80% of Baby Boomers Pessimistic About America's Direction

New study finds baby boomers are in a funk

Stephanie Chen
CNN

Eighty percent of baby boomers are pessimistic about the current direction of the United States, according to the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends study released Monday.

Who can blame them, with retirement and pension funds shrinking and with the unemployment rate near 10%?

The boomer generation consists of adults between the ages of 45 and 64, according to the The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank.

“Most Americans are pretty glum three years into a Great Recession and a jobless recovery, but even in that context, the baby boomers stand out,” said Paul Taylor, co-author of the study and vice president of the center.

In contrast, the study found only 60% of millennials — individuals between the ages of 18 and 29 — had a bleak view of the way things are going today.

And about 76% of respondents older than baby boomers, also called the “greatest generation,” were dissatisfied with the status quo.

The survey of 1,500 people was conducted earlier this month. View the report (PDF)

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