This might sound like an extreme take, but I want people who don’t work hard to be able to live.

I mean you can, but you won’t collect wealth.

I know gen Z as working harder, especially in school. The bar gets higher every year.

kids left highschool knowing more math in the 70's than college graduates do now

I doubt it. Kids leave elementary school today knowing more programming languages than college graduates did in 2010.

If you want actual data, compare SAT scores or something. I'm willing to bet that by any metric, school was lax back then.

If anything, if that was actually true, it'd be a colossal indictment of prior generations of administrators and leaders demolishing the quality of education for those who followed. So for GP's sake, I hope they're actually wrong about math skills being weaker among the current gen.

SAT scores have a trend of being inflated over time because they are dropping.

There is no way the average college bound student from the 70’s doesn’t score higher on every standard subject than a contemporary one.

I don't think so, but ok, look at college acceptance rates then. Pick some semi-top one like UCLA https://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/trends/university-of-c...

UCLA being flooded with applications doesn’t mean anything in this context

Every high-end school getting lots of applications does mean more students are seriously trying for college, and yes, the same student in 1975 would have a harder time being admitted to UCLA today even if it's just because they're flooded.

You could also look at college graduation rates. https://educationdata.org/number-of-college-graduates What trend shows that 1970s kids were better educated or harder working?

> To be fair, most (the vast majority) of people I know in gen z I know works significantly less hard than my parents did, I did, etc.

Any possibility this perceived "less-hard" working is an effect rather than a cause?

> Those who do work hard are fairly well off. They work two jobs, didn’t go to college, but own their homes and have a steady income.

Any possibility that Baby Boomers achieved this with just one job?

> There’s definitely systemic issues, but work ethic is the major issue. And that’s a cultural issue.

> Would you want the gen z you know building your house? I know some that I would, but not many.

I'd take literally any Gen Z to build me a house because I'd know how to compensate them for their work. It's largely unskilled/low-skilled labor, hence why almost anyone with some physical fitness and capability (Gen Z or otherwise) can do it.

Bear in mind: lots of Gen Z are children of Gen X and may have already witnessed the negative impact of inequality on Gen X and Millennials, which could very well be the "cause" for lower perceived participation in the workforce among Gen Z.

Either way, this is an exceptionally low-EQ take.

I'd attribute it more to the fact that zoomers are mostly just finishing high school or in uni right now. While boomers mostly left school early to jump directly in to a job. Give it 10 years and see if the education pays off.