Generational change brings new eyes, but also the consequences of past decisions. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, came of age during a period of unprecedented economic growth and implemented policies that have shaped today’s world.
Though many of these choices fostered growth and progress, others have created residual structural problems. Previous generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, now navigate a world influenced by the economic, environmental, and social impacts of these decisions.
An understanding of this legacy is central to framing the path forward.
The Deregulation of Wall Street
A sequence of deregulations of finance, which accelerated during the 1980s and 1990s, unwound much of the safeguards put in place since the Great Depression.
This included lowering the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated investment and commercial banking. The resulting environment encouraged high-risk financial products, which contributed to the 2008 collapse.
Millennials and Generation Z entered the workforce after this failure, facing a weak work environment, stagnant pay, and embedded distrust of financial institutions. The crisis effectively altered their economic trajectory from the start.
The Mass Expansion of an Auto-Oriented Suburbia
Post-World War II policies, such as the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, sped up the expansion of suburbs built around the car. This pattern of growth, fueled during the Boomer decades, focused on single-family dwellings and lengthy commutes at the cost of compact, walkable neighborhoods.
Later generations inherit now the green price of this car culture in the shape of high-carbon emissions and urban sprawl. They also shoulder the cost of car ownership as a necessity, as well as the social isolation that can accompany loosely connected communities.
The Transition from Pensions to 401(k) Plans
The business community, under the leadership of Boomer management, shifted its focus from offering defined-benefit pensions to defined-contribution vehicles, such as the 401(k).
That turning point transferred the risk and responsibility for retirement savings from the employer to the individual employee. Millennials and Gen Z, already burdened with student loans and stagnant incomes, need to self-fund their retirement.
They don’t enjoy the automatic economic security that many of their parents and grandparents assumed.
Defunding Higher Education and Student Debt as the New Norm
State governments formerly heavily subsidized public universities, so college was cheap or nearly free for many Baby Boomers. In the 1980s, a pattern of enormous state budget cuts led students and families to pay for tuition.
Student loan debt has become the second-largest form of consumer lending in the United States, burdening more than 43 million Americans with a collective debt of over $1.7 trillion.
This crisis has particularly impacted Millennials and Gen Z, forcing many to delay major life milestones such as buying a home or starting a family.
Prioritizing Tax Cuts Over Spending on Infrastructure
Across-the-board tax cuts enacted in the 1980s and the early 2000s were based on the belief that they would stimulate economic growth. One long-term consequence, however, was a chronic underinvestment in public infrastructure.
The American Society of Civil Engineers consistently gives U.S. infrastructure, roads, bridges, water systems, and the electric grid, C and D grades. Younger generations are left to deal with an aging system in need of trillions of dollars of repairs, funds that will be paid in the form of future taxes and fees.
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The “War on Drugs” and Mass Incarceration
Legislation of the 1970s and 1980s escalated the outrage of the “War on Drugs” to unprecedented heights with mandatory minimum sentencing legislation and a massive surge in the prison population.
This created the world’s highest rate of incarceration, which disproportionately weighed on minority communities.
Gen Z and Millennials are currently experiencing the social and economic costs, including shattered families, disenfranchised voters, and an expensive system that costs taxpayers billions of dollars annually but refuses to address the root causes of addiction and crime.
Ignoring Action on Climate Change
Despite early 1970s warnings from scientists about climate change, the Boomer generation’s political and business leaders largely failed to respond adequately.
Prioritization of short-term financial growth, alongside lobbying from fossil fuel interests, led to decades of rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Younger generations today are under threat from the climate crisis, which they themselves have not created, including more frequent and severe weather events, sea-level rise, and the enormous cost of transitioning to a sustainable economy.
Encouraging a “Tough It Out” Approach to Mental Health
Baby Boomers were raised primarily under a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” culture that historically stigmatized discussion of mental illness. That social norm resulted in a poorly developed and poorly funded system of mental health care.
Gen Z and Millennials, as they are more open about their emotional well-being, find themselves confronted by a system that is short of capacity to meet the demand, with high barriers to access and high costs.
The Decline of Labor Unions
The power of labor unions declined significantly in the second half of the 20th century due to policy changes, employer opposition, and shifts in economic ideologies.
The collapse weakened the collective bargaining power that had secured good pay, benefits, and job security for millions of workers.
As a great policy unraveling had been structured, accordingly, young people entered the labor market with reduced bargaining power, resulting in the expansion of the “gig economy,” stagnant wages, and an increased productivity-pay gap.
Normalizing Unpaid Internships
What began as a form of temporary apprenticeship evolved into the widespread use of unpaid interns performing substantial work, a pattern that gained more influence during the Boomer-led corporate era.
This phenomenon serves as one of the biggest barriers to entry for young adults who cannot afford to work for free. It is beneficial to the wealthy and perpetuates inequality, leading many Millennials and Gen Z individuals to go into debt or miss out on valuable career-building experiences.
The “Starve the Beast” Government Ideology
The most effective political strategy to enter the mainstream consciousness of the 1980s was to “starve the beast” by cutting taxes specifically for the purpose of forcing future reduction on government spending.
The consequence of this dogma has been decades of underfunding for the state, from public healthcare to social welfare programs and scientific research.
The burden now falls upon the younger generations: deteriorating public institutions that are increasingly less able to respond to crises like pandemics or recessions.
Not Tackling Social Security and Medicare Financing
Although Baby Boomers are by far the largest beneficiaries of Social Security and Medicare, political elites have repeatedly deferred addressing the long-term financing imbalances of these programs.
According to projections, if left untouched, these trust funds will become insolvent in about a decade. This leaves Millennials and Gen Z in a precarious position: they are paying into the system in taxes that may not be able to support them when they retire.
Key Takeaways
Long-Term Consequences: Decades-old short-term policy decisions, including deregulation, tax cuts, and infrastructure investments, have imposed long-term structural burdens.
Risk Has Shifted: Systematically, the retirement, education, and employment risk of money has been shifted away from employers and institutions and onto individuals.
Investment Gaps: Chronic underinvestment in public assets, such as infrastructure, education, and climate action, has burdened younger generations with a substantial bill for catch-up maintenance.
Systemic Challenges: Mass incarceration and the decay of unions are not trends but the result of specific policy choices that have reshaped the labor market and society.
The Future Burden: Gen Z and Millennials will inherit a debilitated social safety net and environmental catastrophes, necessitating swift and costly fixes.
Read more: 7 Morning Rituals Women Swear By for More Energy and Confidence
Disclaimer – This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information. It is not intended to be professional advice.
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