I just don't see it that young folks have it tougher these days than prior generations
but, I'm a boomer and that's how boomers think
I also don't think this belongs on the virus thread
Ehh, I like it better than most of the virus talk, TBH.
I don't know that young people have it tougher (I don't even know what cohort is "young" any more). They certianly have certain nicer things. They seem to have less access to certain other, more basic things. Some of that is tied into the decline of blue collar work, the slip of private sector unions, a few other factors. In any case, it seems there's less stability, but perhaps that's just perspective looking back. By the same token, some parts of society have it a lot better, and their experience can't be minimized.
I suppose it's all relative. People who were older now were the first generation to not understand how credit card debt worked. They were in positions of more responsibility when our national savings rate hovered around zero in 2008 before the crash.
Let me put it another way. I think, on average, generations aren't all that different. There are some smart folks, some stupid ones, some very responsible and some very irresponsible. The boomers are not inherently special, nor is the current generation. But, our attention focuses on different groups when it suits different needs, namely the desire to feel some degree of aggrieved. Younger people look back at some of the entitlement of boomers (what happened to pensions?), without acknowledgment of how much of that position was built. Older people look down on some of the frivolities, setting aside the fact it's not like young dummies invented frivolities and many young people are thrifty and all that kinds of stuff. Everyone casts themselves as hero of victim in their own way.
Chances are, no one is that special. Their situations are different. The struggles and satisfactions are to a degree overblown. I hope some of the challenges my cohort felt can translate into frugality down the line and the world will just keep on spinning.