OK Boomer, Do Millennials Really Have It Worse?

A new retort to older generations

What is a “Baby Boomer?”: A person born between 1946 – 1964 or someone making an outdated statement. “In the year 2050, I will be 56 years old; yet, right now, the average age of this 52nd Parliament is 49 years old. OK, boomer,” Chlöe Swarbrick, New Zealand politician tells parliament. “OK, boomer” is a new shorthand used by millennials (born 1981-1996) & Gen Z (born 1997+). But how does life actually compare for boomers vs. millennials?

Earnings: Millennials averaged $56,000 in income in 2018 — for those with a bachelor’s degree and a full-time job, while early boomers made $38,900 in 1982, when they were around the same age according to the Pew Research Center. Boomer women did pave the way for millennial women in the workforce, with a 66% employment rate — up from the 40% from the Silent Generation before them.

Education: Among millennials, around 39% of those aged 25 to 37 have a bachelor’s degree or higher — compared to roughly 25% of boomers. Source: Pew Research Center

Climate change: Boomers tend to be more skeptical of the link between human activity and climate change. 56% of millennials agree it is due to human activity, while 45% of boomers agree.

Marriage: The typical age of a married millennial woman is 28, and 30 for men. But in 1968, women married at around 21 years old, and 23 for men. Now, 46% of millennials ages 25 to 37 are married, whereas 67% of early boomers were at that age.

Housing: Following the 2008 recession, 15% of Millennials aged 25 to 37 were living in their parents’ home — compared to 8% of boomers at the same age. Overall there has been a decline in home ownership from the 1980s, young people in the 80s to today, by about 8 percent according to Jen Mishory, Executive Director of Young Invincibles.

Brut.