26 REASONS TO BE GRATEFUL

ONE of our adult kids shared a meme on social media last week which said “thanks Baby Boomers for wrecking the economy”.

We laughed out loud. It was the same week that Australia officially broke the world record for the longest consecutive period of positive economic growth – almost 26 years.

It means no Australian under 44 has ever endured an economic recession in their adult life. No doubledigit unemployment. No double-digit interest rates. No double-digit inflation.

But all we seem to hear from the Millennials, Gen X and Gen Y is how tough they are doing it, how easy it is for Baby Boomers and what are we going to do about it.

Stop the bleating. Baby Boomers have built an economy that has never been more prosperous and citizens who are wealthier than ever. They’re the facts.

Yes, housing prices in Sydney and Melbourne are high (not so in the rest of Australia) but they always have been.

Yes, a university degree today comes at a cost, but when tertiary education was free, enrolments were restricted and fewer were given the opportunity. More availability, even at a cost, translates into better careers and higher wages.

Meanwhile, cars, clothing, travel, electronics are all incredibly cheap today compared with previous generations.

The bottom line is life wasn’t meant to be easy, no matter what generation you are. You can’t have everything, sacrifices and trade-offs have to be made … that’s just life.