If Your'e Happy And You Know It...2
Boomers may have a HUGE sun of money to transfer. Are there moral and ethical approaches to how we do this?
Last week we noted the statistics on the growing economic divide in the country and posed a question if our generation would be the last to enjoy retirement and aging and what that would mean for our children and grandchildren. Curiously, the economics of our aging was the subject of another major article in the November 19 edition of the Washington Post. It raised the question of what we will choose to do with what the Post said was the largest potential transfer of wealth in USA history. The headline read “How Baby Boomers Got So Rich and Why Their Kids Are Unlikely to Catch Up”. The piece noted that our generation has the potential to pass on more than $85 trillion thanks to “economic conditions Gen X, millennials and others would be hard-pressed to replicate”.
The article noted that we have been the beneficiary of “uniquely favorable economic conditions” that took place in our lifetime. History, economically speaking, has been kind to us. Olivia Mitchell, a professor of business economics and public policy at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School noted that “Baby boomers entered the labor force during decades of strong economic growth, rising productivity and relatively high wages.” We benefited from favorable markets, and generally lower costs of things like tuition, health care and a variety of taxes. I would add that for some of us, we also benefited from money earned by many of our parents who rode the post World War 2 boom.
The article goes on to detail a variety of other economic factors, especially housing, that helped establish this huge next egg. Now, we all know that this is not true for everyone in our cohort. As we live longer and encounter health issues, many of us know situations where paying for health care will consume huge amounts of money. Indeed, the true history of our generation’s accumulated wealth is still being written. Yet, assuming that these figures are correct, there is a moral question that one can raise because of these facts. What shall we do with this treasure? For some of us, we now have the means to enjoy aspects of life that bring meaning and joy to us and our families. Have you ever heard someone explain that family trip or check to children for a down payment by having them say “I would rather you have this now than wait for me to die”!
This economic reality also raises the possibility that our generation is in the position to help change so many programs, institutions and not for profits. We noticed years ago that one of the characteristics of our generation is what we have come to call “the give-back syndrome”. Increasingly we have seen a sincere attempt by many who have been economically blessed, to create on going streams of philanthropy. This behavior is an important lesson to teach our children and grandchildren, the problem of course being, as the Post article explained, that these coming generations may not be in the same economic positions as many of us are. Thus, the responsibility of our generation to “give back” appears even more relevant and meaningful. Have you thought about how you wish to “give back” to your community? The needs are everywhere. The choice, once again, is ours!
Rabbi Richard F. Address