[CliffFletcher]

The Boomers definitely had it easier when it comes to housing. They also had better job security, and they could reliably invest for retirement in their prime earning years.

But Boomers are also right that people in their 20s and 30s today in many ways enjoy a lifestyle that they could only dream about. Yes, Boomers could afford to get into the housing market at 24. That also means they were married at 23, paying a mortgage at 24, and starting a family at 25. And back in those days, before we entered a knowledge economy, wages were tethered tightly to experience. So at the time Boomers and earlier generations were starting families, they were making crap money (one of the reasons why air travel with young children was almost unheard of until recently).

Today, there are whole sectors of the economy reliant on the discretionary spending of childless 20-somethings and 30-somethings. A splurge holiday for a 24 year old used to be a ski trip to Whitefish. Now it's the Mayan Riviera. There are dozens of expensive restaurants and cocktail bars in Calgary patronized by 20-somethings and 30-somethings. Those didn't exist 25 years ago. Spending on the average wedding has tripled in the last 20 years. Destination weddings have become a thing. Dining out is far more common than it used to be.

The irony is that many of these things are affordable only because Boomer parents are supporting their kids rent-free, enabling them to spend most of their income on consumables and experiences. Before Millennials came of age, as soon as someone earned enough money to pay for a 1/2 or 1/3 share of rent in an apartment, they were out the door. Now, you have young adults earning 40-70k a year and not paying rent, bills, or groceries.

So both groups are right. Boomers had the big things in life easier due to the post-war boom. And many Millennials enjoy a lifestyle of consumption that was unthinkable 30 years ago.