Working Wounded Blog: Dad Earned More
Men in their 30s make less than their fathers, expect men in the corner office.
June 27, 2007 — -- There have been two truths for the majority of my working career. First, real estate would always appreciate in value. And second, boomers would earn more than their parents.
Welcome to the new world. Neither of these truths can be taken to the bank any longer.
Don't get me started on real estate. Subprime loans, declining sales prices, foreclosures and a nest egg suddenly showing a big crack have made real estate seem more zirconium than diamond. But I'll leave any further discussion to people who know more than me about the housing market (aka renters).
Boomers and Gen Xers would probably be handling the real estate debacle better if it weren't for the other guillotine hanging over our collective heads -- our declining earning power.
But don't take my word for it. According to a recent study, in 2004 the median income for men in their 30s was $35,010, 12 percent less than for men in their 30s in 1974 -- their fathers' generation -- as adjusted for inflation. In 1994, median income for men in their 30s was $32,901, 5 percent higher than 30 years earlier.
Wish as I may, those are not typos. Even in a time of relatively low inflation, our earning and buying power are at best going sideways.
But the bad news doesn't stop there.
"Along with data showing more workers are earning less in comparison with the incomes of top earners, the report suggests a growing number of Americans 'believe that the rules of the game are no longer fair,'" said John Morton, director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts and one of the study's lead authors.
Welcome to the generation of workers who suddenly learned that the escalator of earnings doesn't only go up.
So put down your copy of Forbes Richest People and deal with the fact that you'll probably earn less than your dad. Who knew that your parents lived the high life?
I'm sure I speak for everyone reading this when I ask why?
"Outsourcing and the demise of higher-paying manufacturing jobs have contributed to the stagnation in men's incomes," Morton said. "The influx of well-educated women into the work force since the 1970s also might have exerted downward pressure on men's wages," he said.
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