INTERGENERATIONAL THEFT:How baby boomers are stealing £13 Trillion from Millennials & Generation Z
This video summarises a groundbreaking new report called INTERGENERATIONAL THEFT: The £13 Trillion UK Government Heist That Made The Baby Boomer Generation Undeservingly Rich By Stealing From The Young & Future Generations. And Why This Injustice Profoundly Matters. The full report is available for free on our website - www.intergenerationaltheft.org Summary Young people in the UK are experiencing a spectacular fall in living standards compared to previous generations. And the really shocking aspect? - it's actually deliberate. Older generations are stealing from the young. And government statements actually admit this multi-trillion wealth transfer from young to old. A spectacular step change FACT: Pre-millennium, and over the entire post-war period 1945-2000, it was possible to afford an average home, have children and raise a family on a single (mostly semi-skilled) income. FACT: Post-millennium, over the period 2001-2022, to afford an average home, have children and raise a family now requires three semi-skilled incomes, or two highly skilled (usually graduate) salaries. This spectacular step change in standard of living demonstrates how Intergenerational Theft is the No.1 issue impacting young people. 'Adaptation strategies' are masking the problem However, the problem is being hidden by 'adaptation strategies' young people have to make, e.g. going to university, getting a graduate job, living at home / in shared housing, women going out to work, delaying / having fewer children. Ultimately, couples have to work much harder for the same standard of living as previous generations So why doesn't Intergenerational Theft get more media coverage? The gaslighting of young people Our mass media relentlessly peddles a false narrative of continually rising living standards. But if the young dare to talk about the housing crisis, the young are demonised. Older people will dismissively say "it’s always been a struggle”, or even the clichéd "well if you didn't have avocado on toast every day you would be on the housing ladder". This is all gaslighting designed to divert attention away the systematic failure of our political, economic and housing systems to create generational fairness. Evidence based In direct contrast, our report takes an evidence based approach which proves that younger generations, Gen X (b.1965-1980), Gen Y (b.1980-1995 aka Millennials) and Gen Z (b. 1996 - 2012 aka iGen / Zoomers), are experiencing a falling standard of living. And even if you achieve an above average graduate salary you no longer can afford an above average graduate lifestyle. In short, young people's buying power has been massively diminished because of intergenerational theft. The elephant in the (overpriced) room Housing costs have tripled relative to incomes over a generation. As a consequence, young people are not progressing through life's natural stages like previous generations once did. For those born after ~1970 their prospects of getting a well paid job, moving out, finding affordable housing, getting married or having children are delayed or deferred. Their lives are on hold due to the new economic realities their generation now faces. Hence, the terms 'Generation rent', 'Financially infertile', 'Recessionals' and 'Generation bust'. Housing is just the tip of the (melting) iceberg However, intergenerational theft goes far beyond housing. Older generations enjoyed the post-war public spending boom and period called the 'Great Prosperity', and pocketed the windfalls from privatisations, sale of council housing, and North Sea oil. But older generations are now passing on massive debt to future generations e.g. housing debt, student debt, national debt, PFI schemes, pensions and climate change. The extent of the intergenerational injustice is truly staggering. • Housing • Pensions • National debt • Privatisations • PFI schemes • Student fees • North sea oil & gas • Climate change But why has this happened? This is not due to bad luck or economic misfortune. This is actually deliberate. In essence, the baby boomers are an unusually large ‘cohort’. To get their vote, UK government policy has overwhelmingly favoured their economic interests – by making younger generations much poorer. It’s a zero sum game. E.g. manipulating house prices upwards, or passing on national debt or persisting with the ‘triple lock’ on pensions. A similar situation also exists in many other parts of the world, in particular the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and European countries. Our new report is the first to quantify Intergenerational Theft In this groundbreaking 160 page report, we actually quantify the intergenerational Theft at £13 Trillion or around £433,000 per young person over their lifetime. The report also highlights the serious societal implications of Intergenerational Theft, The report also concludes by suggesting radical solutions to this No. 1 burning issue for young people.
