The Most Selfish Generation in History and the Debt Trap

Cleaver

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Some of the ranters on here seem to think that a group of people loosely connected by birth date have conspired to take a dump on their own children. Things have just happened. It wasn't part of some evil plan.

My parents were born in the 50s into working class households. My dad went to grammar school and then to university and got a good engineering job and eventually bought a nice family house on a sensible multiple of one salary which they've lived in ever since. They joined the lower middle classes some time in the late 80s (I date it from when we went on holiday to Center Parcs rather than a Torquay B&B). They live uneventful lives and are prudent with their money. The house is now worth quite a lot which they find rather puzzling. These aren't the actions of spiteful, hate-crazed maniacs hell-bent on destroying the British economy, they are just people who worked hard, saved hard, paid their taxes and aren't much interested in politics.

That, right there, is a fantastic post that pretty much sums everything up on this subject. Could probably desribe the vast majority of that generation.

FTBFun

Cleaver wrote: »

That, right there, is a fantastic post that pretty much sums everything up on this subject. Could probably desribe the vast majority of that generation.

I agree, and very much similar to my own parents' situation (I doubt i'm alone there).

kabayiri

Out,_Vile_Jelly wrote: »

Some of the ranters on here seem to think that a group of people loosely connected by birth date have conspired to take a dump on their own children. Things have just happened. It wasn't part of some evil plan.
...

And to get to the point where they are today, people of the same generation will have been through peaks and troughs.

My father will typify many who lost their job not once but twice in the early 80s recession. I can't imagine there would be many 20 somethings wanting to trade places with the boomer generation then.

Then we had the 90s housing crash, which cost me dear.

If Paxman highlights anything it is that there will always be peaks and troughs, and luck plays its part just as much as endeavour sometimes.

jimibaboza

I am confused. Did the current generation of first time buyers cause the house prices to rise massively during the credit boom? Wow that is a neat trick, I didn't know schoolchildren had that much power.

Paxman isn't saying that every baby boomer is some kind of cartoon villain. He is saying that the boomer generation have made some short sighted decisions which will affect their children. This is something I agree with the baby boomers were very active in the BTL market, maybe even the largest group.

IveSeenTheLight

PaulW1965 wrote: »

And as for stopping - it lasts 30 years!!!!!!

When the wife and I got married (she was 22) we decided that whilst her student loan was low interest, it was still a debt and decided to pay it off.

There's no restriction in paying it off early and certainly does not need to take 30 years.

Linton

jimibaboza wrote: »

I am confused. Did the current generation of first time buyers cause the house prices to rise massively during the credit boom? Wow that is a neat trick, I didn't know schoolchildren had that much power.

It appears your arithmetic is wrong.

If we take a generation as 30 years, BBs were born 1945-1974.The next generation were born 1975-2004. FTBers are traditionally in their 20s which would put the post BB generation nicely in place for the credit boom.

However your argument seems to assume that one third of the population conspired to achieve an objective of rapidly increasing house prices. Life doesnt work like that.

People on the whole respond rationally to the circumstances they find themselves in. Unfortunately you often find that if all individuals do that the overall effect may not the the one desired.

ruggedtoast

kabayiri wrote: »

Weirdly there are jobs outside London, even still.

Some good ones too. More media related ones will start appearing in a little ole place called Salford.

Right, basically naff all then. Until Salford becomes the economic nexus whose gravitational pull sucks in all around it, most normal people will have to continue paying over the odds to live somewhere there is economic activity.

ILW

ruggedtoast wrote: »

Right, basically naff all then. Until Salford becomes the economic nexus whose gravitational pull sucks in all around it, most normal people will have to continue paying over the odds to live somewhere there is economic activity.

Surely the difference in prices between areas with and without economic activity would indicate that prices are correct in a free market.

StevieJ

Looks like Rugged is one of those Flat Earthers fall off the end at Watford, long may it continue

Jennifer_Jane

ILW wrote: »

Why all the fuss about uni fees. Don't go if you don't want to pay. The vast majority of the "boomers" never went. If only the 10% elite went now, then it could be free.

Or do what I did - two professional diplomas both done within three years each whilst I held down responsible and demanding jobs. Both done out of my own money as an investment in MY future.

I was an 11+ 'failure' so didn't get an opportunity to go to university, although I did have a year at secretarial college. Then my father died, so couldn't afford to stay on. No grant for me.

As I've said before, these spineless whingers need to get a grip, and make something of themselves, otherwise their children really will have absolutely nothing.