Re:Stock Market Meltdowns - Why they will happen again and a...
by ojbyrne on Tuesday September 16, 2008 @12:20AM
(#305414)
Personal experiences probably determine our view of things. I think this because my parents are a single-income family. My dad rose to president of his company, which suddenly went bankrupt, and he ended up (in his early sixties) starting his own company to take over the government contracts that the previous company depended on (I helped write the business plan for that company). Most of his retirement fund came from the last few years (president + own company). Now he's moved onto a second career - namely harvesting the discretionary income of the other golfers at his club (some of them 20 years younger). ;-)
He did teach me that entrepreneurship is a lifelong pursuit.
The more interesting trend, as you mention, is what this is doing to the career opportunities of the next generation. Since boomers aren't retiring, the top jobs in many organizations aren't opening up. And so many people my age and slightly older (I'm a very early Millenial) believe there's no possibility for advancement on the corporate ladder. Hence the recent trend towards entrepreneurship among young Gen-Xers and Millenials.
Whether this results in a net inflow or outflow in the capital markets depends on the real economic growth of all these startups. If they really do open new markets, then the economy expands, more money flows into savings, and the stock market keeps going up. If they don't, then the non-retirement of boomers just means a transfer of savings rates from the young to the old. Boomers won't have trouble supporting themselves in old age, but they'll have to support their kids.