Millennials must stop their boomerblaming
Boomer bashing has become a new form of bigotry, say Gransnet editors Cari Rosen and Rowan Davies
Before she even set foot in No 10, Theresa May had already promised to unite a nation divided. And there’s no doubt that the fault-lines are many: gaping chasms between the hard-up and the getting-by, between those who went to university and those who didn’t and more. But in terms of bitter fallout and finger-pointing, there is no division that runs as deep as between old and young.
At Gransnet – an online network for the over-fifties, especially those with grandchildren – we have watched this playing out across our forums from both sides. It’s been widely reported that this is a battle between the ‘‘haves’’ (the comfortable Boomers) and the ‘‘have-nots’’ – the under-35s who, a report revealed yesterday, could become the first generation to earn less than their predecessors over the course of their working lives.
Certainly, millennials weighed down with student debt and struggling to get on the housing ladder haven’t held back from accusing Baby Boomers of sitting complacently in mortgage-free family homes and living comfortably off index-linked pensions for causing their pain. Having taken full advantage of the economic boomtimes and cultural and economic revolutions, they have been charged with voting selfishly to leave the EU, not troubling to think about the opportunities snatched away from their grandchildren.
But is this narrative true? While Gransnet research shows Boomers as being seen to have a far better quality of life than any other generation, users of our discussion forum – typically in their fifties and sixties – are hurt and irritated by the wild assumptions about their lifestyles. “We seem to be described as sitting in huge houses we should vacate for younger people, as ‘wealthy pensioners,’ ‘bed blockers’, ‘greedy’…” writes one, aghast, sadly noting how ageism is one form of bigotry that is cheerfully tolerated.
While some Boomers are living very comfortably, others are scraping by on state pensions (often severely limited ones, especially in the case of women who took time off paid work to look after children). They also point to their own past hardships: managing on tight budgets without easy credit, and of limited access to higher education – just over 13 per cent of those aged 6569 have a degree. “I hit 18 in the late 1960s, and although I had four A grades at A-level, my parents made it quite clear university wasn’t an option – after all, I’d soon be getting married and having children, wouldn’t I?” (This generation also endured careerending sexism and prejudice.)
Many are now sandwich carers, responsible for young adult children and/or grandchildren, as well as their own aging parents while often trying to hold down paid work. “I find myself at the age of 60 working part-time, and spending two days a week away from home caring for my grandchildren. My partner’s parents are in their late eighties and need lots of help. I love them all, but I am exhausted.” A Gransnet survey last year showed that grandparents provide childcare worth an estimated £17 billion annually.
And while many Gransnet users agree that it was easier for them to get onto the property ladder than for their children and (particularly) their grandchildren, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a financial stretch. “Interest rates were around 15 per cent, salaries were low and it was a struggle every month,” says one. Others talk about living from hand to mouth, making do and mending to get by; spending the equivalent of £3 on a latte would have been unthinkable, let alone having £500 of smartphone in your handbag and regarding it as a necessity. Those who do have housing equity are scrimping to help children with deposits, rent, gifts and tuition fees; that same equity is also earmarked to pay for care in their old age.
Yet, still the accusations and allegations fly back and forth. As one Boomer on Gransnet points out: “We’re not one homogenous selfcentred lump shuffling towards eternity with no thought for anything but our own interests.” For disappointed youngsters, pinning responsibility for a hopeless future on one demographic might feel good but it’s both imprecise (Lord Ashcroft’s data shows that 40 per cent of those aged 65 or over, and 43 per cent of 5564-year-olds, voted to stay in the EU) and unproductive.
As one user writes, ‘‘money, education, full employment, equality for women, foreign travel, access to information… all these things have been in variable supply at different times. There wasn’t a time when all of them were guaranteed to everyone; no golden age that has vanished. Just life, with all its frustrations.” www.gransnet.com