Baby boomers have turned into Generation Can't-Let-Go

We're well past the peak of "OK, boomer," the meme, but we're still in the midst of "OK, boomer," the sentiment, as in "OK, maybe it's time for you to give up some of the reins."

Baby boomers are a giant generation, with some 76 million babies born from 1946 to 1964. Over the course of their lifetimes, they've dominated American society— from their 1950s childhoods to the rebellious 1960s and 1970s to the family-oriented 1980s, the country grew up with them. While their influence has started to fade somewhat, the generation is not moving gently into their golden years.

American business leaders are getting older, with the average CEO being nearly 60 years old (right on the Gen X/boomer line, though plenty are on the elder side). Some baby boomer executives, including Disney's Bob Iger and Starbucks' Howard Schultz, boomeranged back into the top job. The median age in the US Senate is 65 years old. The country has yet to have had a Gen X or millennial president — America's 42nd, 43rd, and current presidents were all born in the same year, 1946. Baby boomers are holding onto their houses, and they control a disproportionate amount of wealth. Even in Hollywood, many older (generally male) stars are still dominating the silver screen — Tom Cruise, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt, who I regret to inform you is, indeed, a boomer.

"Demography is a weird thing, because it unfolds slowly, and then you notice it everywhere," says Kevin Munger, the author of "Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture."

It's great that people are living longer, healthier lives and staying active for longer. Ageism is real, and efforts to fight it are a positive development. At the same time, the way baby boomers are holding on can feel a bit extra. It fosters a sense of frustration among younger generations looking to carve out their own spaces in boardrooms, legislative bodies, and homes. Baby boomers have a reputation for being a selfish, materialistic generation, and in their golden years, that's translating to a generation that won't let go. Before getting too down on the boomers, however, it's also important to recognize that this is where America is heading: The country's population is aging, and no matter the generation, time marches on. In 30 years, we'll likely be hearing, "OK, millennial."

One of the main reasons baby boomers are sticking around is the simple fact that they're living for a long time. US life expectancy was 68 in 1950; it's now 79. Longer life spans have led to people across all age groups living their lives more slowly — they're getting married later, having children later, and buying homes later. This chronological extension happens for older people, too, who may retire later and stay in their homes longer.

"The timeline for most major life transitions has shifted to the right," says David Ekerdt, professor emeritus of sociology and gerontology at the University of Kansas.

It's not just longevity that's a factor. Retirement has become more precarious as workplaces have shifted away from traditional pensions, and some older people have no choice but to continue working. Social Security also incentivizes people to put off hanging up the professional towel because benefits are lower if you retire and start collecting a little early, and higher if you collect later. Outside the financial incentives, many boomers just prefer to keep working — they think it keeps them healthy, and their identities are deeply intertwined with it. After all, boomers were the generation that practically invented hustle culture.

"In American culture, we're just so tied up with our jobs that it's just unclear to people what else they would do," Munger says.

Many boomer business owners are holding onto their operations well past typical retirement age, and they're sticking around in C-suites, too. While CEOs themselves often take the blame for their companies' age problems, Shawn Cole, the president and founding partner of Cowen Partners Executive Search, says a lot of the issue emanates from their bosses — the board of directors. "Boards are made up of the same age or older people, and so it's like this ongoing psychosis," he says. "Especially at the board level, it's a pretty cush lifestyle, so why would they give that up?"

A lack of succession planning will eventually come back to bite businesses — unfortunately, time comes for us all — at which point, up-and-coming leaders will have to scramble, or companies will have to rely on less-than-conventional setups like the rising tide of co-CEOs. Cole points to the pair of co-leaders of Oracle, one millennial and one Gen X, selected to replace outgoing boomer chief exec Safra Catz. "What even is that?" he says.

As much as business can be a flash point in America's generational conflict, it tends not to get as much airtime and feels more distant and invisible from people's day-to-day lives. In terms of teeth gnashing around boomers' unwillingness to hang up the spikes, there are two areas that draw particular ire among more spry Americans: politics and housing.

Many of America's most prominent political leaders are in their 60s, 70s, and even 80s, including Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, and Chuck Schumer. It's not outright bad for a politician to be older, but there are drawbacks. Older people clinging onto political power may also be out of step with new technologies, cultural shifts, or ways of thinking. Succession is also a problem. As much as progressives would like for Bernie Sanders to be immortal, he is not, and they'd best look for a big bench of other figures to continue in his path beyond Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

"Boomers, they're just more political. They're more interested in politics, they hold more political offices," says Jean Twenge, a psychology professor and the author of "Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents — and What They Mean for America's Future." Twenge notes that public perceptions of age in politics have also shifted. Ronald Reagan was 69 when he was first elected in 1980, and at the time, that was considered very old. Now, that might seem middle-of-the-pack, even youthful. The incumbency advantage is stronger in America's political system as opposed to, say, a parliamentary system, where a party may be better able to elevate new leadership on its own. Instead, long-serving members hang on to their seats in no small part due to familiarity. The donor class is also dominated by older, wealthier people. "It's rare to have a strong youth bias there," Munger says.

But perhaps the most fraught intergenerational issue of the day is the one that hits closest to home, literally. Many boomers have been resistant to selling their homes and downsizing for a variety of reasons — they're still confident they can stay in their family homes, health-wise; they've invested a lot of money and time in their abodes; and they don't want to take on a new, higher-interest mortgage. But even when they are moving, they're not really moving down the housing ladder — they're moving laterally.

Jessica Lautz, the deputy chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, tells me that boomers are the biggest share of homebuyers today. They move to be closer to friends and family and to enjoy their retirement, but they're not seeking out smaller places. "They suggest that they're moving for downsizing, but when we look at the data, they don't by much," Lautz says. That means they're competing with younger homebuyers, but have a significant financial advantage — half of homebuyers in their 70s pay cash, as do 40% of people in their 60s. By comparison, 5% of millennials and 15% of Gen Xers pay cash. "If they are financing, they are financing a smaller share of that purchase than other buyers are," Lautz says.

Some level of generational conflict is a fact of humanity. The olds feeling like the youngs don't know what they're doing, and the youngs feeling like the olds are out of touch, is an eternal battle. A 20-something may envy a 70-something for their accumulated wealth, while that 70-something wishes they had the 20-something's energy. And they've just got to figure out how to get along and move forward.

"Families, political parties, businesses, teams, organizations, they all need to devise ways for the young to succeed the old," Ekerdt says. "This is a constant throughout history, and it requires some orderly resolution of the opposed interests of the young when they want or desire the resources and power that their elders are reluctant to relinquish."

There are elements that are unique to the modern moment. In entertainment, part of the reason it doesn't feel like there are as many young, huge stars is the decline of monoculture. The internet and modern media have us so siloed that we rarely consume the same things (beyond Taylor Swift and the NFL), making it harder for new actors to supplant their older, already-established peers. Part of the reason boomers have been able to accumulate so much wealth is that they've had generally favorable economic conditions throughout their lifetimes, and were able to save up a lot of money and buy a lot of stuff. Despite their collective financial comfort, living longer means they might want to work longer to make sure they don't run out of money in retirement.

Jennifer Sciubba, a political demographer, says baby boomers staying in the mix longer should be seen as a good thing and an indicator of where the country's headed. The American population is aging, and the median age in the US is expected to surpass 40 by 2040.

"It's great to see more of an emphasis on older people in a positive light, because all of the ageism is really out of touch with where America is now and where it's headed demographically," she says.

Boomers may be a generation that can't let go now, but some of the same characteristics may come to define Gen X, millennials, and even Gen Z. (Yes, friends, someday you too will be old.) What that means is that younger people could stand to be a little more understanding of their older counterparts — and take away some lessons from it, too. The same goes for boomers, eh — that work-life balance thing the kids enjoy these days is actually pretty great.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

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