yeah i dont think any one generation can be said to be better or worse than the previous.
i have always found it funny though that a lot of the whole "young people are lazy and profligate" argument has mainly come from baby boomers, the generation that has worked through the richest period in australian history, multiple property and share market booms etc yet over 90% will retire on a pension of some kind.
In fairness to the BB's, none of them had the benefit of 24/7 world wide instant education on every single topic you can imagine....
Wealth creation, IP's, leverage, IO loans, LO Doc loans, superannuation, managed funds, bonds, futures, puts, options, equity, offset, redraw, 105% finance, mezzanine lending, subdivisions, fixed rates, Somersoft, Henry Kaye, Margaret Lomas, Rob Kiyosaki, John Fitzgerald, The Millionaire Next Door...these terms were not known like they are today.
Even TV was late on the scene for many.
I was born in 1961 and we didn't even have a tv until I was 9 years old.
Now you carry it around in your pocket
You get the idea....
Bugger-all was available to those people/us back then.
The chances of the majority of folk becoming rich given this set of circumstances was very limited....the rich folk were mostly that way through businesses; not property.
Maybe shares, but I can't comment on them with any real knowledge. I don't know many folk who have become exceeding well off through shares...the odd few I suspect.
You had the local library, and that was it, unless you were lucky enough to go to University and/or happened to fall over someone who was an investor in property who could educate you...not many back then other than yer tradesman etc.
Superannuation was also much later for most; who were really only educated about saving in a bank account...yeah; that'll get you there quick smart.
So, before you slag off the oldies about why they should all be rich yet aren't; take the time to find out why....the Internet is right there for you to do so.
Look at things like diet, smoking, drink driving, drugs...the education available today about the dangers and consequences of them are easily and abundantly available.
Same with wealth creation, yet still there are very few who actually do it...people are stlll getting fatter, killing themselves with cigarettes and drugs and car accidents, and folk don't rush out and buy a swag of IP's every day.
Most are only invested in their super, a few more are directly in shares, and even less in property.
Based on this pattern of human behaviour, how much of a chance do you reckon there is/was that folk would do it (invest in property) way back when with almost no information readily available?
That's not even counting those who knew, but couldn't get finance, or couldn't pull the trigger.
Even as recently as 1985 my girlfriend and I were knocked back for a loan because we were not married....both single and earning pretty decent money.
I think I'll pack up my Milo, slip on the peejays and shuffle off to bed and leave you know-it-alls to it.
It's past my ni-ni's time, yeah?