Hi Tanzina. I’m curious about your comments regarding Boomer home ownership. Most data suggests that 80% of Boomers own their homes, and that Boomers own 38% of American homes despite being only 21% of the population. So yes, there are some Boomers (supposedly 20%) who don’t own homes, but the overwhelming majority apparently do - and they’re not “a certain kind” of Boomer and they’re not gazillionaires. They’re beneficiaries of a time when wealth was not out of control and being middle class was a comfortable place to be.
Hi Barbara. My work as you know focuses on those who these mainstream conversations miss. Are you suggesting that the 20 percent you mention go ignored? Bc I imagine those are probably women, POC and others for whom generational wealth accumulation historically has been a challenge.
No no, I am not suggesting they or anybody be ignored. I am saying — and I think this actually bolsters your point — that Baby Boomers didn’t have to be gazillionaires to buy a home, most were not shut out of home ownership … a stark contrast to today, when that aspiration is exceedingly hard to achieve. I just think it’s quite a distortion to say that the 80% of Boomers who do own homes— many of them middle and even lower-middle class — are a certain kind of gazillionaire. I think you are advocating for a return to a set of values that makes this possible for as many people as possible and it doesn’t take that kind of class demonization of Boomers to make that very correct point.
Of course! and I also feel like it’s important to have narratives that reflect the nuances in convos about generational wealth since I think we’d be more empathetic to each others circumstances.
I understand and, as a tail-end Boomer, whose generation was mostly able to build assets by following the work-hard-plan-well blueprint, I certainly do feel empathy for all the people these days who are shut out of these heretofore achievable middle class opportunities because the wealth gaps in this country have gone totally haywire.
Hi Tanzina. I’m curious about your comments regarding Boomer home ownership. Most data suggests that 80% of Boomers own their homes, and that Boomers own 38% of American homes despite being only 21% of the population. So yes, there are some Boomers (supposedly 20%) who don’t own homes, but the overwhelming majority apparently do - and they’re not “a certain kind” of Boomer and they’re not gazillionaires. They’re beneficiaries of a time when wealth was not out of control and being middle class was a comfortable place to be.
Hi Barbara. My work as you know focuses on those who these mainstream conversations miss. Are you suggesting that the 20 percent you mention go ignored? Bc I imagine those are probably women, POC and others for whom generational wealth accumulation historically has been a challenge.
No no, I am not suggesting they or anybody be ignored. I am saying — and I think this actually bolsters your point — that Baby Boomers didn’t have to be gazillionaires to buy a home, most were not shut out of home ownership … a stark contrast to today, when that aspiration is exceedingly hard to achieve. I just think it’s quite a distortion to say that the 80% of Boomers who do own homes— many of them middle and even lower-middle class — are a certain kind of gazillionaire. I think you are advocating for a return to a set of values that makes this possible for as many people as possible and it doesn’t take that kind of class demonization of Boomers to make that very correct point.
Of course! and I also feel like it’s important to have narratives that reflect the nuances in convos about generational wealth since I think we’d be more empathetic to each others circumstances.
I understand and, as a tail-end Boomer, whose generation was mostly able to build assets by following the work-hard-plan-well blueprint, I certainly do feel empathy for all the people these days who are shut out of these heretofore achievable middle class opportunities because the wealth gaps in this country have gone totally haywire.