Okay, the term may be a bit much, but the facts are pretty shocking. According to CNN,
Relying on Census Bureau figures…after adjusting for inflation, men in their 30s in 2004 had a median income of about $35,000 per year, for a 12 percent drop compared with $40,000 per year for men in the same age group in 1974.
This is the first time that the younger generation in the U.S. is making less than their parents. How does this happen? It will take a whole blog to figure that one out, but Peter Smith, in the link above, suggests the first way to address the problem is for the younger generation to engage in the political process.
As Obama’s success has showed us, this may be happening: we are finally flexing our political muscle. This certainly isn’t because our parents taught us to believe in the political process (they instead left us with the most cynical political attitude in memory…see the goofy gas tax holiday), but because we NEED to start voting and getting involved in order to stave off complete disaster.
As we’ve discussed, the baby boomers were lucky; they could afford to turn off the political process and carelessly allow under-qualified and corrupt politicians into office. They were largely living in comfort (or at least had upward mobility) and forgot about political needs; they therefore indulged themselves in votes on meaningless PR, awful prejudices, or just because they could.
Now, our generation doesn’t have it so easy. Perhaps this will force us to research, to vote the right people into office, and to hold our politicians more accountable. It would be, at least, one way out of the boomers’ shadow.
One irony: despite all this, the Baby Boomers love to speculate that, politically, we’ll be even worse than them. I can’t wait to see how McCain vs. Obama throws this confrontation into starker relief (and hopefully more lucid debate) than ever. But for now, as Little Country Lost puts it, Hey, Baby Boomers - Go to hell!
6 responses so far ↓
1 bette // Jun 2, 2008 at 1:50 pm
hey…i want my free gas
2 james bailey // Jun 2, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I personally have a lot of faith in my kids to renew a commitment to bettering this country…I hope this will be the Baby Boomer’s great legacy.
3 Theoxhorn // Jun 2, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Although men might be earning less these days, my guess is that women are earning more. So for a couple there have likely been some overall gain. Obviously, this is no consolation to single men, but is it really all doom and gloom?
4 It's Their Fault // Jun 2, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Good point Theoxhorn, and I looked into it. Income has indeed fallen less for women, but it has still fallen, and in fact the pay gap between women and men has widened: http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/censusandstatistics/a/paygapgrows.htm.
In general, this income disparity may have some to do with women earning more, but it has more to do with wealth being redistributed to the wealthiest 1%. Nan Mooney wrote a book about it called “On Not Keeping Up With Our Parents” - good review here: http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/05/14/mooney/index.html.
5 Perma-Parenting: We Pretty Much Deserve It // Jun 3, 2008 at 9:44 am
[...] May 2008 ← Generation Screwed…a Silver Lining? [...]
6 Jen Clark // Jul 7, 2008 at 4:30 am
Thanks for the link! It’s nice to see someone else in my generation writing. I love my regulars, but the vast majority of them are way older than me.
I have a lot of hope in our generation especially after traveling for a while. I’m finding Americans aged 26 and younger are surprisingly up to date on what is going on in the world, unlike my parents and their friends who only listen to the tv. Also, like you, that fact that Obama took down the Clintons also makes me think we have a chance.
I like your blog - keep up the good work. I hope to talk to you more in the future
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