Old people flourishing, young people suffering since the downturn

By the survey, households headed by those 65 or older had a median net worth of $170,494 in 2009, up 42 per cent from 1984 after adjusting for inflation. By contrast, households headed by those under 35 had a median net worth of just $3,662, a drop of 68 per cent over the same period.

WOW !!! Maybe that's because those 65 or older have paid off their mortgages and that equity is calculated into their net worth. Maybe that's because the RRSPs they paid into for 30-40 years are also calculated into their net worth. Those under 35 still have 20 years to pay off their house and grow their RRSPs... then they can see what their "net worth" will be.

I think it means that the fogies of today are better off than the fogies of 1984, while the youngens of today are poorer than the youngens of yesteryear.

Although, the youngens of yesteryear that were doing well off then, have become the fogies of today that are doing well now.

Perhaps that generation (the boomers) were the blip in the pattern. They were the generation that re-built the world after a massive war, and were united and striving under the threat of another. That gave them both opportunity (re-building infrastructure, as well as ideas and business models after the paradigm shift of WW2) and purpose (keeping out commie hordes). The subsequent generation (mine unfortunately) have had neither opportunity nor purpose. Ok, maybe there is some opportunity with the advent of the PC and then the internet, but still no purpose.

Such is life.

on the money elmo

If the under 50's can't keep good jobs and the under 35's have no assets who ever is going to pay all the pensions and healthcare premiums in a few years time?
Will there be any young people in Canada willing to police the streets or fight in foreign wars to protect the foreign assets of the retiree's?
Will today's retiree's be willing to come out of retirement to work at McDonalds or clean toilets to pay for their own healthcare if the younger generation refuses to pay for national healthcare and chooses to go private?

Perhaps some of you wise old timers could tell us how this all is supposed to work.

Will the Liberals embrace Sharia Law and flood the country with immigrants from the third world to make up for the shortcomings today?

@Colour of Money... my parents (fogies of 1984) bought their house in 1960 for 18K... just a small bungalow in which they raised 3 kids. After 50+ years in the same house, I recently sold it on my mother's behalf for $342K. Nice profit !! I bought my condo in the early 90's for 112K, still live in it and will clear my mortgage in 3 years. My condo is now worth 230K... again, nice profit. Moral of the story... buy what you can afford and live in it until you can afford better or bigger... if you actually NEED bigger. Flipping houses every 3-5 years just for the fun of it, or to keep up with the Joneses will end up costing a mint... especially since mortgage principal doesn't get cut down by much during the first 1/2 of your mortgage lifespan. People end up playing the interest game... much like paying off one credit card with another... and guess who wins that game in the long run ?

I'll stick my two cents worth in. I agree wtih Elmo. Interest, and taxes, no matter how small they look on paper, really add up.
Secondly, thanks for mentioning NOT moving unless you must.
Thirdly, if you can cut back on nicities when you are young, and get your mortgage paid off in your youth, that's big.

I do find "peoples" Perceptions FUNNY, because They are wrong!
Most of us Boomers are not well off at all!
It's really only a small amount of boomers who have enough money to live comfortable-
The %age who don't have thier homes payed off is quite high& many many can't afford to retire, therefore still tring to make a dollar however then can!
We(the ones with homes& many don't own homes) don't want to HAVE to move into Cheap apts.-But may be forced to!
We thought(when we were Young) we would be on easy street by now-but that's not reality!
The vast majority of us boomers could'nt afford(or didn't understand the importance of) BIG Education& therefore never made the big money that Young folks think(not for long enough anyway!
When we were young-it was no differant--If you were lucky enough to be born into the right family--Didn't make TOO many mistakes& had some luck&help along the way then you would do allright!
Other than that lifes a struggle!
Singles under 35 had allmost nothing In 84-74-64-54-44 & so on Single people Waste more money-But they do have fun!That has not changed much through the yrs!
I wonder what is included in calculating wealth--(aside from savings) young sigle people have lot's invested in cars-electronics& toys-where married with children it's homes!

Boomers are totally will to sacrifice us (younger generation) for themselves. That is a big part of the problem.

Its all relative; our parents put every thing into the house and still downsized because they didn't need the room any more and common sense says why heat space you don't use? Even if you carry a mortgage when you sell usually your going from big to smaller and as long as you have enough equity you can find a house with out having a mortgage.Retirement like living is more about expectations and reality than wishes and the naivete of a twenty year old.i am ready to retire and i think i earned it.As far as the younger generation as long as they don't have expectations that are unrealistic what will be left will still be more than what was left to us.No one gave us our assets. We sacrificed and saved to acquire them and we expect the younger generation to do the same.

It's all about "STUFF". Everyone wants stuff and they want it now! Those who realize that stuff does not make you happy are the ones that truly are happy. Stuff results in debt and more stuff results in more debt.
I fell deeply into the same commercial trap. The one that convinced me I needed stuff and the one that convinced me I could use their help to get the stuff I thought I needed.
Today, at 63 yrs. old, my wife and I live in a 40 ft trailer that provides us all the comfort we need when and if we are home. We have no debt and no credit cards and we pay cash for everything we do need. Twice a year we go on an ocean cruise and the rest of the year we focus on nature and all that is free and beautiful.
Best hint to everyone is don't let the big commercial wheel suck you in to the nonsense or out of your money. As you age you will realize it was all just stuff that didn't make you happy. It just makes you broke and miserable.

The stock market crash of 2008-2009 not only affected those in the stock market, but the younger generation that won't get those higher paying jobs because those close to retirement are staying put in their jobs until they recover their losses. Not new news!
In addition, the cost associated with the extras like cottages, fuel for seadoos/boats, higher insurance....all cost much more now. How do you pay for those? you don't retire just yet. More importantly, if we continue on buying lower-cost items made from abroad, we will continue to lose local manufacturing jobs creating much higher unemployment. Those losing their jobs have more experience than the younger generation. They will be chosen first. Vicious circle isn't? We all have a hand in deciding how the economy will end up. Unfortunately, we are chosing to purchase many more lower-cost items from abroad in order to obtain many more items for our lifestyle. Something has to give. Canadians don't like change. That means more of this trend that will equal to more lost jobs. It will last for about 10 more years where many will have no choice to retire in their late 60's thus finally creating employment opportunities. The young generation will have to accept inferior employment expectations until then.

@ Colour of Money:
Regarding your statement "They were the generation (baby boomers) that re-built the world after a massive war...", I disagree. The 'Greatest Generation came home from the war and built the country up. The baby boomers(and I am one) grew up wanting for nothing, got educated and did well with the jobs, thanks to the Greatest Generation.

The Greatest Generation (depression era and pre-boomers) contributed much to the world.
However, they also got to ride the wave of demand the boomer generation caused, and also rode the wave of productivity and wealth the working tax paying boomer generation caused. As a result, the Greatest Generation's pensions have been the most generous that the history of the world has ever seen - or will ever see again.
The government pension plans devised by the Greatest Generation have operated on an un-funded basis (3 years funded), and they might be described as the greatest Ponzi Scheme ever perpetrated on the boomer generation. Boomers will pretty well have to support themselves in their old age, and this means working longer. All generations will have to find a niche to produce enough goods/services in demand to support themselves.
Add to this, that the Asian countries now manufacture goods that provided jobs for so many years, and the outlook is quite uncertain as far as opportunities.

I am a boomer. When I retire, I will be supporting myself. I will be paying over $120,000 in income tax per year alone.

Also, I 'd hate to mention what I pay in property tax, so I won't.