My Reading List
“Six-Chart Sunday – Inheritances” By Bruce Mehlman: As the first Baby Boomers turn 80, Bruce Mehlman examines what the generation will leave behind for younger Americans. Boomers inherited a country entering an extraordinary period of postwar prosperity and technological progress, and they now hold a significant share of the nation’s wealth and leadership positions. But the inheritance awaiting younger generations is more complicated. While Boomers hold roughly $93 trillion in wealth, an estimated $36 trillion will ultimately reach Gen X and Millennial heirs, with most going to households that are already wealthy. At the same time, younger Americans will inherit a national debt approaching the size of the economy, looming Social Security and Medicare funding challenges, and historically low trust in government. Mehlman argues that perhaps the most consequential generational divide is cultural: younger Americans express substantially less confidence in institutions, patriotism, religion, family, and even America itself. The coming generational transition, therefore, will involve much more than transferring wealth and political power. It will require rebuilding the confidence and institutions necessary to sustain the prosperity Boomers inherited.