I recently read a book from Hong Kong called The Doldrums of Hong Kong. The main message is that present-day Hong Kong is in the tight grips of the baby-boomers, who continue to occupy the upper echelons and exert their influences on the whole society. In contrast, the 30-somethings are finding it increasingly difficult to make breakthroughs in their lives and the society – much more difficult than the baby-boomers, in fact. This is perhaps just part of a world-wide phenomenon. The middle-aged in Australia may not feel the same frustration as their Hong Kong counterparts, but those coming out of university in recent years may find the world in front of them much tougher than their parents’ days. One of the many big factors is the house prices. Back in those days, their parents might well be able to afford to own their own dwelling not so long after the start of their careers. The much-inflated prices these days, however, make the housing dream much harder to be realised by many of the