The Free Ride is Over - Why Did the Baby Boomers Think They Deserved So Many Years of Leisure?

Baby Boomers - Enjoying the Good Life


I’m not surprised our economic system is imploding. I’ve always been a “pay as I go” kind of person. When I get calls or flyers saying I don’t have to make any payments until way off in the future, I just scratch my head. If I don’t have the money today, what makes me (or them) think I’ll have it in a couple of years. Whatever I bought on this strange payment plan probably is worn or broken by the time they want the money. There's no fun in paying off the past, but we're sure doing that and in many ways.

The Baby Boomers rocked our world and continue to do so. I must confess that I’m on the tail end of that generation. But, I’m clearly not part of the “in crowd.” The true Boomers retire at age 65. The tail enders, from 1961 and down, bounce up to age 67. Had I been born a year earlier, I’d enjoy two extra years of benefits. Now, I’ll pay two extra years.

I’m not complaining about working and paying my way. That’s the way it should be, and that’s where the Boomers got off track. They enjoyed the house, white picket fence, two kids, and a dog and then got a 12 year bonus to kick back and take it easy.

When Social Security was put in place, the average lifespan was 65 years. Hum. What do those numbers tell you? Well, the idea was that the last little bit of time on earth could be spent enjoying the fruits of a life well spent. Actually, many never made it to retirement and collection. Social Security was meant to be a true program for the elderly and infirm so that they didn’t work right up until death (though many did initially).

With advances in modern medicine, the lifespan is now 77 years in the United States. Instead of providing a cushion for a few months or years (or maybe not at all), we guarantee most people 12 years of leisure. And, many push that. I'll be attending a birthday party for a woman who turns 100 years old later this month.

I was watching TV yesterday and some woman was moaning, because she was not going to be able to retire at 50 as she planned. She noted that she’d worked very hard and that all her dreams had been shattered by the downturn in the economy. She honestly thought that she deserved 27 years of retirement.

This poor woman who would be working a couple of extra years to make up for a 401K drop was crying. Now, money does not grow on trees. Tucking cash back that grows and grows is not the same as earning a dollar. The money comes from somewhere and usually off the poor who buy things but do not earn off those things. The lady thought she earned the right to sponge for 47 out of her 77 years on this earth, but she ought to go dig a ditch or two and see how fast her savings compound on minimum wage. That might give her a real appreciation for hard work.

Life in the United States has been very cushy for the last few decades. If you consider the extended childhood in this country with the average age of gainful employment around 20 years and a retirement of 65, then the average person would expect to contribute only 32 years in the workforce out of a lifetime. This must be shocking to those from other countries where kids work from the time they can walk and the elderly struggle right up to the last breath.

When Social Security started, there were 12 people paying in for every one person benefitting from the program. Now 2 to 5 are paying for every person getting a monthly check. Does something seem wrong with that math?

Furthermore, this new generation does not have the option (in most cases) of a single income family. Many women of the Baby Boom generation had the choice as to whether to stay home and care for their children and then collect on the higher rates of men in the workforce. Toady, most families can’t make it without two incomes. Children of the children of Baby Boomers pay big for this. These are the grandchildren. They go to child care in infancy so that Mom and Dad can help pay for retirement for Grandpa and Grandma.

I am considered by many accounts to be a Baby Boomer, but I never did think that I’d live to see decades of free time (and I was right). I worked and paid my way. I’ll be hitting that wall with the higher pay out age on Social Security (the first wave). So, I’ll work some more. That’s fine. I wasn’t expecting a rose garden and didn’t get one – other than maybe the thorns.