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Millennial income 20% less than boomers at same stage of life
Millennial income did not recover from the Great Recession like older generations', a disparity that can have dire consequences for future generations.

- A New America report shows millennial income and wealth accumulation lags dramatically behind their parents' and grandparents' generations.
- Resulting from the Great Recession, rising debt, and volatile wealth flow, this imbalance will impair future generations if not corrected.
- The report's authors argue the shortfall can be redressed with comprehensive policy changes.
Millennials are defined by their diversity, but like every generation, they have experiences and milestones they all share.
In their formative years, millennials witnessed the rise of the internet, protracted wars in the Middle East, and a burgeoning political polarization. They ignited the experience economy and shifted the values of American culture. They are more educated than previous generations, yet stumbled into the workforce among the financial gyre of the Great Recession.
That last one has had a profound impact on the shared millennial experience. While the broader economy has convalesced, and Gen Xers have recovered the wealth they lost, millennials continue to lag behind previous generations, unable to find purchase in the financial system that made their parents and grandparents among the most well-off generations in history.
According to a New America report, The Emerging Millennial Wealth Gap, millennials currently earn 20 percent less than boomers at the same stage of life. In fact, millennial wealth accumulation is on track to fall short of their parents' lot. And this imbalance may impair subsequent generations, too.
Millennial income and debt

The Great Recession catalyzed the millennials' poor financial state. Just as the generation entered the workforce, businesses began downsizing, income wages nosedived, and millennials had to compete against an established workforce for fewer jobs. Since then, wage growth has been sluggish and recovery uneven.
But as the New America report illustrates, the recession is hardly the only factor at play. As is often the case, it's a nuance issue with many contributing influences.
For example, millennials are the most educated generation (for now). They have received more bachelor's degrees than previous generations, but that education has come at a cost. American tuition fees have increased faster than wages, with the average annual cost for attending a public four-year university at just over $19,000 (2015-16). At $1.5 trillion, today's student debt has surpassed loans for cars and credit cards, stymieing those who hold it from putting that money toward asset accumulation.
"It is not surprising that the median wealth of all millennials with any debt at age 30 is lower than those with no debt who attended college; however, their median wealth levels are also lower than young adults who never attended college," the New America report states.
Between student debt, car loans, and credit card debt, millennials maintain a higher debt-to-income-and-asset ratio than previous generations at the same age. Importantly, this debt is less mortgage debt and more consumer debt. The difference being that the former later becomes an asset value, while the latter does not.
Add to this debt sluggish wages and volatile income from an increased reliance on gig jobs—which lacks the assurances and benefits of full employment—and the millennial balance sheet has taken a huge hit.
How bad a hit? According to the New America report:
For families headed by an individual under the age of 35, net worth was 41 percent lower in 2016 than 1995. In contrast, households headed by someone over age 75 have seen their wealth rise. The recent growth of net worth among older households has been especially pronounced. It has increased 32 percent from 2013 to 2016, reflecting new growth in the generational wealth gap.
That generational wealth gap is further aggravated along racial lines. The report cites the median net worth of non-Hispanic White households at $171,000, compared to $17,600 for black households and $20,700 for Hispanic households. The authors chose the median because the mean proved substantially higher for all race and ethnicity households, "which reflects the concentration of wealth among the wealthiest in each category."
"Millennials are in a fundamentally different economic place than previous generations," writes Reid Cramer, director of the Millennials Initiative at New America, in the report. "Relatively flat but volatile incomes, low savings and asset holdings, and higher consumer and student debt have weakened their finances. The Millennial balance sheet is in poor shape."
A generation feels the effects
This graph from the World Economic Forum shows millennial income wage growth alongside average student debt.
This flagging wealth accumulation plays out in many of the stereotypes associated with millennials—stereotypes often wrongly attributed to other traits.
The trend of millennials living in their parents' basements has become a threadbare zinger, but there is truth to it. The number of young adults returning home has risen since 1997. Rather than the result of a lazy, lost generation who can't properly adult, the culprit is debt, stagnant wages, and the high cost of living.
Another result is the decline of millennial marriage. One study found a negative correlation between student debt and marriage. Under the financial strain, millennials less likely to embark on marriage and starting a family until much later in their lives. (Though, we should note, decade-long trends like women workforce participation and declines in teen pregnancy rates have also affect marriage rates.)
This wealth gap has also fueled the homeownership gap.
Millennials are less likely than Gen Xers and baby boomers to be homeowners, thanks to rising prices and fewer houses on the market. As the New America report notes, this single factor is perhaps the greatest detriment to millennial wealth building, as the home is often a household's largest asset.
"While the typical homeowner had a net worth of $231,400 in 2016, the typical renter had a net worth of $5,200, making this single variable among the most significant in explaining different wealth trajectories among American households," the report states.
A cascading recession?
Inadequate wealth accumulation is not solely the problem of a single generation. Unless corrected for, it can have a cascading effect that hinders future generations, as parental wealth informs what economic resources can be invested in their children's development.
A study out of the London School of Economics showed a strong causal link between household finances and children outcomes. It found evidence that low incomes prevent parents from investing in goods and services for their children. Additionally, these parents suffer from stress and anxiety, which can have further detrimental effects on their children. The study found that poor children are more likely to have worse education, health, and social-behavioral outcomes as a result.
The New America report also cites large bodies of research indicating that the family economic resources impact a child's human potential and their own economic outcomes.
Redressing the wealth gap
Democratic nominee Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to cancel student loan debt, a potential redress for the millennial income and wealth gap.
(Photo: Larie Shaull/Wikimedia Commons)
The conclusion of the New America report is that the intergenerational wealth gap must be redressed through system-wide policy changes. That's because wealth isn't simply luxury; it's the "key to financial security and economic mobility."
Those with little to no wealth accumulation cannot participate in the economy or society at the same level as their wealthy peers. They lack the tools and resources to reach their full potential, they cannot exercise or defend their rights as effectively, and in some ways basic needs become more expensive when they can be acquired.
The report's researchers cite eight potential responses to repair the millennial balance sheet, as well as examples of what those policies may look like:
1) Promote savings to build up cash reserves
Remove taxes for savings account interest up to a certain amount. Offer bonuses or matches on saved amounts.
2) Reduce the debt overhand
A large-scale cancellation of student load debt. Improve income-based repayment plans. End taxation on forgiven student loans. Make loan repayment a standard employee benefit.
3) Facilitate deposits to retirement plans
Incentivize savings through a government match program. Develop a public-option savings plan for people without an employer option.
4) Increase the supply of affordable rental housing while promoting paths to sustainable homeownership.
Pass laws to increase oversight over the mortgage market. Draft support systems to help people save for down payments.
5) Invest in the next generation's asset development
A government plan that provides every child with a savings account and seed deposit. State-based 529 college savings plans with progressive matching features.
6) Address the rising cost of college and reduce reliance on student loans.
Increase tuition subsidies for low-income students. Improve transparency at educational institutions. Better regulate for-profit educational institutions. More robust support for four-year program alternatives.
7) Promote new sources and opportunities to grow incomes and build wealth
Greater ownership in common assets (e.g., the Alaska permanent fund). Develop a "data dividend" where people are paid for sharing their personal data. More widespread adoption of employee stock and profit-sharing plans.
8) Support family caregiving
Increase and support better paid family leave. Improve income support for low-wealth families. Develop a universal family care system.
These are a few of the ideas offered by the report. But as Reid Cramer points out, the broad idea is to reinforce the pillars of our society to support everyone.
"In order to fashion a policy response to the emerging millennial wealth gap, it is instructive to acknowledge the pillars that historically have anchored the ladder of economic opportunity," Cramer writes. "For some, these pillars were never there at all; for others, they have weakened in the years since the Great Recession."
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- Millennials reconsider finances and future under COVID-19 - Big Think ›
‘Designer baby’ book trilogy explores the moral dilemmas humans may soon create
How would the ability to genetically customize children change society? Sci-fi author Eugene Clark explores the future on our horizon in Volume I of the "Genetic Pressure" series.
- A new sci-fi book series called "Genetic Pressure" explores the scientific and moral implications of a world with a burgeoning designer baby industry.
- It's currently illegal to implant genetically edited human embryos in most nations, but designer babies may someday become widespread.
- While gene-editing technology could help humans eliminate genetic diseases, some in the scientific community fear it may also usher in a new era of eugenics.
Tribalism and discrimination
<p>One question the "Genetic Pressure" series explores: What would tribalism and discrimination look like in a world with designer babies? As designer babies grow up, they could be noticeably different from other people, potentially being smarter, more attractive and healthier. This could breed resentment between the groups—as it does in the series.</p><p>"[Designer babies] slowly find that 'everyone else,' and even their own parents, becomes less and less tolerable," author Eugene Clark told Big Think. "Meanwhile, everyone else slowly feels threatened by the designer babies."</p><p>For example, one character in the series who was born a designer baby faces discrimination and harassment from "normal people"—they call her "soulless" and say she was "made in a factory," a "consumer product." </p><p>Would such divisions emerge in the real world? The answer may depend on who's able to afford designer baby services. If it's only the ultra-wealthy, then it's easy to imagine how being a designer baby could be seen by society as a kind of hyper-privilege, which designer babies would have to reckon with. </p><p>Even if people from all socioeconomic backgrounds can someday afford designer babies, people born designer babies may struggle with tough existential questions: Can they ever take full credit for things they achieve, or were they born with an unfair advantage? To what extent should they spend their lives helping the less fortunate? </p>Sexuality dilemmas
<p>Sexuality presents another set of thorny questions. If a designer baby industry someday allows people to optimize humans for attractiveness, designer babies could grow up to find themselves surrounded by ultra-attractive people. That may not sound like a big problem.</p><p>But consider that, if designer babies someday become the standard way to have children, there'd necessarily be a years-long gap in which only some people are having designer babies. Meanwhile, the rest of society would be having children the old-fashioned way. So, in terms of attractiveness, society could see increasingly apparent disparities in physical appearances between the two groups. "Normal people" could begin to seem increasingly ugly.</p><p>But ultra-attractive people who were born designer babies could face problems, too. One could be the loss of body image. </p><p>When designer babies grow up in the "Genetic Pressure" series, men look like all the other men, and women look like all the other women. This homogeneity of physical appearance occurs because parents of designer babies start following trends, all choosing similar traits for their children: tall, athletic build, olive skin, etc. </p><p>Sure, facial traits remain relatively unique, but everyone's more or less equally attractive. And this causes strange changes to sexual preferences.</p><p>"In a society of sexual equals, they start looking for other differentiators," he said, noting that violet-colored eyes become a rare trait that genetically engineered humans find especially attractive in the series.</p><p>But what about sexual relationships between genetically engineered humans and "normal" people? In the "Genetic Pressure" series, many "normal" people want to have kids with (or at least have sex with) genetically engineered humans. But a minority of engineered humans oppose breeding with "normal" people, and this leads to an ideology that considers engineered humans to be racially supreme. </p>Regulating designer babies
<p>On a policy level, there are many open questions about how governments might legislate a world with designer babies. But it's not totally new territory, considering the West's dark history of eugenics experiments.</p><p>In the 20th century, the U.S. conducted multiple eugenics programs, including immigration restrictions based on genetic inferiority and forced sterilizations. In 1927, for example, the Supreme Court ruled that forcibly sterilizing the mentally handicapped didn't violate the Constitution. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendall Holmes wrote, "… three generations of imbeciles are enough." </p><p>After the Holocaust, eugenics programs became increasingly taboo and regulated in the U.S. (though some states continued forced sterilizations <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/" target="_blank">into the 1970s</a>). In recent years, some policymakers and scientists have expressed concerns about how gene-editing technologies could reanimate the eugenics nightmares of the 20th century. </p><p>Currently, the U.S. doesn't explicitly ban human germline genetic editing on the federal level, but a combination of laws effectively render it <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jlb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jlb/lsaa006/5841599#204481018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">illegal to implant a genetically modified embryo</a>. Part of the reason is that scientists still aren't sure of the unintended consequences of new gene-editing technologies. </p><p>But there are also concerns that these technologies could usher in a new era of eugenics. After all, the function of a designer baby industry, like the one in the "Genetic Pressure" series, wouldn't necessarily be limited to eliminating genetic diseases; it could also work to increase the occurrence of "desirable" traits. </p><p>If the industry did that, it'd effectively signal that the <em>opposites of those traits are undesirable. </em>As the International Bioethics Committee <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jlb/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jlb/lsaa006/5841599#204481018" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wrote</a>, this would "jeopardize the inherent and therefore equal dignity of all human beings and renew eugenics, disguised as the fulfillment of the wish for a better, improved life."</p><p><em>"Genetic Pressure Volume I: Baby Steps"</em><em> by Eugene Clark is <a href="http://bigth.ink/38VhJn3" target="_blank">available now.</a></em></p>Massive 'Darth Vader' isopod found lurking in the Indian Ocean
The father of all giant sea bugs was recently discovered off the coast of Java.
A close up of Bathynomus raksasa
- A new species of isopod with a resemblance to a certain Sith lord was just discovered.
- It is the first known giant isopod from the Indian Ocean.
- The finding extends the list of giant isopods even further.
The ocean depths are home to many creatures that some consider to be unnatural.
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU2NzY4My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTUwMzg0NX0.BTK3zVeXxoduyvXfsvp4QH40_9POsrgca_W5CQpjVtw/img.png?width=980" id="b6fb0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2739ec50d9f9a3bd0058f937b6d447ac" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1512" data-height="2224" />Bathynomus raksasa specimen (left) next to a closely related supergiant isopod, B. giganteus (right)
<p>According to<a href="https://www.livescience.com/supergiant-isopod-newfound-species.html" target="_blank" rel="dofollow"> LiveScience</a>, the Bathynomus genus is sometimes referred to as "Darth Vader of the Seas" because the crustaceans are shaped like the character's menacing helmet. Deemed Bathynomus raksasa ("raksasa" meaning "giant" in Indonesian), this cockroach-like creature can grow to over 30 cm (12 inches). It is one of several known species of giant ocean-going isopod. Like the other members of its order, it has compound eyes, seven body segments, two pairs of antennae, and four sets of <a href="https://www.livescience.com/supergiant-isopod-newfound-species.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">jaws</a>.</p><p>The incredible size of this species is likely a result of deep-sea gigantism. This is the tendency for creatures that inhabit deeper parts of the ocean to be much larger than closely related species that live in shallower waters. B. raksasa appears to make its home between 950 and 1,260 meters (3,117 and 4,134 ft) below sea <a href="https://news.nus.edu.sg/research/new-species-supergiant-isopod-uncovered" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">level</a>. </p><p>Perhaps fittingly for a creature so creepy looking, that is the lower sections of what is commonly called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopelagic_zone" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">The Twilight Zone</a><em>, </em>named for the lack of light available at such depths. </p><p>It isn't the only giant isopod, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_isopod" target="_blank">far from it</a>. Other species of ocean-going isopod can get up to 50 cm long (20 inches) and also look like they came out of a nightmare. These are the unusual ones, though. Most of the time, isopods stay at much more reasonable <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-raksasa-cockroach-from-the-deep-the-stuff-nightmares-are-made-of-6513281/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">sizes</a>. </p><p>The discovery of this new species was published in <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/53906/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">ZooKeys</a>. The remainder of the specimens from the trip are still being analyzed. The full report will be published <a href="https://www.futurity.org/deep-sea-giant-isopod-bathynomus-raksasa-2422042/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow">shortly</a>.<em> </em></p>What benefit does this find have for science? And is it as evil as it looks?
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-media_id="7XqcvwWp" data-player_id="FvQKszTI" data-rm-shortcode-id="8506fcd195866131efb93525ae42dec4"> <div id="botr_7XqcvwWp_FvQKszTI_div" class="jwplayer-media" data-jwplayer-video-src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/7XqcvwWp-FvQKszTI.js"> <img src="https://cdn.jwplayer.com/thumbs/7XqcvwWp-1920.jpg" class="jwplayer-media-preview" /> </div> <script src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/7XqcvwWp-FvQKszTI.js"></script> </div> <p>The discovery of a new species is always a cause for celebration in zoology. That this is the discovery of an animal that inhabits the deeps of the sea, one of the least explored areas humans can get to, is the icing on the cake.</p><p>Helen Wong of the National University of Singapore, who co-authored the species' description, explained the importance of the discovery:</p><p>"The identification of this new species is an indication of just how little we know about the oceans. There is certainly more for us to explore in terms of biodiversity in the deep sea of our region." </p><p>The animal's visual similarity to Darth Vader is a result of its compound eyes and the curious shape of its <a href="https://lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg/research/sjades2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer dofollow" style="">head</a>. However, given the location of its discovery, the bottom of the remote seas, it may be associated with all manner of horrifically evil Elder Things and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu" target="_blank" rel="dofollow">Great Old Ones</a>. <em></em></p>These are the world’s greatest threats in 2021
We look back at a year ravaged by a global pandemic, economic downturn, political turmoil and the ever-worsening climate crisis.
Billions are at risk of missing out on the digital leap forward, as growing disparities challenge the social fabric.
Image: Global Risks Report 2021
<h3>Widespread effects</h3><p>"The immediate human and economic costs of COVID-19 are severe," the report says. "They threaten to scale back years of progress on reducing global poverty and inequality and further damage social cohesion and global cooperation."</p><p>For those reasons, the pandemic demonstrates why infectious diseases hits the top of the impact list. Not only has COVID-19 led to widespread loss of life, it is holding back economic development in some of the poorest parts of the world, while amplifying wealth inequalities across the globe.</p><p>At the same time, there are concerns the fight against the pandemic is taking resources away from other critical health challenges - including a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/charts-covid19-malnutrition-educaion-mental-health-children-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">disruption to measles vaccination programmes</a>.</p>Columbia study finds new way to extract energy from black holes
A new study explains how a chaotic region just outside a black hole's event horizon might provide a virtually endless supply of energy.
- In 1969, the physicist Roger Penrose first proposed a way in which it might be possible to extract energy from a black hole.
- A new study builds upon similar ideas to describe how chaotic magnetic activity in the ergosphere of a black hole may produce vast amounts of energy, which could potentially be harvested.
- The findings suggest that, in the very distant future, it may be possible for a civilization to survive by harnessing the energy of a black hole rather than a star.
The ergosphere
<p>The ergosphere is a region just outside a black hole's event horizon, the boundary of a black hole beyond which nothing, not even light, can escape. But light and matter just outside the event horizon, in the ergosphere, would also be affected by the immense gravity of the black hole. Objects in this zone would spin in the same direction as the black hole at incredibly fast speeds, similar to objects floating around the center of a whirlpool.</p><p>The Penrose process states, in simple terms, that an object could enter the ergosphere and break into two pieces. One piece would head toward the event horizon, swallowed by the black hole. But if the other piece managed to escape the ergosphere, it could emerge with more energy than it entered with.</p><p>The movie "Interstellar" provides an example of the Penrose process. Facing a fuel shortage on a deep-space mission, the crew makes a last-ditch effort to return home by entering the ergosphere of a blackhole, ditching part of their spacecraft, and "slingshotting" away from the black hole with vast amounts of energy.</p><p>In a recent study published in the American Physical Society's <a href="https://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.103.023014" target="_blank" style="">Physical Review D</a><em>, </em>physicists Luca Comisso and Felipe A. Asenjo used similar ideas to describe another way energy could be extracted from a black hole. The idea centers on the magnetic fields of black holes.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Black holes are commonly surrounded by a hot 'soup' of plasma particles that carry a magnetic field," Comisso, a research scientist at Columbia University and lead study author, told <a href="https://news.columbia.edu/energy-particles-magnetic-fields-black-holes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Columbia News</a>.</p>Ergosphere representation
<p>In the ergosphere of a rotating black hole, magnetic field lines are constantly breaking and reconnecting at fast speeds. The researchers theorized that when these lines reconnect, plasma particles shoot out in two different directions. One flow of particles shoots off against the direction of the spinning black hole, eventually getting "swallowed" by the black hole. But the other flow shoots in the same direction as the spin, potentially gaining enough velocity to escape the black hole's gravitational pull.</p><p>The researchers proposed that this occurs because the breaking and reconnecting of magnetic field lines can generate negative-energy particles. If the negative-energy particles get "swallowed" by the black hole, the positive particles would theoretically be exponentially accelerated.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Our theory shows that when magnetic field lines disconnect and reconnect, in just the right way, they can accelerate plasma particles to negative energies and large amounts of black hole energy can be extracted," Comisso said. "It is like a person could lose weight by eating candy with negative calories."</p>Black hole
Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration
<p>While there might not be immediate applications for the theory, it could help scientists better understand and observe black holes. On an abstract level, the findings may expand the limits of what scientists imagine is possible in deep space.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"Thousands or millions of years from now, humanity might be able to survive around a black hole without harnessing energy from stars," Comisso said. "It is essentially a technological problem. If we look at the physics, there is nothing that prevents it."</p>A psychiatric diagnosis can be more than an unkind ‘label’
A popular and longstanding wave of thought in psychology and psychotherapy is that diagnosis is not relevant for practitioners in those fields.
