When I interviewed members of Gen Z last year about how they pictured aging in the United States, their mood was especially dour. They worried about the cost of living continuing to rise in America for themselves and their older relatives. A 20-something reader named Christian Avalos told me he doesn’t believe he’ll be able to retire in this country, he’s already concerned for his Gen X parents, and anyway, he’s hoping “global warming or water wars will take me out by then.” Another reader wrote a long, exasperated “hahahaha,” noting how inflation has outpaced wages for decades, and added: “Can you honestly tell me there will ever come a time in my life where I won’t need some form of regular income to feel secure?”