> absurd cost of living in major metropolitan areas
I fail to see how this is the Boomers' fault. Cosmopolitan urban life is a choice, often fiercely defended by Millenials on account of access to "culture", which frequently boils down to a wide diversity of differently-decorated venues in which to get drunk.
Sure, suburban life is boring, and living in the country is hard. But it's not a choice your Dad or your guidance counselor made for you.
Boomers get the blame for capturing regulatory agencies in zoning and housing construction and preventing growth in cities in like SF.
The root cause is technology obviating many jobs and letting labor from around the world compete with the same labor in the US.
Obviously if middle class people live like kings in the US compared to 90% of the world where people don’t have single family homes with garages and two cars, then there exists a tremendous arbitrage opportunity which will have to be taken advantage of if a business/country wants to remain competitive globally.