It’s true, millennials do face special challenges. But they also have a lot of opportunities out there to flourish

The following is adapted from opening remarks made by Stephen Moore on a Munk Debates Podcast. The resolution: “Be it resolved, baby boomers have ruined the future for millennials.” Listen to the whole episode on baby boomers here.

I disagree with the fundamental premise that baby boomers are to blame for the misfortune of millennials. I always tell young people that this is the greatest moment in the history of civilization to be alive, and that they are blessed to be in the greatest place in the world with opportunities available to them that previous generations could not have dreamed of. When you look at the amazing progress that has made in terms of human improvement, very few people would say they would rather have grown up 50 years ago than today.

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One needs to just look at the amazing advances that have been made in virtually every area of human life: life expectancy, infant mortality, and job opportunities. Despite what many may believe, there have also been huge improvements in the environment; the air that we breathe and the water that we drink is cleaner than it’s ever been before.

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One needs to just look at the amazing advances that have been made in virtually every area of human life

As a baby boomer I look at this generation and I wonder how they’ve come up with some of the kind of crazy ideas. Why are so many young people in America enamoured with this idea of socialism, when we know from the lessons of the 20th century that socialism was a spectacular failure in every regard? Young people today do not appreciate the past struggles their parents and grandparents were forced to endure.

Progress is also evident when you look at individual groups. Does anyone think that the African-American community has worse opportunities today than they did 30 or 40 years ago? What about women? Women are more likely to go to college. They have higher earnings than ever before. Women in many areas are actually out-earning men now and the pay gap between the sexes has been reduced substantially. Girls today have much more opportunity than they did 30 or 40 or 50 years ago.

Like all generations, there are a lot of special challenges. We have increased government, and there is way too much debt that we are imposing on our kids. But let us not forget that this generation will inherit $100 trillion of wealth that was built up in no small part by the baby-boom generation.

Let us not forget that this generation will inherit $100 trillion of wealth

Right now we have the lowest unemployment rate, the lowest inflation rate, the lowest interest rates, and the highest wage gains in a long time. Young people today will have substantially higher life expectancy. I wish I had been born 30 years later than I was to see the advancements that will be made in health care. We will have a cure for Alzheimer’s. We’re going to see cures for cancer, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. With all the advancements in gene therapy and cell regeneration, it’s quite possible people could live to be 100 to 120 years old.

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As a parent of two millennials, we have in some ways coddled this generation. This was the generation that grew up where everybody got a trophy. This is the generation that now believes that they should have their safe spaces, that they have a right to be offended. It’s true, millennials do face special challenges. But they also have a lot of opportunities out there to flourish. Young people today can set their own path in life. Everyone has an opportunity, whether you’re black or white or a woman or handicapped. We all want to create a future where everyone has an opportunity to succeed, and that opportunity is more available today than ever before.

For more on Munk Debates podcasts visit Munkdebates.com/podcast

Stephen Moore is the senior economic contributor for FreedomWorks. He previously servedas president of the Club for Growth, chief economist of the Heritage Foundation, and as amember of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. Along with Larry Kudlow, he advisedthe Trump administration during the writing and passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts.