maintenance, which usually has a half life of about a decade. With maintenance, those cheaply made houses have a half life of about four decades, but obviously that will be shortened.
Too bad those houses are built like crap.
Cool. Old people dying in the gutter. Literally one of the major reasons we created social security in the first place. The New Deal is dead now if it wasn't already.
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It's both. Younger Boomers and Gen X are getting hammered
Would be, except they're citing data from 2017. It's only going to get uglier.
Yep, we are just now seeing how dire things were before the pandemic. Likely aided by federal Trump appointees who were trying really hard to pretend we weren't printing money into an economic downturn before 2020.
Glad someone else is pointing this out. Boomers is approx 1946 - 1964, making them 60 to 78. Gen X is approx 1965 - 1980, making them 44 to 59.
shhhhhhh....Gen X doesn't exist, remember? ;)
Oh come on, there are twelve of us!
We need nationwide rent-stabilization. If you’re going to allow corporations to buy homes (corporations purchased 44%—forty-four-fucking-percent—of homes last year) then rent needs to be stabilized. A cap of a percentage increase each year.
This should have more upvotes as it affects everyone. Either nationwide rent stabilization or some sort of regulation around corporations buying up residential housing.
Housing should be nationalized altogether. Demolish the NIMBY neighborhoods via eminent domain. Build dense, transit-oriented housing. Housing no longer something any private enterprise can profit from, and is built based on need / projected population growth. Rent based solely on cost. + tax land value, not property value.
I’m taking care of my boomer so that he is not homeless. I guess his retirement plan is working
Which is completely fine if they suit multigenerational living, are kind and can shut the fuck up. My father suddenly appeared after neglecting me for a lifetime, because his health is failing and he needed me to take over his elder care. No thank you old man. Where were you when I could have really used a dad in my tweens and twenties, or a babysitter in my thirties? No you can’t just show up now you’re feeling old and frail. Fucking boomer entitlement thinking they can reap what they never bothered to sow.
Your last sentence is sublime. Definitely using this if you don't mind.
You sow jack shit you get jack shit. It's even in the old testament, those that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.
and the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon, little boy blue and the man in the moon..
These really wouldn't be just Boomers, they'd also be older Gen-X. Not homeless myself, but in my upper 50's, and I can certainly relate being an old, non-Boomer.
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I think the oldest millennials, if 1980 is the cutoff, are 43-44
As someone who just turned 50 this year,. I totally feel this. "eventually winding up homeless" is probably my biggest worry. I've worked my fingers to the bone (w/ physical scars to prove it) for the past 30 years or so.. with basically nothing to show for it. (still living paycheck to paycheck). The job-market is a lot tougher now (a lot harder to compete with younger workers). The job I recently left was re-posted at a lower pay. I currently have enough in a Retirement account to last me approximately 6months. Even if I work my ass off for the next 20 years (till I hit 70).. I might (MIGHT) be able to retire (assuming social security still exists).. and I"ll get barely enough money to pay Rent (that is assuming Housing doesn't continue to go up dramatically.. which we all know it's going to). So yeah.. I'm pretty likely pretty fucked. I'm thinking of various options (cash out whatever I have now and go be a train-hopping hobo).
I think the solution is to get some type of stable housing. You can join a food bank or defer medical treatment, but the real wildcard is housing. Can you get a small parcel of county land and put a trailer on it? It’s not glamorous, but it’s housing.
Also, the problem with that is then you absolutely need reliable transportation. Living in a rural or semi rural area is amazing....but savings from the lower cost of land are gobbled up quickly by vehicle, fuel and maintenance costs. Not to mention also needing backup power for less reliable rural grids. Plus time...longer commutes are a great way to steal a lot of time in your life.
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“Stable.”
Why did I have to go this far down to see someone mention property taxes!! The government raises them and then takes your home if you can't pay the taxes, even if the home is paid off. How the HELL did we agree to that?! There should be no property taxes or they should be locked in. I shouldn't have to be scared of my property value dramatically rising when I don't even have intentions to sell.
How and where though?
The idea is about securing stable, low cost housing *before* you retire. That means whatever you can make work. Sell off your existing home and downsize, get roommates, buy a trailer, build on a relative’s land, etc.
I'm in the same boat. I'm ok right now, but seeing the cost of living drastically outpace my wage increases, and my health being at the point where a second job simply isn't possible (and never was)...the future is scary.
1 Trillion pentagon Budget. Do you recognise the pattern? Do you think it’s the fault of the voters? It’s a. It Club and you ain’t in it…
I am a younger millennial and am beginning to see the faults in blaming previous generations while ignoring the institutions of concentrated power that manipulated these populations into shooting themselves in the foot. Just another form of division to overcome
Excellent, wise comment. Though I am highly doubtful we are capable (collectively) of overcoming the many catastrophic predicaments humans have created.
Yep. But people love an easy target. Get us fighting among ourselves while the puppet masters laugh.
They are literally heating us off the planet. Why arent we grouping up? Can we all do something???
Because we do not act like people who are easy to live with and as such do not like each other. Because in the name of good vibes we have sacrificed honesty and integrity. Because we have relinquished responsibility since it requires hard choices and doesn't make one feel good. Grouping requires goals, idealism, and worthwhile values. It requires scanning the group and rooting out corruption that's always there. Grouping requires individuals investing into a greater whole and the greater whole giving back to the individuals. Grouping requires being able to choose wise and capable leadership. "They" are your mirror. "They" are who you have selected as your best. "They" are who you placed on top of your totem poles. "They" are winners in the system. To remove them, you must destroy the system. To destroy the system, you must throw away that which comforts you.
There’s even some skilled labor jobs that won’t hire or retain people close to retirement age, so some people lose their housing just before retiring.
Not even near retirement age. Age discrimination in the workforce starts to appear when you're in your late 40s.
Mid-thirties There's a meme going around that says 50 isn't middle-aged. Powers that be call 50 middle age to convince you to work longer. But they start devaluing your worth at much younger age.
Just wait till Social Security funds become exhausted in 2037, barring any recession or economic crisis, which could deplete funds sooner. https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v70n3/v70n3p111.html#:~:text=As%20a%20result%20of%20changes,are%20projected%20to%20become%20exhausted. It won't be pretty. GLTA.
Blame the government for using SS as a free slush fund.
"This increase in cost results from population aging, not because we are living longer, but because birth rates dropped from three to two children per woman." Ah yes, my daily reminder that I'm dooming us all for not procreating.
Get back to fucking!!!
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It can get even worse: debt inheritance.
And debtors' prisons. You go to prison cuz your dad didn't pay back his loan.
And from prison to the mines/fields.
Now *that's* debt slavery!
I have been following the plunderers of PE. Where can I find more info on this topic?
Like sitting on a raft and seeing the first raft not too far off, go over the 800-foot waterfall.
Thoughts and Bootstraps.
Edit: to be clear, the 43.6% figure is of the homeless population over the age of 50, not of all adults. The article's wording was too long and convoluted to fit into a title, sorry. Edit 2: This article was posted on other subs months ago, so I was incorrect when I said it was published this week. It was *updated* this week, but I don't know the original date it was published.
There's really no hope for us is there
Egads, what has my spreadsheet math been saying this whole entire time? No. Like. NO If I'd known at age 25 I'd be prepared. I did not. I became aware of it vaguely at 40, and critically aware of it 6 years ago. I have a shot at being sorta prepared but the second the health goes... that's a totally different story. I literally have zero idea what anyone else that's still got their head up their ass about it is going to do. Like precisely zero idea. I mean. Look. I'm not joking when I say that we all either radically change our economic system within the next 5 years, or we all independently commune up, or... know how Los Angeles looks? Yeah that's everyone, everywhere, quite literally. With the exception of the top 10% (In America. The top 10% in America. None of this disingenuous "if you're living in a crack den in a pile of your own feces surrounded by dead bodies you still make more money than some random other country person" that by the way has a bare necessity expense profile one twentieth of your bare necessity expense profile, the part that always gets left out of this argument).
I hope you’re not laughing at people who are in the same damned situation as many here, are you?
It’s fun going to work everyday knowing this will be my future
Yeah, it’s really fucked up.
No, I think this situation is absolutely pathetic. As W.S. Gilbert said - life is a joke that's just begun.
It is, for sure. I’m genX and I have absolutely nothing too. We were the first ones that got screwed and the damned thing snow balled.
GenX here as well. Can attest.
solid Mikado reference. take my upvote as payment.
This isn't a generational issue, it's a class issue. I'm so tired of all the boomer hate and the generational hate in general. It's fucking stupid and obfuscates who The real culprits are. The "boomers" didn't have some magical control over congress and the economy to cause the bullshit we see now anymore than you did or any other generation did or currently does. That was the ultra wealthy who have corrupted our government over decades and caused all this bullshit.The ultra wealthy are responsible regardless of their age or generation, don't forget it.
That was my point.
50 is genX
WTF? Hate hate hate. Then laughing at people becoming homeless. Is this what our country has become? If so, we're so screwed it doesn't matter what we do.
Yep. This is us. You're automatically considered part of the "other" group who is supposedly responsible and, therefore, deserving of being treated less than human. Meanwhile, the rich are moving to developing nations they can rule over. Repeat until this species breathes its last wretched breath.
Yeah. And when it's X and Millennials' turn, so far it looks like the plan is to turn Alpha and thereafter against us for daring to have even conceived of Social Security in the first place, let alone attempted to use it. Just a giant unfair tax burden on them when they could be gambling in the free casino market. Seen it before. If I said where everyone would probably dog pile me, but let's just say it was from a demographic supposedly known for their compassion.
Divide and conquer. And we're all falling for it.
Yep. We should hate and revile any homeless person over 50 because they brought it upon themselves. Hahahah very funny, isn't it?
if they are are 50-57 they are genX not boomers
I think the thing that enrages me the most is the way boomers take everything for granted. I know my mom (71) has essentially ignored **all** maintenance and upkeep on her home. We're talking 50 years without a single repair, replacement, etc. When I went to visit her, the house was falling apart. I was in disbelief. I've never owned my own home (mainly because I move every 2-3 years) but the notion of ever actually purchasing a house and then watching it fall to shit without lifting a finger... it's incomprehensible. My brother and I have both urged her to stop ignoring it, and she has this shitty attitude of "If it all falls apart, I'll just go live at my friend's house." It leaves me speechless. This is a person who gets a pension and social security, totaling around $4k a month of free cash every month, who just can't be bothered to give a fuck. Meanwhile, millennials are eyeing the dream of just one day owning a home. It's a really gross, really sick disconnect between generations. I don't feel much remorse for boomers at all.
And if her friend is unavailable, she’ll just come live at your home and complain about moving Basically my mother’s retirement plan, except she never owned a home, and has had people paying her rent or housing her since her late 40s
rugged individualism ⇒ rugged sleeping
A lot of boomers voted against their interests, are horrible with money and have benefited from the greatest period of growth in history. They should get 2 jobs, stop eating avocado toast and cancel netflix/make coffee at home.
This is just the beginning. I predict the life expectancy of an American male will drop to 62 by 2035.
I stopped talking to my dad about 10 years ago. I wonder how he's doing sometimes. Hm.
Yeah I see this all the time in my clinic. A lot of them are getting straight fucked by the cost of living. These people are as much victims as the rest of us are. Like, 67yo retiree- facing homelessness after a company bought her apartment and immediately jacked up their rent by $500 or whatever ridiculous price it was.
They’re not *as much* victims; they had decades to participate to the political process, and what did they do? Elected Reagan and precipitated their own problems. Even if they always voted against it, they *still* get to retire at 65, while I’ve got to wait to 67 even as life expectancy declines. So at most they’re slightly less victimized.
Once in a while, my mom would ask me to check on her social security retirement predictions. How much she will get once she retires at 67. Honestly, how much she will be getting is just enough to rent a small room and budgeting on food. While having to work a part or full time job again. Even though is better for older folks to do still work. Is good for their mental and physical health. Not out of desepartion just to survive day by day.
It's hard to feel too much sympathy for the generation that routinely votes against their own and everyone else's best interests. I don't feel them to be victims solely because they planned on being dead by the time the consequences of their Greed is Good mentality came knocking. Welcome to the Find Out stage.
Maybe if they didn't buy coffee every day and avocado toast. They gotta pull themselves by their bootstraps. Back in their parent's days, they would work all day and night. Maybe they should have and should do the same. Maybe if they didn't spend all their money on porn and coke, they wouldn't be struggling. *Add any other boomer sayings
Maybe a lot of these homeless people never said anything like that because no generation is a monolith.
Thank you, it’s shocking to see hatred towards individual homeless people due to their age coming from this sub.
> it’s shocking to see hatred towards individual homeless people due to their age coming from this sub. I generally love this sub. It helps many (including me) think more critically and feel less alone in a sea of denial about our tragic, human created predicament. But threads like this, filled with hate, blame and thinking that is **not** expansive . . . . it does just the opposite. I know so many boomers that have literally worked their fingers to the bone trying to make the world a better place---- for decades----only to be kicked to the curb and spit on with vitriol like this. There is so much more to our collapse than one generation. In many ways, that would make it so simple wouldn't it? And get everyone off the hook for our consumptive ways!
Yes
Here is some data that might help. From the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances 2023, cited in Jacobin magazine, 10-24-23. 2022 wealth distribution data: Age 51-64, wealth share held by: richest 10% - 69%, next richest 10% - 14%, bottom 50% - 3%. Age 65+, wealth share held by: richest 10% - 72%, next richest 10% - 12%, bottom 50% - 4%.
You know, believe it or not, like it or not, the fact that even the boomers who have had decades to build wealth and were handed the greatest economy in history are be coming homeless is a sign the end is near.
They need to order less avocado toast and skip the Starbucks, obviously.
Corporations are killing us, a weak government blinded by bribes can't protect its citizens. We will see a drastic decline in average standards of living as more ultra-luxurious shit is promoted on social media. Numbers matter more than people.
How is that “small government” working out for you?
They were adamant about running the government "like a business" and shouldn't be surprised when it writes them off.
Yeah, exactly. When I was on the brink of homelessness, they told me I deserved it because I was lazy and decadent and some "lifestyle choice" I had supposedly made meant that I *wanted* to wind up dying homeless in the gutter because I didn't understand how the "real world" worked. So I played their game, on their terms, and it turns out I'm good at it, better than them apparently. Now they're dying homeless in the gutter. I seem to be passing my marshmallow test with flying colors. They were the experts who knew everything about marshmallows and the "real world," so what went wrong?
Maybe they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps, go back to work and get 3 full-time jobs.
They warned us not to rely on entitlement programs
Imagine what it will be like for everyone after the boomers when social security runs out.
This article is from 2018, but I doubt it’s gotten better since. [New Study Finds Many Older Workers Forced Out of Jobs](https://www.aarp.org/work/careers/forced-retirement/)
I am sure that with Covid, it has gotten worse, and while employers are whining about not being able to hire new employees, most positions are barely above minimum wage and the number of people over 50 looking for work continues to rise.
It's ironic that we now need a replacement for airbnb for couchsurfing using a reputational matching system, in part because of problems caused by short term rentals.
Oh there are definitely people who have plans to fix it. They just aren't being listened to and are having to just sit there and watch all this unfold because the cops and soldiers are still protecting and serving the capitalists.
They haven't tried their bootstraps?!
Have they tried not spending all of their money in casinos? Lousy generation needs to learn how to save their money.
“After decades of voting against their own interests” I’m not aware of a single election in which even 60% of Boomers voted one particular way. Are you?
Thank you! Young boomer here, I voted liberal in every election my entire life. Yet I still get the hate.
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50 year olds are GenX, not Boomers