Social media users, particularly the zoomer generation which is trying to start their career paths, are voicing strong discontentment with the current state of the economy. From cost of living to dismal job prospects, the American people are being squeezed from both sides.
Meanwhile, criticism from older generations, particularly the boomer generation, is seen as ignorant and out of touch for the current labor market and price levels young people are now experiencing.
Recent polls have indicated that almost half of Americans are experiencing anxiety over their personal finances while job market optimism among young people has fallen to Great Recession era lows. Just over three-quarters of Americans reportedly see the cost of living as their biggest economic problem.
One user pointed out how many zoomers spent time and money to attain a college degree, only for them to discover there are no job prospects after graduation, with the future outlook becoming more bleak with the rollout of AI. They mentioned how their teen and young adult years were marred by the Covid plandemic. Housing has since become prohibitively expensive, and a new world war is brewing which they could be drafted into. The social media user ends by saying how the boomer’s response to these concerns is that zoomers are just lazy.
When television personality Kevin O’Leary said “Gen Z is financially cooked when people making $70K a year are spending $28 on lunch” a person responded that “Lunch just costs $28 now. Are they not supposed to eat?”
Another user replied to that, saying “Boomers took lunch pails and a thermos to work each day with the most basic meals and leftovers you’ve ever seen.” While food from a grocery store is cheaper on average than prepared food, the state of the economy goes far beyond lunch. One user replied by saying:
In an unrelated post, a social media user discussed the price of houses relative to income.
“Boomers bought homes on one income. Sent kids to college debt-free. Retired at 60. Then pulled up the ladder and told millennials the problem was streaming services,” they said. “THE AUDACITY IS GENUINELY HISTORIC.”
Economic freedom has dwindled over the decades, where people of previous generations were able to attain more with less. Some of these people, generally the boomer generation, sees the problem to be based in lunchtime choices, according to another social media user.
While this inflation calculator reports $100,000 in 1990 is equivalent to $254,797 in 2026, that figure is based on the currency itself.
With various product categories following their own rise and fall (televisions became more affordable while food and real estate skyrocketed) the actual income needed to attain a similar lifestyle as 36 years ago outpaces U.S. dollar inflation.
The lunch-based economic view – that the only reason zoomers are struggling financially is because of eating prepared vs grocery store items, continued to get debated. One social media user discussed the savings he receives from his lunch. It should be noted however that even a savings of $10 a day works out to only $3,650 a year, while average U.S. house prices sit at over $400,000 – meaning the annual lunchtime savings are just under 1% of an average home.
This is where Millennials and Zoomers lose their argument and the compassion some might feel for them being in a poor economy goes out the window.
I as a 52 year old man & make my lunches every weekend for around $3-$5 each.And when you suggest they do the same it’s like you just pissed on their shoes. So it’s ok for me to sacrifice and do all the little things to save money at 52. But you at 30 consider it an insult.
Ok then…. fuck off.
A user replied to that post, explaining that making sandwiches is not an equivalency to wise financial decision making.
Another person said their burger, fries and a drink were $9.
Average buying power, not price itself, is the root of the issue. Inflation outstripped income.
2 Responses
Boomers had the most prosperous economic boom in American history. Then you hear them talk about…”Living on a fixed income.” now.
They should have invested more of that sit on your ass all day plant union money they raked in for decades.
…Just over three-quarters of Americans reportedly see the cost of living as their biggest economic problem.
No, one quarter of Americans have no problems with it.
So, as long as one fourth of Americans have no problems, all is well.
Keep voting the way you do, the government leadership knows best, they have chosen the right candidates for the job.
Go MAGA