'Boomers can't conceptualize': This college student on TikTok says older generations don't know about inflation, never had to fight for jobs — and the comments are in full support

Since the 1980s, the economy has changed in ways that are simply difficult to describe. The real impact of inflation and wage stagnation isn’t apparent unless you dig deeper into the numbers. That’s precisely what a recent college grad did when her mother commented on the idea that young workers “expect too much.”

“I think boomers can’t conceptualize this [struggle] because they never had to fight for jobs,” said Cat, a 21-year-old college student. She recently took to TikTok to explain why older workers might find it difficult to empathize with the economic struggles of younger people after a discussion with her mother about mismatched expectations. The video has been viewed 2.2 million times as of May 12.

Cat says her mother made $36,000 a year as an entry-level bank teller in 1980. Meanwhile, the average entry-level worker in America now makes $55,260 a year, according to her calculations. However, when adjusted for inflation the entry-level salary in 1982 — about $33,700 — was closer to $102,200 in today’s dollars.

Effectively, a recent college grad is making half as much as his or her parents did if they graduated 40 years ago. This is also true for low-income workers. The federal minimum hourly wage in the U.S. was $3.10 in 1980 and just $7.25 today. These workers may have doubled their income over 40 years, but it’s apparent the cost of living has accelerated more quickly.

A dollar in 1980 had the same purchasing power as $3.68 today. To preserve purchasing power — at least by 1980 standards — the minimum wage should have soared to $11.40 by now.

Labor has effectively been devalued, which is at the root of many younger workers’ frustrations. And TikTok comment sections are one of their favorite places to express these feelings.