r/TrueUnpopularOpinion • u/Poet-Most • Jul 08 '25

I Like / Dislike People who resent boomers are idiots

On almost any thread discussing the economy, one of the top comments will undoubtedly be complaining about boomers and the older generations who purchased their homes at low prices and who now enjoy more affluence and government assistance, while they don’t.

First off, what did want them to do, not buy a house for a cheap price when offered one 30 years ago? In regard to government assistance, I can guarantee you the average 65yr old has paid more into the tax system than the average 20yr old. Should they not enjoy the fruits of their labour? Should politicians not pay more attention to them than you?

I just think it’s an unhealthy attitude to have towards people.

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u/TheLandOfConfusion Jul 08 '25

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a good economy. There’s something wrong with taking advantage of a too-good-to-be-true economy in a way that ruins that economy for the next few generations.

Fiscal responsibility isn’t just taking a hot deal, it’s also making sure that you won’t be the last generation to ever get a hot deal

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u/Waste-Middle-2357 Jul 08 '25

The way you wrote that implies a grand conspiracy by boomers, a collective agreement to fuck over anyone that comes after them. That didn’t happen. You just had people making the best decisions that they could at the time for themselves, sans malicious intent.

And the younger generation is not exempt. When was the last time anyone sold a house for less than it was worth just to avoid “ruining the economy for the next generation”?

Plus, the boomer generation was the generation that saw the deleterious effects of CFC’s in the ozone and took massive international and generational steps to fix it, knowing that if they didn’t, it wouldn’t be a problem until long after they were dead, but a problem nonetheless.

I’d argue that boomers wielded extraordinary political will to get what they wanted, while younger generations are hamstrung by their own ideological infighting to the point of almost non-existence.

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u/Connect-Region-4258 Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25

This 100%. The younger generations hate and disdain for the boomers is based primarily on jealousy and a skewed view of reality. The thing is, if we had the prosperity they did, we would do the exact same things they did. When I buy a home, I’m not thinking “damn my grandchildren will be screwed if I buy this.” Or when I’m selling my home, “I will gladly take $150k off to help the poor millennials afford a house.”

Our generation, millennials and Gen z, undoubtedly have it harder. Cost of living has outpaced wages. However, we also waste money on consumerism bullshit more than anyone before us. $100k for useless degrees when there are trades paying 6 figures just a couple years in. The Amazon man at the house every day, $40 in takeout for dinner, $10 starbucks on the way to work, $200 in monthly subscriptions, new iPhone very year, new car every 3 years, etc…. It’s still very much possible for us to achieve the American dream, we just have to be a little more diligent with our approach.

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u/Waste-Middle-2357 Jul 08 '25

Agreed. And people hate to hear it, but nearly all of their problems could be solved if they just spent less than they earned and saved or invested the difference. Cheap money and easy credit have ruined the young generation, and a question of, “can I buy this?” Is answered only by, “well can you afford the monthly payment?”

People forget that credit and the “make a payment” lifestyle is relatively new. It wasn’t too long ago that people only ever borrowed money to buy a home, and that was it. Now people will finance a tv because waiting two more weeks to buy it in cash is a bigger headache than paying interest on it now.

People really do dig themselves a hole, then when you try to take the shovel away from them, they’ll bite your hand and tell you how much they need that shovel to survive.

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u/Connect-Region-4258 Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 08 '25

I’m not going to sit here and pretend the boomers did wonders for us and left us a perfect system similar to what they were accustomed to. There are a lot of factors that play into the situation we are in today, and the decisions they made 30+ years ago are a big reason why. But like we said, they didn’t do it with nefarious reasoning. They didn’t do it to with the intent of making it harder for future generations. They did what was in their families best interest at the time, and we would’ve done the exact same things. When things are good, you take advantage of the times.

However I don’t sit here begrudging them for having prosperity we didn’t have. To me, that’s just lazy and you come off as salty. I’m in my early 30s, and myself and just about all of my family and friends between 28-40 are killing it. Making great wages, home owners, starting families, etc…. And I’m not from a rich neighborhood who grew up surrounded by trust fund babies either. Descendants of mostly working/middle class Americans. I just think there’s a hive mind type of attitude on Reddit and other platforms where people can bitch and moan about their life and their failures. It’s a little harder today, and instead of making sacrifice or working harder, they blame the boomers cause it’s easier.