The whole world has gone to hell thanks to the poor political and economic decisions of Baby Boomers, according to the Millennial Generation. However, their opinions aren't unique, as many generations blame boomers for their epic blunders since the 1980s.
Axios cited their latest poll with Survey Monkey noting that millennials expect a more difficult future as a result of the poor decisions from boomers.
Millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000, came of age in an era of so-called "trickle-down economics" and the aftermath of such policy. They first began voting in wake of the World Trade buildings crashing to the Manhattan streets below. In a world where an advanced degree is mandatory for anyone seeking a future, the generation graduated into a one of the worst job markets since the Great Depression.
All the while, Wall Street was scamming youth and jacking up student loan interest rates. All the while, boomers have destroyed the Earth and the environment and the GOP is threatening Social Security and Medicare, which would likely force millennial parents to live with their children in their old age. This was prior to the gun debate younger millennials have taken up. It has primed the generation toward progressive policies.
It's no shock boomers are getting the blame. Even when it comes to the frequent attacks on millennials from boomers, the former has no one to blame but the latter for raising them to be that way.
Boomer Axios writer Steve LeVine is predicting "the generational divide could turn into political rivalry as the generations compete for limited tax dollars — millennials seeking government help as automation takes hold, and boomers insisting on promised levels of Social Security and Medicare."
However, he doesn't account for the unique and unprecedented relationships that millennials share with their parents. The byproduct of helicopter parenting in a millennial childhood are very close relationships in adulthood. Millennials also share many major generational events with the Greatest Generation, which fought through World War II and suffered the Great Depression, which is sometimes cited for the closeness millennials share with their grandparents.
That similar experience of an economic disaster and long war might account for how both millennials and the Greatest Generation feel about their financial responsibility. Fifty-six percent of millennials say that they are "extremely" or "very" responsible with managing their money. Axios compared it to 80 percent of those in the Greatest Generation who feel they are responsible. Those over 70 years old are living on retired fixed incomes while millennials are grappling with stagnant wages, high rent costs and hefty student loan payments.
It has been common for commentators and writers to pit millennials against boomers in some kind of generational warfare. The unsubstantiated assumptions come from numbers like the survey presents, but frequently ignores personal relationships between boomers and millennials. This survey specifically disputes that assessment with the 30 percent of Baby Boomers who also blame themselves for the current problems facing the United States.
The survey was conducted April 9-13 and surveyed 4,638 adults in the United States. You can read the full crosstabs here.
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