INTERGENERATIONAL THEFT: The £15 TRILLION UK Government Policy Bias That Makes Baby Boomers Undeservingly Rich By Stealing From Generation X, Gen Y (Millennials), Gen Z (Zoomers) & Future Generations Paperback – 9 July 2023

Three words: Amazing, brave, and brilliant.When I first saw this book title, my first thoughts were ‘Wow! At last, someone has had the guts to speak the truth and stand up for younger generations and call out the total boomer rubbish!’, and so I just had to write this review to express my gratitude for this wonderful book that speaks to my entire generation.I’m in my late 20’s (Gen Z) and like me you are probably at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis struggling with student debt, trapped at home or paying most of your salary in extortionate rent in a shared house, (and getting on the housing ladder or having children are just out of the question). If so, then you simply MUST read this book to understand WHY.(Spoiler alert!: you haven’t failed. The political system has failed you)The book is great because it explains in very clear jargon free language how things are so much harder for young people nowadays and it proves it with well cited independent evidence in all cases. For example, the charts on housing vs. earnings are wonderfully clear in the way they prove once and for all how housing is WAY more unaffordable than it ever used to be. Boomers: you are wrong and have totally lost the argument.But the book goes further and what it does so well Is forensically tears down every part of government policy and exposes HOW the system is rigged against young people and reveals the reasons WHY young people have been failed by our boomer dominated political and media establishment. It was a real eye opener for me as reading the evidence it becomes blindingly obvious how all parts of government are designed to pander to the wishes of older voter. For example how the housing crisis is actually intentional to keep house prices rising for the boomers making them feel asset rich, whilst young people like me get hammered for rent and don’t stand a chance of owning a home.But the book goes beyond the obvious things like housing to things that I wasn’t even aware of like the pensions timebomb (OMG who knew pensions are totally unfunded and paid out of my current taxes?!), national debt, and things that occurred before I was even born like privatisations, PFI schemes etc. And one of the most emotional aspect of the polemic is the chapter on climate change as we are already beginning to pay a heavy price for the negligence of older people that are mainly responsible for ravaging and polluting the planet.What really impressed me though was how the author explained how all the clear policy bias to the boomers basically results in a massive wealth transfer from the young to the boomers, and I have no say in it. The upshot is that I will be poorer and my life chances are diminished, and that makes me so sad.There were lighter moments though. The chapter debunking the baby boomer nonsense was comical and sad in its poignant accuracy reflecting the many painful conversations I’ve had at family/Christmas dinners. We’ve all been there when they ask ‘why I don’t have a large house yet, or a husband or children. They will even rudely say ‘tick tick tick’ about by biological clock. Boomers are ignorant and just don’t get it… they had it so much easier and were married with children, and a house in their later 20’s and only one of them had to work! ha, and the bit describing the BBC as the ‘baby boomer channel’ was hilarious. The BBC is dull and under 50’s don’t watch it.Well now I will go armed with this great book, and at the next family gathering if they dare say anything I will refer them to the appropriate chapter. That will get them off my case and shut them up.Perhaps this will become the ultimate Christmas present that will make family gatherings so much more tolerable across the land?!Bravo for writing this as you speak for my entire generation!

As a boomer in my early 60s I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy all the advantages outlined for my generation Including free university and generous public sector pension provision whilst my generation Z children will have none of this. The book is very comprehensive in its scope and includes the PFI scandal. At the time 20 years ago it was obvious to me how unfair it was to make the next generation pay for this.The generation 10 years older than me enjoyed an even better deal when local government officials retired in their early 50s and police officers in their 40s -all taken care of for life with those fabulous public sector pensions. As the next generation hits retirement age a shock awaits them .Generation Y and Z won’t and can’t pay for unlimited pensions, medical and social care . Every Ponzi scheme runs out in the end !A very necessary read for everyone

A very thought-provoking book that appeals to both the emotions and to logic, and serves as a call to action for its target demographic. Well-substantiated and appealing to me as a woman in her thirties concerned about the future. It could have been edited a bit better, but other than that I have no criticisms. I very much enjoyed the author's passion and feel that this elevated the book brilliantly.

I am impressed by Intergenerational Theft, having bought two copies here. That book forms a study of economic trends on the topic of widening gaps in wealth between generations in Britain, especially the decreasing affordability of housing. Yes, that work covers a heavy topic - one painful for many like me in generation X, and younger people struggling with housing access and the cost of living. To understand what’s happening, however, people should read this study. But, for all that, Harrison’s book is readable, interesting and educational.For me, that work goes beyond what its cover promises. It also gives a primer in topics essential for an understanding of the economic forces shaping Britain in the 2020s. There, Harrison gives cogent, well-supported analysis. I learnt new stuff and reacquainted myself with political and economic trends and principles I had forgotten or not before grasped. Examples covered include earning trends and national finances, housing availability and markets, pensions, debt and privatisation. That work includes the economic effects of climate change - again with a stress on the finances of ordinary people.What impresses me most about Harrison’s book is how thoroughly he brings those economic forces together, showing how they affect us. In particular, the shifts in affluence between recent generations in Britain is staggering. Yes, that is a subject many people would rather ignore; nevertheless, politics and economics change our lives, whether or not we care. It is therefore better for us to see and understand those trends, if we are to have a chance of improving the lives of people in the UK. In conclusion, I recommend that book to laypeople, academics and policy-makers wanting to understand economics relating to ordinary people in Britain today, with a view to the future. Thanks for reading this review.