The Theft of a Decade: How the Baby Boomers Stole the Millennials' Economic Future

by Joseph C. Sternberg

A Wall Street Journal columnist delivers a brilliant narrative of the mugging of the millennial generation-- how the Baby Boomers have stolen the millennials' future in order to ensure themselves a comfortable present

The Theft of a Decade is a contrarian, revelatory analysis of how one generation pulled the rug out from under another, and the myriad consequences that has set in store for all of us. The millennial generation was the unfortunate victim of several generations of economic theories that made life harder for them than it was for their grandparents.
Then came the crash of 2008, and the Boomer generation's reaction to it was politicians and policy makers made deliberate decisions that favored the interests of the Boomer generation over their heirs, the most egregious being over the use of monetary policy, fiscal policy and regulation. For the first time in recent history, policy makers gave up on investing for the future and instead mortgaged that future to pay for the ugly economic sins of the present.
This book describes a new economic crisis, a sinister tectonic shift that is stealing a generation's future.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Politics, History, Finance, Sociology, Business

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2019

About the author

Joseph C. Sternberg is a member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, where he writes the Political Economics column. He joined the Journal in 2006 as an editorial writer in Hong Kong, where he also edited the Business Asia column. Born in 1982, he lives in London

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first want the author, Joseph Sternberg, to know that I probably highlighted half of his book.

A seemingly fair approach to the issue of how Millennials have been hamstrung in terms of the job market and various policies (Sternberg identifies as a conservative several times in his work). There are pros and cons given to several administrations, and, while some of his statements could be construed as too clinical (there's a suggestion to overtake the green belt section of London to allow for more housing in one chapter), it's only to serve a finer point: That, given the current situation and the current path taken, this generation might have to choose which hill they want to die on.

Great care appears to have been taken toward the front to lay out precisely how we reached this point, why the Boomers have possibly behaved the way they have (in a fiscal sense), and then there's the dive into just how screwed Millennials are. Stats upon stats upon stats are heaved onto the pages, lest the reader think that Sternberg came ill-prepared. There's frequent pauses to remind that we shouldn't directly vilify the Boomer generation, as some of these measures were borne of thoughtlessness for the future (e.g. to address hot-button issues, kick "cans" down the road), but examples steeped in greed are easy to spot (I'd like to think that Sternberg put a bow on some of them to earmark it for your reading pleasure, if he didn't express his opinion directly).

As the Millennial generation, according to this book, are experiencing a stunted growth due to restricted job opportunities, uneven reward (or even punishment) for pursuing higher education and the debt that accompanies it, choked-up housing markets, and being footed a bill to take care of the aging Boomers (who are greater in numbers, less healthy (i.e. higher health costs), and retiring pretty soon, if not already), we're given a lot to ruminate on.

As I admittedly do not know nearly enough to think of any rebuttal to any of the issues, I would be interested in hearing the flip-side of this conversation; at any rate, there's an incredible amount of information in here that's great to absorb.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Perseus Books, and PublicAffairs for the advance read.

[Michael Perkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a quick note. I'm a Boomer. More precisely, a mid-Boomer. So too young for Summer of Love and Woodstock, but I was still old enough and aware enough to observe the front-enders, including two siblings. We have been a wasteful and spendthrift generation. And as resources have become more scarce, have acted like locusts in gobbling up what's left at the expense of younger generations. One example: we had access to affordable real estate, including here in the Bay Area where I live, while the generations behind us have not.

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"there is something that binds Millennials together, even if it’s not a character trait or clear-cut cultural tastes: an economic catastrophe. The one experience Millennial Americans all share is that our early adult years have been dominated by an economy that has failed us over and over again. The 2007–2008 global financial panic and ensuing Great Recession hit us at a particularly vulnerable moment in our economic lives, and since then we’ve had a decade stolen out from under us."

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What a rambling mess of a book. He tosses around a lot of stats, that often confuse the matter. He keeps talking about a "stolen decade," but never explains it clearly. He likes to blame government, but does not lay out how and why. The private sector gets off scot-free.

This did not start with the Recession. You have to go back much deeper into history than he does to know how this all came about. As Christopher Lasch documents in his book "The Culture of Narcissism" (published when the oldest Boomers were in their early 30's), the Yippies became Yuppies. It's always about self-indulgence, no matter in what form, for my spoiled Boomer generation.

There really is not that much difference between the two parties when it comes to the values of Boomers in Congress. They want to hold on to their privilege and wealth and please their donors, not serve the people. We live in a new Gilded Age with all the corruption and greed that comes with that. The end game is Boomer Trump. "America gets the President it deserves" (Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.)

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Too much celebrity worship in our culture. Alan Greenspan was seen as some wise oracle, when he aided and abetted the Recession and tried to blame China! He has no understanding of human nature, probably from reading too many Ayn Rand novels. You always have to account for the irrational in human nature.

https://www.forbes.com/2009/04/02/gre...

A story of the irrational in economics. At the time, economists such as Greenspan were saying that financial bubbles were impossible. We had several in a row that fostered the worst Recession in decades.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of the book.

This book is a GREAT overview of the various decisions members of the boomer generation have made that's had an effect on my generation's attempts to find our footing. It breaks down the pros and cons of various approaches, is critical of MULTIPLE administrations (not just the ones you'd expect), and takes the time to call out that we shouldn't fully villify the generations that came before. I think the later part of the book suffers a bit as the author tries really hard to say Not All Millennials Are Democratic Socialists (the author identifies himself as conservative) in a way that doesn't really add anything to his previous arguments, and the conclusion feels a little tossed off after the robustness of the chapters that come before it. Overall, this does a great job of highlighting how we got in this mess and the paths future generations need to take to start cleaning it up.

[Normalishmom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. As a millenial, I already know how screwed I am and just couldn't get into it. I'm just wondering who this book is for? Should I get it for my parents/grandparents so they can understand my financial struggles? Not exactly on the top of my Father's Day gift list.

[Carrie Brang · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this one. I found the information to be accurate with only one major point I would like to fact check. That issue being the debt author claims Germany has or is developing & predicts to be a future financial debacle for Germany. Sternberg failed to question several of his own personal biases which made the book fall short, although; it’s still worth reading. For example, he writes extensively about high European tax rates and the social programs this money goes to. He even mentions how Germans are ok with this & are happy, for the most part, how their system works. I know this to be true because I lived there for 3 years while serving in the U.S. military. The system really seems to work for everyone there! I can’t understand why Americans can’t learn from their successes, acknowledge them & adapt ours so it works better for everyone here. Sternberg claims majority of Millennials believe Americans are just greedy. I agree. Sternberg claims that explanation is just too simple, but is it? Really?

[Lorcan Neill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the read.

[Bill Brewer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author seems somewhat naïve. His pitting of two generations against each other, when he has only lived in one, is misguided. Generations do not create political and economic policy but day to day decisions by all Americans. The author implies "the Boomers" have had it easy. He fails to mention that they started the careers in a period of hyperinflation, which was squelched by 18% mortgages in 1981, resulting in staggering unemployment and the worst recession since the depression. Could that have cost the Boomers a decade? Does he know what it was like to attend college with the threat of the draft and losing? He talks about "entitlements," such as Social Security and Medicare. How can something you have been paying into for 50 years be an entitlement? Boomers grew up hiding under desks during air raid drills and listening to the weekly air raid sirens, but they did grow up. Starting the mid-1960s, just as the boomers were entering college, the civil rights laws, fair credit, environmental laws, wilderness, and the natural area set-asides occurred. The author does not mention the trillions of dollars that will be inherited by the Millenials, who should be concerned with the legislation working its way through Congress in the Fall of 2019. Congress has an eye on that money and will be striving to get it.

[Natalee Nassar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed this book. There was a lot of information to absorb, backed by reputable sources, and this made me read it more slowly than I normally would. There were entire chapters I re-read to make sure I really understood the authors point.

Born in 1983, I am throughly millennial and my interest in political figures, public policy and the way it has impacted my generation has always been of interest to me. Recently, I started focusing on understanding exactly how America got to the position it currently finds itself in, through economic factors, the housing market, healthcare, student loan debt, etc. I started working at age 12 for minimum the wage of $4.75 and by age 17, I was working full time in my families restaurant.

I have always felt that I had a relatively unique perspective on how things have changed over the last 25 years because of my early entrance into the labor force. The statistics and the analysis of them provided in this book validated and helped me better understand many of the economic factors that have directly impacted my adult life.

I particularly enjoyed the last chapter, where discusses the unique challenges millennials face as our Boomer parents continue to age and our children begin to face the same challenges we did not long ago.

[Jeremiah]

"For Millennials, both our tax payments and our mortgage payments are providing subsidies for older generations. What's left for us? " p143

"There's ample evidence to show that tax cuts stimulate economic growth, and that's why tax cuts produce higher revenues. Republicans' fiscal fault is that they habitually overpromise on revenue creation (and on tax cuts' capacity to 'pay for themselves'"" (p 174).

Sternberg here repeats the Republican party line without offering any support or further detail, which is a big oversight in an otherwise well footnoted and carefully reasoned book. What type of tax cuts?
Notably, Sternberg proposes tax increases in the form of a national consumption tax (p173) even though consumption taxes are regressive, and fall hardest on the poor and young.

From here on Sternberg goes full-free market evangelist, in his final chapters on prescriptions on how to fix the poor career and economic prospects for Millennials:
"This raises a question the next time an American politician suggests importing features of European labor markets, such as higher minimum wages, policy favoritism for unions, or heftier taxes on incomes: Why would we want to adopt the same rules European Millennials are busy trying to flee?"
(p 187.)

[Bobby Shanahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very important book on a topic that gets glossed over far too often. The job market has changed since 2008 and Millennials have struggled to live the same lives their boomer parents did. Millennials are struggling under loads of student debt, can’t buy their first house, and find career paths treacherous to embark upon. Baby Boomers have doubled down on terrible economic decisions over the years and the looming entitlement crisis is a problem Millennials will have to solve or our country will revolve into fiscal insolvency. Great read with loads of stats providing valuable insights into how much our country has changed under Boomers’ unsustainable and uninspiring economic decisions. Are we doomed? Do we have a chance to turn things around? So many questions and important issues discussed in these pages. Highly recommend to anyone interested in economics, politics, history, demographics, and generational differences. 4.3/5 stars

[Carter Hemphill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an excellent analysis of the hardships Millennials face in today's job market and housing market. The book unpacks the policies used in response to the 2009 economic crisis which created unintended consequences that adversely impacted Millenials. I like particularly the chapter where the author describes how other countries have addressed similar issues (significant increases in the minimum wage, subsidies for purchasing new homes, rebalancing the deficit without addressing the long-term generational implications of entitlements) and notes where the United States can learn from their mistakes. That chapter provides a good corrective against some of the more radical calls for economic and health care changes among the far Left.

Overall, the author provides a convincing case that Millennials have a much less rosy future compared to the Boomers and will likely have to pay for some of the reckless political policies enacted by the Boomers.

[Justine Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really feel like this book articulated so many of the things that I felt, but couldn't correctly express. There were a few parts that I was taking with a "grain of salt," but in general I liked the birds-eye explanation of the Millennial generation. And I do find that my husband and I act more like a recession-generation. I'm seriously thinking of buying it for all of our boomer family.

[Ciro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has solidified my belief that the Boomers have caused so much damage to America that we may never recover. The Millennials will just sift through garbage hoping to find scraps and won’t have any bootstraps to pick ourselves up with.

[Coda Hensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much more palatable and intelligent dissection of the current phenomenon of the generational gap than my previous reading of 'A Generation of Sociopaths'. This book takes the much more likely stance that recent economic troubles were not purposely caused by the baby boomers, and was, gasp, an unforseen product of the policies that had been set in place. The work saves a lot of time disregarding a crusade against a generation and the fingerpointing that comes with it, and is instead served in a very no-nonsense, brass tacks type of way that makes the information contained much easier to process, as well as being much less divisive.

[Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good economic analysis of the past ten years and the negative impact on millenials and government policies by older generations. The book does not provide specific solutions, but provides interesting lessons learned from other countries.

The writer is too optimistic about the Millenial’s ability to solve their problems and if given the opportunity, will likely “kick the can” to the next generational group. Unless... the dire economic issues (eg Social Security bankruptcy, high gov debt, too much entitlement liabilities) will require emergency action.

[Elodie Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a difficult read. It gave me an overwhelming feeling of dread pretty much every chapter. I guess we'll all die broke, curled up in a hole.

It did shine some light on some extremely pressing issues, including number of workers vs retirees after the last baby boomers retire, how taxes will need to be adjusted to compensate for the aging demographic, housing market increases with no low cost housing... It's quite a read! Highly recommend!!

[Madam Hexe · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the title, the assumption could be made that the author and this book are slated to face one political direction or another, but I was quite happy to see perspective and admonishing of mistakes despite direction. Sound economic reasoning and balanced analysis, along with the somewhat playful tone of the author, made this an enjoyable and informative piece that I would recommend across generational divides.

[Harmony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting and written in accessible language for anyone (like me) who isn’t well-versed in economics and finance. However, the impact of the book falls a little short in 2022, as it was written in 2018 and therefor can’t account for the consequences for millennials of boomer-led policy decisions during the pandemic. Left me wishing there was an updated edition with a new post-pandemic chapter.

[Scott Holstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have been good but I already read this, so to speak. There's been another one with the same premise, bigger, badder, better. Damn good. That said, I realize 3 stars isn't totally fair just cause someone did it better. It's not like many people have gone here to this topic, and if the other one hadn't been written, this would be a worthy one and I'd give it another star. All that said, recommended.

[Trent Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I more or less agree with the author’s positive economics (though I didn’t do any serious fact-checking) but am a little less sure about his normative economics… We Millennials seem to be in many ways less better off than our parents were at our age (lower median wages, lower homeownership rates, less mid-skilled jobs, etc.), but is austerity the solution? Maybe.

[Sara Christians · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obviously limited in its analysis, as it was published pre-COVID, during which economic policy decisions dwarfed the blunders of previous decades. The author is also very limited in his analysis, as he lives entirely within the D.C. beltway intellectual bubble, though he may currently reside in London.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a millennial. This book have a lot of statistics and if we want to said in positive thinking, then we could conclude that each generations almost the same. No worry about millennials, and don't overestimate or underestimate them.

[Evan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is very misleading. This author is a complete boomer sympathizer. If you want to read a book that actually holds boomers accountable I would recommend either “A Generation of Sociopaths” or “Ok Boomer”

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was so great UNTIL the last three chapters in which the author lauds Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Barak Obama. My mind is blown! The author should read Matt Taibbi's "The Divide." He'll feel very differently afterward.

[Rj · Rating 2 out of 5]

Conventionally alarmist look at macro trends that are certain to negatively impact millennials. No prescriptions, but hey, you realize America is still the best house on a bad block.

[Meeka Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong first half on how we got into our current economic situation. Second suffers a bit and is less detailed. Really interesting all the same and worth a read.

[Stacy Pareti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I read this book, I loved my baby boomer parents . . .

[Vincent · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting...overly political.

[Jacob]

Trash

[Stan DeGroote · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing is a bit 'wordy', but the topic is important and well covered. Recommended.