A Century of Life in the Era of The Great Transition
In the 21st century, economic theory has to evlove with new thinking to manage the transition of our society out of the hands of the “B” generation to the generations in waiting – X, Y and Z.
The planning that has paved the way from the end of World War II to the end of the last century raised our standard of living to be the highest in the world – unfortunately, the methods used in this period may not be sufficient to manage the natural demographic changes yet to come.
Going forward different and in many cases experimental planning has to evolve and much of it will occur on a just in time basis. For most individuals this means coming to terms with all of their unfunded life liabilities and then preparing to transition any remaining assets to each successor generation.
The Great Transition will fill the minds of our younger people with tremendous doubt and uncertainty as they struggle to find employment that matches their ever increasing skill levels. Even though our multi national corporations dominant the planet in so many different industries, they have little or no allegiance to any particular country or economy, the U.S. included. Their ability to resettle the production of goods and services to the lowest cost regions around the world, enabled in large part by the vast technology changes since 1980, has forever altered our ability to feel financially secure working for any of these companies.
All the while our legacy industries have accumulated so much unfunded liabilities that the U.S. government will be more a lender of last resort than an enabler of economic growth, as private capital exits the country as the public debt mounts for the next 40 years. Our personal financial security has become a casualty of the political conditions that prevailed throughout the first decade of this young century.
We all have to face the new economic reality that many of us are bankrupt but don’t know it and a vast majority of us will not have the money to sustain the same standard of living we enjoyed in the last two decades of the 20th century.
The Great Transition will be particularly hard on the “B” generation because they had so many promises broken by the government and their employers costing them precious time to find alternate channels for acquiring the resources to maintain their quality of life once in retirement.
The generations in waiting – X, Y and Z, will alter the economic landscape in ways that are far more exciting and unpredictable than we can imagine, and they will also have their moments of discontent and muted euphoria just as the “B” Generation had.
With 4 generations coexisting side-by-side, the amount of bargaining amongst them will determine each generation’s financial security. We are about to undergo an economic transition over the next 10 to 15 years that the U.S. has never experienced before with its government implementing policy on a just in time basis. Anyone who thinks that history will repeat itself is dead wrong.
The Great Transition will fill the minds of our younger people with tremendous doubt and uncertainty as they struggle to find employment that matches their ever increasing skill levels. Even though our multi national corporations dominant the planet in so many different industries, they have little or no allegiance to any particular country or economy, the U.S. included. Their ability to resettle the production of goods and services to the lowest cost regions around the world, enabled in large part by the vast technology changes since 1980, has forever altered our ability to feel financially secure working for any of these companies.
All the while our legacy industries have accumulated so much unfunded liabilities that the U.S. government will be more a lender of last resort than an enabler of economic growth, as private capital exits the country as the public debt mounts for the next 40 years. Our personal financial security has become a casualty of the political conditions that prevailed throughout the first decade of this young century.
We all have to face the new economic reality that many of us are bankrupt but don’t know it and a vast majority of us will not have the money to sustain the same standard of living we enjoyed in the last two decades of the 20th century.
The Great Transition will be particularly hard on the “B” generation because they had so many promises broken by the government and their employers costing them precious time to find alternate channels for acquiring the resources to maintain their quality of life once in retirement.
The generations in waiting – X, Y and Z, will alter the economic landscape in ways that are far more exciting and unpredictable than we can imagine, and they will also have their moments of discontent and muted euphoria just as the “B” Generation had.
With 4 generations coexisting side-by-side, the amount of bargaining amongst them will determine each generation’s financial security. We are about to undergo an economic transition over the next 10 to 15 years that the U.S. has never experienced before with its government implementing policy on a just in time basis. Anyone who thinks that history will repeat itself is dead wrong.
The grandparents of the “B” Generation still living today will face their ultimate demise in this time. They are the only living generation that is solvent and whatever resources they have that have not been consumed by their long term care needs will be left in the hands of the “B” Generation so they can pay off their debts.
This may be too little and too late as the unfunded liabilities of this generation continue to build. When it’s their time to retire, their unencumbered assets – primary residences and diminished retirement accounts – will be put out to bid to generations X and Y in what is likely to be the largest bargain basement sale ever in the world. There just will be more sellers than buyers for the next 30 to 40 years! How the younger generations manage this economic calamity is beyond my imagination. They lack the formal economic education to manage demographic changes of this magnitude.
I honestly believe that if the government of the United States were to offer every citizen a life time of financial security, albeit with a lower standard of living, 80% of the population would say yes.
So let’s get on with the hard work of making sure this is a decision you never have to make. Remember we are in an economic transition period that no one has ever dealt with before. The more you learn - the more you know - and the more you are prepared: help yourself with the struggle to achieve financial security in this country.
This may be too little and too late as the unfunded liabilities of this generation continue to build. When it’s their time to retire, their unencumbered assets – primary residences and diminished retirement accounts – will be put out to bid to generations X and Y in what is likely to be the largest bargain basement sale ever in the world. There just will be more sellers than buyers for the next 30 to 40 years! How the younger generations manage this economic calamity is beyond my imagination. They lack the formal economic education to manage demographic changes of this magnitude.
I honestly believe that if the government of the United States were to offer every citizen a life time of financial security, albeit with a lower standard of living, 80% of the population would say yes.
So let’s get on with the hard work of making sure this is a decision you never have to make. Remember we are in an economic transition period that no one has ever dealt with before. The more you learn - the more you know - and the more you are prepared: help yourself with the struggle to achieve financial security in this country.
As the path ahead becomes shorter for many of us, does that mean the end is in sight and the journey is almost over? Or, is it just another stop along the way? Or, maybe it’s both.
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