If Millennials in America think they are the only ones getting a raw economic deal from Baby Boomers, they should think again. According to a new study from a the Grattan Institute, and independent Australian think tank, young adults down under are also getting the shaft from their Boomer parents.
According to the study, The Wealth of Generations, the last decade has seen a dramatic uptick in the wealth for older Aussies (ages 65-74) while that of young adults (25-34) has significantly declined. In addition, the national government is spending a lot more on health care, pensions and other services for older Aussies, with much of those increases financed with debt younger generations will have to pay.
To some degree this has always been the case in Australia, where older citizens have consistently sucked more out of the national budget than they put in over their lifetimes. A steady and appreciable rise in income helped offset that burden for younger folks, but with wages stagnating on a global level, Grattan says, that may no longer be sustainable.
“There’s a real risk that we’ll end up with a generation in Australia less well-off than its parents,” Grattan Institute CEO John Daley told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
None of which should be shocking to American Millennials, who have for years now been faced with the worst fallout of the Great Recession: higher rates of unemployment, lower wages for the working, skyrocketing student loan debt, yada, yada, yada.