How Much Money Do Echo Boomers Make?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

If you read the article Echo Boomers, you might have been confused on two separate items: Millennial median household income is $58,620 while Millennial median individual income is $22,000. Obviously the word household is what distinguishes the two - in one case you may have two people, in the other case you only have one.

1. Timing is everything. The second study observed that Millennial median income had fallen from $30,000 a year to $22,000 a year from 2009 to 2010. The first study only observed 2008. Post recession, almost a third of Echo Boomers don't have jobs, which will play into low income figures.

2. Marriage matters. Household income should be higher than individual income because a household can have more wage earners than one. If two married people each make $44,000 a year, the household income would be $88,000 a year while the individual income would be $44,000 a year.

2. Marriage matters - men. Men significantly see increases in income when married. This is one reason why the median household income is much higher than if you took two median individuals and combined them. In fact, many of the "households" had one income. How could that one income be higher than the median individual income? Married men were often the reason why.

Important side note: When media sources lie (neither of these did), they often lie by using the word "household." For instance, they will claim that "household income in the United States has been decreasing for three decades" without telling you that households in the United States have been decreasing in wage earners in the last three decades (ie: the rise of single parents).

Do Echo Boomers Fear China?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

A blog post [Update: dead link removed] discussed a recent Brooking's study [Update: dead link removed] about Echo Boomers and their views on countries as allies or problems. When it comes to China, Echo Boomers differ from former U.S. generations as more Echo Boomers tend to see China as a potential problem. Of course, this study failed to clarify how Echo Boomers saw China.

As an example of this, Echo Boomers grew up in a world where jobs were being exported to China to capitalize on cheap labor. The U.S. lost manufacturing jobs, which have historically paid well, while China made major gains. In the past thirty years, China's trade surplus has grown while the U.S.'s trade surplus has increased. Echo Boomers may see China as a threat only in the sense of economics, not in terms of military.

But I've cautioned a nuance here with thought leaders on this subject: some Echo Boomers see the U.S. as the problem in this situation of exporting jobs. This means that China isn't a threat to them, but incompetent U.S. leadership is. How does this play out over time? It will vary by the group, as some Echo Boomers view this as a reason to leave the U.S. entirely, while others may vote for policies that haven't been popular in decades.

Related To This and the Impacts

As an additional note, many Echo Boomers think that China will be the most powerful country by 2025. If you spend any time at all reading online news, you will know that this view is prevalent throughout U.S. media. While I don't doubt that China will become the dominant power, it should be of note that for a generation that reads a lot of online news, this view is not surprising. Anyone who's visited China will feel impressed by its rise as well.

Notice theme? According to most online media, globalism is a good thing. Yet Echo Boomers don't see a higher standard of living, lower costs, better jobs, and they won't live as long as their parents. In an Echo Boomer's mind (and this frequently comes up with them), how is globalism good?

Even though Echo Boomers trust the internet and use it frequently as I've noted, an online narrative will never defeat personal experience. I'm neither saying anying positive or negative about globalism, but noting here that if people don't feel the positive effects in their life over time, your narrative will fail and then they won't trust you.

I think that Echo Boomers' views on China as a potential problem (mostly from an economic standpoint) will encourage them to vote and fight for policies which favor domestic production over foreign production, if they remain in the United States. We may be seeing the end of the view that globalism is a good thing, as Echo Boomers - who are experiencing high rates of unemployment - see China as an economic threat.

Note the Perspective

One point to remind people here: this article is written from a U.S. leadership view, not Chinese view. Unbalanced trade leads to long term resentment and possible conflict. I am not advising any foreign leadership, but if I was, I'd highlight that every country should aim for trade and business that prevents long term resentment. As Sun Tzu remarked, all wars are won in economics long before they're won on the battlefields.

This applies to other countries as well. "Are we creating a bonfire of later resentment?"

Will Marriage Become A Minority?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

Will Fewer Echo Boomers Marry Than Not Marry?

According to a Pew [updated link, but data set may not be available] study only 21% of Echo Boomers are married as of 2009. I am currently in a 31 day study of counting married Echo Boomers I speak with (right now, the average is at 22% among the ages of 18-31). While marriage, as an institution, will never end, I expect that the United States will experience record low marriage rates (compared to previous American generations) among the Millennial generation for a few reasons.

1. If you look at the age group I'm dealing with (18-31), you'll notice that there are 6 years above 25 within that group, and 7 years below 25. Both my current numbers and the Pew study state that only 21% of Echo Boomers are married with my study narrowing the age range. Even if marriage rates tripled among this generation that would only mean that 63-66% of Echo Boomers would be married. That would mean that 37-34% of Echo Boomers would never marry. From the GSS data that I can recall in college, in former generations, about 20-25% of former generations never married. In other words, even if marriage rates triple, the Millennial generation would still possess the most never married group of members in U.S. history.

2. Obviously, Echo Boomers have witnessed divorce more than former generations, and might be reluctant to marry. While I avoid leading with topics like this when speaking with Echo Boomers, I've heard many Echo Boomers express concern about divorce as a reason to avoid marriage. (They raise this point and it's worth considering that they notice the divorce rate.) The main reason to avoid marriage that Echo Boomers list, however, is financial concerns, but divorce can quickly change a person's financial standing.

On a point I often raise when speaking to thought leaders in the legal profession: marketing products around divorce prevention has worked better with Millennial men than other generations of men. I recognize the challenge of this marketing ("preventable products" are a hard sell) and I also recognize the legal complexity. However, a young man who pays $200 to listen to an attorney tell actual stories of divorce that save him $180,000 from an expensive divorce is well worth the cost.

3. The Millennial generation has more single parents than former generations, and this will encumber marriage consideration. Notice that in this study [Update: dead link removed] some Echo Boomers have delayed marriage consideration due to the economic conditions. Obviously, finances are a concern for many Echo Boomers, and marrying someone, who already has kids will add to a person's economic stress.

None of this is illogical; obviously children are more expensive in terms of finances and time than some homes are, so avoiding marriage in these situations can alleviate or prevent financial stress. Echo Boomers, unlike their parents, are inheriting a country with a massive amount of debt and a significant amount of economic uncertainty.

Here's what I expect for the future of marriage rates in the United States:

The United States will look more like Europe and Japan in the Millennial generation; low marriage rates and changing economic demand. I estimate that 33-40% of Echo Boomers will never marry in the United States. The majority of Echo Boomers will marry, but we'll see more single Americans than we have with past American generations.

Remember, this will carry some upside for some companies and individuals! Some successful future companies will succeed by finding products and services that these singles will want. For an example of this, if the United States mirrors Japan, some trends Japan is seeing among its young men [updated link] may be products that can appeal to these single Echo Boomers in the United States (or a current example in the U.S. already: the fitness industry tends to appeal to single Echo Boomers over married Echo Boomers). The same with any company selling dating-related products; this generation will date much more.

Highlights Shared With Thought Leaders On Consequences

First, we'll see positives due to the rise of more single men and women. Housing and rental demand will be much higher, as marriage consolidates housing demand (2 people getting 1 home versus 2 people getting 2 homes). Anything that feeds the dating market - fitness, dating coaches, pickup artists, dating products, etc - will also become popular. We may even see the rise of new products because past American generations were married, so no one thought of business products for single people since this market would be smaller. In addition, niche marketing becomes easier. Selling to married people significantly differs from selling to single men and women; in other words, it will be even easier to sell to married people because of each category being different.

As for the costs, societies with fewer married people tend to be more violent. If you study marriage through human history, then you'll observe that some of its stated benefits through history has been a form of social control. Modern Americans like to think this only applies to one gender, but both genders are actually controlled by marriage in society. These expectations have both positive and negative effects. One major positive effect that cannot be ignored is that married people commit far fewer crimes than single people (even non-violent crimes, like fraud).

In a similar manner, single people work less than married people. Researchers tend to see this pattern significantly in men, but in my research, I've seen it as much in women (though married men do work significantly more than every other group - married women, single men, and single men). What does this mean? In a sentence: married people are more productive and our standard of living is determined by our society's productivity.

Another often-missed pattern of married people is that they create more social cohesion. One reason why is that when comparing single people with married people, married people are more likely to commit and invest in a place than single people. In other words, married people are more likely to stay in their community and get to know their community than single people. (In fact, married people describe "moving" as a difficult challenge compared to single people and the reasoning isn't only related to more family members, but losing connections to their current community).

I cannot absolutely know what will happen in the future. But if I had to predict the future United States I would predict that it would be more violent than now, less productive than now, more on an unsustainable economic path than now, and more socially fragmented than now.

But this may not happen. Echo Boomers may marry more than I expect and we may see some of these trends reverse. That's not what I predict for this generation, but it's not impossible.

Do Echo Boomers Just Own Or Rent?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

New Options To Be Added This Year To the Millennial Data

I've dislike the rent vs. own portion of my study because many of the Echo Boomers I speak with do not own or rent. After six months of collecting and compiling data from a variety of sources when speaking with Echo Boomers, I began to realize that I left out an important category: living with relatives or friends.

[Update: dead image]

While I am unable predict the exact results, I can state that around 2-4 Echo Boomers live with their parents for every one Echo Boomer who owns a home. However, with this category added to my study, I'll begin to gain an understanding of what percent of Echo Boomers as neither renters nor home-owners.

According to a recent study [updated link], many Echo Boomers move back with their parents. While this act may have been stigmatized in former generations, among Echo Boomers, moving in with relatives or friends makes economic sense. Based on the Echo Boomers who live with their relatives, I see three major reasons why this option makes good financial sense.

1. Service salaries don't cut it. Many Echo Boomers fail to bring in median income (around $50,000) and lack the financial power of others. If their income is low, they can adjust their living expectations to increase other options. Most Echo Boomers, who live with their parents, do not pay rent. This helps them save either for a home, or helps them hold out until a decent job and salary come along.

As an added note to this point, many Echo Boomers, who rent, share their apartment or homes with multiple roommates (beyond the trite 2 roommate per household). This indicates that many Echo Boomers are trying to save any little income they can.

2. The recession is encumbering them from finding good jobs. Many Echo Boomers have moved back home because the economy isn't offering them jobs in areas they would like to live. Most Echo Boomers living with their parents admit they would like to live on their own, but the recession has kept jobs from opening up in areas they would like to live. A lack of jobs not only encumbers their income, but restricts where they can live.

3. Food and gas prices are pinching their wallet. Echo Boomers will lack the homeownership power of former generations as long as gas and food prices continue to remain high. If you're losing more money every year from rising prices, you must save in other areas. Many Echo Boomers are choosing to save their money based on where they live, and living with relatives seems to be their favorite option.

Cultural Differences

One important point worth highlighting here: culture matters. Home-ownership has been hyped by American thought leaders. But the United States has a significant (and growing) number of people who are here that were not born in the United States. They do not value home-ownership and they also view a lot of the bureaucracy as both contradictory and odd.

"It makes no sense to own a home that only makes the bank rich," Louisa said, an Echo Boomer allegedly born in Mexico who came to the United States with her family less than a decade ago. "I'm near a million in wealth, but I still won't buy a home. My sisters and I live with our parents. We love it and we don't see a need to own a home." She highlights a big gap in culture: their culture doesn't value home-ownership, but community - specifically family community. [Note that I don't include Louisa or her family in my study, as I cannot validate some of what she claims, so at most I write "allegedly" as it could be a stretch of the truth on some of what she says].

"It's not just home-ownership either," she explained. "My parents take care of my children. I'm not going to pay for childcare. I feel the exact same with other big expenses like car repairs, law help, and accounting. I have family in all those industries."

While Louisa states that her parents own a large house on a decent size piece of land, I'll note people who live like her don't actually need higher incomes. They're also far less dependent on the system. When people complain about rising costs or prices, they're really complaining that their income isn't rising as well. This isn't the case for Louisa. For an example, if her statement about getting free car service is true (I cannot confirm), this means that a $1,000 after tax expense for most people is $0 for her. The same also applies to her rent. While most young people her age pay $800-$1100 in after tax rent for the type of living quarters she claims, she's paying $0.

You can imagine what happens over a 40 year period of time with people who live like this versus people who have to pay for all the services they need. Culture matters and people who believe that families should work and coordinate together will be ahead of people who don't have families or fight with their families about everything.

The Other New Category

Another group that I've added, though the data for this group will come from specific sources, is homeless. Some Echo Boomers can't afford to own, rent, and don't have families or friends to help. What happens to them? Homelessness.

One repetitive point I say about Echo Boomers that few have listened to is that they will not outlive their parents when comparing life expectancies. People do not understand how significant this is and most people think I'm wrong here. However, over time, I will be validated on this point. Echo Boomers will fall short of their parents life expectancies. Homelessness will be a part of why Echo Boomers don't live as long as their parents.

How Do Echo Boomers Think?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

According to a few studies, one by Brookings [Update: dead link removed] and one one by Pew, Echo Boomers hold views that are quite different than some previous American generations. Echo Boomers constitute the next major generation of American leaders, and will influence the political spectrum as they mature. Some of the highlights of Echo Boomers' views from the study:

1. Unlike former American generations, Echo Boomers favor isolationist policies. Keep in mind that this generation has been influenced by the U.S. government spending significant amounts of money overseas, while the U.S. has experienced major trouble in our own society. Echo Boomers may be thinking, "Why help others if we can't even help ourselves?

2. Echo Boomers use online media sources for their news more than any other form.

3. Approximately 38% of Echo Boomers identify themselves as Democrat, 26% identify themselves as Republican, and 29% identify themselves as Independent.

4. Among all different political views, Echo Boomers are influenced most by their parents. It should also be of note here that many Echo Boomers have formed political and economic views based on what happened to their parents (outsourcing, Enron, et cetera).

5. Echo Boomers, unlike Generation Xers, favor government jobs and opportunities.

6. Echo Boomers respect energy companies the least, while respecting IT and consumer goods companies the most. When you consider Google and Apple, this should come as no surprise as technology demarcates Echo Boomers from other generations in terms of use. I will caution readers on this point because we see pendulum shifts with industries from one generation to the next. For example iGenZ will probably have a less favorable view toward big tech.

7. Echo Boomers favor more government than former American generations.

Remember

Remember that generations react to what they've seen in previous generations. When Echo Boomers see a company like Enron fail, what do you think they conclude? The same with the bank bailouts during the financial crisis of 2008-2009.

I will caution that I have observed that the Baby Boom generation was the most anti-war when younger and became the most pro-war as they aged. I note this here because generations can shift from one point to another and faster than you think. What I highlight here from Brookings and Pew is what we observe right now. But this doesn't mean that these will always hold true for this generation. In addition, some of what older Echo Boomers may think in 20 years may be a reaction to what they thought right now ("I was young and dumb" - the common line we hear from older people).

Can Echo Boomers Survive the Recession?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

Do Echo Boomers Feel the Recovery?

Since the recession began, young Echo Boomers have been financially impacted more than any other American demographic. While the implications may not be immediately obvious, when you evaluate the Millennial financial data, you'll notice that this generation lacks resources in general. Without a job, many Echo Boomers will stay in college, work various jobs or start businesses to make ends meet, or leave the United States.

This past recession will define Echo Boomers. While we see reports of the recession ending, I view this as false because the official definition can have ended, but the results Echo Boomers see show the opposite for them. Stated another way: one could say, "We're not in a recession" and this is true. But Echo Boomers have seen a significant reduction in their standard of living with many being unable to find work.

Education Isn't Delivering

Although Echo Boomers have a tendency to be educated, in many cases, they still have experienced trouble finding jobs. I've spoken with multiple Echo Boomers, who have college degrees, but are working in retail jobs with the pay slightly above minimum wage. As one Echo Boomer stated, "I'm not making enough money to pay off my student loans yet, and I'm not sure that graduate school is an option when I think of taking on more debt." As a pertinent side note: the education bubble will pop when students realize that their return on investment in education won't pay their student loans.

Consider this point because I've had repetitive conversations with Echo Boomers like this: these young people studied for a profession, yet they are not employed in that profession. Not only is this a loss of human capital, it reflects a non-investment in the next generation.

But the bigger problem here? Echo Boomers paid huge sums of money for education. Yet many of these Echo Boomers don't feel their employment reflects their investment. That may foreshadow a bigger problem later.

Overall

Approximately 35-45% of Echo Boomers I speak to on a daily basis are either unemployed, working part time, or working at a job that pays minimum wage or slightly above minimum wage. These factors mean a lot for their future economic standing: without a decent income, their current loans balances will take longer to pay off; there will be a significant time frame before they can buy homes; they will experience a lot of trouble when applying for any credit. In addition, without work they will face a loss of human capital if they remain in the United States.

Young men in particular have been especially hit hard, as employers can reduce hiring young men without consequences. I've noted with thought leaders this is similar to the educational systems the Millennial generation saw growing up: even though women were over represented in higher education, very few financial opportunities existed for young men to assist or encourage young men to pursue education. I've highlighted that this helped some young men see little economic future in the United States for them as a group. Approximately 12-18% of young men I've spoken with have either moved or planned to leave the United States permanently. Given how cheap some real estate overseas is, this has allowed some of these young men to become home-owners earlier, plus helped them get their foot in the door for citizenship.

(For non-American businesses, this group of young men has exceptional ambition and will do well over time. Considering that many of these male Echo Boomers are either educated or extremely hard-working, I would recommend building relationships with these young men as they enter your country.)

Over time, I actually expect many of these young men to terminate their United States citizenship. While you may read about financial reasons for terminating US citizenship elsewhere, I'll note here that the negative sentiment toward young men in the United States has alienated many of them. Their reasoning for terminating their citizenship has less to do with financial reasons and more to do with culture. When you compound this with some of the exclusion they feel when applying for jobs in the United States (especially during this past recession), this becomes amplified.

In other words, the American young men leaving the United States and abandoning their citizenship is less about this recession and more about the overall culture. I recognize that this is seldom brought up because people assume a financial reason only. Remember, that this is only a small fraction of young men (12-18%), though this is a much more ambitious group of young men.

Final Thoughts

I don't expect Echo Boomers to start their financial lives well off. I also predict that we will eventually see a backlash against higher education, though this could happen in a variety of ways. However, most Echo Boomers are still optimistic. As economic factors continue to affect Echo Boomers, we will see if their optimism is well-placed.

Generation Y Is How BIG?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

The Size Basics

According to a CBS news video, Echo Boomers (sometimes called Generation Y or Millennials) are the largest American generation since 1960. If you include Echo Boomers born from 1982 to 1995, there are roughly 80 million total. For reference and consistent date sake, Echo Boomer by my definition means a young person born between 1980 and 1995. This would mean that there's more than 80 million.

When I worked in the financial industry, approximately 25-30% of my discussions were Echo Boomers. While this had been trending upward for the last two years, some of these Echo Boomers were excluded because they're too young (1993, 1994, 1995). As this generation matures, I expect that a third of financial customers will be Echo Boomers. From a business perspective, not only is this exciting news, but it also means that unaware companies, which fail to market well to Echo Boomers, will easily fall to companies, which have prepared for this massive demographic.

Business Impacts

An example of this generation's size affecting business would be the housing market. A generation with over 80 million members may mean a generation that eventually will need more housing units (and depending on the Millennial marriage rate, the demand may be higher because fewer Echo Boomers will marry).

As a final note, notice that there is some disagreement as to when the Millennial generation begins. Even with the disagreement, however, the estimates are about 80 million (close to one-fourth of the U.S. population). An example for investors or traders, would be Generation Y's affect on oil prices, as more Echo Boomers, who drive, will cause the price of oil to rise in the long run (unless alternatives are developed within the car market that do not use oil). Or, Echo Boomers may adjust their behavior (public transportation or living closer to work) and we see reduced demand for oil.

The key? The size of the generation will carry impacts on businesses.

Misunderstandings of Generation Y's Size (Updated From Private Discussions)

One popular myth about Echo Boomers is that they will follow the path of their parents in terms of economic demand. This is false for numerous reasons, but one I'll highlight here involves healthcare: I predict that Echo Boomers will not live longer than their parents (and most don't realize this). In fact, I predict that life expectancies will fall in the future.

I use this example to highlight a major difference for Baby Boomers versus Echo Boomers. Baby Boomers will live longer than their Millennial children, which explains some of the economic decisions they made. When you plan that you'll live to 95, you live a different life than if your life is cut shorter than 95. As Echo Boomers recognize this reality, we will see shifts with some of the businesses that Baby Boomers loved (example would be things like long term care).

The same applies to reactionary or pendulum-based behavior. Echo Boomers see their parent's behavior that worked out or did not work out and make adjustments. Understanding their sentiment toward their parent's behavior will be key for recognizing if an industry will make it or not. For instance, how Echo Boomers feel about oil companies versus tech companies significantly differs from their parents. Will they always feel this way? No, but how will their sentiment influence their behavior for the next decade before it changes?

Baby Boomers tend to see the world from their view. In talking with Baby Boomers over time, I've observed that they're ready to speak before their time. They struggle with listening. I recognize that it may feel difficult to read this but I don't think Echo Boomers will be as similar as many Baby Boomers expect to their parents.

"No Houses Please. We're Echo Boomers."

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

3 Reasons Why We Won't See A Demand For Housing Among Echo Boomers For a While

"I want to buy a home in the next five years or so, but honestly man, I don't know how I'm going to do it. I just don't make that much money." ~ One out of many Echo Boomers who've said similar statements

Housing prices fell, so it's a good time to buy, right?

Not if you're an Echo Boomer. For all the articles about Echo Boomers being one of the largest generations in American history (some saying the largest, some saying the second largest), this generation lacks the financial power it will take to buy a home. Add to that encumbrance the fact that some Echo Boomers don't want to buy a home; wanderlust has more appeal to these Echo Boomers. We may see a housing recovery in the next few years, or we may not. However, one thing is certain: at this present time, Echo Boomers won't be driving the housing recovery.

1: Echo Boomers have light wallets.

Suppose that half of Echo Boomers wanted to buy a home tomorrow, and put in an application. How many of them would be approved? In the traditional sense, not even 10%, but if some managed an FHA loan where they had to put a minimum down, we might see more homeowners - though, there would be more problems if that occurred.

Before dealing with non-traditional loans, let's review how prepared Echo Boomers are for a traditional down payment of 10-20% on a mortgage. The below graph is the financial distribution of Echo Boomers with a red line showing a rough estimate of how much Echo Boomers would need in assets for a small down payment. On this graph, I used $15,000 as a minimum amount - which keep in mind, would only be a 20% down payment for a $75,000 home. But we don't expect Echo Boomers to buy $200,000 homes yet, right?

[Update: dead image]

The biggest problem with the above graph? In many areas, a $75,000 home would be an excellent deal - many Echo Boomers will need much more than $15,000 for their first home.

Of course, the most obvious rebuttal I hear is that Echo Boomers could try other loans, like an FHA loan where they could put down less than 5%. The trouble with this logic is that it fails to consider any financial emergency after Echo Boomers buy a home. As we can see from the above graph, few Echo Boomers are prepared to buy a home, and in many cases, they would be stretching their net worth to buy a home. What would happen in a financial emergency? A Millennial housing boom might quickly turn into a housing bust with so many Echo Boomers walking below and on the line.

Remember the following data:

[Update: dead image]

90% of Echo Boomers have fewer than $1,500. Does that sound like a massive generation waiting to buy a home? One financial emergency, and they would be exiting their mortgage. By contrast, 20-25% of foreign Echo Boomers look like they're ready to buy homes, only there are fewer of them. Add to that the fact that many foreign Echo Boomers live in the United States for education only, and plan to return to their homeland when they are finished (as a general trend, most Indian and Chinese students tell me that they intend to return to India or China when they complete their college degree).

My major take-away point here is that Echo Boomers lack the financial power to buy homes. Things may change in the future, but for now, we shouldn't expect to see them rushing to buy homes. If they do without building assets first, based on the above data, we may see a terrible bust shortly thereafter.

2: Do Echo Boomers want homes?

"Why would I ever buy a home? You can say that renting is 'throwing money away,' but you'll never get all the money you paid in maintenance back, so ..." ~ One of the many skeptical Echo Boomers about homeownership

A real estate agent's worst nightmare: someone who thinks homeownership is "throwing money away." However, skeptical Echo Boomers have a point: the time and money that goes into home maintenance is never recovered, nor the money paid to interest, nor the money paid to homeowner's insurance. For all the praise of owning a home ("building equity" or "best investment"), the downside is seldom spelled out for people - until recently. For an example, the Nobel prize winning economist, Paul Krugman, questioned home ownership.

Granted, this is not a popular notion here in the United States, but it is a valid statement. Renting, in some cases, is superior to home ownership.

I speak with many Echo Boomers who love to move around a lot, and don't intend to stay in their area. If they plan to move to other states or cities, why buy a home? Not only is there the costs of insurance, interest and maintenance, but you can't always rely on your home selling for what you paid for when you're ready to move. The last thing you want when you receive a job is to be tied down to a home.

While it's difficult to assess in the long run, Echo Boomers may not be a generation that values home ownership as much as former generations. Pendulum swings of society often go back and forth (consider this with iGenZ and note they may favor home ownership earlier at comparable ages). Echo Boomers may be the backlash generation against home ownership. Or, Echo Boomers are currently responding to their economic reality and will eventually buy homes. One thing is certain, however, Echo Boomers don't want homes right now.

3: Your graduate degree is your castle.

"Personally, I'll take a Ph.D. over a home." ~ An Echo Boomer expressing financial goals

Echo Boomers value higher education, above and beyond the basic undergraduate degree. Throughout college, I read that bachelor's degrees were the new high school diploma, while professional degrees were the new college degrees. True or not, this fever caught on as more Echo Boomers tell me their goal is to continue their education beyond an undergraduate education.

The problem, however, is that a graduate degree is not always a path to a higher income. As a case in point of this, many people in my profession bring in a higher income than many college professors with Ph.D.s. Add to that my profession doesn't require a college degree whatsoever, so even someone like myself, who wasted a few years in college, is behind others, who remained in my profession without wasting money on education. The point here is that higher degrees don't mean Echo Boomers will be wealthier in the future.

Higher education can bring costs in the form of student loans. These massive loans for graduate degrees (often in the $40,000 to $60,000 range) might be the mortgage of the future. Keep in mind, many Echo Boomers will defer payments, only increasing the principal balance of their student loans. The financial commitment these Echo Boomers have to higher degrees limits their other possibilities, like buying a home.

(Higher education costs time. The same time a person invests in higher education could be invested in doubling work on a job to build experience or working a related job. A person could also invest that time in creating a business. I often speak of the financial cost of education, but it's worth noting the time cost for education that will possibly impact delayed home-ownership over time.)

Even if we assume that Echo Boomers with graduate degrees will make more money, we must also state that many of them will also possess more debt. This debt will lengthen the time it takes them to buy their first home (assuming they want one), and will limit the type of home they can buy. You may think, "But they have a higher income," but the reality of costs toward commitments adds up quickly.

The final point on graduate degrees is that they increase an Echo Boomer's opportunity in the form of work, while limiting an Echo Boomer's opportunity in the form of costs. Essentially, these Echo Boomers have more doing freedom, but less consuming freedom. However, this may be a reflection of Millennial values - doing beats consuming. But if that opinion remains prevalent among Echo Boomers, home ownership will lack any appeal.

4: Remember the Pendulum [update from private discussions]

Be careful about reading that Echo Boomers won't ever become home owners. The Baby Boom generation lived one of the freest existences in American history - "We'll drop everything we're doing and go to California" (an actual quote from a teacher in high school who boasted about their life without car insurance or a need to have a job). What did Baby Boomers do? Create the most bureaucracy they could imagine. Why? People often rush from one extreme to another extreme, rather than moderating their position.

Echo Boomers may be the same. They may not favor home ownership in their youth, then turn into the strongest advocates of it ever. It's impossible to know, but I caution people on taking extreme positions under the assumption that "people will always think" a certain view. People change. Realtors can use this time for a possible future pivot and that also leads me to the next point.

Often the generation that follows a generation will have different beliefs. iGenZ at a comparable age may favor home ownership. A high demand for renting may cause rents to become unaffordable or absurd relative to home prices. In the same way that no Echo Boomer understands a world of "no car insurance" (Baby Boom generation's youth), someone from iGenZ may not understand why Echo Boomers preferred renting over owning.

Oph Topik: Do Echo Boomers Lack Empathy?

Note that this article has been updated to also include some of the private discussions with thought leaders in the past. You can read my final overview of my research into the Millennial generation along with what I predicted and what happened as they matured at this link. While I still speak about Echo Boomers and iGenZ privately, I seldom add new articles to this specific blogspot site. If you're reaching out about a speaking engagement, you can contact me at the research firm SqlinSix.

A recent study supports a rising notion that Echo Boomers lack empathy when compared to former generations. I think that this study fails in several places. I will add here as well that if one could prove Echo Boomers lack empathy, the social results will also have some economic implications.

1. While the study has been conducted, its size causes concerns, especially if we are to assume its applicable to all Echo Boomers.

2. The study failed to consider some of its own results, for instance

They are more likely, meanwhile, to admit that “other people’s misfortunes” usually don’t disturb them.

That sounds terrible until you consider that Echo Boomers use technology more than any other generation. It is now possible to have conversations with people you've never met face to face. The possible misfortune manipulation (ie: using sob stories to try to manipulate others) factor has increased by an unknown multiple.

Consider that in the past, people didn't experience misfortune manipulation as much since most people came in contact with people they knew.

What about now? With technology the sob stories have only increased, and exposure to them has risen. As an example of this, I experienced thousands of misfortune manipulation while in customer service. These stories, which are a form of passive aggressive abuse, desensitize you to a person's problems since most of them are fake.

What I find disturbing is not the lack of empathy, but the people who think that using a sob story can allow them to break the rules and exploit others.

3. The definition of friend has changed. While I am unsure of how people in the early 1900s used friend, I know they didn't mean a picture on Facebook or MySpace. As people move toward electronic means of friendship - which possesses many advantages and disadvantages - relationships may become less emotional in time. A lot of emotion is expressed in flesh and blood, something technology lacks. This doesn't mean that modern friendship will be unemotional, but we shouldn't be surprised if friendship becomes less emotional.