And that is ignoring the fact that in 1984, most households were still largely single income, today most will be double income (both partners) and many will still struggle getting onto the housing market
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Slanderous!
And just to echo this - ABC have run a comparison piece on being in ones 30s today vs 30 years ago:
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You started all of this with this comment.
the baby boomers who had everything handed to them
Then highlight an article that contains this comment.
âLife has never been cruisy for any generationâ
it really depends on what metrics you use and it will never be resolved. some things are ten times easier now, somethings ten times harderâŚ
one thing true about this current generation though, theyll never be shy to tell you how hard they have it, how disadvantaged they are, how its ânot even worth trying anymoreâ âŚits a vibeâŚ
so yes, maybe its harder to buy a house and more commitments needed etc etcâŚbut travel is easier, information, changing careers, access to assistance has never been betterâŚso its a sacrafice to buy a house, where as the boomers maybe walked into a house easier, but struggled to travel as easily, struggled to understand health, wasted more money on shite etc etcâŚ
again, maybe boomers had a few things easier, maybe human civilisation peaked with them being the perfect mix between freedom of choice and access to luxuaries⌠maybeâŚbut what can you do? âŚnothingâŚso just crack on and stop the incessant whiningâŚ
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Across all of the Western economies, judging on the basis of how easy it was to become a homeowner in Australia (or Canada for that matter) is somewhat of a misleading standard. It was historically easy in the period between 1950-1975, but that really has to be seen as more of an anomaly than a standard. Prior to WW2, financing through mortgages was much more difficult to obtain for most of the population, patterns of development were dramatically different. If you happened to be born a baby boomer in Australia to take advantage of that, you were more or less born with a winning lottery ticket in hand.
I noticed Gordon Brown writing in the Grauniad about Britainâs âdeclinist thinkingâ.
He is right about the zero-sum mentality which has essentially been the received wisdom of UK government since 2010. However, his solution appears to be âthe country needs more charityâ.
It doesnât work. I even heard Rory Stewart on a podcast saying that to fix poverty you need aid, not charity. I think this is because he has seen the evidence for this with the NGOs he has worked for in developing countries. Iâm just waiting for this to filter through to UK group-think.
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maybeâŚbut that is only with the benefit of hindsight that property prices would continue to rise decade on decadeâŚthat kind of information was not at hand to the average investor back in the day, and property prices didnt have the weight of data behind themâŚ
to simply say a 25 year old should have bought 10 properties in prime locations in 1975 (they should have) ignores alot of facts about what they were going through in real timeâŚ
further to the point, it also assumes a certain continuation of the status quoâŚit takes a snapshot in time and presumes this is some kind of âfinish lineââŚwhat happens if China invades in 2030âŚdoes anyone holding property now look like a mug?
you could just as easily say anyone with a few bob in the early 90s was blessed with a lottery ticket because they could have invested in microsoft or Apple
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I read the article and unless my comprehension is lacking - and to be fair I need to drink this coffee and wake up - charity was a small part of the solution.
He called on a joined up effort to transition out of the bad situation - government, community, companies, and charity. He said it wouldnât end poverty but it would be the start of a big shift, and a joined up effort, definitely with government having a big role to play, was needed.
He highlighted how the top 1% of earners give only 0.2% of their income away, and a tax incentive to get them to give just 1% would raise 1.4Billion. Then he talked about how most companies donât take giving seriously either, with just a small fraction of pre tax profits donated from the FTSE companies. The government has a role to play in incentivizing generosity and needs to lead the way in making better provision to lift people out of poverty.
There was much more that he said than just increasing charity, but I thought it was a good article. Something must be done, poverty is a serious problem, and to start to tackle it will need a comprehensive and joined up effort, led by the government.
I donât know what Gordon Brownâs role is these days - retired? MP? Think tank type?
Anyway, from afar there is a sense that the UK has become more troubled in light of Brexit and years of the Tories (I could add Covid, but the whole world dealt with that one, so Iâm trying to identify a couple of huge issues in the UK).
Inequality is huge, and the quantity of people in poverty is going the wrong way.
The bickering over what generation had it worse is indicative of deeper problems in the country. (My tuppence on that one is that the boomers enjoyed a set of circumstances to get a house that is now much more of a stretch for people to achieve, and the boomers also enjoyed more robust public services that have been stripped out, and the boomers, by and large, were the biggest voter for Brexit - and younger generations will deal with that. But at the same time, it is wrong to assume it was easy for any generation, as they all have their challenges, and the current generation needs to focus on how to improve its lot, rather than pointing the finger at an older generation, as I donât see how that fixes anything).
Back to Gordon Brown:
Opportunities to fix society will be tough, as when Labour gets in they will open the cupboard and find that it is bare, so the usual levers of power that a government can wield to implement its agenda will be limited.
Which is why I thought Gordon Brownâs article, about a joined up strategy, had merit. Iâm sure it can be sharpened and improved upon, but highlighting the scale of the problem, and calling for action, is a start.
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It is, itâs just that he is thinking within the parameters of the current government which is, frankly, fundamentally flawed. I think it is even more so in that it is not just that they have zero-sum thinking but they have enacted policies to make it a reality.
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No doubt about that. The Tories canât be ejected soon enough, so a new thing might have a chance to emerge that would improve society. Labour wonât be a magic silver bullet, but solid and steady, and not corrupt, will be markedly better than what preceded it.
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I mean this is the key. If Starmer can achieve anything it will be to create a rock-solid regime of rule of law and anti-corruption in government. Is he up to it? I donât know, but he is, at least, fairly well qualified for the task.
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I wasnât suggesting that they should have bought ten, just that the ease with which the average citizen could enter the property market was uniquely low in that period. Whether or not the property prices were to rise (and they didnât much, for a long time), it was an unusually easy period for young people to purchase real estate. Even ten years later, it was significantly more difficult.
If the expectation is that somehow the property market will return to that time, well, it just wonât.
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This kind of shit needs to stop. Iâve little faith that it will.
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Holy fuck ⌠the BBC are now saying heâs been charged with rape. 
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The DUP seemed to filled with absolutely brutal bastards. If you happily devalue Catholic countrymen, it is just a quick step to be willing to devalue women.
edit: ok, per Euphoriaâs post, the barrel can be scraped even lower
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Rumours are two boys.
What a sick couple Jeffrey and his wife are
Isnât he the same guy who kept the NI parliament/government in limbo after losing the election?
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Iâm just watching Life Of Brian as my seasonal film.
The Judean Peoples Front bit reminds me of all the left wingers on Twitter hating on Starmer.
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