This is not news to X’ers, but we are the first generation in the US to be worse off financially than our parents, as recognized in an Associated Press article that hit the media today. I’m thrilled that the issue has claimed the attention of the AP but seeing the phenomenon written out in black and white, in hundreds of news sources across the country leaves me with a sour stomach. Why? Because it is accurate. Many GenXers and Millennials are living with very high student loan debt, little to no net worth and have been disproportionately affected by the mortgage and housing crisis.
To quote the article “The typical household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35.“
Before you jump to the explanation that people accumulate wealth and assets as they age and we Xer’s just need to put our time in, the article is also quoted as saying that “the gap is now more than DOUBLE what it was in 2005 and five times what it was 25 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.” Yes folks, we are the first generation to do worse financially than our parents and our millennial friends behind us hold the same distinction.
This trend has vast consequences for our public and non profit organizations. Consider our donor base, philanthropy and planned giving best practices the industry has been using for decades. Ask yourself it they take this trend into consideration? In my experience, the answer is no. All of these activities are still very boomer and traditionalist focused. If you haven’t already come to this conclusion, let me be the first to lay it out, in black and white….the way we raise money to support our organizations today, is not what will be successful in a decade. I encourage you to review the AP article (or the subsequent flurry of articles resulting from the AP article-click here for the Chicago Tribune version) and begin the conversations in your organizations about this trend.
Finally, millions of Americans are struggling financially, that is not news. But the state of the economy from a GenX filter is news, at least it was today.
This issue, to me, defines the root of the occupy movement that was, for the most part initiated by Gen Xers. Our generation has had our futures mortgaged to the benefit of our predecessors. It is this broad spectrum lack of opportunity that makes the movement’s objectives appear so vague. So I ask boomers – if your future looked as dim as ours, then how would you prioritize a list of potential objectives for the movement? I believe eqaual opportunity to maximize ones potential is great place to start and we, clearly, have a long way to go. If Boomers aren’t going to be part of the solution, then they should at least quit contributing to the problem and get out of the way.
I was a young woman of 18 years old during the 60′s. At that time it seemed that there were two basic schools of thought. There were those of us majoring in socio-political science and learning the components of a strong democratic nation dependent upon an informed citizenry and a strong middle class supporting workers in all public sectors via strong union representation. I dedicated myself to helping the poor and understood their plight well having come from a poor family. I understood segregation and discrimination and marched against the war in Vietnam–though the press at the time talked about our war vets–all of us felt sorry for those forced into the military and being sent to Vietnam–we never berated these soldiers for their service just simply wished they’d refuse to go to fight the corporate wars that only the rich benefited from. Then there were those students who embraced the ‘anything goes’ in order to acheive an outcome even if it meant treading on others to do so–a ‘me first’ philosophy tied to Ayn Rand and the concept of freetrade–I found it seriously in opposition to helping those in our culture who were in most need to be helped in order to survive. Money was the ‘mantra’ for these people, but the rest of us considered these freetraders to be kooks and out of sync with anything even remotely called Democracy.
Ayn Rand’s books seem to be missing an important element – children.
Stasis instead of growth. I simply hear a dial tone when I try to imagine alternatives to the petro-electrical financial network we inhabit. However, if the values we say we treasure are to be sustained, there must be energy invested in finding new memes. It seems that last century’s methods are less likely to be capable of creating consistent support.
“…the way we raise money to support our organizations today, is not what will be successful in a decade” It seems that the article below is making an effort to consider this issue.
Resilient Philanthropy: Giving Beyond Growth
http://www.postcarbon.org/blog-post/498631-resilient-philanthropy-giving-beyond-growth