While the "democratic socialists" are winning Democratic primaries across the nation while saying they sympathize with the youth's economic woes in the unaffordability crisis (an unfortunate euphemism for inflation), prominent conservatives and libertarians are busy telling Millennials and Zoomers they've never had it so good, and to buy less avocado toast and lattes and more Ramen noodles. Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), who lost his primary, replied on August 5 about the "$20 burrito" social media surge:

Of course, not long ago Crenshaw was criticizing the Joe Biden administration for asking people to change their eating habits to overcome inflation.

Beltway libertarians have been only modestly more helpful to the rising costs of living in America during the $20 burrito controversy. Reason magazine pointed out that the cost of living is rising because of inflation. What they didn't explain was that inflation is wage theft, and it leaves wages always struggling to keep up with inflation-caused price increases through the Cantillon Effect. Wages have not kept up with price increases for the majority of Americans when it comes to necessities like food and housing. Wages have just hit a new post-war all-time low as measured in percentage of GDP; wages have fallen to under 41.2% of GDP from their all-time high in 1970 of 51.8%. Today, that's a $3.4 trillion difference in the $32.3 trillion U.S. economy. And it's no coincidence that in 1971 President Richard Nixon closed the gold window, severing the dollar from gold and ushering in the age of inflation.