Interest rates peaked in 1980 at around 18%. And yet in 1980 the age of a first-time homebuyer was in their late 20s. It was doable. Today, interest rates are significantly lower – and yet the age of a first-time homebuyer today is almost 40. That’s a significant change. Imagine buying a home in 1980, and having that home paid off when you are still in your 50s, and then retiring at around 65. Pretty sweet. Today, people might still hope to retire in their 60s (but may not be able to) but they would still be paying off their mortgage when they were 70. That’s not good.

Something changed.

Obama said that he would “fundamentally change” the country. And he did. And the Biden Admin created ruinous inflation. Many Conservatives grumbled “These guys are destroying the country”. Well, young people today are growing up in a country that was destroyed by those two guys. And young people today do not like to hear older people say that “I bought a house in 1980! I struggled! You’re just lazy!” Things have changed. Older people grumbled when the change occurred and affected them, but they seem to believe that economic conditions in 2026 are precisely the same as they were in 1980 – “I did it! Why can’t you? You spend too much on expensive coffee!”

Perhaps some empathy for young people today growing up in a broken world created by older people would not be remiss.