21-Year-Old Asks Economists 'Did Boomers Ruin The Economy?' — Or Is His Mom Right, Young People Are Poor Because They Don't Want to Work a 9-to-5

Krugman warned that by rejecting unfavorable data, the administration risked creating a “Potemkin economy”—a facade of prosperity that would prevent real problems from being addressed. Other economists agree that the data, though weak, is credible. Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial, noted that "downward revisions are common during periods of economic slowdowns."

Every generation gets a label, a reputation, and—if they're lucky—a catchy insult. Millennials were accused of "killing" everything from department stores to mayonnaise. Gen X got called slackers. And boomers? Well, lately they've been cast as the villains of the modern economy.

But a 21-year-old on Reddit wanted a serious answer. Posting in the r/AskEconomics forum under the title "Did boomers actually ruin the economy for younger generations?" he said friends and "left-leaning news headlines" blame boomers for today's struggles, while his mom insists "young people are poor because they don't want to work a 9-to-5." Unsure which story held more weight, he asked economists to weigh in.