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by bwestergard
10 days ago
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In 2024, the Silent Generation and baby boomers represented 25% of the population, but held 65% of all wealth in the US. The healthcare industry will profit a great deal, but there is no way they will capture 65% of all wealth in the country. And supposing they did: ultimately, all this wealth ends up on some household's balance sheet unless it goes abroad. |
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Why would this be any different?
You can make all sorts of hay about "Oh that money will be invested so it will still benefit normal people" but no, the vast majority of the wealth the boomers gathered will be controlled by the new aristocracy. They will do with it as they please and thus you should expect it to almost entirely benefit them first and foremost.
Private equity prepared for this windfall. Even if they scoop up only ten percent of it or so, that's an enormous transfer of wealth from average families to the hyperwealthy. That's another entire chunk of the pie that is just removed from the continually shrinking normal person economy.
A giant fraction of that wealth is in real estate: Homes. Those homes should be passed down to the next generation, alleviating our insane house prices somewhat, but instead they will come under ownership of the same companies who currently monopolize specific rental markets to ensure the price goes up as much as they want, and they will absolutely rent out those new properties, in such a way that they do not reduce prices.
That housing stock is completely and totally captured by these private equity firms that own the end of life care companies.