I’m a Boomer, a few months older than former President Barack Obama, and this piece looks at the generational clash over money, opportunity and policy. I explain how Boomers lived through upheaval, why Gen Z is furious about housing and debt, which public policies made things worse, and a short list of common-sense fixes that could ease the squeeze without rewarding bad choices.
There is a widening rift between generations and it feels personal. Young people point at housing, student loans and health care and say the system is rigged. Boomers push back by reminding younger Americans we faced real hardships too and adapted through thrift and hard work.
Generation fights often ignore context. Boomers grew up under the threat of nuclear war, protests and economic shocks from oil shocks to 10 percent unemployment and sky-high mortgage rates. We also watched industries crumble and had to learn new technologies on the job as the world changed around us.
That history matters because it shaped a culture of saving and self-reliance. Most of my peers do not have traditional pensions and were handed 401(k)s in place of guaranteed retirement. Those plans put responsibility on individuals, and many of us paid for our own retirement decades without expecting bailouts.
Gen Z has a different set of brutal facts to face. Skyrocketing tuition, housing markets that average people cannot afford, and healthcare costs that clip paychecks are real and immediate. Add AI uncertainty and a shaky job market and you get a generation that genuinely fears its future.
Some responses from older voices have been blunt. Kevin O’Leary said, “I can’t stand it when I see kids that are making 70 grand a year spending $28 for lunch. I mean, that’s just stupid,” and that line sparked a huge backlash. The argument is not that young people never waste money, but that tone-deaf condescension fuels anger instead of constructive talk.
The policy record matters. Letting loose uncontrolled immigration pressures housing markets, because more people need places to live and that shifts demand. Obamacare and the way higher education is financed made healthcare and college costlier, and those policy choices deserve scrutiny from any serious reformer.
Here are the biggest structural complaints in plain terms. ● Housing is pricier when supply is constrained and demand is boosted by population growth. ● Healthcare pricing ballooned when the market was distorted by policy choices that removed clear price signals. ● Education costs exploded as federal loans insulated colleges from price discipline and allowed sticker prices to rise without consequence.
Fixing these problems requires both personal responsibility and smarter policy. Frugality matters; packing a lunch and budgeting are sensible habits that help individuals gain breathing room. But thrift alone will not erase systemic failures that push costs out of reach for many young families.
One practical step is targeted student debt relief that preserves responsibility. Allow refinancing of college loans at 0.0 percent interest for borrowers who keep making steady payments. That helps people without wiping out obligations they agreed to and keeps incentives intact.
Pay for that by taxing college and university endowments above $100 million at a high rate, so institutions with massive investment portfolios contribute to the cost of the education system. Make colleges share the risk for loans they help create, and allow college debt to be dischargeable in bankruptcy so institutions face market consequences for excessive pricing.
We should also remove the federal government from primary responsibility for student lending and force colleges to compete on price and value. That will change behavior faster than endless promises of forgiveness that only make tuition inflation worse. Competition and transparency beat well-meaning but destructive subsidies.
Finally, stop the generational blame game and focus on solutions that combine conservative common sense and compassion. Address immigration impacts with practical border policy, reform healthcare pricing and bring accountability to higher education. If we want calmer politics and a stronger future, we need policy that encourages work, innovation and stability rather than piling on more dependency.
