Their Baby Boomer parents and "Greatest Generation" grandparents shipped every manufacturing job to China, imported armies of slave-wage foreigners to work the blue collar jobs that remained, oversaw the cost of a college education skyrocket to that of a starter home, and mandated that every job that paid over $10/hour require a degree.
Little wonder socialism looks attractive to Millennials.
There are plenty of blue collar jobs. Right now. Look around. And I work with some millennials that have outstanding, well-paying white collar jobs with benefits and I am always stunned to learn they have zero interest (a fairly significant percentage of them) in participating in the company’s generous 401k program. Instead they are focused on “experiences” even if it means racking up big credit card debt.
That’s pretty standard from what I’ve observed, but I will say I’ve seen a few who are responsible, practical, and impressive people.