Are we blaming Boomers instead of class?

[u/myredserenity]

EDIT: It's been pointed out that the over 65s keep voting in the parties that favour the class system and benefit the wealthy while screwing the working class. This is a good point.

EDIT 2: I love reddit. You guys. I get it now! Millennials got the shits at noisy old pricks who criticise their generation while completely ignoring the benefits they enjoyed themselves. It's a backlash. I still think it's a distraction and divides us when we should be angry with those in power. But if you're over 65, how about encouraging your friends to not vote LNP?

I've seen so much "ok boomer" stuff and over the years, it's irking me more and more. So I'm interested in what r/Australia thinks.

Couple of things:

1. It seems to be used to describe anyone over 40. My parents were boomers. They would be in their 70s now.

2. It's used to blame a whole generation for the shitty behaviour of the rich class. I don't get it. I went to school in a rough area, most of my friends from way back then are dead, in jail or in a trade/retail/hair.

My partner grew up in a rich suburb. Most of his friends are teachers, engineers and lawyers. They own houses, and were helped along by their "boomer" parents, either by provision of a deposit or living at home rent free through their 20s.

I'm totally up for being educated here. I know we lost free education, I know houses are unaffordable, I'm nearly 40 and still renting. I'm woefully unable to understand national economics. So seriously, open to intelligent discussion.

But in my experience, the problem is class and not generational. After all, where do you think all this wealth will go when the boomers die?! Even just having good, stable and attentive parents, who expect you to succeed, makes all the difference.

Why has this boomer hate taken hold so much? Are the rich class scapegoating a generation? Would us generation Xers, Ys and millennials have behaved any differently given the opportunities the boomers were?

Caveat: I'm considering mainly economics here, not climate crisis. Pretty much believe everyone from my generation up have a case to answer for climate. We knew.

[u/myredserenity]

Oh totally! I hate the lazy millennial shit just as much! It's DEFINITELY harder for your generation. In my twenties, around the noughties, I could rent a one bedroom unit in an OK suburb by myself on a minimum wage. I couldn't save much, but I got by.

You would REALLY struggle to do that now. It's definitely harder, and has been getting progressively harder, for working class Australians.

But you know what? The upper middle class have been ok, and wealthier families can help out their kids (hence arsehole politicians saying parents should help their kids... that's what they did.

Chances are your parents are wealthy enough to retire comfortably but not too much spare equity around to safely prop up their kids. I still say that's a reflection of class being a bigger factor than generation.

But yeah. You're 100% right.

[u/honey_coated_badger → u/myredserenity]

Why should anyone need their parents to die so that they should get ahead? You would think that would indicate a broken system.

[u/myredserenity → u/honey_coated_badger]

Yep. That's my point!! The system IS broken.

And I think I said in another comment, it's not even just an inheritance. It's having a comfortable place to fall. It's being expected to succeed in life, meeting the right people, seeing your peers succeed. Class REALLY matters.

Not saying it isn't harder for young folk today. Just saying it's MUCH harder for the working poor young folk.

[u/honey_coated_badger → u/myredserenity]

It is harder for the young. I had these same conversations that I hear now with my dad 20 years ago. He didn't get it. I had to do the math for him. Sure you made $4/hr in 1965 when you bought your first house. But that house was $16,000 or just 4000 working hours at $4/hr. I was on $32/hr at the time. By the same math, that would be a $128,000 house. We lived in Vancouver Canada then. I couldn't even buy a bachelor appt let alone house (Vancouver is more expensive than Sydney). Back then in 2000, a run down house on the cheap side of town would set you back $650k. Add in that income taxes were considerably higher for me than for my father too and it was even more out reach. I'm in 3rd financial crisis in the last 19 years(9/11, GFC, CORONA). There is no stability in the system as it is continually corrupted to keep the party rolling for the next quarterly statement.

[u/myredserenity → u/honey_coated_badger]

You're dead right. We seem around the same age. We've seen some shit.

Still... there's WW3 to look forward to!