Spooky

This thread is more like a general discussion thread haha.

Interesting, thanks for sharing.

I think you would be surprised. Certain provinces, like Quebec, don't even want to be part of Canada today. I can't imagine them wanting to join the US lol

I can't see the picture in this post - what is the source? https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charting-the-growing-generational-wealth-gap/: "As young generations usher into adulthood, they inevitably begin to accumulate and inherit wealth, a trend that has broadly remained consistent. But what has changed recently is the rate of accumulation. In the U.S., household wealth has traditionally seen a relatively even distribution across different age groups. However, over the last 30 years, the U.S. Federal Reserve shows that older generations have been amassing wealth at a far greater rate than their younger cohorts. As the visual above shows, the older have been getting richer, and the younger have been starting further back than ever before." Here is the distribution of wealth from the Fed: https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/distribute/table/#quarter:119;series:Net worth;demographic:generation;population:all;units:shares. Here is another article which references a study conducted by Allianz: https://fortune.com/2024/10/03/boomers-wealthiest-generation-millennials-biggest-losers/ "A U.S. boomer born in 1960, for example, with an annual savings rate of 10% over 40 years will have generated lifetime savings of more than 850% of their disposable income. An American Gen Xer, meanwhile, who has saved at the same levels will now have a fortune worth 606% of their disposable income, with an annual return rate of 6.7%. But even a gap of 200% between boomers and Gen X looks attractive compared with the deal millennials got. Millennials born in 1984—who saved at the same rate as their parents’ generation—will see their total lifetime nest egg amount to just over 430% of their disposable income. Of course, millennials still have a couple of decades to keep topping up their savings while they continue to work. Even then, Allianz suggests they will never accumulate the same levels of wealth as boomers themselves—netting 670% of their disposable income within their lifetime. Gen Zers—the youngest generation entering the workforce—fare better than their millennial peers, but not as well as the oldest generation."

Agree that our existence in developed countries is comfortable relative to the not so distant past. I still think the key is to work hard, save money, invest diligently and be patient. Just need to keep compounding over a long period of time. For reference I'm 39 but my spouse and her friends are about 5 years or more younger. I'm also in Canada. I see a lot of the part about expectations leading people to be unhappy - people my age that are investment bankers that own homes etc. still not being happy because they are comparing themselves to others or comparing themselves to their parent's generation. But I have also seen a lot of the latter where young people are struggling to make ends meet, to pay rent (buying a house is out of the question), to find meaningful employment, etc. Generally the mood is one of hopelessness and negativity about the future which I believe social media is contributing to. As an optimist I am an outlier.

We will need to agree to disagree. Your version of reality sounds nice but it is not what I see day to day.

This chart shows the breakdown of ownership of stocks by age bracket at different periods of time. Older generations increasingly own a higher proportion. Sub 40 went from 13% in 1990 to 4% in 2019.

I don't own a house or a car. Need to make sacrifices.

https://fortune.com/2024/10/03/boomers-wealthiest-generation-millennials-biggest-losers/

This was just the first chart I pulled up in a google search. There is so much data out there on this topic.

?? Feels like you are misunderstanding my point and the current reality for a lot of people in the USA. If you are in the top 10% that holds stocks and other assets you have done amazing, the people who don't just keep falling further behind.

I generally agree - we are living in the best time to be alive. My point is just that traditional wealth generating asset classes like the S&P 500 and housing are expensive relative to history so a young person trading their labour for capital will have a hard time building wealth that way. There is so much capital out in the world today that finding opportunities to invest in takes a lot more work.

This exactly is the point I was trying to make. Need to think outside the box.

There is certainly an element of that where people are seeing extravagant wealth through social media which makes them unhappy but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m just looking at data like this which applies to a lot of countries:

Did you read my whole post? I am still an optimist and I am in the top 1% of income but I am lucky to be blessed with a lot of talent and parents who could provide me a decent education. It is just a fact that Millennial and Gen Z have less wealth at this stage than the baby boomers. Salaries have not risen as fast as the price of housing, stocks, education etc. and a lot of young people are locked out of the housing market or are in huge debts from college.