The Great Recession clearly hit baby boomers at a vulnerable time, when they were close to retirement or at least should have been preparing for it. But it also seemed to shake their faith in their ability to get ahead and in the opportunity America provides for its people. Baby boomers account for more than one-fourth of the nation's population, and they're sure to have a loud voice in future decisions about taxes, government spending, the huge national debt, and many other matters that will determine if America as a whole prospers or declines. So their views will ultimately affect policies that most Americans will feel. Here's why boomers are so dyspeptic, according to data from Pew and other sources:
They got hammered by the recession. More than any other age group, baby boomers feel their long-term prospects were damaged by the recession. More baby boomers, for instance, say they've lost money on investments and endured damage to their household finances than any other group. The Federal Reserve has been working hard to fix some of that, through policies meant to goose the stock market and help investors regain some of the wealth they've lost since 2006. But household net worth is still down about $9 trillion from peak levels of 2007, thanks to huge losses in home equity and stock markets still down about 20 percent from the 2007 high.They sense national decline. America was still on the rise when boomers came of age in the 1960s and '70s. It doesn't feel that way any more. Washington politicians mount loud arguments but seem incapable of solving big problems. The huge national debt looms like a black cloud over the nation's economic future. China and India, meanwhile, are growing much faster and taking millions of jobs that used to reside in the United States. Headlines about America's decline may be overblown, since the United States still produces much of the world's innovation (think Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, and the iPad), and still has some of the highest living standards in the world. But boomers feel that progress has slowed, and they may be right about that.
With real incomes stagnant over the last decade, 21 percent of boomers say their standard of living is already lower than their parents' was at the same age. That's a much higher proportion than among younger or older Americans. Boomers are more pessimistic about the future, as well, with just 35 percent of those 50 and older feeling their children will enjoy a higher standard of living than they do. And only 59 percent of those between 50 and 64 feel that America remains a "land of opportunity." Among 18- to 29-year-olds--who suffered far higher unemployment during the recession than baby boomers--70 percent still regard America as a land of opportunity.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Why-Baby-Boomers-Are-Bummed-usnews-1665637998.html?x=0
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