Does anyone know / remember if there were similar pieces written in the late 90s about people in their 20s and 30s then? Ie is this a trend that has always happened or something new?
It’s been going on for awhile but there are a number of factors which have become worse since the 90s: health insurance, tuition, housing, etc. all cost significantly more and we’re a generation further on the hollowing out of middle class jobs due to automation, offshoring, replacing employees with contractors, etc. I think the net effect is that it’s well over a key threshold for many people where a generation earlier someone might have complained about one of those costs but still been able to make it work whereas now it’s just not possible fora growing number of people.
As an example, I know someone with type 1 diabetes. The inflation-adjusted cost of insulin has gone up something like 700% over the last 20 years and the number of jobs offering health insurance has declined while the employee’s cost percentage has risen, so the percentage of people who can just absorb it is shrinking.