Boomers are the wealthiest generation ever. And they're funneling trillions to their adult children for down payments, school tuition, even monthly allowances. The Great Wealth Transfer is upon us. This episode was produced by Victoria Chamberlin and Devan Schwartz, edited by Jolie Myers, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King. Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast Support Today, Explained by becoming a Vox Member today: http://www.vox.com/members Image of candy hearts by Erica Thostesen/Shutterstock. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What does the Great Wealth Transfer mean for millennials?
Guilt and shame are definitely the through line, but they emerge in ways that are kind of surprising. You might think that it only would be that people feel guilty that they have more than others or that they're ashamed because they think it makes them part of some kind of reviled class of some kind.
But a lot of it is really just because people are ashamed that they can't afford everything they have on their own.
Kind of like sad that I feel like I can't you know, afford my lifestyle. I mean, I have a master's. I thought that it would be a lot easier to kind of get a job.
It's actually about that old thing of American individualism and the idea that if you can't buy an apartment on your own, then maybe somehow you're less of an adult. Or if you can't pay for your kid's school, your daycare on your own, like you may be kind of messed up somewhere, like you took a wrong turn along the way.
There's a few people who talk about feeling like they were middle class for their entire lives. But then as soon as they were adults and trying to make decisions that were really expensive, their parents suddenly were like, you know what, we can help you with that.
And those people seem kind of gobsmacked at their good luck, honestly, and quite grateful, but also maybe embarrassed because they're now having to adjust to a class position that they didn't grow up thinking they were in.
When you talk to people about what social class they were in, did you find confusion? Did you hear pushback? Everybody thinks they're middle class.
Everybody thinks they're middle class. Yes. And that could mean someone who owns their apartment in Manhattan. That could be somebody who... is living in the outer boroughs, but they are paying their rent every month, you know, and they're like, they're not behind, they're not drowning in debt, like that can mean middle class.
You could also be drowning in debt and feel middle class, you know, like we hear that the middle class is being squeezed. It's absolutely true. As I was doing research for this story, I found that apparently the median income for a millennial in New York City is $59,000.
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