Discontent Towards Boomers

[sangheilios]

Baby boomers could get through most of life by simply showing up.

I think we have more opportunities then they did but at what cost?

The hate boomers get was their inability to think of a better tomorrow. Global warming, mass debt, SS, war, all these are because the powers that be failed to do any type of planning beyond themselves. They dropped the ball and the younger generations are stuck cleaning up a mess that the culprit refuses to admit was their wrong doing. And all this while they still hold most of the political and financial power.

We are living in a time of ignorance and knowledge. Its like granny is on her death bed and everyone is waiting for her to write the will.

I mentioned this on my post on this thread, but boomers did in fact get through life simply by showing up. They all received participation trophies, which is interesting because they were the ones that started this concept with youth sports lol.

Here's the way I look at this, many of the issues that millennials and gen zs are or will be left to deal with are a result of the decisions and actions of the boomer generation.

Boomers were the ones who drilled into the minds of their children that they needed to go to college to be successful. They meant well with this idea, as in their time getting a degree was a great investment and a ticket to a good life. However, by the time their children would be going to college the costs were outrageous and ultimately left them saddled with student loan debt and a degree that really didn't mean much. Boomers were the ones that profited from this.

Real estate is a great example. Housing was incredibly affordable for the average boomer and they readily found themselves as home owners. Boomers now control 2/3 of real estate in the country and we are seeing incredibly high rates for even rent throughout the entire country. This benefits the boomers at the expense of the younger generation.

Boomers are to blame for many terrible things, such as the Iraq and Afghanistan occupations. Who were the ones that would have been sent over there? You are looking at primarily people born in the 80s and 90s. You can also thank boomers for sending many good paying manufacturing jobs overseas to some country where they can pay a kid $1 per day lol.

I don't want to turn this into an entire essay, but you are correct that this generation is what created the mess whilst doing absolutely nothing to correct it. In addition to this, they are the ones who have power with the economy, finances, politics/government, etc. Much of what this generation has done was essentially to benefit them as much as possible with no real consideration for the potential consequences that could affect the younger generations. Now, whether this was intentional or not I think is up for debate, though we can clearly see that the results have lead to this idea. I think a huge difference between this generation, the boomers, and their parents was that their parents seemed to be more invested into the future of America and their family instead of just being in it for themselves. Again, this isn't for every single individual but on a collective scale we can see this with their policies. America in the post WW2 through the 60s time frame seemed to be highly invested into keeping communism at bay. Sure, some of the methods that they did this were far less than ideal but you can see that they were trying to prevent this entering into the west, and for good reason.

Boomers are starting to age and within the not too distant future many are going to be passing. As @The Duke mentioned, there is going to be a massive wealth transfer over the next couple decades. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out and the changes we may see in our society.

@Fruitbat BTW, when people are discussing boomers they are primarily referring to this generation in America, I'm not entirely sure if what we are discussing is even relevant to your country or others.

 

[The Duke]

@sangheilios
I mentioned this on my post on this thread, but boomers did in fact get through life simply by showing up. They all received participation trophies, which is interesting because they were the ones that started this concept with youth sports.

All the boomers I know didn't just show up. Think about that a little, does that even make sense? How did the work get done? The great generation do all the work and the boomers just sat there?..Absurd.
The participation trophy concept goes back to the 1920's. Look it up for yourself. But yes that concept got popular in the 90's, I would say the Gen X parents made the trend popular again.

Here's the way I look at this, many of the issues that millennials and gen zs are or will be left to deal with are a result of the decisions and actions of the boomer generation.
Very possible, do something about it if you don't like it. The Boomers did something, they pushed for womens rights, abortion, birth control, and rock n' roll. They tried to make drugs more accepted.

Boomers were the ones who drilled into the minds of their children that they needed to go to college to be successful. They meant well with this idea, as in their time getting a degree was a great investment and a ticket to a good life. However, by the time their children would be going to college the costs were outrageous and ultimately left them saddled with student loan debt and a degree that really didn't mean much. Boomers were the ones that profited from this.
Yep they pushed the go to college idea. The ones who profited were higher learning institutions. Notice how many we have now days. They are every where. Its up to you to decide if the return on college is a good idea or not. Its your money. Your choice. You have to own up to your decisions. Us older guys have been trying to tell you this. Its a major flaw with youth today.


Real estate is a great example. Housing was incredibly affordable for the average boomer and they readily found themselves as home owners. Boomers now control 2/3 of real estate in the country and we are seeing incredibly high rates for even rent throughout the entire country. This benefits the boomers at the expense of the younger generation.
I just don't see how boomers controlled the housing/rental market. 3 years ago I sold my first house for $300K more than I bought it for. How did I do it in a market dominated by boomers according to you? Why don't you ask that question, you might learn something.

You can also thank boomers for sending many good paying manufacturing jobs overseas to some country where they can pay a kid $1 per day lol.
American consumerism, a desire for cheap and easy, and screw quality. The concerns over pollution. Competition. All of these drove that. You want to buck those trends, then start making things with your own hands, grow your own food. Stop buying crap. Stop eating fast food. Stop taking Ubers. Stop using Uber Eats.


Boomers are starting to age and within the not too distant future many are going to be passing. As @The Duke mentioned, there is going to be a massive wealth transfer over the next couple decades. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out and the changes we may see in our society.
What happens when free large amounts of free money gets injected into the economy? Inflation.

 

[kavi]

Look, this is not a debate at all.

Boomers should not take this personally but either they accept it sooner or later but things are gonna change.

Civilization develops, matures and changes.

For the boomers they were just living at a certain time that saw MASSIVE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT and for this their lives were pretty much dictated by this development especially Western Boomers who led the global development.

But that DEVELOPMENT caused changes to society, especially modern, Western society, that is what the Millenials are dealing with.

And now that the development is mostly done, there really isnt as much reason for younger generations to work as hard, cos alot of stuff already got built up. So things already got developed, hence workng harder now doesnt usually align with improvements that make it worthwhile. So people should be working less hard and focusing on social and relationship type issues.

The boomers dont get it, they can only see the world through $$$$ work education following the matrix etc. Boomers only understand the matrix, they dont understand anything much else. They always talk about economics etc. THEY ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SYSTEM AND TRUST THE SYSTEM, THEY CANNOT SEE OUTSIDE IT.

The system is only good for producing basic economic output. It has failed for Science, Arts, Culture, Social Values, Moral Values etc.

THE WHOLE BOOMER SYSTEM IS DEVOID OF ANY DISCUSSION OR VALUES OTHER THAN BASIC PRODUCTION OF MATERIAL STUFF.

But we are way past caring about basic material production like building houses and boomer corporate managers, younger generations will have to deal with complex issues WAY MORE COMPLEX THAN ANYTHING BOOMERS CONSIDERED.

Under Boomers:

Production of Material Stuff Increased while every other aspect of society suffered and needs to be fixed, this includes
Political Polarization, Science (Physics is dead and we are more lost than ever), Relationships need fixing, Houses too expensive etc etc

So Boomers either should be humbled now or they will be at some point in the future, because there are alot of problems and alot of work needs to be done to fix it which boomers dont even acknoelwdge or understand.

 

[sangheilios]

@The Duke

You are taking this way too personally and I'm not even speaking for myself, I've actually done pretty well.

Here is the thing, the average boomer did NOT struggle to enter into the middle class, get married or have children. As long as they were average and had jobs they got by or were even comfortable, sometimes very comfortable. Economic success came incredibly easy, I'd add that if a boomer was not comfortable or successful they screwed up heavily somewhere down the road.

The biggest difference for the younger generations is that many of these things that boomers took for granted are NOT the norm. Think about it this way, how are you supposed to be able to save up for a down payment on a house when your rent for some mediocre apartment takes up half of your income? This is the reality that many in this younger generation are faced with right now. It's not uncommon for most major metros to have average rental prices around $1500/month or more.

I don't really know how to describe this through writing, but things just lined up for the average baby boomer. They didn't have to spend tons of time reading Wall Street Journal, read up on investing strategies, etc. They were easily able to get into real estate as home owners and profited immensely in this over the decades, whilst the younger generations have been effectively priced out of the market. The average millennial or gen z would have to be incredibly on point if they wanted to build wealth. Small mistakes like what college they went to could be the difference between having lifelong debt or not.

I agree with you that it is about the decisions you make. What I'm saying is that it's much harder for the young generations to do well for themselves compared to their parents. Meanwhile, it's also much easier to set yourself back then it was for them as well.

 

[sangheilios]

Look, this is not a debate at all.

Boomers should not take this personally but either they accept it sooner or later but things are gonna change.

Civilization develops, matures and changes.

For the boomers they were just living at a certain time that saw MASSIVE GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT and for this their lives were pretty much dictated by this development especially Western Boomers who led the global development.

But that DEVELOPMENT caused changes to society, especially modern, Western society, that is what the Millenials are dealing with.

And now that the development is mostly done, there really isnt as much reason for younger generations to work as hard, cos alot of stuff already got built up. So things already got developed, hence workng harder now doesnt usually align with improvements that make it worthwhile. So people should be working less hard and focusing on social and relationship type issues.

The boomers dont get it, they can only see the world through $$$$ work education following the matrix etc. Boomers only understand the matrix, they dont understand anything much else. They always talk about economics etc. THEY ALWAYS FOLLOW THE SYSTEM AND TRUST THE SYSTEM, THEY CANNOT SEE OUTSIDE IT.

The system is only good for producing basic economic output. It has failed for Science, Arts, Culture, Social Values, Moral Values etc.

THE WHOLE BOOMER SYSTEM IS DEVOID OF ANY DISCUSSION OR VALUES OTHER THAN BASIC PRODUCTION OF MATERIAL STUFF.

But we are way past caring about basic material production like building houses and boomer corporate managers, younger generations will have to deal with complex issues WAY MORE COMPLEX THAN ANYTHING BOOMERS CONSIDERED.

Under Boomers:

Production of Material Stuff Increased while every other aspect of society suffered and needs to be fixed, this includes
Political Polarization, Science (Physics is dead and we are more lost than ever), Relationships need fixing, Houses too expensive etc etc

So Boomers either should be humbled now or they will be at some point in the future, because there are alot of problems and alot of work needs to be done to fix it which boomers dont even acknoelwdge or understand.

The short answer to this is that if the boomers played the rules of the "matrix" or the system they would be comfortable and do well for themselves. This is NOT the case for the average millennial or gen z. If the average millennial went to college it wasn't unusual to have tons of debt for a degree that would get them a job that is more or less average. In my opinion, for a millennial or gen z to have the same level of success of that of their parents would require a higher degree of creativity, entrepreneurship and some bold/risky moves. Boomers did well by just being average working people, this is not the case for the younger generation. It's not impossible, it's just the game has changed and many failed to see it for what it is and adapt to it.

 

[kavi]

Lol Boomers were concerned with building traditional businesses like housing, airlines, factories ahahha that stuff is so easy by todays standards and oversaturated complex markets. Building that basic post-war infrastructure was piss easy and a walk in the park compared to what needs to be done to improve thigns today.

A millenial or Gen-x would piss themselves laughing at the base simplicity of those times.

We are now looking at building CIVILIZATION while boomers were simply concerned with builsing the basic material infrastructure of that Civilization.

Its a whole different ball-game now.

 

[Bigpapa]

Sounds really sad that such a portion of emotions and time goes towards a generation that is almost gone

If you ask me, things went kaboom with gen-x

Society today is a reflection of gen X as parents and leaders

Little to no boomers most likely were involved in any major decision in the last 10 years at least

Society and business are ran exclusively by gen X people for the last 10 years ( at least )

 

[EyeBRollin]

AM with 20 of the illegal immigrants that are going to be millionaires by the time they’re 40.

Hispanic people =/= illegal immigrants. It is virtually impossible to get large amounts of cash into the US banking system. Either those dudes are legal, or someone is lying about net worth.

 

[The Duke]

@The Duke
What I'm saying is that it's much harder for the young generations to do well for themselves compared to their parents. Meanwhile, it's also much easier to set yourself back then it was for them as well.

I've always thought that. I've even told my Boomer parents the same thing. But I'm not going to sit here and boo hoo because life sucks. Theres a lot of that attitude keeping them from finding success.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

So that everyone is on the same page:

Greatest Generation – born 1901-1927
Silent Generation – born 1928-1945
Baby Boomer Generation – born 1946-1964
Generation X – born 1965-1980
Millennials – born 1981-1996
Generation Z – born 1996-2012
Gen Alpha – born 2013 – 2025

 

[The Duke]

Its funny that there is so much hate towards Boomers, yet they have been on there way out for several years now. The youngest Boomer is 59 now! The oldest is 77. The vast majority are retired and have been for several years. I think you haters give them too much credit!

 

[EyeBRollin]

I've always thought that. I've even told my Boomer parents the same thing. But I'm not going to sit here and boo hoo because life sucks. Theres a lot of that attitude keeping them from finding success.

You really eating up the bootstrap propaganda. Problem with ideological arguments is you are applying individual values to a macro level topic. Everyone cannot be rich and successful. If everyone is rich, no one is rich.

 

[Pierce Manhammer]

It’s a riff on a discussion I had on this thread previously.

Mostly what it’s meant to convey is that a “problem” that can be resolved through action is not a problem.

Hispanic people =/= illegal immigrants. It is virtually impossible to get large amounts of cash into the US banking system. Either those dudes are legal, or someone is lying about net worth.

 

[Bigpapa]

Its funny that there is so much hate towards Boomers, yet they have been on there way out for several years now. The youngest Boomer is 59 now! The oldest is 77. The vast majority are retired and have been for several years. I think you haters give them too much credit!

Most guys here are gen X, ofc they will not blame themselves

They will blame the generation before and the generation after, and that things went to this extreme is not their fault . It is the fault leftist propaganda that no one accepts that it was propagated by them mostly

Feminism was already a thing in the 90s, especially in the big cities

 

[mbc0029]

I have nothing against boomers in general. But I think it comes down to parenting and getting your kids ready to take on the world (not spoiling your kids). Practical.

Most Boomer and X parents, not all, but most, don't seem to teach their kids anything practical. A lot of it comes down to them not being in touch with reality.

When you combine this with birth control, feminism, social media, female first social order, lack of masculinity, single parent households, and a welfare state, you get a generation of soft millennials and generation z's who have had everything handed to them or went into the world expecting things to be one way, and it goes another.

I think Millennials and Z generation have a legit complaint against the prior generations (boomers and X specifically). Even if you look at it through a red pill lense, you realize there are multiple variables that lead to where we're at now in 2023.

Starting from the 60's onward, it was the Boomers, then X, them Millennials, and now Z.

My generation has a legit gripe, especially if you look at it through a red pill lense. At least in terms of time and wasted energy on the wrong things. But it is what is, and now we have to deal with it, whether we like it or not. No time machine exists.

This is besides the economic stuff.

The softening and weakening of society began with the Boomers. Whether it comes to women, money, working out, etc, my parents and most other parents are out of touch with the world

You have to work hard anyway. And even for those who work hard, they wake up later in life and realize they were building an empire of sand.

Our economy runs a lot on welfare and debt, and money we don't really have. When you build a society around 'female first', what do you think they're going to do? Socialism, more promiscuous women and weak men to raise families (women have less to choose from in terms of strong men). Men grow up thinking it's about being nice and working hard, or being entitled or comfortable, and he will be appreciated for his efforts. His entire ego gets built around that. And then the ones who wake up can either remove themselves from society or take up the challenge. Most don't take up the challenge.

I don't blame younger generations for getting mad at the older generations after WW2. It's more about not raising your kids, or acting like their friend or being lazy with your kids. Or simply being absent. And even the boomers and X who work hard, a lot of them may have passed this work ethic onto their kids, but a lot didn't. When you lack a strong presence, dominant, male figure in the house, this is the result after 60+ years of this ****.

A lot of men catered to women, and enacted legislation, and created social environments, and family environments that emphasized feminine qualities over masculine qualities. Women have become men, and men have become women.

The best thing most parents can do, is put their kids through tough times and reality when they're younger, so they can start with an accurate view of the world.

Boomers onward miscalculated and miscalibrated what the world would be like for their kids. And now we're seeing the results.

Don't get me started on economics and law. That's a whole other issue.

 

[RangerMIke]

The younger generation ARE entitled and lazy. What about the silent generation, they got massively fvcked over by wars. The ones before them had no electricity. The boomers (at least my old man) went off to Vietnam and got their ass shot off. This generation hasn't had to deal with sh1t. They've got video games, internet, portable phones, pizza parlors, pornography, CHEAP flights to other countries and they're worried about the economy? Jesus christ, what more do they need to be successful?

Well if the younger generation is a mess, it's because the Boomers raised them this way. So boomers fault... Boomers have wreaked our economy with cost of living increasing much faster than salaries.... Boomers deficit spend like drunken frat boys and pass the debt onto the younger generation. Every child born today has a debt owned the government of $75k... before they even draw breath.

If you are saying young people should be happy because out nation isn't a sh1t hole compared to the rest of the world... well... okay. But if you think young people today have the same opportunities we did starting out you are living in a dream world. Every boomer President we have had from Clinton to Biden have been a mess, more than half of congress and almost all of or Federal judges are boomers.

So tell me again that the younger generation is a mess?

 

[BoomToTheMoonAlice]

Well if the younger generation is a mess, it's because the Boomers raised them this way. So boomers fault... Boomers have wreaked our economy with cost of living increasing much faster than salaries.... Boomers deficit spend like drunken frat boys and pass the debt onto the younger generation. Every child born today has a debt owned the government of $75k... before they even draw breath.

If you are saying young people should be happy because out nation isn't a sh1t hole compared to the rest of the world... well... okay. But if you think young people today have the same opportunities we did starting out you are living in a dream world. Every boomer President we have had from Clinton to Biden have been a mess, more than half of congress and almost all of or Federal judges are boomers.

So tell me again that the younger generation is a mess?

The younger generation is a mess and every generation is in a situation from the one before it. Dwelling on it is why this generation sucks so much. You're not confined to the USA, there is an entire world out there. You can thank a boomer for the internet and your ability to relocate so quickly. You can't honestly tell me that you expected that things would always be hunky dory? If you really think that Biden is controlling the USA, I have a crash retrieval program to sell you.

 

[Bigpapa]

So tell me again that the younger generation is a mess?

Boomers are the grandparents of gen X
Gen X raised gen Y
Gen Y raised gen Z

Including gen X things were okaysh, then things degraded at a way more accelerated rate than the one of previous generations

Gen X instead of fixing the issues of their predecessors, thought that it was cooler to do sex, drugs and rock and roll. Feminism ( as we know it) was already a thing in the late 80s - early 90s, just that it was mainly in the really big corporates cities

They rebelled against the traditionalism of their parents & grandparents. Gen Y just took the luggage and accelerated into a wall

Gen X is also the first generation that did not fight a war or was expecting ww3 to happen anytime. By the mid- late 80s the Soviet Union ( the arch rival ) was in brink of collapse
And did not pose any threat

When things start to no make any sense, you end up in this kind of situations

The thread makes more sense if it would be about gen X

 

[SW15]

My area of Florida is boomer and "greatest generation" central.

We have a lot of pensioners here in Florida and they live high on the hog, especially if you're a saver all your life.

The Greatest Generation (aka GI Generation) were the 1910s-early 1920s births. Most of them died off by the early 2010s.

Boomers are 59-77 years old right now. So your area is likely Boomer retirees with some remnant of the Silent Generation (late 1920s-1945) in there.

Little to no boomers most likely were involved in any major decision in the last 10 years at least

Society and business are ran exclusively by gen X people for the last 10 years ( at least )

The median age of a US House member in January 2023 was 57.9, which made the median U.S. House rep a borderline Boomer/Gen X'er. The median age of a US Senator is 65.3 years old as of January 2023, which is squarely in the Boomer range.

House gets younger, Senate gets older: A look at the age and generation of lawmakers in the 118th Congress

The median age of voting House lawmakers is 57.9 years, while the new Senate’s median age is 65.3 years.

www.pewresearch.org

In business, a lot of Boomers have retired in the last 10 years, so business leaders are trending more Gen X than Boomers now. Business leaders tend to be younger than US legislators.

boomers did in fact get through life simply by showing up. They all received participation trophies, which is interesting because they were the ones that started this concept with youth sports lol.

Here's the way I look at this, many of the issues that millennials and gen zs are or will be left to deal with are a result of the decisions and actions of the boomer generation.

Accurate

Boomers were the ones who drilled into the minds of their children that they needed to go to college to be successful. They meant well with this idea, as in their time getting a degree was a great investment and a ticket to a good life. However, by the time their children would be going to college the costs were outrageous and ultimately left them saddled with student loan debt and a degree that really didn't mean much. Boomers were the ones that profited from this.

When an earlier Boomer finished high school between 1965-1975, a college education was less necessary and less commonly obtained. For those who finished high school between 1965-1975, they could more easily mold a career without a college education. By the time the Millennials started to graduate high school around 2000, the path for a typical high school graduate was some McJob at McDonald's or Walmart. Boomers had the option of having a viable life without a college degree or getting ahead with inexpensive degrees. For Millennials or Gen Z, the options are more of college, McJob, or maybe a useful trade certification. Parents and high schools in general have done a poor job promoting trade school paths and a lot of this falls on crap Boomer parenting.

Fewer Boomers have bachelor's degrees or higher as compared to Gen X, Millennials, and likely Gen Z in a few years.

Real estate is a great example. Housing was incredibly affordable for the average boomer and they readily found themselves as home owners. Boomers now control 2/3 of real estate in the country and we are seeing incredibly high rates for even rent throughout the entire country. This benefits the boomers at the expense of the younger generation.

You can also thank boomers for sending many good paying manufacturing jobs overseas to some country where they can pay a kid $1 per day lol.

Both true

Much of what this generation has done was essentially to benefit them as much as possible with no real consideration for the potential consequences that could affect the younger generations.

Boomers liked liberalism and feminism in the 1960s-1970s because male Boomers thought that they'd get their penises wet more often. Boomers were the first larger generation to benefit from this idea. These ideas of liberalism and feminism have more origins in the Silent Generation. The Silent Generation was born during the 1930s and early 1940s. During the 1930s, people didn't want to have kids because they couldn't afford to have kids then. There were fewer female birth control methods then. The diaphragm was popular for females in those days and condoms for males did exist.

The earliest beneficiaries of the birth control pill being introduced in 1960 were Silent Generation young adults. Most Boomers were too young to be on birth control pills until at least the late 1960s and it wasn't until the 1970s that the widest grouping of Boomer females started to use birth control pills.

In the earlier days of feminism and liberalism of the 1960-1974 era, late Silent Generation and Boomers wanted to have their fun for a few years of sex. Instead of getting married at 18-19, they wanted to get married at 22-23. And at 22-23, they wanted a few more years of childless couple fun times before kids.

The consequences of liberal, feminism, birth control, etc. wouldn't really be felt in the sexual marketplace until the later generations. The 50th percentile Boomer guy got 1-2 more sexual partners before marrying some 50th percentile Boomer woman whereas the 50th percentile Millennial guy got virtually ignored by the 50th percentile Millennial female.

I think a huge difference between this generation, the boomers, and their parents was that their parents seemed to be more invested into the future of America and their family instead of just being in it for themselves.

Yes

Boomers are starting to age and within the not too distant future many are going to be passing. As @The Duke mentioned, there is going to be a massive wealth transfer over the next couple decades. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out and the changes we may see in our society.

The success of most Millennials will depend upon how much money their Boomer parents leave them.

 

[Bigpapa]

The Greatest Generation (aka GI Generation) were the 1910s-early 1920s births. Most of them died off by the early 2010s.

Boomers are 59-77 years old right now. So your area is likely Boomer retirees with some remnant of the Silent Generation (late 1920s-1945) in there.



The median age of a US House member in January 2023 was 57.9, which made the median U.S. House rep a borderline Boomer/Gen X'er. The median age of a US Senator is 65.3 years old as of January 2023, which is squarely in the Boomer range.

House gets younger, Senate gets older: A look at the age and generation of lawmakers in the 118th Congress

The median age of voting House lawmakers is 57.9 years, while the new Senate’s median age is 65.3 years.

www.pewresearch.org

In business, a lot of Boomers have retired in the last 10 years, so business leaders are trending more Gen X than Boomers now. Business leaders tend to be younger than US legislators.

What the median age of a congressman or senator has to do with anything?

They did not promote any laws to promote any of the problems that are today in society.
People did them on their own

The government can not regulate the housing prices, how much is your salary or how much you pay for education or women/men behavior

For example, If you would go to a public university inside the state that you reside, you will have really affordable education taxes + quite a high admission rate

The public universities are quite well ranked too. They are not Ivey league, but for sure most potential employers will think that you are a bright person for managing to graduate from a public university

If someone chooses to go to an university that they can not afford, it is really their problem as the government gave them an alternative in case they can not afford a private university

Same thing with choosing your degree. No one is forcing you to get a degree in something that is not marketable on the job market

You can not take bad decisions and then blame everyone else for your bad decisions and act like the whole world made a conspiracy against you

Maybe free will is too much for most people, as the basis of free will is the assumption that you are a rational human being