Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

But the Boomers are still making hay now there's not much sunshine by exploiting the young who are working now.

Many, by no means all, have assets in the form of nice property, good private pensions and a better standard of life and higher incomes than young people working all hours.

But they still hold out their hands for their state pension, paid for by young people who earn considerably less than them and won't get their own state pension until 70, if then.

The Boomers have considerable political clout because of their greater numbers in our top heavy society, and none of the political parties want to lose their vote. And they use that to protect their own interests. And to vote for Brexit to spite the younger generation.

And all the while sitting on their backsides calling the youngsters snowflakes, lazy etc.

Instead of ending the triple lock, which protects the poorest pensioners with no other income by keeping state pension levels at a reasonable rate it's high time state pension was means tested and not given to those with private pensions and assets above the average wage.

Or to tax pensioners based on income tax thresholds specially designed for people of pensionable age.

It is simply not right for pensioners to have more disposable income than the working population and be given a state benefit.

But no party will tackle the issue for fear of losing their votes. As the Boomers die off it will create a fairer society.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

Well you know Twizzle, my mother was born in the '30s before the baby boom. But my older brother who is a boomer & just turned 60 is still working. So not all pensioners are boomers and not all boomers are pensioners yet.

What we should be doing is finding a way for society to reflect what boomers had for those who are generation X and millennials.

We still have free healthcare and that should not change. We should have free education but a reduction in the scope of further education.

So only those degrees that lead to a vocational qualification should be funded. The fluffy ones should be fully chargeable. That should significantly reduce the number of unemployed graduates and the burgeoning student debt bubble which is going to explode at some point in the future.

Bring back grammar schools and make apprenticeships available for those who need a skill. Make kids use pen and paper to do homework. Take away calculators. Reward talent, rather than normalising mediocrity.

We'd start to be a more productive and efficient society within fifteen years if we did that.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

The point of education isn't just to train people for jobs. It's also to raise the knowledge, understanding and intellectual levels of the population and to aspire to more and better things.

This Brexiter style anti intellectualism reminds me so much of Brave New World. You seem to want to put young people into apprenticeships, to make sure they keep to their position in life, keep working to support their "betters" and don't look to the stars and get above themselves.

It's not unemployed graduates and student debt that are the burden, it's the top heavy amount of old people, many of whom had the chance to study non-vocational topics at university without paying a penny. Why should todays young people have more limitations?

Why would using pen and paper and no calculators make any difference? The world has moved on from the 1950s and we need to make sure our children are up to date with technology. That's all our children, not just those from middle class families who can afford private tuition and know how to push their children into grammar schools.

"What we should be doing is finding a way for society to reflect what boomers had for those who are generation X and millennials."

I agree with this bit and the best way to do this is to make well off Boomers less of a burden by means testing the state pension and changes in the way they are taxed. This would leave more cash in the kitty to improve things for the working generation.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

The point of free further education is to benefit society not embellish it with unnecessary gunk. I don't see why a degree in film studies should be free, but I do think a medical or engineering degree should be.

I'm talking about removing a lot of the limitations but in a way that would benefit society rather than a blanket thoughtless free for all. We can't afford to pay for stuff we don't need. If we fund the stuff we do need then we get that back many times over.


Young people I have come across at work cannot work out basic logic problems because they don't seem to have ever needed to add up figures in their head. It's about attention to detail and concentration. You don't need to think if you have spellcheck and excel. They have done studies showing the difference in brain development when kids use all these devices instead of learning the hard way. They also seem to forget easily.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

Annie you are right there one of the things people seem to miss is if we can't use pen and paper what happens if we are not able to access technology ? There are many scenarios where we need to be able to do it.

If people want to get degrees to improve their employment yes absolutely free but anything else a fee could be applied. Not the current £9000 a year but a £2000 or £3000 seems fair.

Housing is the main problem needs solving I do blame some people in all generations sitting on profits from houses they bought at lower figures and selling at a huge profit. They shouldn't be investments but homes.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

I was hopeless at maths but soon learned when I had to apply it in work, education doesn't stop when you leave school
I hear a lot of people saying that Arts degrees are useless. The film industry is booming and every single man made object has to be designed by a creative person so how would the manufacturing, fashion etc. industries fare with no designers?
What really gets my dander up is boomers with money saying they will spend it rather than pay for their care!
I would much rather know I could afford the best care than the basic care poorer folk get.
Why should tax payers fund them when their own parents may not have been so lucky?

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

Hi

Bollocks, my preferred reply.

We have totally wasted our money on ourselves.

Other countries have used it wisely.

We have not provided for our kids.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

Many Baby Boomers kids and Grand kids will be well looked after, inheriting money and property, without having earned it.
I think in the not too distant future the gap between the have and have nots will be much more evident.
I hope you weren't replying to me with expletives Swim!

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

In many cases it won't help that much though as its shared between siblings. If my husband had been only child it would have bought us a house but after sharing pot with brothers none of them really had a life changing amount like that.

I can't see housing being sorted out by inheritances.

Re: Blame Game on Baby Boomers.

He getting stressed Twink.