Economy

The income gap  

America's boomers are pulling away - younger people are "drowning in debt"  

 

America's oldest "boomers" (people over 70) have become $14,000 billion richer since the pandemic, and now sit on nearly a third of the country's total wealth, writes Fortune.  

 

"The fact that such a small group of individuals constitutes such a significant portion of economic power reveals the overwhelming inequality that has increased during the pandemic," writes the business magazine. 

 

At the same time, Business Insider reports that around half of all Americans aged 18-58 feel financially insecure. Among people over 78, the corresponding proportion is 15 percent. The newspaper believes that one explanation is that the younger generations are "drowning in debt".  

 

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Professor: "We have a new economic elite today" 

 

In the last hundred years, Sweden has gone from very large economic gaps to exceptionally small ones, and then reached an intermediate position. This is what Business Professor Jesper Roine, who researches economic inequality, tells DN.  

 

According to Roine, households' disposable incomes are significantly more even today than 70–80 years ago. 

 

- At the same time, we have a new economic elite today. There are probably more people today who have very, very large personal fortunes, he says. 

 

The explanation is increased capital income from, among other things, shares and housingojämlikhet, till DN.