How Birth Year Shapes Your Economic Future

From avocado toast jokes to accusations of entitlement, every generation seems to get its turn in the stereotype spotlight. In this episode of The Missing Middle, economist Mike Moffatt and journalist Cara Stern dig into where these labels come from — and, more importantly, whether generations really do experience the economy differently.They explore how major historical shocks — from the Great Depression and World War II to 9/11, the Great Recession, and the pandemic — shape our values, anxieties, and opportunities. The conversation moves beyond clichés to examine how birth year, cohort size, housing markets, job markets, technology, and public policy combine to create very different economic realities for Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.Chapters:00:00 Introduction00:37 Avocado toast & generational stereotypes03:25 Horriscopes for statistical nerds?04:46 The history of grouping people into generations06:41 Mike’s genX and Cara’s millennial experiences 13:24 Understanding generational differences15:55 Generation size, power & public Policy19:40 Inherited wealth & pulling the ladder up22:30 The ethos of DemograFixResearch/links:https://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/classes/201/articles/27MannheimGenerations.pdfHosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina MaddeauxProduced by Meredith MartinFunded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/