Lets Stop Blaming Older Generations for Everything

Millennials bashing boomers. At times Boomers bashing Boomers.

It’s a new favourite pastime. So many articles keep appearing. I think google algorithm is helping me with Medium motivation.

One article was on the subject that boomers owe us, the younger generations. Here’s my take.

Do the older generations owe us shit?

By ‘us’, I mean the ‘younger’ generation. It’s relative, so some definitions might be useful.

• Silent Generation born 1925–1945. …
• The Baby Boomer Generation — born 1946–1964. Yes, I know you are now techinically split into two.
• Generation X — born 1965–1979.
• Millennials — born 1980–1994.
• Generation Z — born 1995–2012.
• Gen Alpha — born 2013–2025.

For this article, I am assuming that millennials, Z’s. Baby boomers and prior are the ‘older’. Gen X’s — I am splitting you into two halves.

Arguments for:

Older People are not modern and not inclusive.

When I think of things that make me angry or anxious:

• An increase in deep fake and nudes
• Web 3.0 and the inability to remove stuff from the internet in the future
• Marches to free Andrew Tate and indoctrination of young men into thinking that women are property.
• An attack on democracies
• Incompetent governments
• Effects of Climate Change
• War and Rising costs

Many of these items are not specific to or related to older people.

I did not spot older peeps asking to free Andrew Tate, nor is he one. I’m going to assume that most web 3.0 & deepfakes are not really done by the older generation either.

We are all responsible for climate change.

Age itself does define not a person. Circumstances and attitudes do.

So let’s not pretend that all under 30/40’s are extremely progressive, woke and care deeply about the planet and each other. Or that older generations do not.

It’s not true or fair to older generations or the younger ones. No-one is born with a certain attitude, skill or experience.

All Older People are loaded.

In aggregate, the older generations have a lot more health than the younger ones.

That’s a fact.

The average 64–75-year-old American is 94% wealthier than the average 35-year-old .

Baby boomers are collectively 10 times wealthier than millennials

Millennials are 24% behind Generation X in terms of wealth accumulated

In the US, millennials only have 5% of the wealth, out of which Mr Facebook alone has 2%.

However, it’s important to acknowledge, that the pretty graph also does not mean that every single older person has x10 more wealth than the younger one.

- In UK 10% of people own 50% of wealth.

- In the US, top 10% own 76% of all weath.

So wealth is skewed.

Many wealthy people extracted wealth from other people of all generations. Not just the younger ones.

It is also an unfair comparison since you somewhat expect older people to have more money, due to compounding.

At least in the UK, many pensioners use food banks, i.e food donations, to survive. And it’s getting worse. Some have to pick between heating and food.

So instead of saying older people are wealthy, let’s just say that the wealthy are wealthy.

The two are not the same.

They are destroying or have destroyed the planet for the ‘rest’ of us.

When I was young, my grandma never had disposable napkins. Instead, she used fabric cloths, which she would wash and re-use. I always found it funny.

It was the same for everything- jars, containers, bags. Nothing was thrown away. Even old newspapers were used to wash windows.

I have the image of a washed, turned inside-out plastic bag with flowers drying in the bath engraved in my memory.

I still remember queuing with a couple of glass bottles by a milk van. It used to arrive daily. If you missed it, guess what? No milk for the day.

This was in the USSR, but from what I hear it was exactly the same in the US and UK not so long ago.

Then capitalism properly started. Corporations needed a way to make a profit from the plastic-producing factories they built during the war. Everything became disposable.

But the consequences were hidden. Normal consumers did not realise the damage this would cause further down the line.

Now we do. We know everything.

And here is where it gets confusing.

According to surveys, most millennials/Zs say they are willing to pay more for products that are sustainable or promote positive impact.

At the same time, there are a lot of fast fashion companies like Shein that have grown massively.

Companies that pretend to be less fast-fashion like Zara and H&M. These are doing much better than they should be in an ethical world.

52% of millennials say they make impulse purchases- the opposite of well-thought-out ‘ethical’ decisions.

In the UK, the cosmetics market has exploded in the last few years. The vast majority is throw-away and non-refillable stuff. Apparently, we need to have lipstick for sale in every shade imaginable.

This is true for many other products.

Knowing the damage, we still take flights, even for weekend breaks. Something the older generations probably could not dream of in their 20’s or 30’s.

Some people buy a new iPhone, <insert gadget> every year. We use the internet without thinking about where the power and electricity comes from. Some with ‘clean’ electric cars.

I see people of all ages with plastic bottles. And disposable coffee cups.

To summarise :

We now fully understand the impact of our decisions. How these are destroying the planet. Yet the vast majority of us still chose to live in our own self-interests. Then we blame other people who ‘owe’ us.

Is that a fair summary?

Older generations don’t care about us.

Let’s remember this one for Alpha’s when they grow up and find out all jobs are gone, lakes are dry because were used them to make that really cute-must-have-outfit, and AI decided that a way to save the planet is to get rid of us.

But we can say we never saw it coming. Definitely did not make any movies on the subject.

If that's not enough they could thank us, their older generations, for not being able to remove anything from the internet, including deep fakes of them or hate speech.

So what good did the older generations do?

They built the world we live in

There are inequalities. There are hardships. Discrimination. Unfairness.

These things always existed. A long time ago, there were kings and emperors who could do whatever they wanted. Barons, or equivalent, who ruled. The rest were just peasants.

Inequality is not a new thing. The older generations did not create any of these. They inherited them. the same way everyone else has.

As a woman, I am able to have my own bank account. I can start my own business and take out a business loan. All of these would have been impossible before 1975.

I am independent of my partner, who is not my husband. If we do get married, he cannot just rape me. And that’s a right woman in the UK before 1992 did not have. Some still do not have it in many places.

In 2001, the first modern washing machine emerged. Prior versions date back to 1800’s but not the modern tech versions.

If you think that’s not a big deal, try hand washing your clothes for a week. Start with jeans.

The Silent Generation invented the internet.

The world is getting better, not worse. More and more people, in the developing world, are getting access to water, education and food. In general, all humans have better living conditions than previously. A lot of this is bankrolled by rich people, such as Bill Gates foundation.

But that does not sell the papers, does it?

Older generations are already helping out. In some cases a lot.

This myth that most of the older generation are somehow sitting idle, swimming in their money like Scrooge McDuck has no basis. Here are at least two ways they already help.

Grandparents overwhelmingly help with Childcare

I’ve known a couple of people who very recently had children. Many would not cope without grandparents. They come almost daily to help. All for free.

The grandparents say that they enjoy it but I would not expect them to say otherwise. It’s like mothers saying they regret having children- a massive taboo. Many of these grandparents recently retired and have not had much time to enjoy their non-working life yet.

They replaced one job with another ‘volunteering’ one. Of course, they like it. But enough to help out as much as they do?

We live in a world where we are constantly told that we can be what we want to be. That we should not be subject to stereotypes. We are all free. Where we can start businesses, be ourselves and behave as we want. We are told that do not owe anyone anything.

Yet, at the same time, we expect grandparents to take on unpaid childcare duties. The same responsibilities we constantly remind men that women should not be doing for free. So how is that okay?

If you think I’m exaggerating, according to this article one out of every 4 grandparents helps out with childcare. According to this one it’s as high as 85% for occasional childcare, with one in four during the work week. About a quarter look after grandchildren during the summer holidays or when they are sick.

To some- as per the first article- one in four is too low. The author argues this should be commonplace.

Of course. What else would they do?

Enjoying life on the beach without the care in the world is reserved for millennials selling courses or having very cute cats.

Look, I get it that childcare is expensive. And I do not have a solution. But that should be put on the government and social services. Instead, society expects grandparents to help.

It’s this expectation, while at the same time bashing boomers that really gets me.

They still help out their children.

According to some surveys, one in four millennials is living with their parents. Many would do so for free or almost free.

I get it. High rents. Low wages. With inflation and a potential recession, it’s no wonder that half cite as saving money as the primary reason.

At the same time, Millenials spend a lot of self-care. i.e treats. Also on food and dining out. On games. Gen X’s are spending a lot on microwave food. As someone who has seen a queue to buy some overpriced carrots and cucumbers for almost $10 ( yes, that’s a lot even now & wrapped in plastic), this is intriguing.

88% of millennials were planning to buy home furnishings, and they really like Amazon.

Confused since all this seems to be a little contradictory?

I know I am.

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My conclusion?

The vast majority of wealth is in the hands of the older generations, that is true. But it is in the hands of the vast minority. I haven’t yet seen a comparison which takes into account the compounding of wealth into later years and removes all the super-wealthy people.

From the war stories I’ve heard and personally experienced, I would say that many boomers had a tough time.

Money pitching, staying in very toxic jobs without any release of any Twitter rants. That was life for many. Very few opportunities for women or anyone who was not a white straight male.

A lot of pressure on white straight males, who were expected to just put up with jobs and be a certain way.

I understand there are some younger people now who are really struggling. perhaps they have zero help from their parents. They work difficult jobs at little pay. They try — not just talk- to save the planet.

They are inclusive, avoid fast fashion, don’t travel and shop locally and sustainably.

IMHO they definitely have a reason to be pissed.

The rest of us? I’m not so sure.