Do baby boomers feel guilty about shafting younger generations?

Radiantsoul wrote: »

The obvious counter argument is that this is unfair on those whose parents don't own property or have great wealth.

It is indeed unfair. But quote a big cliche, life is, isn't it?

At the risk of sounding like a kn*b, a starving family in Somalia will find it unfair that their quality of life is more than fifty times worse than pretty much anyone in our country, no matter what generation or their home-ownership status.

ukcarper wrote: »

You talk as if all baby boomer live in big detached houses of my old school friends 1 rents a council house 2 live in ex council houses they own 1 bought theirs on right to buy. Another friend and me have larger houses but we moved out of the London suburbs. I’m the only one with a good pension.

Ex council houses. How much did they buy them for and how much would they be worth on the open market?

My Da (saint that he was) used to say sitting in a decent council house in a decent area was like being left a shed load of money.

Your kids don't have the same opportunity. Their chances of getting decent social housing is virtually nada. They have all been bought up and nothing was built in their place.

I am not saying you, or your friends, were wrong to buy. Frankly, I would have snatched their hand off too.

But what about those that are coming after you? Your son or daughter. Don't they matter?

I am all right Jack isn't a new way of thinking. It just isn't a particularly moral one.

wageslave wrote: »

Ex council houses. How much did they buy them for and how much would they be worth on the open market?

My Da (saint that he was) used to say sitting in a decent council house in a decent area was like being left a shed load of money.

Your kids don't have the same opportunity. Their chances of getting decent social housing is virtually nada. They have all been bought up and nothing was built in their place.

I am not saying you, or your friends, were wrong to buy. Frankly, I would have snatched their hand off too.

But what about those that are coming after you? Your son or daughter. Don't they matter?

I am all right Jack isn't a new way of thinking. It just isn't a particularly moral one.

I don't know but only one bought his through right to buy

My daughter who is in her early 30s has a better house than me both my step sons are buying their own houses as are most of their friends it’s the twenty year olds who are suffering the most.

no_fat_chicks wrote: »

Any youngster these days wanting a decent job has to go to university and will end up with £20k+ debt. Which entitles them to an extra 9% tax banding which will be with them for 20-30 years until their debt is paid back. Boomers don't have to pay this as they could get good jobs without being forced into Uni or those that did go to Uni got it free. Lovely world we live in.

Also I'm sure there have been articles saying the tax burden is as high as it ever has been (there are more taxes than just income tax),

I agree that is one of the worst things that’s happened. I left school at 16 but was able to get a good apprenticeship now I would probably need a degree to do the same job. But I can’t see that’s the fault of the babyboomers

vivatifosi wrote: »

I bought mine at the end of the 1980s and it was really hard to get the money from the bank, plus interest went sky high. I was 24.

However I don't think the issue is who owes who what. The reality is that nobody owes us anything and it is up to all of us, however young or old we are to keep our skills up to date, to put some money aside for the future and live as full a life as we can. That's no different to my parent's generation or my grandparents'. Actually, nothing would make me happier than knowing my Mum and Dad blew my inheritance and went out having a bl**dy good last few years after years of struggling.

At the risk of sounding like a total see-you-next-tuesday, I'd be bliddy furious.

I can put up with my Ma buying lispy Santas from QVC and tacky jewellry but if I thought she was wasting every penny, I'd be extremely cross.

I would expect my daughter to feel exactly the same.

It may be politically correct to say no one owes us anything but I don't see it as particularly realistic. You bring a child into this world and, by christ, you owe them.

You owe them a decent upbringing, a decent example and a decent start.

You want to blow everything on scratchcards, don't have kids