I think most of your post is spot on, but I am not really understanding how previous generations were "rewarded" differently. What rewards do you believe that previous generations were receiving that yours is not?

There are definitely new and unique challenges. There have always been challenges. There will always be challenges. Those challenges will be different over time. It's our responsibility as a species to adapt to those challenges.

I think that for most "younger" people, a lot of the frustration comes from the fact that we were taught to do things a certain way financially. A lot of us did those things, made mostly good choices, and we're not really being rewarded for those things to nearly the same extent as past generations. And that's fine. Things change, we learn new information and better methods of living. It's our responsibility to adapt. However, when we bring this up in most forums, we're told that we're wrong. Most people are unwilling to have a conversation about the root of the problems and legitimate, feasible changes we could make to better life for the vast majority of citizens.

My concerns are less about myself. I hopefully have 50-60 years left and I don't plan on having kids. Even if the rises in rent/overall cost of living continue to far outpace salary increases (rent increases have outpaced income gains by 325% in the last 40 years), I doubt I'll ever truly struggle. I will live a less luxurious life with less hobbies and less travel than I'd hoped and expected, but ultimately, it is what it is. I'll never be hungry at my current salary.

My frustrations and concerns mostly stem from the fact that we, as a country, continue to operate as if the US will be just fine moving forward if we continue with the status quo. Meanwhile, it is becoming harder and harder for younger generations to build wealth. And neither political party is doing anything to address the problem. And there are no signs that they ever will.

I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers. I don't. But a general acceptance of the issues we're facing and an open dialogue among our "leaders" would be a start, and for the most part as a society we can't even accomplish that.

I don't venture into these topics often so if anything above is too political, I will remove it.

No, I get it. I'm old enough to remember the alternate spelling fiasco