Posted on 10/22/2022 4:35:57 AM PDT by FLT-bird
The data says millennials don't lack work ethic, but they'll never be able to afford what other generations take for granted. The popular millennial copypasta goes something like this:
First experience with serious job hunting comes on the heels of the 2008 financial crisis Can't take advantage of correction in home prices because too young to have made any money, and wage growth stagnates anyway Homes rocket to new highs, no chance of catching up now by just working a 9-5 like your parents Late 20s/early 30s, try investing as it's your last chance to make it Get obliterated again by a global pandemic and an actual war in Europe Hold the course, keep buying, you're smarter than that! Get obliterated again by massive inflation which leads to a gigantic stock market dump wiping out years of gains in weeks with no end in sight Oh yeah, and you were dumb enough to buy crypto on top of it all But it's not just a meme. Millennials (those born between 1980 and the mid-90s) earn less than their parents did at similar points in their lives – less even than pensioners – and their outlook is bleak.
A quarter of a century ago, young adults earned more than national averages – allowing them to have a fulfilling career, buy a house, and start a family – all by the age of 30. Now, in at least seven countries, this same age group is earning at least 20% below that of all other age demographics.
"It is likely to be the first time in industrialized history, save for periods of war or natural disaster, that the incomes of young adults have fallen so far when compared with the rest of society," reports The Guardian.
And it's not just isolated to the United States, this rings true across the globe. The UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Australia – all major economies, major hubs of hungry, talented, creative young adults who simply do not have the means to live their best lives.
It's not a coincidence that governments and NGOs have started to push for something called tiny house living, which normalizes living in small boxes.
Unison's 2019 Affordability Report calculated how long it would take a potential homebuyer to save for a 20% down payment across the country's top metros, and found that it would take 14 years under absolute ideal conditions.
Pulling data from the LIS: Cross-National Data Center, the largest database of international income levels worldwide, The Guardian found that not only are millennials poorer than retired folks, prosperity has plummeted drastically for all millennials across the board, worldwide, and prospects for a recovery look bleak.
This data provides concrete statistical opposition to the oft-heard misplaced accusation that the millennial generation is lazy, lacking work ethic, and expecting rewards in exchange for zero hard work.
No, we are not “hitting our milestones” later because we are entitled children with sloth tendencies, we are hitting them later (or not at all) because they are essentially impossible to hit, financially speaking. We are a cursed generation.
How are we expected to save up for a house when 75-year-olds make more money than us? When with a combined salary of $100K, a couple in their 20’s cannot afford to have careers, kids, and a house? Most importantly, how are we expected to live up to the American Dream when we simply can’t afford it any longer?
The fact that this is not simply an American issue should speak volumes. It is far easier (albeit nonsensical) to blame the "character" of an entire generation than consider the fact that previous gens have totally fucked us over.
For the first time in recorded history, the younger are making less money than the oldest. If we don't do something drastic about it, we could, also for the first time in recorded history, see an age-based revolution.
in my opinion
***********
At least you noted that. Most people don’t and think their
voice is the only one when it varies form person to person.
you're talking about Millenials. I'm talking about Gen X. We were the ones called "slackers" by the corporate media. The morons even wet their pants and fretted that we somehow didn't want material things and therefore the economy would tank. It was all made up media echo chamber BS right from the very start. There was never a scintilla of truth to any of it.
Clue: Life is difficult
(for everyone)
Funny, your meme doesn't include
EARNED A BUSINESS DEGREE
EARNED A GENDER STUDIES DEFGREE...
Envy (covetousness) is a fundamental flaw in human nature.
Sounds like yours are better prepared than most.
The tip off is who the initially less frugal one chose as a mate.
Children of course learn most by watching what their parents do. Many are now at least 2 generations away from what you describe and significantly less prepared for hard times. You can read it in a number of younger Freepers here.
This kind of talk irritates me. I'm a millennial and I own numerous properties, mostly residential. Got the first one using nothing but a 9-5 job at age 18. Advantages? I take advice from my elders, avoid banks and tenants, hunt for fsbo's, auctions and tax sales; ear to the ground at all times. I used to flip everything asap, now I can take my time and restore them which is very satisfying.
Problem with my generation is not shortage of opportunities, it's limited education and imagination. They all think they need a degree and if they didn't get one they expect to be in financial distress, so they are. Meanwhile those that do go to college are generally deep in debt for it. Also, they tend to spend money very foolishly. I drive an older car (not old enough in my opinion), don't buy toys or gadgets, don't take vacations or use credit cards. Friends call me on their $500 phones and whine about their budgets. Nobody has taught them the basics of finance. Some can't even make change. That's my rant for the day.
But the baseline employment AND standards of living were already high. What’s more, it was other factors, not a recession, that were keeping wage growth down.
And “boo-hoo, I was poor in my 20s because I went to grad school”?
Just look at the source for this drivel you have posted:
Total employment during the Great Recession was quite low and it stayed very low for years and years. Living standards were fine....so long as you were employed which increasingly fewer people were.
The percentage of the working age population engaged in paid work absolutely crashed during the Obama years. The government used all sorts of accounting tricks to just not count a lot of people as unemployed. The number of Americans on food assistance was shocking - higher than ever - and they still needed food assistance for several years. That tells you all you need to know about how bad the economy really was.
I was pointing out that I did not fit in a previous poster’s description.
As for the article, I’m well aware its a lot of whining and woe is me from a millenial. That’s why I posted it.
I cannot stand these generational fueds. But I will say there is a distinct difference in work ethic between older generations and those from the 90s onward.
Not every younger person, of course, but enough to indicate a sea change in how careers should be viewed. I was even told gaps in employment history were viewed as a positive by employers today. When I was in the market it was a killer to have an unexplained gap.
My plan is to keep working after retirement - take some welding classes and horse shoeing classes.
If nothing helps, I plan to shoot myself
Yep... I am now in my 50s... and I am watching my chance at a comfortable retirement evaporate again...
Don’t give me Millenial’s have it so hard bs...
More people were on food assistance because the rules were set so more people qualified for it.
Likewise more people scooted out on work for “disability” because more people were given it.
And then there were those who stopped looking for work because the available jobs didn’t match with their ideas of themselves.
But the ratio of people actually pounding the pavement — literally and figuratively — was quite low.
Women are great—if you follow the rules.
Date and marry women richer than you are and you will be fine.
;-)
Someone has to pay for the boomers, illegal aliens, bailouts, EV subsidies, green handouts, and welfare. It’s like my mother when my dad was gone and she had to file her own taxes for the first time. “Why do I have to pay all these taxes?”
Because you voted for every single welfare program and tax increase your entire life.
I’m 46. I realized in my 20’s that a ‘comfortable retirement’ was a BS pipe dream that wasn’t ever going to happen in my world. So, I prepared for that by creating reliable income streams that I would be able to continue as long as I was fogging a mirror with my breath. I’ve created businesses around my talents and passions and taught my children to do the same. I’ll be able to generate income from some of them on my deathbed if need be.
I know it’s harsh, but if you buy into obvious propaganda, whether it’s a ‘vaccine’ or a promise of a lifestyle, I feel for you, but you can’t sit around complaining about it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. At 50, by complaining, you’re just wasting valuable time that you could be spending on fixing the problem.
It wasn’t just that the rules were set so more people would qualify for food assistance. It was that the economy did not really recover for so long. Obama’s dumbass policies throttled the recovery for years and years.
The government started making it easier for people to claim disability so as to not count them as being unemployed.
They also claimed - without ever asking them - that people who were long term unemployed had “given up” and thus did not count them either. Again, they were covering up how bad the economy really was throughout the Obama years.
I know I was literally pounding the pavement as were tons of others. Companies were not hiring. Oh, there was still plenty of room for H1b Indians. They would work for significantly less than an American would, but jobs for Americans here in America? No sorry, there aren’t any of those was what was said over and over again.
You really seem to not get just how bad things were for millions and millions of Americans under Obama.
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