Boomers and Margaritaville

by Jack

The good news is bankruptcies are on the decline, but the bad news is people over 65 are filing in record numbers! The reasons are many, failed business, failed investments, medical expenses and more. But, one thing that was not listed was spending habits. Spending and saving are key to avoiding bankruptcy and yet it was not even listed among the reasons?

The baby boomer generation had a tendency to buy a bigger home than they needed, far larger than their parents home. They bought a new car every year to impress people they don’t know or don’t like. They lived off their credit cards, with interest at 18-24% per year. They traveled more than any generation before and they flew to their vacation spots, where previously the automobile took the family.

No wonder the boomers often lived from paycheck to paycheck. This might explain why the average boomer at retirement age has about 3000 dollars in savings. Now they are over 65 and filing for bankruptcy relief from their heavy debts and that means somebody else other than them has to pick up their tab.

Speaking of tab, the national debt is now about 23 trillion dollars and we are handing that off to younger generations to deal with?  Politicians, mostly boomers, were the worst when it came to living beyond our means. They exercised no restraint, no personal accountability and this is the standard for the rest of the nation!

Politicians of all stripes have a created a fiscal catastrophe that will become due and payable as soon as the next generation realizes they can’t afford to pay our enormous bill.

Boomers may well go down as the most self-indulgent and irresponsible generation in human history.  Ironically, had we not engaged in those many spendy things and not run up debt, our economy would like quite different.  It might be safer, more stable, but it would not be the current dynamo running at 110% that everyone seems to enjoy….for the moment.