Boomers Dine Out While Millennials Cut Back

[Sherman A1]

According to The NPD Group, The baby boomer generation and their seniors – also known as “mature traditionalists” – have staked an increasing proportion of the commercial foodservice industry’s traffic during the past five years, while visits from the millennial generation have declined.

According to The NPD’s recent report -- “Boomers and Beyond – Targeting for Success,” which delves into what seniors expect from restaurant visits, the menu items they prefer, and what restaurant operators can do to attract and retain their business – members of the boomer generation are making more visits to every segment of the restaurant industry now than prior to the recession.

Historically, older consumers were less frequent restaurant visitors than those in younger age groups and so received less marketing attention as efforts generally were made to reach the heaviest buyers, according to the report. The visit rate for older restaurant consumers is now the same as it is for those younger. Boomers and older have increased their share of restaurant traffic by six percentage points since 2008, while millennials have decreased their share by six percentage points.

“A lot of restaurant marketing dollars are aimed at millennials but market share capture remains the growth path for restaurant operators, just as it has been for the past five years,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst. “Gaining market share among population segments increasing in both number and their use of restaurants, like Boomers, eases the struggle. Operators just need to keep in mind that reaching the older customers requires recognizing what it is they want from their restaurant experiences.”

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/consumer-insights/id37156/boomers-dine-out-while-millennials-cut-back/

[liberal N proud]

1. Thats because we are tired of doing the dishes

[HappyMe]

2. And because it's nice to have

somebody wait on you for a change.

[tech3149]

3. ain't that the truth!

Spend an hour preparing a meal ,twenty minutes or so to enjoy it and a half hour cleaning up? If I didn't enjoy cooking and weren't dirt poor I'd be eating out too.

[amandabeech]

71. We're also very tired of cooking. nt

[kentuck]

114. One has worked for 45 years and the other has worked for 4 or 5 years...

Of course they should have the same rewards and amenities.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

120. I live alone, and sometimes I'm just too tired or rushed to put together a meal for one

Fortunately, I live in the city limits of Minneapolis, so there is a wealth of reasonable restaurants (representing every ethnic group) to choose. from.

It doesn't cost that much to eat one big meal a day and then small meals for the other two.

[southernyankeebelle]

4. This boomer hasn't been out in years to eat dinner. I can't afford to. But I happen

to like my own cooking anyway. Also I am very home body. I guess I could afford maybe once a month or so.

[HockeyMom]

58. Same here

I happen to LIKE cooking. Besides, my husband takes the leftovers from dinner to work for lunch. Saves money there.

[southernyankeebelle]

87. Me too. My husband loves leftovers. While allot of people will eat junk they buy at work

he brings home cooked meals and sweets.

[1983law]

131. I used to live at restaurants.

But over time I realized that food is just fuel. I do not need to the experience of someone handing me my fuel that I paid about 3 times as much to have prepared for me. At my house, I prepare three times an individual recipe of something and eat that 3 days in a row as dinner. Today is day 2 of 3 of jambalaya, then the next cycle will be three days of pasta-cheeseburger Hamburger Helper.

This is by choice, not necessity. The rest of my family likes the dining out option.

[Walk away]

80. I am on the same page but I have noticed that the whole production....

seems to be taking longer than it used to. I guess I'm slooooowing doooown....

[southernyankeebelle]

86. LOL, you bet it has. Health issues do that to people.

[Worried senior]

81. I'm in the same boat

we could possibly afford lunch once a month but in order to survive the month and possibly save a few dollars we eat at home and lot's of left overs.

[southernyankeebelle]

84. Besides that I enjoy my own food better and it's peaceful at home.

[CrispyQ]

102. We are homebodies, too, & I love to cook & I don't mind doing dishes.

Watch a few episodes of Restaurant Impossible & you'll be glad you're eating at home! Some of the kitchens are absolutely disgusting. Many years ago when I was single I dated a guy who delivered beer to the restaurants in town. He said, "Walking through the kitchens of some of Boulder's 'finest' restaurants would shock you." That one comment changed my whole attitude about eating out.

[southernyankeebelle]

138. My son works at a Restaurant. He always puts his customers first.

[MgtPA]

5. Makes sense to me. Millennials still have kids at home, and going out to dinner can be more trouble

than it's worth. Boomers are empty nesters.

[Demit]

6. Well, the boomers whose kids haven't moved back in with them, maybe

[MgtPA]

14. True dat.

[surrealAmerican]

31. At least those "kids" don't need a babysitter.

That's what used to tip the balance on dining out when my kids were young.

[MgtPA]

42. I remember once where the babysitter cost more than the dinner for 2.

It made us rethink Chinese takeout.

[1StrongBlackMan]

73. Or ...

if you decide to take them along ... don't (typically) throw spaghetti at the funny looking guy at the next table.

(True story ... I was the funny looking guy!)

[bettyellen]

177. HA. Now I'm always going to think of you as 1Strong*and funny looking*BlackMan, LOL.

[1StrongBlackMan]

181. So ...

Picture:

1StrongBlackMan with spaghetti dripping off his forehead onto his shirt, into his plate!

Actually, I have to give it to that 4 year old ... It was a pretty good throw; it traveled about 6 feet and threaded the needle between Mrs. 1StrongBlackMan and the Waiter!

The kids mother was horrified, but having a kid, myself, I couldn't be all that angry ... Kids do the darnest things.

[bettyellen]

184. I'm picturing a saucy noodle draped over the tip of your nose, LOL.

[Jennicut]

32. I am a younger Gen Xer and don't go out to eat much

with two picky kids in elementary school. Plus, we have Girl Scouts and piano lessons and gymnastics to pay for. We love that our girls want to do these activities but the eating out budget is small. My husband and I do go out on our anniversary though.

[MgtPA]

39. Your schedule sounds like mine - Girl Scouts and piano lessons.

Even if we were rolling in dough (we're NOT), I'm just too tired from being the family taxi for Girl Scouts, piano lessons, doctors, dentists, orthodonists, SAT Prep classes, French Honor Society meetings, English Honor Society meetings, French Club meetings, Gay/Straight Alliance meetings, Science Fair, Learning In Neighborhood Community Service volunteer activities (required for membership in National Honor Society), Girl Scout camp, and piano recitals. Instead of going out to dinner, I'd much rather just take a nap.

After my daughter is in college, I look forward to joining my fellow boomers, and occasionally have someone cook for me for a change.

[PasadenaTrudy]

79. Jeez!

I'm so glad I didn't have kids! When do you have time for yourself?

[MgtPA]

85. September 2014 :)

[Jennicut]

197. You don't.

But I do enjoy my time with my 7 and 8 year olds. They won't be hanging out with my forever. When they hit 16/17/18 they will be with their friends and then there is college. But yes, it wears me out sometimes. I am the taxi service.

[virgogal]

137. My six were all in their teens at the same time(for 2 years). They are long gone now,

but having one child must be like heaven.

[MgtPA]

160. Six teenagers in the house at the same time?

Scheduling the bathroom must have been a major project! Did you ever sleep?

You're right, one child is heaven. I'm one of five kids, and I remember the chaos

[virgogal]

165. The youngest ones had to shower before bed,the older ones,my husband,and myself in

the morning.We had the bathrooms but the water tank could only hold so much hot water.

Sleeping was no problem---when they were all small it was hell.

I never suffered from the empty nest syndrome-----it was pure heaven.

[Blue4Texas]

105. And expensive, boomers can afford it

[lunatica]

7. Going out to dinner is a luxury I can't afford

So is going out to a movie. Vacations? Hahahahaha! The last 10 days of the month my bank account balance is something around $1

edited to add that I'm a Boomer. Almost 65 years old.

[GoCubsGo]

8. Hell, I can't even afford groceries.

All this talk about "Boomers" eating out, while ignoring the fact that it's nearly impossible for those of us in our late-40s through 60s who lost jobs during the recession to find new ones. There are millions of us who have been out of work long-term. I don't hear about the Millenials having this problem. In my town, it's not just the older Boomers who get to eat out. It's the pre-Boomers, who are in their 70s or older. Lots of fairly well-off retirees in my town. Most of them live in the gated community, away from us Riff-Raff.

I guess I'm a Boomer. I'll be 52 tomorrow. I guess it depends on how one defines the Baby Boom. (Some define me as a "Cracker".)

[kentauros]

34. Happy early Birthday, anyway!

And I hope you find work or other means to live, and live well
(I'll be 52 in March...)

[GoCubsGo]

48. Thank you!

[Sekhmets Daughter]

52. Born between 1946 and 1964...you're on the younger end...

[GoCubsGo]

76. It all depends on who is doing the defining...

...Generation X is the generation generally defined as those born after the baby boom ended. Demographers, historians and commentators use beginning birth dates from the early 1960s to the early 1980s.[23][24] The term generally includes people born during all or part of the 1960s: According to Strauss-Howe generational theory, 1961 is the starting point. Birth years generally end in the early 1980s...

...Generation Jones is a term coined by Jonathan Pontell to describe the cohort of people born between 1954 and 1965. The term is used primarily in English-speaking countries.[51][52] Pontell defined Generation Jones as referring to the second half of the post–World War II baby boom [53] The term also includes first-wave Generation X...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generations#List_of_generations

[RB TexLa]

9. Boomers must feel more entitled to have things and view luxuries as something they have earned.

With the economic conditions of the last five years no one should have increased spending on anything. Particularly on something as frivolous as having others prepare and serve your food.

This is truly a display of arrogance.

[HappyMe]

10. Eating out at a mom & pop diner

once a month is arrogant? Sarcasm whoosh right over my head?

[kevinbgoode1]

62. Thank you!

This boomer struggles to make ends meet every month, drives an old economy car that is now 15 years old, and thinks of going out to dinner as hitting the senior discount at the local Ponderosa in the middle of an afternoon - at $5.49.

[marions ghost]

15. Crap

OK, if you're talking about rich Rethuglicon Boomers--those who cashed in during the Bush Disasters...

However, most Boomers I know are still working and scrimping to try to help out and give something to their kids and grandkids. They are NOT traveling or eating out at fancy restaurants NEARLY as much as their parents did. It may seem like it because of the sheer numbers, but this is not a "display of arrogance" generationally speaking. Go find another scapegoat for your miseries.

You are Totally Wrong.

[AngryAmish]

17. Lemmie guess, you are a Boomer

Later I am going to post a baby Boomer privilege checklist. Some people have blind spots.

[marions ghost]

21. I have no blind spots about this

& I deal with the younger generation all the time. We are ALL in the same boat if we are not rich. Anything else is a right wing talking point

Leave the stupid divisive wah wah poor little me bleating to the ignorant. You are a Divider, not a Uniter.

Talk about blind spots....

[theKed]

33. Exactly

And you'd think people would be more sensitive to privilege after spending a week or so lashing anyone white and male for being white and male based on 'privilege'

[HiPointDem]

92. fail

[Fight2Win]

36. we might be talking about the difference between Republicans and Democrats

There are Republicans out there who 'got theirs' during the heyday after WWII...now they can't understand what anyone's else's problem is, they should have just gotten and hoarded some money too.

There are some people who are just completely stuck in their point of view, Republicans that wouldn't even share with their own family if they are liberal, people who took inheritances from their parents, but now consider themselves as earning it....I think those are the people that are eating out and saying to everyone else "fuck you I'm eating".

Boomers on this site are liberals who care about the world...big difference....

[sendero]

134. "Hoarding" ..

.... money is called "saving" and it used to be a bedrock American value. Somewhere along the way folks decided that anything they could make a payment on they could afford. Then 2008 taught them otherwise.

Trying to characterize saving as something bad is ludicrous. I did it and I'm damn glad I did rather than spending every dime I made trying to LOOK prosperous.

[Fight2Win]

141. no, I save money too

I'm talking about already rich Republicans, who hoard wealth given to them from their parents, instead of sharing with their children who are suffering from the horrible economy because of a difference in political views.

Many people who inherit wealth think they earned it or saved it.

[sendero]

145. Well life is full of injustices..

... but parents are free to do with their money what they wish, regardless of their motivation. And yes, lots of people who were born on third base think they hit a triple, that is human nature I'm afraid, not an admirable part but pretty common.

OTOH, a person who relies on their parents for money can't very well complain about "privilege".

[tjwash]

20. lol

Well done...to ability to use something like dining out as an opportunity to drive a wedge between people and start screaming about class-warfare, especially on something that trivial, is something that only a select few DUers are capable of doing.

Some of you folks must be a real hoot at cocktail parties and family reunions.

[marions ghost]

23. +++++

The point is to drive a wedge. There are several ways that pushing this meme constitutes right-wing propaganda.

They want to divide us generationally and we've seen this tactic before.

Younger generations: Do Not be Fooled.

[Sherman A1]

24. You do realize

that those Restaurants in which those Boomers in the article posted are eating, do create jobs?

Jobs for the immediate staff.

Jobs for the headquarters staff if a chain or franchise.

Jobs for those in the supply chain of that restaurant (warehousing, truck drivers, office, supervisory, food growers, etc).

Jobs for public employees through taxes paid.

Jobs for misc other support such as equipment and facility maintenance and repair, insurance providers, etc.

Granted not all of those jobs are at the higher or even the middle of the economic spectrum, but they too translate into a ripple effect into the local and overall economy.

One wonders, just how is it a display of arrogance?

[bettyellen]

41. these millenials would rather we hoard money and deprive them of work, LOL. Stupid.

[marions ghost]

45. Don't trash Millenials

That is JUST as bad as trashing and stereotyping Boomers. Divisive rhetoric has no possible benefit to us Dems. With Obama's speech still ringing in my frozen ears (wuz there)--the message I heard was clear:

Come Together and Work for what is Right. Together.

While your post has "logic"--it is not sensitive to the issue nor fair. Calling out a whole generation is just not productive in any way.

[SWTORFanatic]

53. I am a Millenial, and I am sick of boomers trashing me. It happened at the

last work meeting (500ish people), boomers complaining about us texting, using computers, etc.

I wanted to yell out to knock it off.

[marions ghost]

64. I'm a Boomer and I get it

--why you might feel defensive at times, although there are plenty of Boomers also texting and using computers, so try not to let a few cranks and blowhards speak for us.

Here's the basic truth of it all: We need you, and you need us.

We need to communicate. We can do that if we don't jump to convenient conclusions.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

96. I agree with half of your basic truth

Boomers need Millenials.

But why do millenials need boomers? We're retired, or getting close to it, preparing to mooch off the working young via social security and medicare. We're the 47%.

[marions ghost]

128. Mooching?

Taking care of people is mooching? Social Security and Medicare is mooching? Isn't it progressive that we have these programs so we do NOT have to "mooch" off our children?

Since you see people only in economic terms, I guess you can't see why Millenials need Boomers. Guess you don't see why children need grandparents. Guess you don't see what elders add to society. Guess you CAN'T imagine elders who actually HELP their children in so many ways....



The website you're looking for...I think it's THAT WAY------------------------------>

[HiPointDem]

132. +1.

[marions ghost]

136. thanx

[magical thyme]

146. Mooching?!?!

Ahem, those of us approaching and at "retirement age" have paid into the social security and medicare system for decades, and for Boomers, when it appeared there wouldn't be enough in the social security fund, we paid *extra* into the fund as well as having our benefits cut with full retirement age pushed back significantly.

We took care of our parents and our grandparents, while raising the next generation. It is our turn to be taken care of.

Social Security and Medicare are not "mooching." Paying into an insurance program with the full understanding and expectation of payback down the road is a contractual agreement, not mooching.

As for why the millennials need us, the elders of society used to be turned to for their wisdom and experience, not disposed of like used up tissue. Not to mention potential free babysitting and a place to go home to if you lose your job and home.

You want to get rid of Social Security? Then give back every penny we paid in, adjusted for inflation and with a good interest rate.

[unapatriciated]

167. I'm a boomer who eats out often with no guilt.

My millenial grandchildren and gerneration X children have no problem cashing the checks I send. I'm sixty and still work full time and probably will still be working long after sixty-five. I also travel every two years to visit my grandchildren, would do it more often if I could afford it. Oh did I mention, I also help support my adult disabled child and he is the biggest reason I will still be working past 65. Many boomers are working way past retirement because they are either helping their children or raising their grandchildren.

I have been paying into SS and medicare for close to forty-three years so when I do finally collect I don't think I would refer to it as mooching off the working young. I think you need to educate yourself on SS and medicare, why it was started and how it works. That mooching line is a RW talking point.

[SWTORFanatic]

191. You a boomer with gen X children old enough to have gen Y kids?

My parents are actually pre-boomer (1944 and 1945) and I'm a millennial. I guess technically on the gen X / millennial CUSP, but absolutely far more a millennial than an X.

I was born in 80.

[unapatriciated]

203. Well I have three generations below me. My children, grandchildren and my great-grandaughter.

My olderst three are considered Gen X born betweem 1971 and 1976, my youngest child was born in 1978 not sure where he falls and my first grandchild was born in 1986 making her the first Gen Y-millennial grandchild. My great grand daughter was born in 2007 is she Gen Y or she Gen Z

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y

sometimes kids make you a very young grandmother.

[Skittles]

200. I gotta tell ya

repukes turned working people against unions, and now they are turning generations on each other.......we need to be blaming the real culprits - the 1% who have FUCKED US ALL

[Selatius]

205. It's hard to see that with a pocket book mentality most working class folks have.

As far as the pocket book issues go, the current one that is most affecting working class households is the rise in Social Security and Medicare taxes on their paychecks, and many of these workers won't see their first SS checks for decades, and many of those are assuming SS might already be raided and dismantled by the time they reach retirement age.

Personally, I ultimately was okay with accepting the end of the payroll tax holiday. I accepted the premise that it was temporary in nature. Plus, I didn't want Congress' General Fund making up short-falls in the Social Security Trust Fund by borrowing even more money, which just gives Republicans a weapon when they argue that Social Security adds to the deficits. As long as the payroll tax holiday continued, they were factually correct in arguing that.

[Skittles]

126. using computers???

yes, we boomers don't like that!!!

[marions ghost]

129. yeah right LOL--

The Boomers only pioneered and created the Computer Age....



....but people think it magically sprang up in 2003?

[SWTORFanatic]

170. Yeah but you guys spend all day on facebook. I'm playing video games

And you boomers typically complain about that :p

Also other things:

Most boomers ask me all kinds of computer stuff. How do I turn up the volume, this youtube video is too quiet.

I was born in '80 and was using a computer in '86. I know they didn't spring up in 2003.

[bettyellen]

178. oh well, as long as you're playing video games. Youth is wasted on the young, LOL.

[SWTORFanatic]

188. See, Milleneal bashing 101 ;)

[bettyellen]

190. you kind of walked into that one yourself, LOL.

Don't worry kid, you'll get batter at this with time.

[Skittles]

199. that one is WAY too easy, bettyellen

no real fun, ya know?

[bettyellen]

209. i know some nice gamers, LOL. but not one would point to it with pride as if it makes them a better

person. WTF is that about, LOL.

[Skittles]

198. WTF

honey, I wouldn't be on facebook if you put a fucking gun to my head, and I have been in the IT industry for 33 years. GET OVER YOURSELF.

[bettyellen]

176. i didn't trash a generation... just those that take the bait on this fake "issue".

Sucks to see a few here were fooled.

[marions ghost]

180. OK let me explain...

You said --"these millenials would rather we hoard money and deprive them of work, LOL. Stupid."
--which IS a slam against the whole generation.

I agree it's a fake issue, but then why feed it with a statement like that--esp if it's NOT what you meant?

Yes it sucks to see people here taken in, but that's what the promoters of these ideas count on. Divisive propaganda gets results. So the point is to trash that crapola, not the generation.

I rest my case no harm intended

[bettyellen]

183. i was replying to Sherm- about the segment of millennials who were whining about this

eating out thing.....*these* is actually specific, deliberately NOT inclusive.... and not in any way addressing all millennials. Thanks for the donut! All is forgiven.

Millenials are not represented by the few short sighted fools who don't know their history here, not even close. Most here and in RL are great.

[marions ghost]

187. OK I see the ambiguity now

--but people might not get your meaning and take it for the other meaning. Pointing out that you mean--"this KIND of Millennial"--would clarify it. People (esp younger) who are sensitive often will not give you the benefit of the doubt.

We do not want to give these Dividers an inch...

[bettyellen]

189. well, I appreciate you trying to reach the bitterest millenials, marions ghost....

it's just in my experience this kind of self involved mindset is hard to penetrate. i see a lot of the ageist stuff come out of people who have a lot of resentment toward their parents because they "did well" and the kids, in this economy, are not. Very hard to argue the politics when it's actually about their personal resentments, and not actual experience, or knowledge of history and demographics.
All the same, I do appreciate your efforts! *cheers*

[marions ghost]

193. OK but

we are talking about "our" children. Takes a village & all that. Do we want to resent them and criticize them heavily like the Boomers had to deal with?

Yes their perspective is a "spoiled" perspective--but WHO raised them? WHO spoiled them? Their parents. And in doing so they did not equip them to deal effectively with the adult world. I encounter these kids too in university situations. These kids -- I agree it is the minority--are not being given the tools to learn to cope, and to a certain extent that IS our generational responsibility. Some kids grow up with a very narrow focus. We need to ask why that is happening. So the issue raises many relevant questions.

We live in a predatory Corporatocracy, never more evident than now--so what do we expect? I would say to those complaining kids--stop whining and start understanding how this state of inequality has developed. It's hurting all of us, young or old.

[mainer]

110. No, sounds like they'd rather boomers hoard money and then die, so THEY'LL get it.

Some millenials resent boomers spending their god-given inheritance.

[magical thyme]

25. Next up -- intergenerational warfare. So much better than class war...at least for some.

How else to target Social Security to pay for the 1%ers wars and perks?

Sorry to disappoint, but this boomer wouldn't be eating much if she hadn't grown so much of her own food.

Having lost my career as I was about to turn 50 due to hi-tech crash + 911, forced to live off what was supposed to be my retirement savings, and defrauded out of a large chunk of that, while I struggled to find a job in a society that has no use for single, "old" and ugly women....

Eating out (say picking up a sandwich from the company vending machine) is a "luxury" that I occasionally allow myself now that I'm pushing 60 and have 2 part time jobs and spend my spare time either hoeing, planting, watering and weeding a large garden or, in winter, huddled in bed with thermostat "cranked" to 55, mending old, torn flannel sheets and turning a cheap polyester blanket into a thermal curtain to contain the heat in key rooms. Mostly, I cook as a "hobby." I buy bulk foods for cheap, cook them up and freeze individual meals in zip lock bags to enable me to eat healthy at lower cost, including less energy wasted on food prep. So kindly forgive me for picking up lunch from the supermarket last weekend while I ran a carefully planned, 4 hour string of errands on a single drive to save gas.

Oh yes, and I did go to a movie this year. "Lincoln" was my first since "Cold Mountain" came out. And you know what? I may even go to see Les Mis too. I don't expect it to be particularly good, but you've pissed me off enough to want to "waste" $6.25 at the local theater.

Some of the men I work of who are in their 50s are starting to break. I think one of them was drunk on the job last Friday. Last night one of them was going on about how tired he is of juggling bills and treading water, knowing he'll never be able to retire. He got into a fight with a client a couple weeks ago, after she repeatedly called him a liar, and then an asshole.

The millenials need to grow up a bit. With my useless BS degree, I barely made minimum wage in my 20s, when I was able to find work. My big career "break" didn't come until I was past 30 and got an admin asst job at a large corporation...in 1984. I didn't make a true living wage until I was 40, after being laid off and contracted back a double my full wage. I haven't had health insurance for most of my life, and when I did and got seriously ill the HMO basically told me to eat shit and die.

IOW, take your stereotypes and shove them where the sun don't shine. Because you're just trying to replace the class war with war between the generations. Do Not Go There.

When I'm finally able to collect Social Security, into which I've paid for nearly 40 years now, at least one of my 2 part time jobs will become available for younger people. And I'll have enough time and spare change to boost the local economy.

And sorry to inform you but I plan to stay healthy, and don't plan to die in enough hurry to satisfy you or the HMO. I do have a number of hobbies and dreams I intend to indulge. They, too, will boost the local economy. If I can afford guitar lessons, that will be income for a millenial guitar teacher. If I can afford knitting and spinning classes, that will be income for a millenial knitting instructor. I have a couple ideas for small business that could employ some younger people as well.

What has killed the economy is hoarding money by a few. When money circulates, the economy hums. That means putting money in the hands of those who can and will spend it. And like it or not, that means seniors.

Oh, and someday those millenials will be seniors too, and they (you?) too will be tired of the rat race...

[marions ghost]

47. Well said except for the snark

Your story is right on it --in illustrating the situation of a lot, maybe the majority, of Boomers.

But don't let your defensiveness make you stoop to nastiness.

This shuts down understanding and respect.

[magical thyme]

111. meh. If nothing else, I'm entitled to occasional snark

I work part time as a telephone customer service rep, which means I have to be extra nice no matter how frustrated, irritated, confused or just plain rude clients are to me. And part time as a lab tech, meaning a couple days/week I have to sprint 8+ hour marathons from one end of the lab to the other, to icu on 2nd floor, to ob on 3rd floor, to the ER down 2 halls, and get yelled at by doctors when they make ordering mistakes that cause delays in their test results.

Before that, I actually found myself in a truly crappy job with a 25 year old bullying me and claiming she was entitled to own a house NOW, and that, in spite of the fact that I'd sacrificed and saved for decades to be able to pay off a mortgage, that I somehow didn't deserve my home.

I'm too old and tired for all this, and I miss my "real" career.

By my days off, I'm cranky and tired, as well as cold. So I give myself leave to be a little snarky

Seriously, though, I was quite surprised to see this OP and its provocative title. It looks like a deliberate attempt to bait us into inter-generational warfare. There is no need for that. Lift the cap on Social Security, stop perpetual warfare. Invest in all our futures. Fiscal problems solved.

[marions ghost]

135. meh yourself

I SAID I appreciated your post and I think that you made good points. But I also think that "take your blah blah and shove it" is NOT helping your cause. The crabby, defensive undertone undermines the effectiveness of what you are saying. What you are saying needs to be said, so-- (putting it as well as I know how)...if you would not be so harsh, your message would have more chance of being heard.

Fine to vent. Life is hard now, for young AND old, no question about that. I know the maddening issues of working in hospitals & I sympathize with you completely. I know the tiredness. But try not to go over the top.

I think this thread IS a deliberate attempt to bait us into inter-generational warfare. Just another way to divide Dems/Liberals so we don't work together. But it also gives us a chance to refute a stereotype that is out there.

What I am saying is you'd be refuting it very well, except for the snark. This type of snark insults and blames a generation. It Divides.

[Sherman A1]

143. You do realize

it was an industry marketing study, or did we bother to read the article at all?

[magical thyme]

147. My reply was to Post #9, not the OP

Last edited Thu Jan 24, 2013, 09:58 AM - Edit history (1)

What difference does it make that an industry marketing study showed one age group more likely to eat at restaurants than another?

Edited to say that while the thread title threw me, when I read the OP I got the gist of the article.

However, my posts above are NOT to the OP, they are to Post #9. You may want to try reading that post before judging my response to it.

[Sherman A1]

150. Then you misread the intent of the article

and assumed you understood it without reading it and we know what happens when one assumes?

The point was for those in the industry to look to serving the growing audience in their category as opposed to the demographic upon which had been considered the normal focus. It was a call to for those within the industry to open their eyes a bit. It had nothing to to with inter-generational warfare as you claim.

[magical thyme]

157. actually, in retrospect, I did get the gist of the article from the OP

You may note that my reply was not to the OP, but to post #9. It was reading through the replies to the OP that got me doing down the inter-generational war road.

(That's what happens when I forget what I did some hours ago, and assume the wrong thing )

[sendero]

174. The gist of the article is that..

.. this company did research, for pay, that you can have if you are willing to pay and have a restaurant and want to tailor your offering to the most abundant market, boomers. The gist of the article is that your most prevalent customer class will be boomers, not millenials as typically assumed.

The part you get to pay for is the part that tells you what boomers want in a restaurant.

Neither the article nor the headline have jack shit to do with inter-generational warfare, which is, BTW, pretty dumb.

The generations are different because they grew up in different times/circumstances. None is better or worse than the other.

[magical thyme]

175. My reply was to post #9

which was headed straight in the direction of inter-generation warfare.

My post was not in response to the OP, which I fully understood at the time I read it and which I fully understood when I took a moment to go back a re-read it several hours later. Especially given that my real career was in marketing communications. .

I agree that inter-generational warfare is not a very good place to go. That was the main point of my reply TO POST #9.

Every generation inherits its combination of problems, challenges and opportunities. I do think some generations due end up with potentially better circumstances do to the overall arc that every civilization follows combined with the specific point on that arc and the fact that nature generally doesn't follow straight lines. But then a lot depends on what one considers "better."

[sendero]

204. I apologize..

... if I misunderstood the point of your post.

By the time I got to it I was pretty annoyed at some of the ludicrous suggestions that were made, didn't mean to take it out on you specifically.

[magical thyme]

206. that's ok, sendero...

by the time you posted I was getting annoyed that some people (specifically the OP and me) failed to notice (or remember) why I'd replied the way I did

[shanti]

70. right on, magical thyme

that's all it is, intergenerational warfare, divide and conquer.

[KoKo]

113. Well said, "MT" This Intergenerational Warfare" is being pushed by some Big Interest

Groups and there's few days that go by here where something isn't posted about it.

"Old" taking away from "Young" is the meme and it isn't even disguised.

[actslikeacarrot]

49. if they saved their money...

...they have earned it. Not sure why so much hostility to old people going to applebees?

[OriginalGeek]

66. I don't care if they go out

but not to Applebees. What a waste of money that shithole is.

[djean111]

51. This boomer can't afford to eat all that much AT HOME.

In fact, gas is so expensive I have to plan any trips to the store very carefully.
This whole thing looks like a deliberate wedge issue.
Well played. Now I suppose the chained CPI just serves us Boomers right, eh?

[CountAllVotes]

55. yep sheer arrogance

Having a pizza delivered is beyond the pale!

How dare these damned boomers! Such arrogance indeed!

Get over it would you?

[Sekhmets Daughter]

56. OK...Boomers should all stay home,

restaurants can close, wait staff and kitchen staff can be unemployed and you can find those people jobs, doing what exactly?

[Blue4Texas]

107. Boomers will not stay home, will die running the streets

[Sekhmets Daughter]

109. "running the streets"?

[Blue4Texas]

112. Going here, there, everywhere lol

[Sekhmets Daughter]

122. Oh...

The Boomer generation is the "wealthiest" generation in our history. But like everything else that pertains to a group, that does not mean that every Boomer is well off, as many here on DU can attest. I am always suspicious of these articles which attempt to pit one generation against another. I'm a Boomer, I well remember how republicans insisted my generation, the first btw to pay for Medicare their entire working lives, would never receive Social Security benefits, yet alone Medicare. I have very clear memories of how we were painted as unpatriotic because we protested the criminal police action of Vietnam. I also marvel at the acceptance of the meme of the WW II generation as "the Greatest Generation" as if each and every one of them enlisted and fought in the war or worked in military production...that generation gave us Nixon and Reagan, destroyers both. No generation is perfect....

[Ganja Ninja]

59. Yes shame on those arrogant high living Boomers.

[/sarcasm]

Let me tell you what life is like for this boomer. For the last 7 years I have been spending an average of $250 a month to help supplement a dying friend's income. For the last 3 years I have only been working 32 hours a week. Right now I'm about 10 years away from retirement at 71 with about $40,000 in debt. More often than not friends in my age bracket are struggling to get by. Yes some old people have money. They've worked their whole lives if they're lucky but not everybody classified as a boomer is living the high life.

[Shivering Jemmy]

60. No one should have increased spending on anything

Suppose your salary doubled from five years ago? Are you then allowed to have increased your spending?

[RB TexLa]

67. No I certainly would not have. Making more money in no way entices me to spend more money

in fact it has much the opposite effect.

[bettyellen]

185. austerity brings more of the same. i'm saving but I plan to spend every red cent I have as I exit

this world, LOL. Hope I get to leave little behind but great memories.

[HiPointDem]

91. your post is a display of fail.

[mainer]

108. Boomers are in their 60s now.

They're seeing their own mortality around the corner. And you think they should not try to enjoy what time they have left?

[Ikonoklast]

149. How are those royalty checks doing, Skippy?

[elleng]

151. 'Entitled?'

You too?

We've earned the ability to eat out occasionally, and most of us (I think) don't consider much of what we do or have as luxurious. My 'luxury' is to be able to make such decisions.

'Arrogance' to have lunch at a Pakistani friend's strip-mall Kabob restaurant? Don't think so.

[canoeist52]

11. We had been going out once a week

to a local restaurant that uses locally grown meats and veggies. We figured stimulating the local economy was money well spent. We just replaced two water heaters and found out last week that we need a new septic system as ours was here when the house was bought in 1962. Our going out to eat money will now be stimulating the local septic engineer, local contractor and the local bank Oh well it's only money, I guess.

[bemildred]

12. Oddly enough I've stopped eating out.

I use to eat out all the time before I retired. Now I stay far away from restaurant food most of the time.

[eridani]

16. Same here. I used to have more time than money

Now it's the other way around.

[bemildred]

22. I my case it was more money than time.

I used to work and travel lots, had no time or means to cook for myself, but money for restaurant food was no problem. Now I have lots of time and a fixed income, so I cook for myself as much as possible. Much healthier now too, for some reason ...

[Orrex]

13. I thought that they all just sat around watching The Big Chill and LA Law reruns

Golly, am I out of touch!

[LWolf]

18. None of my family,

from 12 to 74, eats out much. It's not because of what generation bracket you lump us in; it's not because any of us have been left out in someone's marketing scheme. It's because we can't afford it. We're all running on very tight budgets in this economy.

[happyslug]

28. Boomers are in their 40s to 60s, when people earn the most money

The traditional birth years for baby Boomers is 1947 to 1964, the reason is 1946 had a much lower birth rate then 1947, and 1965 saw a drastic drop in the birth rate from 1964 (Through the peak year for the baby boom when it came to births was 1957). Since the 1970s it has become the norm for marketers to segment age markets in much smaller units, thus you will read people referring to baby Boomers and it is clear they are talking about a much smaller, through always undefined, birth years (It appears a lot of Marketers view Baby Boomers as being between 1954 to 1960 for example, three years before and after the peak, not 17 years between 1947 and 1964). I mention this for in 2010 a baby boomer born in 1947 is 65 years of age, but one born in 1964 is 48 years of age. Thus I will try to use age instead of the term "baby Boomers" for it make a clear who I am talking about, not what Marketers decide what group they want to talk about, without giving any real ages, years or dates.

The historical norm is (and remains) people in their late 40s, 50s and 60s are make the most money they have ever earned. For decades this was off set by wives staying home but Baby Boomer's are of a generation that was no longer the norm (and it appears to be only the norm from 1945 to 1970, women prior to WWII work at about the same rate as they do now). On the other hand people in their teens and 20s are Dating, i.e looking for a mate and thus want to impress each other so they go out to eat as part of a date NOT as something they do every day. Since it was a date, these restaurant customers wanted to go to a place that would be special for their date, not a McDonald's, something a little bit better,

On the other hand people in their teens and 20s are earning the least they will earn in their lifetime and thus are concerned about price, thus high end restaurants were out, they wanted something upscale but affordable. Many end up in a McDonald's for lack of a better place at a price they can afford. Remember part of dating is finding someone you can live with, including someone who is careful with his or her money (Or in most situation, he is careful with his money and she is careful with hers, but both are willing to spend it when needed).

People in the late 20s and 30s tend to be parents of young children, they are earning more money then they did in their teens and 20s, but have much higher expenses (including buying and paying for their home, paying for clothes and food for their kids). The net result they have the least money to spend on "frills". They tend to cut back and look at how to save money. They are also big into various health issues including feeding their children what they think is better for the child, even if it cost more AND has to be prepared at home. This desire to provide better food for their children and themselves has an effect on eating out, for eating out means NOT eating those healthier foods.

On top of the above, you have the continuing effect of decline in income. Baby Boomers tend to be the least affected by this, most are in jobs that were hit hard in the 1970s and 1980s and thus whatever income loss was involved with their jobs occurred in the past not today. On the other hand, most recent decline in income has hit the so call "Boom" jobs of the 1990s, where a lot of people in their 20s and 30s (and many 40s) do. They also tend to have less job security then people in their 50s and 60s (and as you age, you can be willing to be terminated from your job, as my Father told me during the Postal Strike of 1970, what were they going to do to him, retire him?). i.e. as you near 62 (early age to get on Social Security) you accept the fact that the worse that can happen to you is to be retired, you have to make some sacrifices till you turn 62, but if you are 50 that is only a little more then a decade away, if you are 40 that is 22 years away, and you generally have children still at home to worry about feeding.

I bring this up for the Baby Boomers are of the age that their income tend to be more secure and larger then it was 30 years ago. People in their 20s and 30s are of the age where they have the highest costs being incurred in their lives (getting married or otherwise find a mate, having children, buying a home, buying a care etc) during a time of raising employment insecurity (Notice the talk about privatizing Social Security has died down, baby Boomer's see it as a threat to them, people in their 20s and 30s are seeing the attack on Social Security as a threat to them, and thus the recent attacks on Social Security no longer brings up privatization but how to pay for people on Social Security, including how to pay BACK all the money borrowed since Reagan from Social Security).

Together, the above have given people in their 50s and 60s the most disposable money they have ever had (with maybe the exceptions of their teen years) while people in their 20s and 30s have the least (and getting smaller). Something had to give and it is giving way, 50 and 60 year old are going out to dinner because they can afford to do so, people in their 20s and 30s years are seeing that option as to expensive. Thus this change is the result of the overall decline in Income over the last 30 years (Decline in terms of percentage of total income, since about 1980 Income for most Americas is what is was in 1980, even as total income has doubled, almost all of that increase going to the top 1%).

[LWolf]

168. I'm in my 50s.

The most disposable income I ever had was 35-45.

I have as little disposable income today as I did in my 20s.

I'm not earning as much as I was in my highest decade; budget cuts have slashed my contract, and my income, repeatedly.

It's true that I make more than I did in my 20s, but I have more expenses, too, added when I was earning a better living. Today, with the repeated pay cuts, my mortgage is 53% of my income, and the value of my house has plummeted to about half of what I owe on it. The income is not more secure; my contractual days, rate of pay, and benefits have been cut every year for 4 years now.

Demographically, I'm supposed to be doing better. In reality, I'm not. If I go out to eat once every 6-8 weeks, it will be affordable, not high scale.

I haven't been to a "high scale" restaurant for about 6 years; then, it was on a professional trip and my supervisor paid for it.

[Uben]

19. This boomer eats at home

Eating out is costly and often the food just isnt worth it. So, instead of eating out, I eat well at home. I can cook a tenderloin filet, some brocolli, and a baked tater at home for what I can eat a tasteless meal out, so its a no-brainer for me. Also, I live rurally, and a trip to the nearest restaurant adds another $5 to the meal. I can cook a lobster tail and a veggie for the same price or less.

I gave up junk food years ago. A buck seventy-nine for a medium soda? WTF? There's 25 cents worth of soda in them and the cup can't cost more than a dime. I don't drink sodas anymore. When's the last time you got a "good" burger eating out? See?

[MineralMan]

26. Ageism.

That's what this is. The article actually says that boomers make up about the same number of restaurant goers as younger people. It does not say what the title says at all.

This boomer and his wife eat out once a year, on our anniversary, and we missed that this year.

[bettyellen]

43. yep, and it's about how they screwed up their marketing- trying to only reach younger people

and ignoring marketing to boomers. Oy.

[KoKo]

115. Yes...the article is misleading but folks want to go with the OP's snip

and carry on with the meme of Intergenerational Warfare....because it's important to an agenda being pushed by some big interests.

[ReRe]

27. No surprise, here....

.... Remember, we are the boomers, the "hump" babies. The largest living age group. We're tired of shopping, cooking and washing dishes. We've waited on and hosted everyone all our lives. So, if you are a young restauranteur, this is your bubble. And if you are a young waitress or waiter who enjoys the company of your elders, it's yours too. Work hard, live frugally, save your money
and stop to smell the roses as you go along. My advice for the day....

[jeff47]

156. Actually, you aren't the largest anymore.

Millennials outnumber you by about 10M-20M in the US (number depends on when you define the generations as starting and ending).

Unfortunately for restaurateurs, we've also completely fucked over their income, so they won't be dining out much.

[ReRe]

161. You might want to...

...post your remarks toward the OP Thanks..

[jeff47]

163. When responding to your factoid?

......um.....why?

The Baby Boomers were about 76M kids. Millennials were about 85M-95M kids.

[ReRe]

171. Let'a agree to disagree...

...respectfully.

[sadbear]

29. That's a surprise to me.

I live in a college town and the only time I ever go out is during the Christmas break. (I HATE waiting in line to eat, and really, College Station, TX has no restaurants worth waiting for anyway.)

BTW, I'm an X'er.

[Earth_First]

30. With what money would these resturant owners pretend I use?

[LiberalEsto]

35. What boomers are dining out? We're certainly not.

We're shelling out almost $600 a month on our daughters' student loans; they've never contributed a penny, nor did they bother to graduate. We're supporting one of them completely, including paying her $560 a month health insurance, and paying for car repairs and digital /cellphone service for the other one.

We can't afford to dine out. We might get a pizza a couple of times a month, but anything else is out of the question. We have exactly $156 in savings.

This kind of bullshit article is designed to turn one generation against one another instead of working together for economic justice in the U.S.

These propagandist articles say the Millennials complain that we're hogging all the jobs -- but I've been out of work for 4 years, and because I'm almost 61, nobody will hire me. Same thing for almost anyone over 50 who is looking for work these days. My husband, whose IT skills were in high demand just a few years ago, can't even get an interview for a new job so he can leave the horrible work environment he's in.

[Sherman A1]

38. Bull* Article?

It would have been nice, had you perhaps read it. It was an industry study/observation on trends of spending, hardly generational warfare. I did not note anywhere in the article in which it stated "These propagandist articles say the Millennials complain that we're hogging all the jobs."

Your post appears to be a very angry one in which you detail your personal situation and it appears your regret for same. It does not affect the validity or lack of validity of the article.

[Orrex]

40. Yikes! Why are you carrying your daughters in this way?

Those student loan payments are relatively low, compared to some that I've heard about. Whether or not they bothered to graduate, it seems unreasonable for them to expect you to pay them. Insurance I can understand, but they shouldn't expect you to pay for their phones and cars.

If you had bags and bags of loose cash sitting around it would be a different matter, but if you're running on a tight budget then perhaps your daughters might consider helping to shoulder the load?

[IDemo]

37. We eat out 2, maybe 3 times yearly

We could afford to nearly every night, but both love to cook and aren't crazy about crowds.

[Fearless]

44. I work in food service.

There has been no discernible difference in the last five years. I call BS.

[Demo_Chris]

46. REALITY: the wealth inequality is largely based on age

I understand that this in an uncofortable truth, and no one wants to talk about it, but there it is.

Nor should this be any surprise.

Boomers spent their working lives in a nation with unions and without free trade. Once they started reaching retirement age and no longer needed those jobs themselves (or had seniority) they supported NAFTA and the outsourcing of our jobs. NAFTA was fantastic for their union earned stock options and pensions. And it's not like they didn't know what they were doing, they just didn't care.

The same holds true in almost any area you care to look.

Take WAR for example. When enough of the boomer generation started reaching voting age the Vietnam war ended. Boomers were not into war. War was definately NOT COOL. And war remained uncool until the mass of boomers reached the age in which they were no longer young enough to serve in combat themselves. The older they got the more war they demanded, so much so that this "peace and love" generation has now presided over the longest wars in our nation's history. We're spending about 600 BILLION a year on our war machine, none of it paid for, and none of it supported by the younger people being asked to fight.

Peace and Love my ass.

And so it goes. They have no problem with cuts to Social Security or increasing the retirement age, no problem at all. Or, rather, no problem so long as those cuts didn't impact them. So long as it was only future generations that would pay the price they called it "saving social security." Infrastructure? They never saw any need to pass it along in working condition. Taxing the wealthy? Hell no! Not on their watch, not when they were the wealthy being taxed. Cut that shit and cut it now! Hell, they even think Obamacare is swell.

And so it goes.

But what can you do? I am pretty sure they still outnumber every other generation combined, and they have all the money. All we can do is wait it out.

[marions ghost]

50. Look like you're drinking the kool-aid

--that tasty divisive right wing flavored kool aid....

[HappyMe]

61. Indeed.

Cheese needs to be served with that whine.

[Demo_Chris]

97. Really? Apparently economists disagree with you

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/11/07/the-rising-age-gap-in-economic-well-being/

http://conversableeconomist.blogspot.com/2012/06/wealth-by-distribution-region-and-age.html

Summary: Younger generations, who were already getting pounded prior to this recession thanks to free trade and other factors, have been freaking decimated by it, while the baby boom generation has not only held steady but seem modest gains -- even during this downturn. Now that we have dispensed with that, what else do you take issue with?

Is it not accurate that Clinton signed NAFTA into law, beginning the tsunami of outsourcing that has destroyed both our unions and our jobs?

Is it not accurate that, following our exit from Vietnam, we did not participate in ANY significant ground wars until the Peace and Love "anti-war generation" was too old to participate themselves (other than in perhaps senior officer and NCO positions)?

Is it not correct that we have raised the retirement age on Social Security on FUTURE recipients while leaving the Baby Boom generation unaffected? Hell, we gave current recipients Part D. Unfunded no less. You guys never paid in for that. Future beneficiaries will likely eat additional cuts and age increases to pay for it.

Hell, I am tired of typing. If you think I'm wrong post something specific.

[marions ghost]

140. Um...

get your generations right. The comparison in the Pew website uses "65 and older" (in 09) --this would be the WW2 Generation and only the tip of the Boomers. This is NOT the bulk of the Boomers. But I'm sure you don't care, because your motive is to divide and conquer. Go talk to your grandaddy who voted for Reagan--capiche?

From the pew website:

In 2009, households headed by adults ages 65 and older possessed 42% more median1 net worth (assets minus debt) than households headed by their same-aged counterparts had in 1984. During this same period, the wealth of households headed by younger adults moved in the opposite direction. In 2009, households headed by adults younger than 35 had 68% less wealth than households of their same-aged counterparts had in 1984.

-------------------------------------------------------

I don't agree with raising the retirement age on anybody--that's mostly a Rethuglicon idea. Blame them.

There's a LOT wrong with how the country's been run the last 30 years. But you need to talk to the Reaganites.

NOTHING the "Peace and Love" generation ever wanted has come to pass.....QUITE the opposite.

[hack89]

69. Results of alert on your post

At Wed Jan 23, 2013, 12:49 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

REALITY: the wealth inequality is largely based on age
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2245778

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

ALERTER'S COMMENTS:

Hate speech against Boomers.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Jan 23, 2013, 12:53 PM, and the Jury voted 2-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Hate speech =/= people who disagree with me.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: Oh Please. You may not agree with the opinions expressed, but I am not offended by the post.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: "Hate speech against Boomers??????" The alerter is a fucking moron. Jesus. Dumbest alert I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. You, alerter: either counter the argument or go outside and play or something. "Hate speech against boomers?" You're a fucking idiot.
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT and said: Ageism
Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[HappyMe]

75. Oh boy, it's juror 4 again!

Get a clue. You should have stopped after 'hate speech against boomers?????'.

[Morning Dew]

72. Every once in a while I'm reminded

that ignorance isn't the sole province of the right wing.

[hfojvt]

74. that has always been true, and is somewhat logical

from the wealth census of 2002

a whopping 48.9% of households under age 35 had less than $5,000 in net worth. Only 13.6% of households over age 65 had that amount. On the other side 12.9% of households over 65 had over $500,000 in net worth and 16.8% had over $250,000. Compared to just 1.1% and 2.9% for the under 35 households.

It is logical though because a person age 65 has had a 30 or 40 year career to accumulate wealth, whereas the under 35 is just starting out.

The question is whether we will see the same level of "success" in wealth accumulation in the next thirty or forty years.

[marybourg]

82. +1

[Demo_Chris]

99. The answer is crystal.

The largest employer in 1990 was GM. Rounding out most of the top ten were other major manufacturing companies, all paying epic pay and benefits. These were solid middle class jobs for the most part.

Today the number one employer is Walmart, paying an average of about 17K a year, no benefits. Other companies in the top ten include McDonald's, Kroger, Target, Pepsico, UPS. All of them, of course, pay as close to minimum wage as they can, and of course they offer no benefits. They don't pay more because they don't need to. There are more people clammoring for a McDonald's job then there are positions to fill.

So how exactly do we expect younger people to accumulate wealth? Are companies across America lining up to offer thirty and forty and fifty year-olds the middle class jobs necessary for that wealth accumulation to occur?

[Demo_Chris]

139. I am going to invite you to actually think through what you just wrote

Seriously, think it all the way through and decide how accurate you think it actually was. No need to post what you come up with. This is for you.

[raccoon]

130. They can accumulate it the old-fashioned way: inherit it. :sarcasm: nt

[amandabeech]

78. The Vietnam War ended when the older boomers managed to convince

a large proportion of adults that the Vietnam War wasn't worth it.

As to NAFTA was passed in the mid-90s, but the country had been losing manufacturing jobs since the '70s. No boomers were of retirement age when NAFTA went into effect, and none were retired when Clinton and Congress passed MFN for China, either.

You're largely complaining about the groups older than the boomers--ones born from the late '20s through 1945. They are usually called the Silent Generation, and they have ended up well largely because they were allowed to work at their jobs until their standard retirement age of 1965. They didn't face starting their careers in the bad economic times of the '70s nor were they laid off at age 50, never to return to their former careers.

[HiPointDem]

95. pernicious bullshit.

[Demo_Chris]

101. Which part?

[HiPointDem]

121. start with the part where you spin concentration of wealth as a generational rather than class

phenomenon & go from there.

disgusting.

Baby Boomer Poll By AARP Finds Half Don't Expect To Retire

What's more, half of Americans die broke, according to a recent study.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/baby-boomer-poll-aarp_n_1756781.html

High percentage of Boomers, Gen Xers not prepared for retirement

Nearly 22 percent of Baby Boomers and nearly 28 percent of Gen Xers have no retirement savings. Of those who have saved and indicated their savings levels, nearly 40 percent of Boomers and about two-thirds of Generation X have less than $100,000 saved for retirement, according to the IRI data.

http://www.benefitspro.com/2012/08/28/high-percentage-of-boomers-gen-xers-not-prepared-f

Using U.S. government data, the Employee Benefit Research Institute in Washington, D.C., found that between 1992 and 2007, the percentage of households with people in their mid-50s and older that were carrying housing and consumer debt rose from 53.8% to 63%. Further, for those aged 55 to 64, nearly 82% were carrying debt. The level of debt was higher, too. According to EBRI, the average overall debt for these 55-and-older households more than doubled (to $70,370) in that period.

5 reasons boomers will go bust

More than 60% of workers in a recent survey said they've lost confidence in their retirement plans since 2007, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. The survey also found that more than half (54%) of workers in their 60s said they haven't saved enough to sustain themselves for the rest of their life.

A recent report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found similar results. Just 14% of those surveyed were very confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. Even more shocking? Sixty percent of workers reported that the total value of their households' savings and investments (not including the value of their homes and any official retirement benefit plans) was less than $25,000.

http://money.msn.com/baby-boomers/5-reasons-boomers-will-go-bust-fiscaltimes.aspx

[Demo_Chris]

148. And yet it is absolutely factual that wealth IS concentrated by age

I posted the links above.

I understand that many are not comfortable or confident. That's a separate issue. Note as well that the link you offered shows that 60% of Baby Boomers have over 100K saved for retirement, versus only 33% of those just a generation younger. And the numbers no doubt get worse the younger you go.

[HiPointDem]

162. ...and always has been. for obvious reasons. & will be when the millenials get old, too. but

*most* people -- in *every* age group -- have no significant wealth.

2/3 of social security recipients rely on it for more than half their income. 1/3 for 90% or more of their income.

you are using this 'fact' to lie, to divide young workers from old workers -- in the service of an agenda that benefits only elites.

that's why your post is DISGUSTING.

[bettyellen]

179. yeah, 30% of people took a generation longer to save up 100K. It's sad only 60% were able to.

Actually, millenials dont; seem to be doing so bad if 30% have saved that much.
Probably had a great deal of help from their parents.

[flamingdem]

54. Here comes the new angle - intergenerational warfare so it feels good to vote to raise the Social

Security and Medicare benefit eligibility age.

Someone who nurses a grudge against rich oldsters, and I know a few of these, won't care if they loose too.

[TheKentuckian]

142. Yup, I've seen it right here on DU, their solution was the classic "we'll fix it later"

Figuring after the "die off" the Age of Aquarius would kick in and all the woes would be corrected or some such nonsense.

[Le Taz Hot]

173. Exactly right.

Divide and conquer. It's an old game and too many are stupid enough to fall for it.

[redstatebluegirl]

57. These Boomers Can't

Between taking care of two ill parents whose savings did not go far enough to take care of them until they passed and another one on the horizon. The increase in medical deductible and insurance premiums (we know we are blessed to have insurance but the increases are a reality), combined with increased property taxes on the home we have lived in for 15 years, we make it but with little left over.

We know how lucky we are, but I grow weary of people bashing us. It is not easy to take care of elderly parents, 20 somethings who need to move home because they cannot find jobs, and our own bodies that are beginning to need more medical care that is horribly expensive.

Maybe we did something wrong that we cannot afford a date night, but we can't.

[marions ghost]

68. +++++

GOOD point. So many Boomers are taking care of elderly parents AND trying to give their kids a leg up.

[CountAllVotes]

77. Right you are

I was the one that "dealt" with my parents and their deaths. It was I who paid the bills for the nursing home(s) that ARE NOT covered by medical insurance. YOU pay it out of what you've got and it will likely not be enough, that is something you can believe in unless your family is rich already and mine sure were not and NO they did not have long-term care!

[redstatebluegirl]

98. Our out of pocket

for my father in law's nursing home was $4500 split 3 ways. My husband and I paid a little more because his sister was going through a hard time with an ex not paying child support. I think we spent 2200 a month. Depleted our savings for sure....

[PasadenaTrudy]

83. I feel so lucky

In a way...both of my parents are deceased, they went pretty quickly. My mom was in a nursing type home and her long term care plan covered most of it. I am childfree, and I don't have a mortgage or rent. So, we do get to go out to dinner quite a bit

[Go Vols]

89. We

eat out probably 5 nights a week.Parents are in good health in their 70s,kids are gone and doing good and I owe no one.

I prefer eating out over hearing how much trouble it is cooking for two and the mess it makes.

[shanti]

63. boomer here

since i retired, i rarely eat out anymore. i have more time to cook now, and less money. when i was working, i got take-out often. maybe this study is focused on still working boomers?

[erinlough]

93. My situation exactly. I agree with your conclusion.

[no_hypocrisy]

65. I'm a boomer and I cook at home.

I don't go out because I'm lazy. I don't go out because I want to be amused by the menu.

Just the opposite. I cook because I can shop and choose my ingredients. I cook because I've become adept at every cuisines from Americana (different regions), various European varieties, Cuban/Caribbean, Mexican, and now starting to embark upon Moroccan. I cook because I can control the fat, the sugar, and the salt. I cook because it's cost-effective. I cook because it's healthier in many cases compared to even the best restaurants.

I'll go out now and then to be social and when I do, I compliment the wait staff where appropriate, tell the manager on the way out and tip 20% as a base.

[grasswire]

88. that web site is fascinating

progressivegrocer.com

Thanks.

[Sherman A1]

90. My pleasure!

there is also one called Supermarket news which covers the same category. I am sure you can just do a quick google search on it if you are interested.

[snooper2]

94. Aren't boomers mostly republican?

[Sherman A1]

118. Hmmm......

[Lydia Leftcoast]

123. Depends on where they live

In the cities, they're almost all Democrats or farther left.

[Taverner]

100. Divide...and conquer...divide...and conquer

Now that GenX and the Boomers have finally gotten over their differences, the media is trying to whip up inter-generational war between the Boomers and Millennials.

[Sherman A1]

119. In an industry study on spending habits for

differing age groups in one category of spending?

How does that equate to divide and conquer?

[OldDem2012]

103. I personally don't know any Boomers who are doing well enough to eat out as often as they want....

....we haven't eaten out for years.

Who the hell are they polling??

[klook]

106. At least Boomers are less likely to breast feed in a restaurant!

[MineralMan]

116. Or bring their brats with them to scream and throw food.

Been there; done that.

[HiPointDem]

133. their 'brats'? this thread is disgusting.

[WinkyDink]

154. The thread's purpose was age-war.

[MineralMan]

164. You have never encountered a brat in

a restaurant? I guess you don't go out much...

[HiPointDem]

172. no, just children.

[happyslug]

125. I heard a commercial for Medicare supplement insurance

The ad said the insurance will pay for SOME things Medicare will NOT pay for. I made the joke that the phase "Some things" could be it pays for Birth Control pills, pregnancy testing and cost of giving birth. Medicare does NOT pay for those items for the simple reason women over 65 rarely need birth control pills (there are other reasons to use Birth Control Pills other then Birth Control but for this joke we can ignore those uses), pregnancy testing or giving birth.

Oldest post WWII American to give birth, at age 60 (with use of fertility treatment):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2196374/Americas-oldest-mother-twins-65-lied-age-conceive-year-old-sons.html

Eldest woman was 70, but again with fertility treatment:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1286412/Worlds-oldest-mother-Rajo-Devi-Lohan-reveals-dying.html

Now, women as old as 73 have given birth to naturally conceived children, most women stop being able to do so by age 50:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pregnancy_over_age_50

The records of all of the women above 59 years of age who gave birth and conceived naturally are considered questionable (and given the nature of record keeping prior to 1900 is understandable, i.e. records were kept but no one really care if there were accurate). The 59 year old woman was on hormone replacement therapy that may have made her able to conceive (i.e. not a true natural conception). The eldest women to give birth WITHOUT hormone replacement therapy was age 57 in the Ukraine. A Russian 56 year old woman gave birth in 2008, but they is some question whether this was truly a natural Concepcion. Thus the eldest CONFIRMED mother of a naturally conceived child was at age 55 1/2 from German.

[klook]

158. Interesting.

Actually, I was just looking for an excuse to reference the DU kerfuffle over the story from a few years back where an Olive Garden mgr. asked a customer not to breast feed her baby in the restaurant.

Gawd, I can't imagine trying to birth and raise a kid in my 50s or older!!

[mainer]

117. When I was the millenials' age, I didn't dine out because I didn't have the money.

So why would millenials resent what most of us boomers experienced at their age?

It's like getting pissed off that they can't be senior management at age 20, and it's SO unfair that the 60-year-old guy has seniority.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

124. Yes, I spent most of my twenties as a grad student and an unemployed Ph.D.

Mostly I lived in multi-person houses where we took turns cooking. Eating out meant an occasional pizza.

I didn't start eating out frequently until the last couple of years, when I just plain got tired of cooking for myself all the time.

[Enrique]

144. enjoy

[TheOther95Percent]

152. I cook Sunday through Thursday Night

I like to cook and can control the ingredients a lot more if I make it myself. Still, Mr. OT95% and I patronize local, family owned and run restaurants on Friday and Saturday nights. We live in NYC and there are lots of reasonably priced places to have dinner. I used to cook 6-7 nights a week when I was a young professional. I had less money and more people to feed. Now, it's just the two of us and it can be as cheap to have a meal out. There is this local Tibetan place that charges $6 bucks for a huge plate of food. Mr OT95% and I can stuff ourselves on $12. The Mexican place we go to is $3 bucks a taco and $4 bucks for a pile of rice and beans. It was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.That's a great resource for local cheap eats.

[WinkyDink]

153. TFBad for "Millennials." For Boomers, the 4-BR house was a GOAL; for M's, it's a "Starter."

When I began teaching, my salary was a little over $6,000. Yeah, somehow I don't think that translates to $75,000 in today's dollars.

So IF I dine out (I prefer my own cooking and my own table), allow me to quote the Birthday Boy Harold in "The Boys in the Band":

"The cosmetics and astringents are paid for. The bathroom is paid for. The tweezers are paid for. And the pills are paid for."

[liberal_at_heart]

159. how dare those boomers go out and eat! It's an outrage!

[mainer]

182. How dare people spend their own hard-earned money on anything of their choice!

The OP must decide what your money is better spent on.

[kentauros]

166. I'm going out to get pizza after I make this post.

First, I have to stop at the grocery store to get quarters for laundry. Then, it's off to Star Pizza, a local place owned and operated by a boomer that's more often than not filled with millennials from the local colleges and universities. I'll tip the millennial serving me, a boomer, at least 20%, too

[MrScorpio]

169. "We're out, spending our children's inheritance". nt

[Fight2Win]

186. that sounds funny, but it is actually kind of mean

With health care the way it is, younger people will not get the inheritance that you did from your parents. They are looting the nation, and boomers will be the last to be looted. When they take all of your money through health care, there will be nothing to give to future generations.

Times have changed, whether Boomers want to admit it or not. Many Boomers live through a great wealthy time in our nation, had much time to accumulate wealth.

Now, wages have barely gone up and costs for everything is through the roof.

Houses aren't $30,000 anymore, so it is not easy for for current generations to pay off their house and start socking it away.

I understand there are Boomers that don't have it so great, but to think that the current generation is being handed the same opportunities at wealth creation that was given to previous generations...that is just absurd.

Look at the wages today. CEO pay had risen astronomically, wages stayed the same.

How can young people pay the high prices of everything on such low wages?

It is common sense, I don't get why Boomers can't see it.

And who created this economy? Or should I say, who was accumulating wealth while the Government was sending our jobs overseas?

Did young people create the world they were brought up in, or was it possibly older generations?

[bettyellen]

194. cutting and pasting that silly shit about 30K houses? OY.

it's not common sense when you don't even get the most basic of facts or demographics correct. It's spamming BS.

[mainer]

196. True, houses aren't $30,000 any more

But then, today's wages aren't $8,000 a year the way they used to be, either.

[Arkansas Granny]

192. When you are cooking for one or two people, it is sometimes more expensive

to buy all the ingredients for a specific dish than it is to eat out. Also, there are many times when I go out to eat and wind up taking half my meal home because the portions are so large.

[Sherman A1]

195. Agreed

When it's just the two of you around the house often it's just easier to go out and grab something. Tonight will most likely be soup at Panera Bread for us.

[Fight2Win]

201. I'm a Gen Xer, I could eat out, but instead save my money to help teenagers in the community

I have had it easy compared to what teenagers are facing today, so I am saving and doing what I can to help future generations.

[Sherman A1]

202. And a Good Person You Are for doing so

We all need to help others in the ways we can.

[Tabasco_Dave]

207. How dare they eat at Denny's!

[Sparkly]

208. "The visit rate for older restaurant consumers is now the same as it is for those younger."

The NERVE of those people who've worked all their lives!!!