Why do people think Boomers had it so good?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a hard insight issue and the tricky part is that it's impossible to know if the comparison is fair because not enough time has passed.

Yes Boomers dealt with Vietnam, stagflation, and much more restrictive banking policies that made home ownership more challenging. However that turned around and Boomers then enjoyed perhaps the single most prosperous two decades in the US during their prime earning years. The homes the bought in the early 80s with 12% interest rates and that they had to scrimp and save for to qualify at all, doubled, then ,tripled, then quadrupled in value. Their salaries also increased by multiples. The stock market exploded and they wound up on the ground floor of that rocket.

So yes, in 1982, boomers as a generation were struggling. But in 2024 they are not. They have immense wealth, plus social security is still solvent and medicare is actually functioning better than ever thanks to work on prescription drug prices and supplemental plans. They made it.

Millennials have different challenges. Yes mortgage rates are lower and the rules around mortgages are looser (though not quite as loose as they used to be and that's a good thing). Millennials have more debt starting out thanks to education costs, and unlike boomers they have zero faith their own children will be able to self-fund college. The economy is stronger but the job market is more competitive thanks to globalization and American workers must compete with more highly qualified workers.

Maybe it will all work out like it did for boomers. I hope so! One challenge millennials face is that they continue to lack political power as the political landscape remains dominated by Boomers with a continued focus on Boomer concerns. Key millennial issues (cost of college and cost of housing) still lack consensus and addressing them has been an uphill battle.

To top it off, when millennials advocate for policies that would relieve these key pressures, they are called entitled and whiny and told "hey boomers had high mortgage rates and it was hard to even qualify." But this ignores the fact that *those circumstances changed because they were bad.* Policies shifted to make it easier to buy a home and boomers profited wildly from it. The reason mortgage rules were relaxed and rates brought down over time was not dome gift to millennials. These were policies intended to help boomers. And they did.

This made me chuckle. Sure, they dealt with the ravages of war but it's NBD. Such a millennial post.

My dad is a Boomer. Served during the Vietnam era. I don't think he'd shrug it off so lightly. My grandfather was greatest generation and served in WW2. He came back deaf and a changed man. I don't think younger generations quite understand the long-lasting effects that these wars had on these generations - particularly those that served, which constituted a huge portion of the population.

Millennials only focus on how much money they believe Boomers have now - in their retirement. And no, they're not looking at struggling boomers in middle-America but their own white, wealthy parents. My darling millennials - your worldview is skewed. Of course white, wealthy boomers have money now after 50 years of savings. You, too, will have more money after investing for 50 years. This is basic math.

But lucky you that you will likely never have to serve in war as every generation before you, and you have significantly more physical, food, and political security than any prior time in history. I know that they don't believe that but just open a history book to any random year in the 19th/20th century and do a side-by-side. Plus, most of what I hear complaints about are not buying a 3500 sq ft house. Ok. Check avg housing size in 1950 and then get back to me.

Imagine thinking Vietnam was the last war. Who do you think went to Iraq? Afghanistan? Those silly millennials who have only known peace, I guess.

Vietnam was the last war to have a draft. Being drafted for a war and electing to pursue a military career are two very different paths. Plus, 1 out of 10 servicemen in Vietnam died. There were nearly 60K US deaths with only 4K in Iraq. You cannot compare the two, or their impact on the general public.

Back to millennials not understanding basic US civics.

Plus, Iraq War was 2003 to 2011. That's GenX

Millennials were born between 1986-2011.

Someone born in 1986 was 17 years old in 2003, and 25 in 2011. There were definitely millennials in Iraq.

Also, US service members were dying in Afghanistan as recently as 2021-even Gen Z were killed.

Do you honestly believe that there were more deaths in Iraq than Vietnam? It's mind-boggling to me that millennials are trying to argue that Iraq was more impactful on the population at large, or more deadly. Or that it was a millennial war instead of a GenX or even Boomer war. Millenials have serious main character syndrome and I'm not sure how they get out of it. A book maybe?

Do you really not know how to read? It's mind-boggling that you would quote my post and then just make something up. I never said there were "more deaths."
I'm Gen X, not Millennial, and so is my husband who did two tours of Iraq. Many of the people he served with over there were (yes, WERE) Millennials.

Which is still irrelevant to the point at hand. Vietnam was a more impactful war - hands down - on society, national psyche, and by way of total death count. Iraq War, while terrible, did not have the same impact. Did Millenials serve? sure, I guess the older ones. But it did not impact the generation in the same way. One of the many reasons being that the generation was not up in arms over being drafted - against their will - for 1 in 10 to return dead.

You are arguing a totally unrelated point that - per your argument - really has no relevance to the issue at hand.

And the younger ones.
And Gen Z

Your argument about the draft is irrelevant to the point at hand. Millennials HAVE served and still do.
Your argument really has no relevance.

[Anonymous]

Because they bought their home for 11 raspberries https://www.youtube.com/shorts/71X1MuXf-4Q

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a hard insight issue and the tricky part is that it's impossible to know if the comparison is fair because not enough time has passed.

Yes Boomers dealt with Vietnam, stagflation, and much more restrictive banking policies that made home ownership more challenging. However that turned around and Boomers then enjoyed perhaps the single most prosperous two decades in the US during their prime earning years. The homes the bought in the early 80s with 12% interest rates and that they had to scrimp and save for to qualify at all, doubled, then ,tripled, then quadrupled in value. Their salaries also increased by multiples. The stock market exploded and they wound up on the ground floor of that rocket.

So yes, in 1982, boomers as a generation were struggling. But in 2024 they are not. They have immense wealth, plus social security is still solvent and medicare is actually functioning better than ever thanks to work on prescription drug prices and supplemental plans. They made it.

Millennials have different challenges. Yes mortgage rates are lower and the rules around mortgages are looser (though not quite as loose as they used to be and that's a good thing). Millennials have more debt starting out thanks to education costs, and unlike boomers they have zero faith their own children will be able to self-fund college. The economy is stronger but the job market is more competitive thanks to globalization and American workers must compete with more highly qualified workers.

Maybe it will all work out like it did for boomers. I hope so! One challenge millennials face is that they continue to lack political power as the political landscape remains dominated by Boomers with a continued focus on Boomer concerns. Key millennial issues (cost of college and cost of housing) still lack consensus and addressing them has been an uphill battle.

To top it off, when millennials advocate for policies that would relieve these key pressures, they are called entitled and whiny and told "hey boomers had high mortgage rates and it was hard to even qualify." But this ignores the fact that *those circumstances changed because they were bad.* Policies shifted to make it easier to buy a home and boomers profited wildly from it. The reason mortgage rules were relaxed and rates brought down over time was not dome gift to millennials. These were policies intended to help boomers. And they did.

This made me chuckle. Sure, they dealt with the ravages of war but it's NBD. Such a millennial post.

My dad is a Boomer. Served during the Vietnam era. I don't think he'd shrug it off so lightly. My grandfather was greatest generation and served in WW2. He came back deaf and a changed man. I don't think younger generations quite understand the long-lasting effects that these wars had on these generations - particularly those that served, which constituted a huge portion of the population.

Millennials only focus on how much money they believe Boomers have now - in their retirement. And no, they're not looking at struggling boomers in middle-America but their own white, wealthy parents. My darling millennials - your worldview is skewed. Of course white, wealthy boomers have money now after 50 years of savings. You, too, will have more money after investing for 50 years. This is basic math.

But lucky you that you will likely never have to serve in war as every generation before you, and you have significantly more physical, food, and political security than any prior time in history. I know that they don't believe that but just open a history book to any random year in the 19th/20th century and do a side-by-side. Plus, most of what I hear complaints about are not buying a 3500 sq ft house. Ok. Check avg housing size in 1950 and then get back to me.

Imagine thinking Vietnam was the last war. Who do you think went to Iraq? Afghanistan? Those silly millennials who have only known peace, I guess.

Vietnam was the last war to have a draft. Being drafted for a war and electing to pursue a military career are two very different paths. Plus, 1 out of 10 servicemen in Vietnam died. There were nearly 60K US deaths with only 4K in Iraq. You cannot compare the two, or their impact on the general public.

Back to millennials not understanding basic US civics.

Plus, Iraq War was 2003 to 2011. That's GenX

Millennials were born between 1986-2011.

Someone born in 1986 was 17 years old in 2003, and 25 in 2011. There were definitely millennials in Iraq.

Also, US service members were dying in Afghanistan as recently as 2021-even Gen Z were killed.

Do you honestly believe that there were more deaths in Iraq than Vietnam? It's mind-boggling to me that millennials are trying to argue that Iraq was more impactful on the population at large, or more deadly. Or that it was a millennial war instead of a GenX or even Boomer war. Millenials have serious main character syndrome and I'm not sure how they get out of it. A book maybe?

Do you really not know how to read? It's mind-boggling that you would quote my post and then just make something up. I never said there were "more deaths."
I'm Gen X, not Millennial, and so is my husband who did two tours of Iraq. Many of the people he served with over there were (yes, WERE) Millennials.

Which is still irrelevant to the point at hand. Vietnam was a more impactful war - hands down - on society, national psyche, and by way of total death count. Iraq War, while terrible, did not have the same impact. Did Millenials serve? sure, I guess the older ones. But it did not impact the generation in the same way. One of the many reasons being that the generation was not up in arms over being drafted - against their will - for 1 in 10 to return dead.

You are arguing a totally unrelated point that - per your argument - really has no relevance to the issue at hand.

And the younger ones.
And Gen Z

Your argument about the draft is irrelevant to the point at hand. Millennials HAVE served and still do.
Your argument really has no relevance.

You are so clueless.

The draft is a totally different experience for a society than those who want to go and fight.

I remember the lottery for the draft being live on TV.

Imagine sitting there, waiting to hear if your son was being drafted for a war your family didn't support. It was excruciating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents bought their house in suburban Boston in 1970. They sold in 1996 for 11 times what they bought and had upkept the house but did not add or significantly renovate. DH and I bought in 1996 - and we renovated extensively. We are about to sell for 4 times what we bought. Housing prices have not gone up as much in the past ~25 years as much as they did in the previous ~25 years. Both houses are in highly sought after neighborhoods.

Lucky you! We bought a house in 1996 for $990,000, put an addition on for over $250,000, sold it for $1,275,000 in 2014 and the current Zillow value is $1,602,300. The town is very wealthy and well known. Selling for 4 times is fabulous even with renovations. You’re spoiled! For most people the ROI on a home has been lower than equity market returns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a hard insight issue and the tricky part is that it's impossible to know if the comparison is fair because not enough time has passed.

Yes Boomers dealt with Vietnam, stagflation, and much more restrictive banking policies that made home ownership more challenging. However that turned around and Boomers then enjoyed perhaps the single most prosperous two decades in the US during their prime earning years. The homes the bought in the early 80s with 12% interest rates and that they had to scrimp and save for to qualify at all, doubled, then ,tripled, then quadrupled in value. Their salaries also increased by multiples. The stock market exploded and they wound up on the ground floor of that rocket.

So yes, in 1982, boomers as a generation were struggling. But in 2024 they are not. They have immense wealth, plus social security is still solvent and medicare is actually functioning better than ever thanks to work on prescription drug prices and supplemental plans. They made it.

Millennials have different challenges. Yes mortgage rates are lower and the rules around mortgages are looser (though not quite as loose as they used to be and that's a good thing). Millennials have more debt starting out thanks to education costs, and unlike boomers they have zero faith their own children will be able to self-fund college. The economy is stronger but the job market is more competitive thanks to globalization and American workers must compete with more highly qualified workers.

Maybe it will all work out like it did for boomers. I hope so! One challenge millennials face is that they continue to lack political power as the political landscape remains dominated by Boomers with a continued focus on Boomer concerns. Key millennial issues (cost of college and cost of housing) still lack consensus and addressing them has been an uphill battle.

To top it off, when millennials advocate for policies that would relieve these key pressures, they are called entitled and whiny and told "hey boomers had high mortgage rates and it was hard to even qualify." But this ignores the fact that *those circumstances changed because they were bad.* Policies shifted to make it easier to buy a home and boomers profited wildly from it. The reason mortgage rules were relaxed and rates brought down over time was not dome gift to millennials. These were policies intended to help boomers. And they did.

This made me chuckle. Sure, they dealt with the ravages of war but it's NBD. Such a millennial post.

My dad is a Boomer. Served during the Vietnam era. I don't think he'd shrug it off so lightly. My grandfather was greatest generation and served in WW2. He came back deaf and a changed man. I don't think younger generations quite understand the long-lasting effects that these wars had on these generations - particularly those that served, which constituted a huge portion of the population.

Millennials only focus on how much money they believe Boomers have now - in their retirement. And no, they're not looking at struggling boomers in middle-America but their own white, wealthy parents. My darling millennials - your worldview is skewed. Of course white, wealthy boomers have money now after 50 years of savings. You, too, will have more money after investing for 50 years. This is basic math.

But lucky you that you will likely never have to serve in war as every generation before you, and you have significantly more physical, food, and political security than any prior time in history. I know that they don't believe that but just open a history book to any random year in the 19th/20th century and do a side-by-side. Plus, most of what I hear complaints about are not buying a 3500 sq ft house. Ok. Check avg housing size in 1950 and then get back to me.

Imagine thinking Vietnam was the last war. Who do you think went to Iraq? Afghanistan? Those silly millennials who have only known peace, I guess.

Vietnam was the last war to have a draft. Being drafted for a war and electing to pursue a military career are two very different paths. Plus, 1 out of 10 servicemen in Vietnam died. There were nearly 60K US deaths with only 4K in Iraq. You cannot compare the two, or their impact on the general public.

Back to millennials not understanding basic US civics.

Plus, Iraq War was 2003 to 2011. That's GenX

Millennials were born between 1986-2011.

Someone born in 1986 was 17 years old in 2003, and 25 in 2011. There were definitely millennials in Iraq.

Also, US service members were dying in Afghanistan as recently as 2021-even Gen Z were killed.

Do you honestly believe that there were more deaths in Iraq than Vietnam? It's mind-boggling to me that millennials are trying to argue that Iraq was more impactful on the population at large, or more deadly. Or that it was a millennial war instead of a GenX or even Boomer war. Millenials have serious main character syndrome and I'm not sure how they get out of it. A book maybe?

Do you really not know how to read? It's mind-boggling that you would quote my post and then just make something up. I never said there were "more deaths."
I'm Gen X, not Millennial, and so is my husband who did two tours of Iraq. Many of the people he served with over there were (yes, WERE) Millennials.

Which is still irrelevant to the point at hand. Vietnam was a more impactful war - hands down - on society, national psyche, and by way of total death count. Iraq War, while terrible, did not have the same impact. Did Millenials serve? sure, I guess the older ones. But it did not impact the generation in the same way. One of the many reasons being that the generation was not up in arms over being drafted - against their will - for 1 in 10 to return dead.

You are arguing a totally unrelated point that - per your argument - really has no relevance to the issue at hand.

And the younger ones.
And Gen Z

Your argument about the draft is irrelevant to the point at hand. Millennials HAVE served and still do.
Your argument really has no relevance.

You are so clueless.

The draft is a totally different experience for a society than those who want to go and fight.

I remember the lottery for the draft being live on TV.

Imagine sitting there, waiting to hear if your son was being drafted for a war your family didn't support. It was excruciating.

This. The 60s and 70s weren't all peace and love. They were incredibly tumultuous years - domestically, socially, racially, and geopolitically. And Vietnam was a huge part of that upheaval. Didn't they teach this topic in schools? I'm seeing from the above that many schools may have skipped that dark period in our history.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I purchased my first home in 1986 with a mortgage rate of 11%.

Mortgage rate doesn’t matter all that matters is the price you paid. Your rate might have been high but your prices were WAY lower then.

Better to spend 90k on a house with 11% than 600k on a house with 3%

Then, why is everyone complaining about mortgage prices now?

Because prices haven't gone down as rates have gone up. In the 80s, the prices reflected the rates, now they don't

Because in the 80s rates went from 8% to 18%. In the last three years rates have gone from 3% to todays 6.5%. That’s not enough of an increase to cause a big decline in home prices but it has slowed them down and some areas are seeing declines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a hard insight issue and the tricky part is that it's impossible to know if the comparison is fair because not enough time has passed.

Yes Boomers dealt with Vietnam, stagflation, and much more restrictive banking policies that made home ownership more challenging. However that turned around and Boomers then enjoyed perhaps the single most prosperous two decades in the US during their prime earning years. The homes the bought in the early 80s with 12% interest rates and that they had to scrimp and save for to qualify at all, doubled, then ,tripled, then quadrupled in value. Their salaries also increased by multiples. The stock market exploded and they wound up on the ground floor of that rocket.

So yes, in 1982, boomers as a generation were struggling. But in 2024 they are not. They have immense wealth, plus social security is still solvent and medicare is actually functioning better than ever thanks to work on prescription drug prices and supplemental plans. They made it.

Millennials have different challenges. Yes mortgage rates are lower and the rules around mortgages are looser (though not quite as loose as they used to be and that's a good thing). Millennials have more debt starting out thanks to education costs, and unlike boomers they have zero faith their own children will be able to self-fund college. The economy is stronger but the job market is more competitive thanks to globalization and American workers must compete with more highly qualified workers.

Maybe it will all work out like it did for boomers. I hope so! One challenge millennials face is that they continue to lack political power as the political landscape remains dominated by Boomers with a continued focus on Boomer concerns. Key millennial issues (cost of college and cost of housing) still lack consensus and addressing them has been an uphill battle.

To top it off, when millennials advocate for policies that would relieve these key pressures, they are called entitled and whiny and told "hey boomers had high mortgage rates and it was hard to even qualify." But this ignores the fact that *those circumstances changed because they were bad.* Policies shifted to make it easier to buy a home and boomers profited wildly from it. The reason mortgage rules were relaxed and rates brought down over time was not dome gift to millennials. These were policies intended to help boomers. And they did.

This made me chuckle. Sure, they dealt with the ravages of war but it's NBD. Such a millennial post.

My dad is a Boomer. Served during the Vietnam era. I don't think he'd shrug it off so lightly. My grandfather was greatest generation and served in WW2. He came back deaf and a changed man. I don't think younger generations quite understand the long-lasting effects that these wars had on these generations - particularly those that served, which constituted a huge portion of the population.

Millennials only focus on how much money they believe Boomers have now - in their retirement. And no, they're not looking at struggling boomers in middle-America but their own white, wealthy parents. My darling millennials - your worldview is skewed. Of course white, wealthy boomers have money now after 50 years of savings. You, too, will have more money after investing for 50 years. This is basic math.

But lucky you that you will likely never have to serve in war as every generation before you, and you have significantly more physical, food, and political security than any prior time in history. I know that they don't believe that but just open a history book to any random year in the 19th/20th century and do a side-by-side. Plus, most of what I hear complaints about are not buying a 3500 sq ft house. Ok. Check avg housing size in 1950 and then get back to me.

Imagine thinking Vietnam was the last war. Who do you think went to Iraq? Afghanistan? Those silly millennials who have only known peace, I guess.

Vietnam was the last war to have a draft. Being drafted for a war and electing to pursue a military career are two very different paths. Plus, 1 out of 10 servicemen in Vietnam died. There were nearly 60K US deaths with only 4K in Iraq. You cannot compare the two, or their impact on the general public.

Back to millennials not understanding basic US civics.

Plus, Iraq War was 2003 to 2011. That's GenX

Millennials were born between 1986-2011.

Someone born in 1986 was 17 years old in 2003, and 25 in 2011. There were definitely millennials in Iraq.

Also, US service members were dying in Afghanistan as recently as 2021-even Gen Z were killed.

Do you honestly believe that there were more deaths in Iraq than Vietnam? It's mind-boggling to me that millennials are trying to argue that Iraq was more impactful on the population at large, or more deadly. Or that it was a millennial war instead of a GenX or even Boomer war. Millenials have serious main character syndrome and I'm not sure how they get out of it. A book maybe?

Do you really not know how to read? It's mind-boggling that you would quote my post and then just make something up. I never said there were "more deaths."
I'm Gen X, not Millennial, and so is my husband who did two tours of Iraq. Many of the people he served with over there were (yes, WERE) Millennials.

Which is still irrelevant to the point at hand. Vietnam was a more impactful war - hands down - on society, national psyche, and by way of total death count. Iraq War, while terrible, did not have the same impact. Did Millenials serve? sure, I guess the older ones. But it did not impact the generation in the same way. One of the many reasons being that the generation was not up in arms over being drafted - against their will - for 1 in 10 to return dead.

You are arguing a totally unrelated point that - per your argument - really has no relevance to the issue at hand.

And the younger ones.
And Gen Z

Your argument about the draft is irrelevant to the point at hand. Millennials HAVE served and still do.
Your argument really has no relevance.

You are so clueless.

The draft is a totally different experience for a society than those who want to go and fight.

I remember the lottery for the draft being live on TV.

Imagine sitting there, waiting to hear if your son was being drafted for a war your family didn't support. It was excruciating.

Most people do not want to go fight. The people who enlist now often don't have better options, or else they need money for college (and I am former military so not knocking it).
I know the draft was also extremely stressful, my dad went to college to avoid it.

[Anonymous]

The problem was the expensive renovation.

We bought a place in 1991 for $ 91,000 and sold in 2005 for $250,000.

Then we bought a home for $285, 000 that is now worth about $520,000. But we like it so will hold on.

[Anonymous]

Sorry above post in wrong spot!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents bought their house in suburban Boston in 1970. They sold in 1996 for 11 times what they bought and had upkept the house but did not add or significantly renovate. DH and I bought in 1996 - and we renovated extensively. We are about to sell for 4 times what we bought. Housing prices have not gone up as much in the past ~25 years as much as they did in the previous ~25 years. Both houses are in highly sought after neighborhoods.

How can you complain when your house value has gone up 4 times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a hard insight issue and the tricky part is that it's impossible to know if the comparison is fair because not enough time has passed.

Yes Boomers dealt with Vietnam, stagflation, and much more restrictive banking policies that made home ownership more challenging. However that turned around and Boomers then enjoyed perhaps the single most prosperous two decades in the US during their prime earning years. The homes the bought in the early 80s with 12% interest rates and that they had to scrimp and save for to qualify at all, doubled, then ,tripled, then quadrupled in value. Their salaries also increased by multiples. The stock market exploded and they wound up on the ground floor of that rocket.

So yes, in 1982, boomers as a generation were struggling. But in 2024 they are not. They have immense wealth, plus social security is still solvent and medicare is actually functioning better than ever thanks to work on prescription drug prices and supplemental plans. They made it.

Millennials have different challenges. Yes mortgage rates are lower and the rules around mortgages are looser (though not quite as loose as they used to be and that's a good thing). Millennials have more debt starting out thanks to education costs, and unlike boomers they have zero faith their own children will be able to self-fund college. The economy is stronger but the job market is more competitive thanks to globalization and American workers must compete with more highly qualified workers.

Maybe it will all work out like it did for boomers. I hope so! One challenge millennials face is that they continue to lack political power as the political landscape remains dominated by Boomers with a continued focus on Boomer concerns. Key millennial issues (cost of college and cost of housing) still lack consensus and addressing them has been an uphill battle.

To top it off, when millennials advocate for policies that would relieve these key pressures, they are called entitled and whiny and told "hey boomers had high mortgage rates and it was hard to even qualify." But this ignores the fact that *those circumstances changed because they were bad.* Policies shifted to make it easier to buy a home and boomers profited wildly from it. The reason mortgage rules were relaxed and rates brought down over time was not dome gift to millennials. These were policies intended to help boomers. And they did.

This made me chuckle. Sure, they dealt with the ravages of war but it's NBD. Such a millennial post.

My dad is a Boomer. Served during the Vietnam era. I don't think he'd shrug it off so lightly. My grandfather was greatest generation and served in WW2. He came back deaf and a changed man. I don't think younger generations quite understand the long-lasting effects that these wars had on these generations - particularly those that served, which constituted a huge portion of the population.

Millennials only focus on how much money they believe Boomers have now - in their retirement. And no, they're not looking at struggling boomers in middle-America but their own white, wealthy parents. My darling millennials - your worldview is skewed. Of course white, wealthy boomers have money now after 50 years of savings. You, too, will have more money after investing for 50 years. This is basic math.

But lucky you that you will likely never have to serve in war as every generation before you, and you have significantly more physical, food, and political security than any prior time in history. I know that they don't believe that but just open a history book to any random year in the 19th/20th century and do a side-by-side. Plus, most of what I hear complaints about are not buying a 3500 sq ft house. Ok. Check avg housing size in 1950 and then get back to me.

Imagine thinking Vietnam was the last war. Who do you think went to Iraq? Afghanistan? Those silly millennials who have only known peace, I guess.

Vietnam was the last war to have a draft. Being drafted for a war and electing to pursue a military career are two very different paths. Plus, 1 out of 10 servicemen in Vietnam died. There were nearly 60K US deaths with only 4K in Iraq. You cannot compare the two, or their impact on the general public.

Back to millennials not understanding basic US civics.

Plus, Iraq War was 2003 to 2011. That's GenX

No, Iraq War was definitely millennials, unless you think only officers "count". I graduated in 2000 - the quintessential millennial. A third of my high school class enlisted after 9/11. They were the exact age to be recruited into the military, not outliers at all.

You sound bizarre bragging that you had it harder because your . . . dad and grandpa served but millennials didn't? You didn't serve either so what is your affiliation. My dad and uncles were all in Vietnam and all of my grandparents were in WWII, just like yours. Am I a soldier now, like you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents bought their house in suburban Boston in 1970. They sold in 1996 for 11 times what they bought and had upkept the house but did not add or significantly renovate. DH and I bought in 1996 - and we renovated extensively. We are about to sell for 4 times what we bought. Housing prices have not gone up as much in the past ~25 years as much as they did in the previous ~25 years. Both houses are in highly sought after neighborhoods.

How can you complain when your house value has gone up 4 times?

Because everything else has gone up four times as well?

[Anonymous]

As a millennial we have it easy compared to my boomer parents who are in their early 70’s. My dad was drafted and fought in Vietnam and lost a lower leg. He went to college on the GI Bill and then lost a job during a recession. They couldn’t afford a home because interest rates were in the teens so they lived in low cost housing. Soon after I was born things really turned around for them with good jobs, they bought a nice home and really started saving. My brother and I both went to great universities and graduated debt free thanks to my parents. I’m now 40 and we live in a nicer home than my parents ever had. What they went through to help me get to where I am is amazing. My parents are very generous and loving and when read about millennials raging on boomers it makes me scream. None of my friends rag on their boomer parents so this is strange to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:My parents bought their house in suburban Boston in 1970. They sold in 1996 for 11 times what they bought and had upkept the house but did not add or significantly renovate. DH and I bought in 1996 - and we renovated extensively. We are about to sell for 4 times what we bought. Housing prices have not gone up as much in the past ~25 years as much as they did in the previous ~25 years. Both houses are in highly sought after neighborhoods.

How can you complain when your house value has gone up 4 times?

Because everything else has gone up four times as well?

A house is a home, not an investment. If its value keeps up with inflation you are doing OK.

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Anonymous wrote:It's a hard insight issue and the tricky part is that it's impossible to know if the comparison is fair because not enough time has passed.

Yes Boomers dealt with Vietnam, stagflation, and much more restrictive banking policies that made home ownership more challenging. However that turned around and Boomers then enjoyed perhaps the single most prosperous two decades in the US during their prime earning years. The homes the bought in the early 80s with 12% interest rates and that they had to scrimp and save for to qualify at all, doubled, then ,tripled, then quadrupled in value. Their salaries also increased by multiples. The stock market exploded and they wound up on the ground floor of that rocket.

So yes, in 1982, boomers as a generation were struggling. But in 2024 they are not. They have immense wealth, plus social security is still solvent and medicare is actually functioning better than ever thanks to work on prescription drug prices and supplemental plans. They made it.

Millennials have different challenges. Yes mortgage rates are lower and the rules around mortgages are looser (though not quite as loose as they used to be and that's a good thing). Millennials have more debt starting out thanks to education costs, and unlike boomers they have zero faith their own children will be able to self-fund college. The economy is stronger but the job market is more competitive thanks to globalization and American workers must compete with more highly qualified workers.

Maybe it will all work out like it did for boomers. I hope so! One challenge millennials face is that they continue to lack political power as the political landscape remains dominated by Boomers with a continued focus on Boomer concerns. Key millennial issues (cost of college and cost of housing) still lack consensus and addressing them has been an uphill battle.

To top it off, when millennials advocate for policies that would relieve these key pressures, they are called entitled and whiny and told "hey boomers had high mortgage rates and it was hard to even qualify." But this ignores the fact that *those circumstances changed because they were bad.* Policies shifted to make it easier to buy a home and boomers profited wildly from it. The reason mortgage rules were relaxed and rates brought down over time was not dome gift to millennials. These were policies intended to help boomers. And they did.

This made me chuckle. Sure, they dealt with the ravages of war but it's NBD. Such a millennial post.

My dad is a Boomer. Served during the Vietnam era. I don't think he'd shrug it off so lightly. My grandfather was greatest generation and served in WW2. He came back deaf and a changed man. I don't think younger generations quite understand the long-lasting effects that these wars had on these generations - particularly those that served, which constituted a huge portion of the population.

Millennials only focus on how much money they believe Boomers have now - in their retirement. And no, they're not looking at struggling boomers in middle-America but their own white, wealthy parents. My darling millennials - your worldview is skewed. Of course white, wealthy boomers have money now after 50 years of savings. You, too, will have more money after investing for 50 years. This is basic math.

But lucky you that you will likely never have to serve in war as every generation before you, and you have significantly more physical, food, and political security than any prior time in history. I know that they don't believe that but just open a history book to any random year in the 19th/20th century and do a side-by-side. Plus, most of what I hear complaints about are not buying a 3500 sq ft house. Ok. Check avg housing size in 1950 and then get back to me.

Imagine thinking Vietnam was the last war. Who do you think went to Iraq? Afghanistan? Those silly millennials who have only known peace, I guess.

Vietnam was the last war to have a draft. Being drafted for a war and electing to pursue a military career are two very different paths. Plus, 1 out of 10 servicemen in Vietnam died. There were nearly 60K US deaths with only 4K in Iraq. You cannot compare the two, or their impact on the general public.

Back to millennials not understanding basic US civics.

Plus, Iraq War was 2003 to 2011. That's GenX

Millennials were born between 1986-2011.

Someone born in 1986 was 17 years old in 2003, and 25 in 2011. There were definitely millennials in Iraq.

Also, US service members were dying in Afghanistan as recently as 2021-even Gen Z were killed.

Do you honestly believe that there were more deaths in Iraq than Vietnam? It's mind-boggling to me that millennials are trying to argue that Iraq was more impactful on the population at large, or more deadly. Or that it was a millennial war instead of a GenX or even Boomer war. Millenials have serious main character syndrome and I'm not sure how they get out of it. A book maybe?

Do you really not know how to read? It's mind-boggling that you would quote my post and then just make something up. I never said there were "more deaths."
I'm Gen X, not Millennial, and so is my husband who did two tours of Iraq. Many of the people he served with over there were (yes, WERE) Millennials.

Which is still irrelevant to the point at hand. Vietnam was a more impactful war - hands down - on society, national psyche, and by way of total death count. Iraq War, while terrible, did not have the same impact. Did Millenials serve? sure, I guess the older ones. But it did not impact the generation in the same way. One of the many reasons being that the generation was not up in arms over being drafted - against their will - for 1 in 10 to return dead.

You are arguing a totally unrelated point that - per your argument - really has no relevance to the issue at hand.

And the younger ones.
And Gen Z

Your argument about the draft is irrelevant to the point at hand. Millennials HAVE served and still do.
Your argument really has no relevance.

Sure, some have but it would have been a millennial shit storm if they reinstated the draft.