I just ran across this old article. Can you please provide the source for your chart of months to employment recovery? The chart is wrong - the Bush recession of 2008 did take 80 months to recover to full employment, but the Carter, GHW, and Clinton recessions all recovered employment at about the normal recovery time, according to BLS statistics.

In addition, you leave out one important change that has affected boomers and increased their wealth. In previous generations large retirement savings were not as important, as defined benefit retirement plans provided an adequate level of support in old age. But these plans started to disappear in the 80s, when boomers were right in the middle of their careers. Prudent planning and employer matching almost required that boomers divert a larger portion of their income to investments in stocks, bonds, and other vehicles. This was a new aspect in the economy, but it is part of the continuing economy going forward.