WASHINGTON — There’s a reason they’re called the golden years.
Zoomer and Millennial netizens piled on a Senate GOP boast about a $6,000 tax exemption for seniors nestled in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now known as the Working Families Tax Cut.
America’s online youth flamed the Boomer and other older generations for reaping the benefits of the $93 billion tax cut while the working class is struggling to raise their families and make ends meet.
The Senate GOP’s brag about the break for seniors quickly went viral, garnering nearly 19 million views and plenty of intergenerational strife.
“Truly the worst generation to have ever lived,” Hannah Cox, president of BASEDPolitics, sniped on X.
“The median retirement savings for Baby Boomers is only about $270,000,” Cox continued. “Social Security will go broke in less than 10 years and yet they whine about raising the age. Never has a generation inherited more and done less with it.”
Amy Nixon, a housing and economic analyst, vented, “Stop doing nonsensical things.”
“What percentage of ‘seniors’ (I’ll assume 65+ given your use of that word) are either working or still raising families? This makes no sense,” she swiped.
Others posted memes about “Boomer communism.”
“Kings built tombs more splendid than the houses of the living and counted the names of their descent dearer than the names of their sons,” user Minotard posted on X, quoting JRR Tolkien’s “The Two Towers.”
“Thanks for finally helping the boomers they never catch a break,” user Daily Roman Updates jabbed.
President Trump had campaigned on eliminating taxes on Social Security, overtime pay, and tips. However, when it came time to draft the tax cuts, Republicans found themselves limited by the Byrd Rule, which restricts lawmakers from tampering with Social Security during the reconciliation process.
As a result, lawmakers opted to give seniors 65 and older a $6,000 tax exemption instead.
Seniors were a critical part of Trump’s coalition in 2024, with Americans 65 and older backing him 51% to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 48%, according to data from Pew Research.
However, that was a dip in support from that age cohort relative to the 2020 and 2016 elections.
Boomers range between 62 and 80 years old.
Trump’s biggest group of support in 2024 came from 50 to 64-year-olds, which includes late Boomers and Gen Xers, according to Pew Research.
The One Big Beautiful Bill preserved much of the business and middle tax cuts in Trump’s marquee 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which had been set to expire at the end of last year.
The megabill included some benefits for America’s youth, such as the Trump accounts, which give newborn citizens born between 2025 and 2028 a $1,000 benefit in a tax-advantaged investment account.
