Just My Thoughts…on The Grievance Olympics

Get ‘em boys!

So you’re part of the problem, I see?

I was kidding. The Boomer vs Millennial fight is actually quite annoying.  

I can’t do it anymore. Spend enough time online and you'll find no shortage of articles explaining why Baby Boomers ruined everything or how Boomers control the world. A couple more clicks and you’ll read about Millennials complaining too much and participation trophy culture.

Is anyone winning this grievance Olympics?

Glad you asked. Might as well take this time to settle the score. We’ll start with a media darling: homeownership.

That has to be an easy win for Boomers, no?

Boomers generally bought homes that were cheaper relative to their income. But keep in mind they were dealing with mortgage rates that peaked north of 18%. Millennials haven’t sniffed those rates but face much higher home prices.[2]

So who’s the winner?

Boomers often bought cheaper houses with expensive money. Millennials often bought expensive houses with cheap money. Call it a tie.        

What next?

Let’s move onto employment.

Didn’t Boomers have better jobs?

In some ways. There were more pensions, longer careers with a single employer, and arguably greater job stability.

What's the Millennial side of the argument?

Many entered the workforce during the Great Recession and came of age in a world where changing jobs became a necessity rather than a choice.

            Entering a workforce with 10% unemployment rate is frightening.[3]  

Sure is. As we got further away from the ’08 Great Financial Crisis (GFC) it became clear that Boomers excelled in stability while Millennials found greater flexibility.

            I think the Boomers had it slightly easier.

Agreed. We’ll tally one for the Boomers.

            Next?

Let’s take a look at investing. Who do you think had the tougher investing environment?

Well Millennials had the 2008 GFC, COVID, 2022 inflation, and an abundance of clickbait nonsense.

Boomers can counter that with double-dip inflation of the 1970s, Black Monday, the dot-com crash, and the ’08 GFC as well.

Some similarities there.

True. The biggest difference is that Boomers had limited information. Millennials have unlimited information and unlimited noise.

Can’t we do this one numerically?

Fair point. The first of the Boomers were born in 1946. Through 2025 they’ve had an annualized market return of 11.2%. millennials, first born in 1981, have a slightly higher return of 11.8%.[4]

Where to next? How about college?

That’s a good one. I think it’s fair to say Boomers had it easier. College costs were dramatically lower relative to income and graduating with significant debt was far less common.

Ya think?!?

Let’s finish up with raising kids. Which generation has a more difficult family life?

It’s all hard but I think Millennials have it a touch harder. There’s social media, endless travel sports, carrying around 7 water bottles at all times. 

The silly thing is that Millennials self-imposed a lot of these things on themselves. WE turned youth sports into a time-eating circus, WE demand to know where our kids are at all times, WE carry around snack pouches. The Boomers were better at focusing on core family matters.

So it looks like we have a verdict: the Boomers lose the Grievance Olympics.

Who would’ve thought two Millennials would come to that conclusion..?

It’s still all silliness.

Agreed. Who had it harder is the wrong question. The Boomers in many ways exemplified the American Dream. Millennials aren't destroying it. They're trying to achieve it under a different set of circumstances.

Don't allow yourself to fall into the Boomer vs. Millennial trap.[5]