preview

Baby Boomers Essay

Good Essays

Baby Boomers During the Great Depression and World War II many Americans delayed marrying and having children because of the poor economy. The number of marriages and births soared after the war. Many older couples who had delayed having children began having them when the war ended. This increase in births among both younger and older American couples created the Baby Boom Generation. This large group of people born in the U.S. from 1946 to 1964 amounted to 76 million children. Those born during this time make up approximately 36% of today’s population (Deutsch). What impact has this had on the economy? Read on to see how the baby boom generation has affected the economy and what will happen as they retire.

This generation …show more content…

This has led them to invest large amounts into 401k plans and mutual funds.

Now that we’ve looked at the spending issues, let’s see how the baby boomers have affected the workforce. When baby boomers began entering the workforce, they increased the size of the labor market. The job market has been greatly expanded with the coming of this generation, especially with the addition of women to the workforce. At times, the baby boomers faced relatively high levels of unemployment because they had to compete with one another for jobs. But eventually the jobs materialized. The average age of the workforce is steadily climbing. The first of the baby boomers will start to retire in large numbers after the year 2020.

The retirement tack boomers end up taking in coming decades will have a profound, but unknown impact on the economy. As Peterson says, “The forecasts range from impending doom to marketplace godsend.” Some predict that as baby boomers retire unemployment will fall and that this process should begin by the year 2002 and that labor shortages should emerge about 2005. This will continue to get worse as the number of people who retire exceed the number who enter the workforce (Generation).

Some economic observers predict financial disasters, both national and personal, when the baby boomers retire. They say that as nations of workers and investors become nations of retired consumers, withdrawals will far outweigh deposits in investment and savings vehicles.

Get Access