Opinion: American Generations and the Happiness Index

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Prosperity, opportunity, social programs, a class of poor that would seem to be rich, a rich that grow ever richer, the right to speak freely, the right to practice any religion, the right to live in pursuit of happiness, these are all reasons America has been seen as a place of happiness. Despite all of the advantages, However, Americas rank 16th on the happiest nations on earth.

The results of the survey, going back an average of 17 years in 52 countries and involving 350,000 people, will be published in the July 2008 issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. Researchers have asked the same two questions over the years: "Taking all things together, would you say you are very happy, rather happy, not very happy, not at all happy?" And, "All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?"

The study of happiness in America specifically is broken down by generation. It seems that baby boomers are the most miserable generation in America, and it seems to be a reflection of their outlook on finances. Now one would think that having financial misgivings in this current time of American economic downturn would be normal or even expected. However, this seems to have been a trend amongst the boomers since they were old enough to be polled. Generally Baby Boomers do not feel happy about their finances, they feel that their current standard of living cannot be upheld, that their retirement futures are unstable, and that they have anxiety about their future finances. Again, this seems to be a theme.

However, findings from the Pew Research Center have discovered that in general Baby Boomers are more well off than older and younger generations.

As a group, [baby boomers] enjoy higher median household incomes than do younger or older adults, according to the Census Bureau's 2006 American Community Survey. Americans ages 45 to 64 -- roughly the same age range as the boomers -- have a median household income of nearly $60,000. That compares with about $53,000 for adults ages 25 to 44, and about $30,000 for those ages 65 and older.

In the Pew survey, boomers also are more likely than younger or older adults to own stocks or bonds, and to have retirement accounts.

Let's not forget the baby boom generation is most likely the last generation as a whole that will benefit from Social Security.

Baby Boomers unhappy? Who would have thought that the hippie generation, the generation of free love, the generation of anti-establishment, the generation of Woodstock, are unhappy?

It is not a secret that many people of younger generations are bitter at the Baby Boomers. The common perception is that boomers are selfish or self centered, materialistic, subversive, destructive, and to blame for all the current problems in society.

Case in point:

Well I think the reason everyone hates the Baby Boom generation is that they're Hypocrites. When they were in college they were anti-establishment and criticized all of society's traditional values. As they got older they became the most materialistic generation in American history. Now that they're older they're still unhappy. So they've pretty much tried everything and they're still acting like spoiled children. They are passing on these traits to their children. The next generation should focus on discipline, hard work, delayment of self-gratification and loyalty. - dolph46 from LiveScience.com

It's the Baby Boomers who will be able to actually "cash in" on Social Security benefits, while the rest of their children/grandchildren (Generation X or Y) will be stuck saving for our OWN retirements entirely on our own/

The Baby Boomers are partly to blame for the society backlash that is happening right now. Up until now, Baby Boomers have been raised selfish, and therefore their Children were raised as spoiled brats with no concept of money. Those Generation X (Baby Boomer Children) have now had children of their own (Generation Y) who are now in the worst position for financial stability. Generation Y is screwed because of their parents, who were messed up by Baby Boomers.

So what if the Boomers are unhappy. They have more "going" for them, then the rest of us.
- The Violet42 from LiveScience.com

What else would one expect from that self-obsessed generation?

Baby boomers spend their entire lives peeing away their money and that of their country and their children, and now they are unhappy because they are old and poor? Surprised?? Maybe the baby boom generation is finally maturing, realizing the party does actually end at some point. If you don't save money and don't keep your life focused on the important things like family, health, and personal improvement, how can you ever stay happy?

Frankly, they are reaping what they sowed, including voting for the current Baby Boomer President. - Evileconboy from Livescience.com

Yes, Generation X, and Generation Y have been guilty of grumbling because of the state of the world, and most feel the immaturity of the boomer generation is to blame. My own impressions are this, I generally get along well with boomers. However, I find them the pushiest and most self centered people on earth. They see a problem, and try to fix it by taking over the situation with little to no knowledge of what is going on, and end up making it worse.

Thus is the legacy inherited by the Generation classified as children born between 1965-1982. The generation of grunge, punk, goth, and uncertainty. The generation of latch-key kids and divorce, who were speculated to be an unknown generation with much talent and little motivation. In 1987, Time Magazine published an article "Welcome, America, to the Baby Bust", that seemed to describe us of the Reagan and MTV generation all too well.

. . .They possess only a hazy sense of their own identity but a monumental preoccupation with all the problems the preceding generation will leave for them to fix . . .This is the twenty-something generation, those 48 million young Americans ages 18 through 29 who fall between the famous baby boomers and the boomlet of children the baby boomers are producing. Since today's young adults were born during a period when the U.S. birthrate decreased to half the level of its postwar peak, in the wake of the great baby boom, they are sometimes called the baby busters. By whatever name, so far they are an unsung generation, hardly recognized as a social force or even noticed much at all...By and large, the 18-to-29 group scornfully rejects the habits and values of the baby boomers, viewing that group as self-centered, fickle and impractical. While the baby boomers had a placid childhood in the 1950s, which helped inspire them to start their revolution, today's twenty-something generation grew up in a time of drugs, divorce and economic strain. . .They feel influenced and changed by the social problems they see as their inheritance: racial strife, homelessness, AIDS, fractured families and federal deficits.

Reading that was like looking in a mirror. As a Generation X, on the edge of a Generation Nexter, I have found myself in the same mindset, but perhaps not as pessimistic. In general my generation is less pessimistic, perhaps because we got rid of our angst when we were teenagers instead of carrying it with us through life. The Generation tends to be successful and motivated.

So why is Generation X happier than the Baby Boomers? That is a hard one to answer, for all purposes they should be still rather disgruntled. The Baby boomer generation was said to have a multitude of competition which caused a rather cutthroat mentality in the business world. Generation X has to deal with a generation of elderly that will not retire and are still holding positions in the job market, thus keeping opportunities from them in more traditional outlets. Worse they are taking jobs traditionally going to high school students and college student by taking on a part time job after they retire. The Boomers say they feel they can never retire because they need to maintain their lifestyle, while those of Gen X have to minimize from the lifestyle of their parents, which is poor in comparison, because of a lack of opportunity. The boomer generation is unhappy with a stale pay, however most of the boomer generation has reached the highest end of they pay scale for their experience and education level, or they have retired to a part time job that traditionally has very little growth expectancy. The Gen Xers may receive pay raises, but they are also starting on the bottom tier and their pay is not comparable to their parents or elders in the boomer generation. Retirement is unsure for Gen xers who have little expectation to receive Social Security. They generally favor a privatized social security because of the situation they are facing.

Looking at the stats though, shows that these considerations have not phase the Generation X as a whole. They seem to be 10 points less on many questions asked in the recent Pew Center poll. It was mentioned that generally as one ages one becomes happier, the exception to the baby boomer generation is an anomaly that people are still trying to figure out. Poor boomers, people are so worried about if they are happy or not, frankly I would be more worried about an asteroid hitting earth.