Millennial calls out boomers for unfairly putting down on Gen-Zers over financial struggles
A millennial TikTok user called out a boomer comedian for dunking on Gen-Z and younger generations for being frustrated with their current financial circumstances.
In a viral TikTok video, musician Robbie Scott responded to a clip of 54-year-old comedian Rick Mercer complaining about a Gen-Z TikToker who vented about her 40-hour work week. Scott pointed out in his video that Mercer's points were negated by the fact that a lot of Gen-Z has to deal with financial hardships and a cost-of-living crisis that older generations never encountered.
The clip begins with Mercerâs comment that âthe vast majority of people in North America have done [a full-time job] for their entire lifeâ. The footage is stitched with a video of Scott responding, with the overlaid text saying: âMost Boomers donât know what itâs like to work 40+ hours a week and still not be able to afford a house and food, so let me walk you through it.â
The musician began the clip by pointing out that itâs unlikely that baby boomers will understand what younger generations are experiencing in this economic climate. âWe need to stop expecting the same damn people who bought a four-bedroom home and a brand-new Cadillac convertible off of a $30,000 a year salary working at Perkins to understand what itâs like to be working 40+ hours a week with a Masterâs degree and still not being able to afford a 400-square-foot studio apartment in b*mf*ck, Iowa,â he said.
He added that the vast majority of people - including boomers - donât like working full-time, with many seeing it as a means to an end. He noted that many of them were âtrying to become billionaires so that you can one day pay peopleâ to do the work for them, not because they wanted to work the same 9-to-5 job for the rest of their lives.
Scott argued that the reason that millennials and Gen-Z are upset is not because theyâre lazy and less willing to work. The frustration instead stems from not being paid a proportionate amount that reflects the cost of living prices that have escalated amid inflation.
âWhatâs s***** is, weâre holding up our end of the deal,â he continued. âWeâre staying in school. Weâre going to college. Weâve been working since we were 15, 16 years old... doing everything that yâall told us to do so that we can what? We can still be living in our parentsâ homes in our late 20s?â
âWeâre also making considerably, and disproportionately, much less than any other generation has - and that is kinda s*****,â he added, noting that he knows people in their mid-30s who have been working steadily for over two decades, but still canât afford a home in his state of Minnesota. âThat is why some of us are crying,â the musician explained. âThatâs why some of us are angry... weâre holding up our end of the deal, and someone on the other side is not holding up their end.â
Scott noted that although some Boomers and Gen X-ers are sympathetic to the younger generationâs situation, they would empathise more with them if they had faced similar economic conditions. But he didnât hold back against the older generations looking down on millennials and Gen Z, and had some choice words for them.
âF*** you - because you donât get it, you will never get it, and you should be thanking God for that.â
Since he posted the video, it has garnered over two million views on the platform, with many young people flooding the comment section thanking Scott for expressing what they couldnât put into words.
âI wouldnât mind working if it actually allowed me to afford things,â one person wrote, while another added: âImagine if theyâd just pay us.â
âI donât mind 40 hours only if it actually makes things affordable like the boomers had it,â someone else commented.
However, it wasnât just young people in the comment section, with some older workers noting that the work theyâre doing now isnât the same workload they did in their twenties.
âIâm 44 and [let me] tell you - we are NOT working the same 40 hrs as we did when I was 25,â one person wrote. âWeâre doing the work of two to three people now.â
But there were a few people calling on Scott and others like him to pick themselves up by the bootstraps and move forward. âItâs not difficult,â someone wrote. âIf you work hard you get nice things. Sick of this pitty [sic] party mentality.â