Why baby boomers are the backbone of middle-class Britain
Why do so many younger people feel they are disadvantaged relative to older generations? The narrative of intergenerational 'unfairness' – recently explored in a Telegraph piece on whether boomers are the 'victim generation' – pervades social discourse, and I find it really troubling. Pitting one section of society against another, on the basis of perceived 'fairness', damages the fabric of our country.
In the Telegraph poll, you roundly rejected the suggestion that we boomers are 'wealth hoarders'.
In truth, there are vast differences in income and wealth throughout the population, both across and within age groups. Many young people are well-paid, and they certainly enjoy far more leisure time and holidays than previous generations, along with flexible working and much better employment protections than the baby-boomers could ever have imagined – which we have fought hard to achieve.
Indeed, the post-war baby-boomers are the backbone of middle-class Britain, and have been the bastion of trying to safeguard British values while championing progress.
Of course, there are vast differences among people in their 60s and early 70s, but in general, they tend to have a strong work ethic – want to support themselves and their families, avoid living on benefits – and will work even when feeling unwell, because they are loyal to their employer or their business.
This is the generation that built the country we know and love today – they are disciplined, self-reliant and resourceful, unafraid of competition, and strive to improve themselves and help their families as much as they can. As Anthony New, a Telegraph reader, puts it: ''When we were growing up, many of us were very poor but we worked hard and balanced our budgets carefully.'
The baby-boomers are also the heart of many of our charities and volunteering networks. They take responsibility for others, not just themselves, and want to 'give back' to society.
They tend to be very community-minded and want to 'do the right thing' – which sometimes requires self-sacrifice, but baby-boomers have been brought up to believe this is how society works well.
Their parents, who went through the war years, had real deprivations, while baby-boomers had very little when young but nevertheless worked hard to rebuild the country, taking advantage of post-war industrial and technological improvements.
Despite all of this, too many commentators blame baby-boomers for selfishly gathering more than their 'fair share' of national resources, depriving them of their rightful dues. They accuse them of being 'lucky' to afford their own homes, enjoy free university education, and get big pensions.
These accusations are much more perception than reality. Of course those at the end of their career will be better off than those just starting their working life.
As Deborah Skinner, another Telegraph reader, puts it: 'We worked bloody hard throughout our life. Never had savings or a rich family to fall back on.'
The baby-boomers scrimped and saved to afford sky-high mortgage interest. No holidays, spending cut to the bone, and working for years before they could buy a property. Less than ten per cent of baby-boomers went to university. The vast majority started work at 15, 16 or 18 – with many going into apprenticeships, bringing home an income straight from school.
So by the time they reached their late twenties, they had already been earning money and saving for ten to fifteen years. Today's younger people, many of whom have higher education, do not reach this point until their early or mid-thirties.
And as for pensions. Well, less than half of baby-boomers – and particularly women – were offered an employer pension. There was no auto-enrolment, no automatic right to a pension or any other workplace benefit. Women could be barred from pensions and generous maternity rights. Even basic employment protections against harassment and unfair dismissal were not the norm – we had to fight for women's working conditions to improve.
So, it's time to stop this 'oldie bashing' and start to appreciate that each generation contributes to society, and the intergenerational envy that has crept into conventional thinking for too many younger people does not reflect reality. In fact it builds dangerous resentment.
There are inequalities everywhere. Rather than trying to take money away from baby-boomers, who did so much to improve our country, let's work together as a society. It is the turn of younger generations now to carry us forward and build an even better future. Will they rise to the challenge?
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