A generational fight over jobs, wages, and housing is really a fight over a shrinking middle class, and it is bad news for anyone under 45.

• Millennials are stuck: wages flat, promotions rare, and most too scared to quit the job they have.
• Boomers are retiring later and holding senior roles, so entry-level jobs now go to people pushing 40 and Gen Z gets what's left.
• The math has broken — covering housing, healthcare, transport, and food took 40 weeks of pay in the mid-1980s and takes 65 weeks now.
• Housing split the generations in two: millennials who bought before 2020 saw prices jump about 50%, while everyone else is stuck renting.
• Gen Z is opting out rather than competing — half say they are not chasing promotions, and only 14% think Congress or big business is on their side.

Outlook: Millennials and Gen Z together hold just 11% of US wealth, and if both give up on the hustle, employers and the wider economy have no clear plan for what replaces it.