Ever Wondered Why Baby Boomers Are Bummed Out?

Ever Wondered Why Baby Boomers Are Bummed Out?

Rick Newman, On Wednesday December 29, 2010, 12:04 pm EST

A recent article by US News & World Report had the caption, “Why Baby Boomers Are Bummed Out.”  If that was a question to me I would say partly because they got hammered by the recession.  However, the author of the article Rick Newman had a longer explanation of what’s taking place and why.  I invite you to follow him below.

The economy's finally bouncing back, and many Americans are starting to feel a bit more optimistic. But the nation's biggest population group remains in a recessionary funk.

The first of the baby boomers--the post-war Americans born between 1946 and 1965--start to hit retirement age in 2011. And they're not coasting gracefully into the golden years. The entire nation, of course, lost its spunk during the recession that lasted from 2007 to 2009.

But the once-upbeat baby boomers seem to be taking the longest to shake off the blues. According to surveys by the Pew Research Center, 80 percent of boomers say they're dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, a higher proportion than any other age group, younger or older.

Part of that may be natural, since people in their 50s tend to deal with the highest amounts of stress and show the lowest satisfaction levels. But the boomer bummer may also reflect the changing fortunes of America itself, and widespread unease about the nation's future.

[See what will happen when the baby boomers turn 65 in 2011.]

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.  Get the full story here.

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