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The generational war continues to simmer in Australia but only one side is fighting. So where are the Boomers?
Has everybody over 62 capitulated?
Baby Boomers, born 1946-64, need to mobilise. And if you look at the byline photo accompanying this column, you don’t need a PhD to know it’s not written by a Millennial.
So there’s vested interest. But this is prompted by a sense of fairness, a dislike of vitriolic abuse, and a belief that a significant resource is being wasted.
We’ll come back to that. But Boomers need to be heard. Their political power has gone, so the only option is to lobby hard and loud.
Boomers need either to win government support with logic – a rare achievement – or convince the broader population they are being badly treated – a huge task.
Governments respond to pressure, and there’s not enough pressure being exerted.
A Boomer Army is needed, not marching in the streets – dodgy knees wouldn’t allow that – but to claim a serious seat at the table and a positive presence in the public mind.
What Millennial has ever heard of the Council of the Ageing, or National Seniors Australia? The names probably conjure images of wheelchairs and incontinence pads in young minds rather than serious consideration of their arguments.
Boomers need an image makeover. They need smart marketing for their arguments, and they need to reclaim the word “Boomer”. It’s become a term of elder abuse, when it should be carried with pride.
A new name, like Boomer Army, and an aggressive approach to lobbying is a better way to influence policy.
There are certainly battles for such an army: the health system is crumbling. The corridors of emergency departments are stuffed with Boomers waiting for a bed.
At the very time ageing people are more likely to need health insurance, the federal government has cut their rebate. Investments are being taxed more.
With a cynical eye on exploiting the anger of younger voters, the PM and his treasurer have inflamed this generational war with the budget and talk about intergenerational inequality.
That’s fair enough. But don’t blame the Boomers.
True, it’s estimated Boomers own most of the country’s housing wealth. But they have been around a bit longer to acquire that wealth, and worked for it.
True, they have benefited from public policies, but the policies were targeted and nobody can be blamed for exploiting what was legal. Boomers for years were told to embrace every tax break available to build wealth through superannuation so they would not be a burden on a pension. It was sound logic, given the pension bill is about $62 billion annually. It was privatising retirement. Now, Boomers are told they’re greedy for doing exactly that.
Interest rates go down and everybody celebrates, except Boomers funding that retirement. For them, it’s a pay cut, which most media ignore. And since 2007, regulatory uncertainty has swamped their super, with lowered caps, balance limits and additional taxes.
True, for the first time it’s possible the next generation will have a lower standard of living than the one before. That’s horrible, but blaming the Boomers doesn’t change it. Work with them instead.
Moreover, the image of the bloated Boomer is not entirely accurate. Figures from the Australian Human Rights Commission show 23.7 per cent of Australians over 65 live in poverty, compared with the OECD average of 14 per cent.
Other figures, from the Association of Super Funds, show the cost of a “comfortable” retirement has increased 26 per cent in five years.
People are suffering on both sides of this “war”, and Australia’s problems are better addressed not by generational blame but by exploiting the experience, knowledge and willingness of older Australians to help strengthen the country.
How many billionaire businessmen are over 60? Think about the knowledge and experience they can offer towards building a productive economy. It’s more than a politician who has never worked outside politics. Consult them.
How many retired judges, police, public servants and doctors are willing and keen to help?
Boomers have experience and understanding that should be exploited not satirised.
They have ideas that can help the country, although Australia first needs to reverse the cultural failing which mocks age rather than respects it.
But instead the message seems to be the best thing they can do for the country is die. Most care so much for their kids they would probably consider it.
In a dreadfully unscientific test, I posted a pro-Boomer comment on X, which is the nastiest form of social media.
There were more than 320,000 views in a few days, which is 10 times my normal X reaction. Many came from the US. A “taste” suggested about 90 per cent were abusive.
Responses included “just die”, “I’m praying for that blood clot to take you out”, “Boomers are the most retarded generation alive”.
One suggested I live with a “face like a deflated ham”, which may be accurate if it is possible to deflate a ham.
Or this, which at least attempted twisted argument: “Boomers built s— you retard. They rode a 40 year bull market in bonds. Got free education, houses that cost as much as a potato, and a country not flooded with millions of immigrants to compete with.”
Most people don’t embrace the language of X. It’s a sewer. Most, too, are smart enough to know all they need is patience: they will inherit this “wealth” anyway.
But X indicates a mood and underlines the need for a call to arms.
There are 4.6 million voters in Victoria, according to the AEC. About 1.5 million of them are over 60. The Boomers might not have the numbers, but they can still have a powerful voice.
They need to stand up for themselves, admit the mistakes, find a credible figurehead to accentuate the positives, and mobilise the Boomer Army.
Anybody up for it?
Neil Mitchell is a podcaster and commentator.
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