The cutoff generation. You may find yourself squirming a bit.

[lambchopp59]

I'm part of the next wave of retirees. I'm probably going to be forced to take my social security a little early due to recent cancer diagnosis. And I'm screwed, after countless occasions of being screwed.
Even towards the 80's it was becoming the norm for corporate entities to eject most employees before they become retirement responsibilities. I also joined the "gig" generation long ago that turns over even quicker, but short term gains are significant. It's been those in-between gig times, never able to save up significant amounts, emergencies and more recently medical bills have repeatedly forced me to drain retirement savings.
Most of my retirement funds went to the fund brokers, who charge back exorbitant fees for early withdrawal.
Oh, no you don't go there, older boomer, and I'll tell you why. Those who have fallen under that healthy retirement fund status are the norm of my generation-- not the exception and becoming quickly more the norm. When I've mentioned this in the workplace there are a dozen, in a dozen different work settings Ive gigged for now, drop the pretentious shit ready to chime in about their story of having to empty their own retirement accounts! And a few, very obviously privileged few, that sheepishly excuse themselves from the conversation at hand.
These vultures have stolen enough from me. I do better stashing away the damn cash than those "retirement fund" gambling. If the job market is bad, the rich get richer and working Americans get screwed.
Most of my relatives are of that boomer generation. Bought homes with clean walls long ago I'll never know, and travel the nation and the world on their "pensions". Most are Democrats but I've made mention of "Gee how very Republican of you" countless times from getting an "I got mine, get your own" attitude about my generation. Not for long: it only takes a few highly enlightening, simple, honest economic comparisons can embarrass the holy crap out of them! They soon discover they have something in the oven they gotta go and...
Now there's an important reason I'm mentioning this here. One factor has been Republican presidential administrations--- I've never, unexceptionally, gotten through the end of a Republican presidential administration with a job! Period! My field is very market-driven, and by the time they've gotten done taking the wrecking ball to the working class's world there aren't any gigs. At GWB's end of term it took 6 months, not one opening that didn't garner thousands of applicants. I was draines further than ever. There it is: forced again to blow through assets we worked so hard to scrimp and save beyond much of older boomers imaginations. I recall my older relatives whining about having to cut down on luxuries.
Now, the screwed over generation is getting ready to retire without but only a ramshackle set of belongings, veritably no savings possible for 50 years and barely enough to eek by collection of the social security we paid into. There's not enough to pay for end of life care for most of us.
And now there's the likes of Rick Scrooge trying to steal that.

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. When I hear a Republican say they want to strengthen

Social security and Medicare what they mean is they want to privatize it. They won't say it but that's what they are aiming for.
I expect that they will get around to it sooner or later.

[Walleye]

3. And they think cutting benefits is strengthening it.

[brewens]

2. It's also rare for working class people to get any kind of inheritance at all these days.

I've had three buddies recently who had parents die and the end-of-life care took it all. Same situation 30 years ago and they would have been left with at least enough to help them buy a home.

For generations that was the only real break working class people got their whole lives. Now the system is rigged to take it all.

[MLAA]

4. Top few percent have grown and middle class has shrunk dramatically over last 40 years

if memory serves from a graph I saw a while back. Corporations pay their top tier execs crazy compensation, again dramatic delta between the gap of what CXOs make and their workers during the Sam time period. So, I hear you loud and clear. I don’t remember which year the standard of living began decreasing rather than improving for the subsequent generation.

[lambchopp59]

5. From my perspective, 1980.

I watched property values shoot sky high overnight. The "Reagan effect" was nuts. He started that deficit spending shit, and all the Jonesing Joneses played along, went out and bought flashy new cars on credit.
Jobs for unskilled disappeared. Students got nixed for collecting benefits prior generations relied on rather than rewarded for improving themselves. College and education budgets slashed and community colleges started falling into disrepair. Old folks relished in their new cars sporting "I'm spending my kid's inheritance" bumperstickers and they did. Didn't effect me, I didn't inherit anything worth squat because my parents medical bills exceeded their total assets.
Republicans got drunk on power and madly obsessed with profit. What was supposed to be the "we" decade turned into "me me me mine and me but not you".
And The Police sang "When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around" more prophetically than it was ever meant.

[MLAA]

6. Trickle down economics that didn't trickle.