My youngest gets that sometimes, too. I work for a college. She got tuition exchange and an outside scholarship. She hears a lot of snide remarks like, “Some of us have to PAY for college.” We did pay…in my sweat equity. My employer is notoriously low paying, like starting salary new bachelor’s (and that’s after a quarter century with them!). Lots of people just aren’t willing to work for what I make. But who wants to explain all that? Shrug it off.
The underlying issue, I believe, is jealousy, and we can all fall victim. I know I sometimes do wrt retirement plans or health care for certain types of government workers.