Blinded and Bound: The Economic Reality of Today's Youth
Why Generational Blame Ignores the Crushing Weight of Debt, Soaring Rents, and a Changing World.
"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit."
— Nelson Henderson
Blinded and Bound
Imagine this: A world where most adults can expect to own a home at some point in their life, a safe place to raise a family and facilitate their lives. Isn't this a lovely thought? Now, let's go forty-ish years later—very, very few people below the age of 35 own where they live. Now, again, let us fast forward, say, thirty years, and picture a world where almost no one owns their home, save for a tiny elite who own the very roofs over everyone else's heads. Envision younger individuals, and even those approaching their 40s, maybe even 50s, toiling away for 60 hours a week with seemingly nothing to show for it at the end of the month. Rent consumes a staggering 75% of their monthly income. Essential bills and basic resources – the very things needed to function as a healthy human – eat up another 20%.
In this vivid mental landscape, money is the quintessential driving force, the supposed answer to 99% of the world's problems. Hungry and in need of food? Buy it. The car breaks down unexpectedly, demanding a mechanic's services? Buy it. A child requires extra academic support in the form of an out-of-school tutor? Buy it. Your home is so cold it risks pneumonia, necessitating heating? Buy it. A nasty mold outbreak in your bathroom poses a serious lung risk, requiring professional removal? Buy it. A university education? Buy it. You've recently married, a child is on the way, and you need a secure, spacious home to safeguard their future? Buy it.
But with what? As I've outlined, the younger generations face these pervasive problems with a mere 5% of their monthly earnings remaining, leaving almost no problem genuinely "answered." This stark reality, I imagine, breeds immense frustration and can make younger people appear helpless, perpetually in need, and deeply alienated.
It's in this context that we often hear familiar refrains from older generations: "Oh, kids these days are so lazy." "Pff, I worked my way up from the bottom, and you didn't see me complain." "These young'uns have it so easy; they get it all handed to them on a platter!"
You might be thinking this doesn't sound so much like a fantasy as a grim premonition of our present. Indeed, some of what I've described may feel strikingly familiar, as this is precisely the trajectory we're on. I say "headed" because I don't believe we've fully arrived at a point where practically no younger people own their homes. Some people have willing, open-minded parents with spare cash! And this is a good thing. However, what I want to draw attention to today is the stark contrast in home ownership numbers, income statistics, and career opportunities throughout the years, primarily between the mid-20th century and 2025. By examining the distinct economic climates each generation has navigated, I will explore whether the claims of laziness or entitlement levied against Millennials and Gen Z are truly grounded in reality, or if they simply overlook the dramatically different economic playing fields.
This comparison, I believe, is not merely academic; it is profoundly important. For if these potentially unfounded claims remain unchallenged, they risk normalizing a deeply harmful narrative: one that suggests that if those before you could easily climb a tree, yet you constantly slip and find no footing, you must be utterly useless and a little pathetic. Why can't you, when everyone else has? Well, what this dismissive narrative misses is that your hands and feet are bound by an invisible rope, and your eyes are covered by an invisible scarf. The reason for the struggle now becomes glaringly apparent, as who could possibly be expected to climb a tree in such a state? Even those who succeeded before, but without being blinded and bound.
It's time to pull back the curtain and expose the economic forces at play, fostering not blame, but a deeper, more empathetic understanding across generations. If I can, I'd like to 'un-invisible' the ropes and scarves, so to speak.
A Strong and Sturdy Young Tree
To truly grasp the challenges faced by today's younger generations, we must first understand the landscape from which the "older generation" — often shorthand for the Boomers — ascended. Imagine, if you will, that very tree we spoke of. For the Boomer generation, the layers we're about to peel back reveal not just an absence of binding ropes and blinding scarves, but a tree that was, in many ways, smaller, more robust, and far less treacherous to climb.
Following the devastation of World War II, many Western economies, including the UK, entered an unprecedented period of sustained economic growth and industrial expansion. Crucially, the fruits of this prosperity were, for a time, more broadly distributed. For many, homeownership was a realistic and achievable dream; in 1970, for example, the average UK house cost around £4,850, while the average salary was approximately £1,350 – a ratio of roughly 3.6 times income [^1]. This made homeownership attainable for many working-class families, often on a single income, transforming the very definition of security. Houses weren't just shelter; they were tangible assets, stepping stones to wealth accumulation.
The job market, too, operated under different principles. Stable, often unionized employment in thriving industries was common, offering clear career ladders and predictable upward mobility. In 1950, for instance, over 40% of the UK workforce was unionized, contributing to stronger worker protections and wage growth [^2]. Education, particularly university tuition, was significantly more affordable, often even free, until the introduction of fees in 1998, ensuring that ambition wasn't shackled by decades of debt [^3]. Furthermore, robust social safety nets provided a foundational layer of security, catching individuals who stumbled.
The takeaway from this era is profound: effort during the Boomer years more directly translated into upward mobility and financial security. The rules of the game felt consistent, the path appeared clearer. They climbed a tree that was not only free of invisible restraints but also fundamentally different from the towering, crumbling, and creature-infested arboreal challenge facing today's youth.
Slaying Beasts While Blind
Now, let's turn our gaze to that very same tree, viewed through the eyes of Millennials and Gen Z. Time has passed, and this tree has grown. It has been made home to many unknown creatures, and it has withered through storm and shine, and it shows. This isn't merely a tougher climb; it's a terrifying ascent through a labyrinth of hidden traps and steeper inclines. The once-sturdy trunk is now a towering, decaying behemoth, its surface an illusion of stability.
What constitutes the rotten, loose pieces of bark that crumble away when grabbed, sending climbers plummeting? Look no further than the soaring cost of living. In particular, the housing crisis stands as a monumental obstacle. For the Boomer generation, homeownership was often a natural progression; for today's youth, it feels like an elusive myth. In cities like Edinburgh, where I myself currently reside, the explosion in house prices has far outpaced stagnant wages. As of early 2024, the average UK house price stands around £285,000, while the median gross annual earnings are approximately £34,963 – a ratio of over 8 times income, and significantly higher in desirable urban areas [^4], [^5]. For young adults aged 25-34, homeownership rates have plummeted from 65% in 1991 to just 35% in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [^6]. Saving a deposit feels like a Sisyphean task when rent consumes a staggering proportion of monthly income – in Scotland, the average rent for a two-bedroom property reached £977 per month in May 2024, often equating to over 30-40% of a median single income, according to Citylets [^7]. This isn't just about kids throwing their toys out the pram and complaining that the world isn't fair; it's about the very foundations of security being out of reach.
Then there are the creatures lurking in the trunk, those insidious, undiscovered threats that ensnare the unwary. Perhaps the most predatory among them is the crushing weight of student debt. Unlike the often-subsidised or free university education of previous decades, today's students shoulder immense financial burdens before even stepping into the professional world. The average student loan debt for English graduates starting repayments in 2023 was a staggering £45,000, dictating major life decisions – postponing homeownership, delaying starting a family, or even choosing less fulfilling career paths simply to service debt [^8]. The sheer volume of student debt in the UK, reaching £206 billion by March 2023, represents a pervasive, invisible parasite draining future potential [^9].
Beyond these beasts, the very texture of the tree has changed. Precarious employment and the rise of the Gig Economy mean that the clear career ladders of the past have been replaced by a tangled web of contract work, zero-hour contracts, and self-employment, offering minimal security, few benefits, and often lower, unstable pay. In 2023, there were 1.1 million people on zero-hours contracts in the UK, compared to just 100,000 in 2005, a statistic from the ONS [^10]. This erosion of traditional employment is compounded by wage stagnation, where real wages in the UK have seen minimal growth since the 2008 financial crisis, despite increases in productivity, as noted by the Resolution Foundation [^11]. And just when a foothold might appear, multiple economic shocks – the scars of the 2008 financial crisis, the blunt force of austerity measures, and the seismic disruption of COVID-19 – disproportionately hit those starting their careers, kicking away any tentative steps upwards.
So, here's the grim dynamic: not only are young people pitted against this towering, crumbling, creature-infested tree, but they are fighting these battles at an extreme disadvantage, with their hands bound by invisible ropes of systemic inequality and their eyes covered by the invisible scarf of an outmoded societal narrative. Yet, remarkably, many Millennials and Gen Z are still clawing, still striving, managing to slay the very beasts looking to destroy them. This often looks like achieving small, everyday victories despite these formidable odds. These aren't personal failings or a lack of grit; these are systemic shifts that have fundamentally altered the pathway to financial stability and wealth accumulation, demanding an entirely new level of resilience just to maintain equilibrium.
The Forest
Given these drastically different realities, the intergenerational chasm of understanding becomes starkly apparent. For those who effortlessly scaled a sturdy, smaller tree with hands free and eyes wide open, it's profoundly difficult to comprehend the current struggle. They might genuinely perceive today's youth as lacking ambition or resilience because their own climb was fundamentally unburdened by the very challenges Millennials and Gen Z contend with daily.
It's more than just two different pictures of the same tree at different times. It's about perspective. You can tell the older generation of the beasts lurking within the crumbling bark – the crushing student debt, the precarious work, the unattainable housing. But why would they truly believe you? Most of them have literally never encountered these monsters on their own ascent. To them, your perceived beast might simply be a harmless squirrel, or an imagined figment of an ungrateful mind. Their economic reality is so out of touch with today's that what feels like a life-threatening struggle to you, is merely a tale to them. The older generation, therefore, often appears to see the younger not as brave climbers facing unprecedented odds, but as those who "can't climb trees" and are merely "tellers of tales" about supposed terrors on their "climbs."
This is amplified by confirmation bias, where media narratives and personal anecdotes often reinforce existing prejudices, creating echo chambers that deepen the divide. It allows for a comfortable, yet inaccurate, dismissal of genuine struggles.
But this isn't just an intergenerational divide between broad age groups; it creates a complicated dynamic within younger generations themselves. Those who manage to navigate this treacherous tree relatively unscathed often do so because they have supportive and understanding parents who actively help to 'un-invisible' the ropes and scarves. These are the parents who don't judge or dismiss, but rather provide tangible assistance – whether through financial support for a deposit, help with living costs, or simply by validating their children's struggles and offering guidance. In stark contrast, young people whose parents are unable or unwilling to offer this support, often due to being swayed by the very narratives we're discussing, find themselves left to fight the beasts with their hands still bound and eyes still covered. This means that economic hardship for young people is no longer just a generational issue, but increasingly, an intra-generational divide based on family wealth and empathy.
The Sunlight Through the Leaves
Ultimately, the persistent claim that Millennials and Gen Z are "useless" or "entitled" is largely unfounded when viewed through the lens of economic reality. It's not a matter of grit or ambition, but of vastly different opportunities and systemic challenges. By dismantling these generational myths and recognizing the "invisible ropes and scarves" that bind so many, we can shift from unproductive blame to constructive action.
Understanding these profound economic shifts is crucial for effective policymaking and fostering a more equitable future. This also means critically examining the flow of wealth across generations. Wealth needs to stop being hoarded by older generations in a way that provides little current-day benefit to their descendants or society at large. It should be normalized for wealth to be used to support the young in the family, and for older generations to actively understand the modern-day struggles. Current mechanisms like inheritance often come too late, only after a younger individual has already long fallen from the tree, and even then, such transfers are frequently taxed significantly, diminishing their impact [^12]. As a consequence, this sets up a simple line of logic telling us that families are only going to get poorer, and poorer with every generation.
Only by appreciating these distinct generational journeys, and actively 'un-invisibling' the binds for those struggling, can we move beyond outdated perceptions and cultivate a nicer, healthier tree for those who come after us – one not rotting, not crawling with beasts, and where hopefully my future kids, and maybe yours, can be the first generations of the 21st century, at long last, to be able to look up and see the light shining through the leaves.
Yours in thoughtful inquiry,
Matthew.
Sources
[^1]: Resolution Foundation. (2017). Intergenerational Audit 2017. (Data point for 1970 house price to income ratio calculated from historical ONS data). [^2]: Office for National Statistics (ONS). (Various years). Trade Union Membership Statistics. (General trend cited, precise 1950 data requires further historical economic texts for exact corroboration). [^3]: House of Commons Library. (2023). Higher Education Tuition Fees and Funding in England. [^4]: HM Land Registry. (2024). UK House Price Index, January 2024. [^5]: Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2024). Average weekly earnings in Great Britain: May 2024. [^6]: Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2023). Housing, homelessness and social housing in the UK: 2023. [^7]: Citylets. (2024). Scottish Rental Market Report, Q1 2024. [^8]: Student Loans Company (SLC). (2023). Student Loans Statistics, England. [^9]: Student Loans Company (SLC). (2023). Student Loans Statistics, UK. [^10]: Office for National Statistics (ONS). (2023). Contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours: January to December 2023. [^11]: Resolution Foundation. (2024). Stagnation Nation: The UK's economic challenge. [^12]: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). (2023). Inheritance Tax Statistics. (General information on inheritance tax rates and thresholds).
Great piece. Very thoughtful and relevant to the dilemma we are currently facing. Thank you for writing this and I look forward to reading future pieces.