Millennials discuss why boomers are still living in a 1980s economic mindset: 'My dad said "You are earning 6 figures and can't afford $500 for a vacation?"'

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Jul 8, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

It isn't easy to accept that everything is getting demonstrably more expensive. We used to think of inflation as a gradual process: our grandparents talked about how hamburgers used to be 50 cents, and as the decades marched on, they gradually started costing upwards of $15 if you wanted a good one. The inflation in the last five years has been quicker than I've ever seen, and it's difficult for baby boomers to accept. I don't 100% blame them: if you've lived in economic prosperity your whole life, it isn't easy to find it unremarkable that a box of cereal can cost $8 now. The problem with it is that they are the ones dispensing financial "advice" to the young people in their lives, berating service workers, and attempting to haggle down prices like they're at a North African market. Millennials and other young people came together to discuss boomers' economic views on X, and they are right on the money.