***** ATTN: THE MEETING WILL BE HELD ONSITE AT DANTE *****
Over 90% of Baby Boomers earn more than their parents did, but that’s not the case for subsequent generations. According to the statistics from Opportunity Insights, millennials and Gen Z are worse off than their parents and are likely to retire “poorer” than their parents.
Session I: Why is it harder to earn more than your parents? (00:00 – 09:15; by The Economist)
00:00 - Why it's harder to get rich if you're born poor
03:29 - Social divisions are increasing within society
04:11 - Changing patterns of social mobility over time
05:41 - Education as a determinant of social mobility
09:16 - Class barriers to further education
Are Baby Boomers to be blamed?
“The boomers, according to Gibney, have committed “generational plunder,” pillaging the nation’s economy, repeatedly cutting their own taxes, financing two wars with deficits, ignoring climate change, presiding over the death of America’s manufacturing core, and leaving future generations to clean up the mess they created.”
--The argument Bruce Gibney makes in his 2017 book A Generation of Sociopaths: How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America.
The concept of “absolute income” and “relative income”:
Earning $50,000 per year while everyone around you makes $60,000, or earning $40,000 per year as others are taking home $30,000?
This question captures the difference between relative and absolute income.
The aim of improving social mobility is breaking the link of a person's social class or income being dependent upon the class or income of their parents.
Session II: Is it really harder to earn more than your parents?
https://medium.com/m/global-identity-2? ... da1c5660ba
Questions:
Session I: The Decline of Upward Mobility
1. Do millennials in general feel “poorer” than their parents?
***1a. In what sense do they feel poorer?
***1b. Is it more in the sense of absolute income or relative income?
2. How do you feel about the first 18 seconds of the video?
***2a. Which position is more applicable to you, “upper class”, “lower class” or “I know my place”?
***2b. Do you feel it’s difficult for people to climb the social ladder no matter how hard they work?
3. Do you wish you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth?
***3a. What kind of hidden privileges you might enjoy if you were born rich?
***3b. How does income inequality affect upward mobility when the top 1% people own 22% of the total wealth?
4. Do you think Baby Boomers are to be blamed for ruining the economy and preventing the upward mobility for younger generations? How so?
Session II: Is it Really Harder to Earn More than Your Parents?
5. Do you agree that education is the most important factor to improve economic mobility? Does the education system in our society effectively help people move upward and in what way?
6. “The system is not fair, and the wealthy have a huge advantage over everyone else.” But why did the author still say we are not doomed and gloomed?
***6a. Why and how does Technology come to rescue?
***6b. What unique opportunities and tools your generation can leverage to outperform your parents?
Share some examples of ways that you may adopt to improve your whole financial picture.
7. Despite all the arguments on both ends of “earning more than your parents”, what are some basic and fundamental mindsets and mentalities toward a healthier financial future?
(e.g. budgeting, expenditure control, desire management, and developing new income streams, etc.)
*************************************************************************************************************************************
Agenda:
7:00 ~ 7:10 pm Opening Remarks / Newcomer’s Self-introduction / Grouping
(Session I)
7:10 ~ 7:50 pm Discussion Session (40 mins)
7:50 ~ 8:10 pm Summarization (20 mins)
8:10 ~ 8:15 pm Regrouping / Taking a 5 Minutes Break (Intermission)
(Session II)
8:15 ~ 8:45 pm Discussion Session (30 mins)
8:45 ~ 8:55 pm Summarization (10 mins)
8:55 ~ 9:00 pm Concluding Remarks / Announcements
Meeting Date: As shown in the Subject Line
Meeting Time: 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Important Notes:
1. We advise participants to print out the discussion questions and bring them to the meeting for reference. As for the supporting articles, feel free to print them out, as well, according to your preference.
2. We suggest that participants read the articles and think about the questions in advance.
3. Newcomers should prepare a two-to-three-minute self-introduction in English to deliver when called upon by the host before the start of the discussion. The host may also ask you to give brief feedback about the meeting after the meeting.
4. We conduct the entire meeting in English. All participants should have at least moderate English-conversation skills and be able to articulate their ideas for each discussion question.
5. We welcome newcomers and other guests to attend the meetings and join the discussion freely twice (including on-site and online meetings). After that, we hope you will consider becoming a YoYo English Club member. We charge a NT$1,500 (NT$1,000 for students) lifetime membership fee.
1/17 (Tue.) Why It’s Harder to Earn More Than Your Parents? (Host: Iris)
Re: 1/17 (Tue.) Why It’s Harder to Earn More Than Your Parents? (Host: Iris)
Some statistics and information related to tonight's topics, for your reference:
Some facts and statistics about millennials and baby boomers:
• Millennials currently hold 6% of the total wealth (of the country).
• When boomers with the same age as millennials in 1989, they had 21% of the total wealth.
• That means millennials are almost four times behind the pace on their way to building wealth in the future.
• Baby boomers’ assets will be eventually passing down.
• But, the problem is the top 1.5% people own 30% of the total wealth.
• So once the wealth passed down, the gap will be even bigger.
• ((based on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js0c_EBocMk)
Millennials’ feelings and frustration:
• betrayed by the system
• Feel anxious and unsettled
• How am I going to make enough to feel comfortable?
• Have to put my dreams on hold
• “it’s not because what we did or what we didn’t do, simply because we were born in the wrong year!”
Comments and observations on millennials:
• “This is not what I want/enjoy. I need to pursue my dream.”
• Cannot hold a job more than 90 days, high turnover rate!
• “Every[body] is looking at everybody else’s highlight reel.” The grass is always greener on the other side.
• "At the first sign of difficulty, it’s a choice of fight or flight, they typically choose flight,”
• a generation lack of “resilience”: as a result of being brought up “cotton-balled and molly-coddled.”
• An entitled generation: they always feel they deserve more and not asking themselves how much they put in.
Some facts and statistics about millennials and baby boomers:
• Millennials currently hold 6% of the total wealth (of the country).
• When boomers with the same age as millennials in 1989, they had 21% of the total wealth.
• That means millennials are almost four times behind the pace on their way to building wealth in the future.
• Baby boomers’ assets will be eventually passing down.
• But, the problem is the top 1.5% people own 30% of the total wealth.
• So once the wealth passed down, the gap will be even bigger.
• ((based on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js0c_EBocMk)
Millennials’ feelings and frustration:
• betrayed by the system
• Feel anxious and unsettled
• How am I going to make enough to feel comfortable?
• Have to put my dreams on hold
• “it’s not because what we did or what we didn’t do, simply because we were born in the wrong year!”
Comments and observations on millennials:
• “This is not what I want/enjoy. I need to pursue my dream.”
• Cannot hold a job more than 90 days, high turnover rate!
• “Every[body] is looking at everybody else’s highlight reel.” The grass is always greener on the other side.
• "At the first sign of difficulty, it’s a choice of fight or flight, they typically choose flight,”
• a generation lack of “resilience”: as a result of being brought up “cotton-balled and molly-coddled.”
• An entitled generation: they always feel they deserve more and not asking themselves how much they put in.
Re: 1/17 (Tue.) Why It’s Harder to Earn More Than Your Parents? (Host: Iris)
Quote
“it’s not because what we did or what we didn’t do, simply because we were born in the wrong year!”
And possibly also wrong place with wrong genes.
But if most of people in that generation are facing the same situation, then they may not feel too bad about it, as long as their parents have already gathered enough wealth. It's bad for the kids from poor families, though. How do you say "階級流動" by the way?
https://elitelovebbc.pixnet.net/blog/post/5736462
“it’s not because what we did or what we didn’t do, simply because we were born in the wrong year!”
And possibly also wrong place with wrong genes.
But if most of people in that generation are facing the same situation, then they may not feel too bad about it, as long as their parents have already gathered enough wealth. It's bad for the kids from poor families, though. How do you say "階級流動" by the way?
https://elitelovebbc.pixnet.net/blog/post/5736462
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Re: 1/17 (Tue.) Why It’s Harder to Earn More Than Your Parents? (Host: Iris)
Thanks, Rock! I did mean to discuss the social mobility, as described in the session I title: The Decline of Upward Mobility, but I might be sidetracked to generation differences.
The 6 minutes learning English with BBC in your link is actually a very nice talk for this topic:
http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/ ... _au_bb.mp3
Social mobility issues: The decline of upward mobility
a) 1980’s middle-class could earn more than their parents. 2020’s only 45% can do that.
----Wage stagnated (Less unions to negotiate, new tech pushes wage down.)
----Income more unequal (1970’s 62% of country’s wage went to middle-class paycheck. 2020’s down from 62% to 43%)
b) Denmark: takes 2 generations for low-income families to get to average; some other countries it will take 9 generations for people in the bottom class to get to the middle.
The 6 minutes learning English with BBC in your link is actually a very nice talk for this topic:
http://http-ws.bbc.co.uk.edgesuite.net/ ... _au_bb.mp3
Social mobility issues: The decline of upward mobility
a) 1980’s middle-class could earn more than their parents. 2020’s only 45% can do that.
----Wage stagnated (Less unions to negotiate, new tech pushes wage down.)
----Income more unequal (1970’s 62% of country’s wage went to middle-class paycheck. 2020’s down from 62% to 43%)
b) Denmark: takes 2 generations for low-income families to get to average; some other countries it will take 9 generations for people in the bottom class to get to the middle.
Re: 1/17 (Tue.) Why It’s Harder to Earn More Than Your Parents? (Host: Iris)
Here in Taiwan.
https://today.line.me/tw/v2/article/60j1mQX
My nephew is graduating from NTU, majoring finance, but his dad is not rich. I wonder if he can make it and climb up the ladder, or it's just a lie that education can change your life.
https://today.line.me/tw/v2/article/60j1mQX
My nephew is graduating from NTU, majoring finance, but his dad is not rich. I wonder if he can make it and climb up the ladder, or it's just a lie that education can change your life.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.