How corporate America has SCREWED Gen Z

 In a pointed interview on Fox Business, personal finance expert and host of The Ramsey Show Dave Ramsey delivered a blunt diagnosis of why the American housing dream feels increasingly out of reach for younger generations. The segment, titled “How corporate America has SCREWED Gen Z,” highlights a stark statistic: the average age of a first-time homebuyer has jumped from 30 in 1990 to 40 in 2025.

Ramsey appeared on FOX Business In Depth: Hitting Home: Rebuilding the Dream to explain that the crisis isn’t just about government policies or interest rates — it’s about crushing personal debt deliberately pushed by big corporations and institutions.“Corporate America has screwed you,” Ramsey told the host. He zeroed in on three major debt traps hitting Gen Z and millennials hardest:

• Car debt at an all-time high. Auto companies have convinced young buyers to sign up for $1,200 monthly car payments — payments that Ramsey calls “stupid” and unsustainable.
• Student loan debt at record levels. Enabled in part by Congress, this burden continues to weigh down an entire generation.
• Credit card debt exploding. Big banks, according to Ramsey, have played a starring role in this financial trap.

The result? Young Americans are “drowning in personal debt” with no disposable income left for a down payment on a house. “When you’re drowning in personal debt, you can’t afford to buy a freaking house,” Ramsey said plainly.He noted that many in these generations can eventually buy homes — but only after they aggressively fight back: selling the expensive car, slashing credit cards, and clearing the debt using tried-and-true methods. “Clear this debt. Get rid of the stupidity and chop up the cards,” he urged. Ramsey emphasized that his team works with Gen Z and millennials every day and genuinely believes in them: “We love them. We work with them, and we think they’re awesome.”

Beyond the debt crisis, Ramsey pointed to another factor that pushed the average first-time buyer age up dramatically: the unprecedented post-COVID housing market spike. After lockdowns, Americans emerged “like a Baptist looking for a casserole,” rushing to buy homes and driving prices to the most unrealistic levels in a hundred years. The market is still recovering from that frenzy.Ramsey’s message is classic and unapologetic — old-fashioned personal responsibility meets harsh reality. He doesn’t blame young people for the situation; he blames the system that loaded them with debt before they even had a chance to build wealth. His solution remains straightforward: get debt-free first, then the housing dream (and financial freedom) becomes achievable again.In an economy where homeownership has long been a cornerstone of the American middle class, Ramsey’s warning is clear — if Gen Z and millennials want to rebuild the dream, they must stop letting corporate America dictate their finances. The path forward, he insists, starts with one simple (but difficult) step: getting out of debt.