[Frondo]

I'm not sure that's true about the boomers having access to affordable college. I had an ex whose boomer grandfather lectured us endlessly about how he worked hard all summer long to save up for college -- which, for him, meant a 40 hour work week during the summer, to afford a year of university, with room and board -- and why couldn't anyone else do the same these days?

No matter how often we pointed out that college is, in general, vastly more expensive, and summer jobs comparably less well-paying, he'd just repeat himself. "I just don't get it, you go work for the parks department, you work all summer long, why isn't that enough? It's your iphones, your cell phone plans, etc." when, you know, yeah we're paying $20 a month for cheap cell phone plans and five-year-old iphones, but the reality is that working three months at, say, $15 an hour, nets you what, $5-6k? That might cover a year's tuition at a community college if you live at home, not a year living at a state-run four-year university.