为什么越来越多的婴儿潮一代面临破产

为什么越来越多的婴儿潮一代面临破产

According to a disturbing article in the paywalled Financial Times, more and more older people are showing up in American bankruptcy courts than ever before.

根据英国《金融时报》一篇令人不安的文章，越来越多的老年人出现在美国破产法庭上。

The culprits are vanishing pensions, soaring healthcare costs and tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid student loans for themselves, their children and even their grandchildren.

罪魁祸首是养老金的消失、医疗成本的飙升，以及他们自己、子女甚至孙辈数万美元的未偿还助学贷款。

Patti Waldmeir of the Financial Times points to a 2018 study, Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy: Fallout from Life in a Risk Society, which crunched the numbers.

英国《金融时报》的帕蒂•瓦尔德梅尔指出，2018年的一项研究——《美国破产的灰色:风险社会生活的后果》——对数据进行了分析。

Not all boomers are living the high life. Some are having a tough time making ends meet — and turning to social services and bankruptcy to make ends meet. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

In our data, older Americans report they are struggling with increased financial risks, namely inadequate income and unmanageable costs of healthcare, as they try to deal with reductions to their social safety net ... For an increasing number of older Americans, their golden years are fraught with economic risks, the result of which is often bankruptcy.

在我们的数据中，年长的美国人报告说，他们正在努力应对不断增加的金融风险，即收入不足和医疗成本无法控制，因为他们试图应对社会保障体系的缩减。对于越来越多的美国老年人来说，他们的黄金岁月充满了经济风险，其结果往往是破产。

The study follows a shift from defined pensions and a relatively strong social safety net to the concept of "personal responsibility." The report goes on to explain that starting in the Reagan years,

这项研究从养老金和相对强大的社会保障体系向“个人责任”的概念转变。报告继续解释说，从里根时代开始，

Conservatives, free market advocates, and media promoted the image of older Americans as "a threat to economic viability" as thieves of our children's futures, and as "responsible for the nation's economic problems." In just a few decades, norms of privatized citizenship and individual responsibility upstaged the ideal of America's social welfare system. Financial risks were shunted off onto individuals, regardless of age. Many older Americans suffered greatly because of this movement toward "private responsibility," with their Social Security, retirement, and healthcare, among other protections, coming under attack.

保守派、自由市场倡导者和媒体将美国老年人的形象宣传为“对经济生存能力的威胁”，是孩子未来的窃贼，是“对国家经济问题负有责任”。在短短几十年里，私有化的公民身份和个人责任规范抢了美国社会福利制度理想的风头。金融风险被分散到个人身上，不分年龄。许多上了年纪的美国人深受“个人责任”运动的影响，他们的社会保障、退休、医疗保健以及其他保护措施都受到了攻击。

The system works for a lot of people, especially those with fat 401K plans, inheritances from their silent generation parents, and the right kind of real estate. They get to pay lower taxes now and will be just fine later.

这个体系适用于很多人，尤其是那些拥有401K养老金计划的人，他们从沉默的一代父母那里继承了遗产，拥有合适的房地产。他们现在可以交更低的税，以后也会没事的。

The number of older people going bankrupt is skyrocketing. (Photo: Deborah Thorne et al/Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy report)

But not everyone is so lucky. Waldmeir describes the large portion of the population who don't. "Seniors are living longer and paying ever higher medical costs for the privilege of staying alive; many have little or no company pension and scant personal savings to fall back on."

但并不是每个人都这么幸运。Waldmeir描述了大部分不这样做的人。“老年人的寿命越来越长，为了活下去的权利，他们要支付越来越高的医疗费用;许多人没有或只有很少的公司养老金，也没有多少个人储蓄可以依靠。”

Many are also helping their kids, and even buying diapers for grandchildren, and have been unable to build up a nest egg.

许多人也在帮助他们的孩子，甚至给孙子孙女买尿布，但却无法存下足够的钱。

We haven't even addressed demographics here. The fact remains that the social safety net is not getting any stronger, and the population is getting older, with 10,000 more baby boomers surpassing 65 years old every day. Since 1991, the number of people over 65 declaring bankruptcy is up almost 500%, and the number over 75 years old is up almost 1,000% percent. In a few years they'll need to add an 85+ line on the table. By 2029, when all 70 million baby boomers are over 65, those bankruptcy courts are going to be very busy, and a lot of people are going to be wondering how they missed that "private responsibility" thing.

我们甚至还没有解决人口统计问题。事实仍然是，社会保障体系没有变得更强，人口也在变老，婴儿潮时期出生的人每天都有1万多人超过65岁。自1991年以来，65岁以上宣布破产的人数增加了近500%，75岁以上宣布破产的人数增加了近1000%。几年后，他们将需要在谈判桌上加上一条85+的底线。到2029年，当所有7000万婴儿潮时期出生的人都超过65岁时，那些破产法庭将会非常忙碌，许多人将会想，他们是如何错过了“个人责任”的事情。