My son in London sent me an article from The Telegraph headed: ‘If you’re under 30, bad luck. You’re screwed.’

Writer Alex Proud was arguing that the Baby Boomers were spending big while their kids and grandkids were languishing in poverty. Or at least struggling to get a roof over their head, particularly in London. What’s more, added Proud, the kids had allowed this situation by their voting and political apathy.

Well, my wife and I are Baby Boomers. And our kids are actually encouraging us to spend the kids’ inheritance. Nor are we alone. If you’re reading this Blog, it’s probably because you are already part of the SKI community. If nothing else, our spending is creating the jobs that our kids are filling. In tourism, in hospitality, in housing, in leisure activities, in finance, in the stock market, in technology. Research firm Nielsen, for instance, has revealed that more than 40% of Apple products are bought by Baby Boomers.

So, as I often tell the kids, all of this retirement spending helps spread the wealth rather than simply dissipate their inheritance. Not to mention the fact that we’re having fun like never before

Euromonitor forecasts that global spending power of the over 60s will reach US $15 trillion by 2020. That’s only five years away. It’s a figure almost twice as much as that spent around the world just five years ago.

In Australia, Baby Boomers hold more than 40% of the nation’s wealth and enjoy a combined spending power of A$1 trillion.

This Blog is created to explore the privileges and eccentricities of the SKI Generation. We will look at travel, dining, recreation, sport, health, culture and yes, politics. While centred on Perth in Western Australia, it will resonate with our peers around the world and you are invited to pen your contributions.

Grumpy old men? Grumpy old women? Not on your life. We’re laughing all the way from the bank to the restaurant and to the airport.

Len Horne