20 Reasons Why Millions Of Americans Under The Age Of 30 Are Giving Up On The U.S. Economy

[truthwillout777]

Americans under the age of 30 don’t want to hear that they are not going to be able to do better than their parents. They don’t want to hear that they are going to have to “pay the price” because of the mistakes of previous generations. They don’t want to hear that the “good jobs” that have been held out as a “carrot” for them all these years have disappeared and are not coming back.Millions of young Americans want what was promised to them. They want good jobs that will enable them to enjoy the “American Dream”. They want things to go back to the way that things used to work in America.

If you spend much time around those in their twenties, you know that many of them have a look of hopelessness in their eyes. Large numbers of them have moved back in with their parents. Large numbers of them are flipping burgers or working retail jobs part-time because that is all they can find. There are even a growing number of them that have given up entirely and have completely checked out.

It certainly does not help that our entire education system is deeply broken. For example, did you know that the verbal scores on the SAT for the class of 2011 were the lowest ever recorded? Our students have become so “dumbed down” that large numbers of them can barely even function in society once they graduate. That is not their fault. That is our fault.

http://www.blacklistednews.com/20_Reasons_Why_Millions_Of_Americans_Under_The_Age_Of_30_Are_Giving_Up_On_The_U.S._Economy_/15883/0/0/0/Y/M.html

[Avalux]

1. My 19 y/o daughter does not see a future after college.

She wondered this weekend why she's working so hard in school when she, and her fellow college students, have a dismal outlook. Not just after graduation, but as they grow older. She told me this weekend she is expecting something 'big' to happen...a revolution; it's all they have to make the future brighter.

As a Gen-Xer, I remember feeling this way somewhat; it's a symptom of youth for a lot of kids. However there's a seriousness and a desperation that permeates my daughter's generation and I don't expect any of them to take it lying down, as my generation did.

[villager]

2. It will be the most "exciting" of all for them (in both good and bad ways)

...and this includes my sons.

They'll have to remake the world; there simply won't be a choice.

Let's hope for the generations after them they do a better job than their predecessors did.

[Avalux]

4. I agree, they'll have to do it.

I will say - if my daughter and her friends are representative of young people in general, they'll do it. They seem so much 'older' than they are; wise for their years; with a desire to change and succeed in order to benefit society as a whole.

[HughBeaumont]

13. Well, the problem with that is . . .

. . . they still have to live in the world where the greedmongers will still be running everything for the next 20-30 years or so. This makes it kind of hard to "remake" anything if all investment capital is being sat on and worker/human rights are being trampled.

[bighughdiehl]

3. Your daughter and her friends...

seem different. The millenials I know think that things
will go back to "normal" in a year or two and everything
will be hunky dory if they get the right degrees,
cheat their way to a 4.0 GPA and kiss the right asses.
They're in for a rude awakening if they ever look up
from their incessant texting and farmville.
They'll take it lying down, they'll kiss
authority figures asses to their faces but vent by
sending snarky tweets and FB statuses even as they starve.
The most corporate generation of Americans ever. We're
fucked.

[Avalux]

5. They ARE different and I love having conversations with them.

Some millenials are as you describe; but a large segment are very conscientious. Dare we hope they can make a difference?

[flamingdem]

6. Can you elaborate on the "most corporate" part?

I'm not that tuned in to that generation. Do you mean use of social media, i-phones or other things?

[bighughdiehl]

7. Corporate in that...

Like I said, they still think they'll be fine
through a combo of kissing up, cheating,
and busting their asses in college.
And, yeah, can't peel themselves away from their
goddamn toys for five fucking minutes in order to...
I dunno....THINK(about something other than who
to suck up to next)?
I'm only 33 and and I could swear
the difference between me my friends
and my sister and the early 20s crowd
is bigger than the difference between
the boomers and their parents. Only this time,
the younger ones are the squares(but think a snarky
tweet here and there makes them real big and bad ass).

[bighughdiehl]

9. They constantly remind me....

Of a Doug Stanhope routine where
he said Gen Y is going to be the
first generation to get constantly ripped
by their elders for being too TAME.
Totally.

[reggie the dog]

20. lots of them dont even try to have cars though

and lots smoke weed and do other such "crimes", most all of them are on the left too.

[ellisonz]

29. We're supposed to kiss up and cheat...

I must have missed that when I was developing my sense of ethics and morals. Silly me thinking education and original thinking would get me somewhere...

:puke:

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

44. In the words of Mark Crispin-Miller

Often there's a kind of official and systematic rebelliousness that's reflected in- in media products pitched at kids. It's part of the official rock video world view. It's part of the official advertising world view that your parents are creeps, teachers are nerds and idiots, authority figures are laughable, nobody can really understand kids except the corporate sponsor. That huge authority has, interestingly enough, emerged as the sort of tacit superhero of consumer culture. That's the coolest entity of all. (He was referring to Sprite.)

[reggie the dog]

19. not true at all my brother and sister and their boy/girlfriends

are millenials and they are all on the left, my bro and his old lady are damn near communists now that they know what it is like to live poor.

[reggie the dog]

12. how old are you? I was born in 79 and was told i was gen X

my kid is only 3 but i noticed something at a party this summer in chicago, a bunch of kids from UIC and other universities showed up and i asked one guy what kind of car he drove and they most all burst out laughing saying "car ??? what the hell would i want a car for????" and i could tell right away that the younger generation is way different than we were, i was happily surprised.

[Avalux]

16. Generation X is considered to be those born in the 60's through the 70's.

I was born in 1965, at the beginning of it. Cold war, constant threat of nuclear holocaust, not knowing if we'd be obliterated from one day to the next. That's how I grew up; with a "fuck it" attitude (helplessness).

My daughter's generation is entirely different. They seem to really care and think they can make a difference. And maybe their parents will join them and have the courage to do what they themselves weren't motivated to do when they were young.

[Hart2008]

46. Dates can vary, The Population Reference Bureau lists Gen X from 1965-1982

Those associated with Generation X have cultural perspectives and political experiences that were shaped by series of events. This includes the end of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 1973 oil crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the early 1980s recession, Black Monday and the savings and loan crisis, both of which preceded the early 1990s recession. Generation X saw the introduction of the home computer, the beginning growth of video game era, cable television and the Internet. Other attributions include the U.S. urban decay, the AIDS epidemic, the War on Drugs, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster the Iran hostage crisis, Iran-Contra Affair, Operation Desert Storm, the Dot-com bubble, post punk, grunge and alternative rock, and the global influence of the hip hop culture and music genre. They are often called the MTV Generation. Pertinent to a non-partisan study on the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, the Population Reference Bureau, a demographic research organization based in Washington, D.C., cited Generation X birth years as falling between 1965-1982.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/"Generation_X#Date_range

Others list Gen X differently:

In the 1991 book Generations, William Strauss and Neil Howe call this generation the "13th Generation" and define the birth years as 1961 to 1981. 1970, the approximate mid-point of the "13th Generation", had the lowest birth rate of this period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X#Date_range

It is difficult to give a firm start and end date for generations. Some on the borders may be hard to fit. For example, I have relative who was drafted at 17 and fought in WWII. By the strict dates, he is from the Silent Generation, but from his experience he is from the GI/Greatest Generation.

The same is true of the borders between the Boomers and Gen X, and Gen X and Gen Y.

I consider Obama to be a Baby Boomer and not Gen X.

[snooper2]

56. So even if you are born in 1965 how were much of an impact did 1973 have on you

Really, at 8 years old you are thinking about peak oil :rofl:


This writeups crack me up sometimes. I was born in 75'. First big scare I ever remember (politically speaking) was when I would be watching cartoons or something and this SCARY ASS old lady would come on saying Just Say No. Now that shit gave me some nightmares :rofl:

[Hart2008]

57. It meant going with the folks to line up for gas rationing and the resulting price spikes.

It means remembering Jerry Ford's WIN buttons. (Whip Inflation Now!)

Ah, those where the days!

Yes, and living through the fall of Saigon, and seeing the limits of U.S. imperialism.

Oh, and Nancy Reagan had her "just say no" campaign while Poppy was flying the stuff into country to fund Iran-Contra and start the Bush dynasty.

[bighughdiehl]

37. I'm 33

I said so above. What I wrote above was about an early 20s crowd.
Maybe I just live in a weird area?

[eilen]

38. No, you are probably accurate in your observation

There are all kinds of people in every generation. My sister's kids are focused on their brand name clothes, the latest pop singer, the tv talent shows, the video games etc. My son is not a trend chaser but still loves his video games. He seems uninterested in getting his license (at 18) and likes to take the bus where the others couldn't wait. We raise our children differently. I gave mine lots of freedom and was not a hover parent and did not sign him up for 50 different activities. He had time to read, listen to music be creative and think about stuff. At present he is in the "new college student who knows it all and plans to answer all the big questions and solve the problems of the world" phase. It can wear on the nerves after a while but is kind of cute. If you have ever watched "The Trotsky" on Netflix, you know what I mean.

My gen-- the Xers were considered Slackers and apathetic. We (or at least I) was not impressed by a bunch of former hippies who voted for Reagan. All that activism for what? Sold out for the BMW. We saw them for hypocrites and knew they sold us down the river.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

43. There is lots of opportunity in the world for western educated anglophones

In plain english companies in emerging markets like hiring Americans, partially for prestige and partially for "social fluency" interacting with the west.

Not everyone can tolerate the ex-pat lifestyle but the work is out there.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

53. My twenty four year old, college educated son speaks of

the same revolution. He insists it's unlike anything that has happened in the past.
That young people are networking and the first signs will emerge around the time
of the next election.

My twenty-seven year old is doing well financially working in the anti-aging field
which caters to the well off. Even he is trying to drop out and start a business in
the music industry.

I'm constantly amazed at how in touch they are with current politics and trends
and how defiant they are to change the status quo.

[tk2kewl]

8. All they have to do is learn to blame the one who still have good jobs.

Come on kids... get with the program.

[Tsiyu]

10. They aren't the only ones

I'm 50+ and just as done with American "biddness" as my six kids.

Thought I had a great sous chef position. Found out owner used tips to make payroll, meaning waitstaff were grossly underpaid. Owner couldn't care less about most clientele - only the wealthy got good service. When I'd had enough of stiffing patrons (she refused to let me send out food to a couple who'd been waiting nearly an hour for their meal) I let her know how awful that was. She pulled a hot pan out of the oven and threw it at my feet. :wtf:

Americans of all ages have to pool their talents and form new businesses and business models.

The modern American employment landscape is bereft of ethics or humanity.

[truthwillout777]

11. because of the economy, Corporations are now taking advantage of our youth

demanding long unpaid no promises internships...so after paying thousands,spending years of your life, still owing $25,000 in student loans...now you are expected to work for free.

[flamingdem]

18. They get paid for hiring interns by the govt. in some cases

What I read is that they cannot have interns do "real" work. Just practice workk, but I'm sure some abuse that.

[ThomWV]

14. Just because a 20 year old believes something doesn't make it true.

[reggie the dog]

15. this quote hit me,

"There are even a growing number of them that have given up entirely and have completely checked out." they are hoboing, growing weed, making meth, hustling, prostituting, or just being depressed and living with their parents.

[ThomWV]

17. And not one of those things happened to earlier generations?

[reggie the dog]

21. sure they did, but it is happening to a higher percentage of kids

today because so many jobs have left the usa and not been replaced

[pitohui]

22. there have been no-hopers and "i give up" type folk in every generation

do they think we had it so good being told from birth that we could be burned alive in thermonuclear war with 15 minutes warning?

we have to have a global economy to give china, russia, etc. a stake in our success so that we don't end up killing the planet over stupid bullshit that doesn't matter

unfortunately a global economy means that the country that started with the highest incomes is getting averaged down, there a billion people in china and a lot of them are smart young people who deserve work too

i don't know the solution but "i give up" is not the answer

me, if i were obama, i would try to take advantage of these historically low interest rates and borrow to create jobs repairing infrastructure, building new infrastructure, doing new technological research w/. gov't support...but i suppose he can't do this because of all the fools and idiots who keep screaming that debt is bad

debt is NOT bad when the interest rate is 0.1% and you're taking on the "debt" to create new physical and intellectual wealth...but what do i know, apparently i'm too stupid to understand the deep arguments of the tea-party/GOP effwits

[truthwillout777]

24. but they need help from the previous generations

we haven't exactly left the country as we found it.

We have failed the future generations, the country is a freaking fascist mess.

I see so many selfish older people who got theirs, saying out loud 'glad I don't have to live with this fucked up country much longer'

Well I think the older 60's generation owe it to the future to give everything they have to expose this corruption and stand up to these fascists.

The 60's movement failed...big time!! The fascists expanded and got much worse while the hippies started accumulating wealth for themselves.

Well now everything is fucked.

The older generations had it much easier, have more money now....and have less to lose....

it is time to stop blaming the youth for the mess they have been left.

[SpiralHawk]

45. I call BS on your hippie-punching tantrum

Have you been listening to Glenn 'Chickenhawk' Beck (R)? Your whining sure sounds like it -- totally off the truth.

[patrick t. cakes]

59. Man, BS indeed

The hippies are still doing it. Teaching a younger generation.

They are still here, don't know where your at, but head to your local co-op for starters.

the hippies are still here.

[Evasporque]

23. Republicans want the populace stupid so the rich get more...and Repukes win more elections.

Uneducated people are easily lied to.

[slackmaster]

25. 20-somethings being gloomy about their life prospects is nothing new

Those of us who are over 30 have all been there. (I'm 53.)

[truthwillout777]

26. r u kidding me?

Times are different....and they are fucked up.

Older people are clearly not taking responsibility for the mess in this country.

[ellisonz]

31. No they're not...

...too busy taking out reverse mortgages to support their Bed Bath and Beyond and Burger King habits! Plus Vegas, WHOOO CAN LIVE WITHOUT VEGAS!

[slackmaster]

34. That's what some people in their 20s have always said

Things are different, you just don't understand, and it's the fault of older people.

[LooseWilly]

39. If you're 53 then you were 25 in 1983... just as the corporate pension fund raiding created a bubble

... you got to start your economic life in a bubble economy... rather than a bust economy.

10 years later, in the 1993 HW Bush recession... many of us didn't have it so good.

We know what the "lost generation" folks are talking about... and we're just a little giddy we didn't have it so bad— because we had a dotcom bubble to buoy our late 20s years just enough so we could have a taste of caviar before our assets all imploded.

Your condescension towards those who have to try to figure out what to do in the face of a desolate economic landscape just displays what a d*^$#ßå& you are at heart... and that fact that those your age and slightly older are, in fact, the one's who have been in charge of the economy for the last 20 ish years... does in fact mean that "it's the fault of older people". (That's just math, and HR.)

[slackmaster]

40. Experience is a great teacher, I learned a lot by having the rug pulled out from under me repeatedly

But the lessons of life teach only those who will learn from them.

... you got to start your economic life in a bubble economy... rather than a bust economy.

Try putting yourself in the perspective of someone who had that timing. Your analysis of the economy is correct, but you have utterly failed to put yourself in my shoes.

The first three years after finishing my undergraduate work were very bleak. I had to move back to my parents' house for part of the first year, which was very humiliating. I was dead broke, sometimes employed but couldn't get established in a meaningful job. I collected unemployment a couple of times, and did a lot of construction work because that was all I knew how to do (that anyone would pay for.)

Having an entry-level job during a bubble is no better for most people than having one at any other time. I started my first "real" job in 1983, working as a technical writer for a fast-growing financial institution. A federal Savings Bank - IOW an S&L given greater borrowing power by various acts of deregulation. My salary was low, but I was glad to have a job and I learned a lot about how to get along with people and how to communicate. I naively invested too much into the stock of the company I worked for - It went public in 1984 and I thought I could make a bunch of money by jumping on the bandwagon early. I married a woman I met on the job, and within a few years we were both out of work and struggling to pay the rent on a very small house. The whole thing collapsed in the "S&L Crisis" (read about it if you are not familiar with the history.) I lost my shirt on the company stock.

(BTW, do you have any clue what interest rates were like in the 1980s? Do you know what a typical mortgage looked like in 1983 or 1984? How do you think it felt to a young person who had aspirations of owning a home? Look it up, or ask someone who lived through it.)

Things gradually got better for us over the next several years. By 1997 we were able to buy our own house - We had some savings, good credit, and prices were at a low point. We were both sufficiently experienced that we had a lot less trouble finding jobs than we had during the previous cycle. But the lack of a common crisis to fight led to the deterioration of our marriage. At age 40 I was divorced and had a net worth of zero, just like the day I was born and the day I finished my undergraduate studies.

I rode the wave of the ".com bubble" for a while, and took a huge hit on stock options the last time I was laid off of a job, which was early 2004. My accountant was barely able to save me from losing my shirt on Alternative Minimum Tax, and I was by no means one of the ultra-wealthy people the AMT was originally intended to target. Another big lesson learned.

I'm in a good position now - I have a skill set that is in high demand, and I haven't had much trouble finding work for almost 20 years. I kept the house, and am in good shape on loan-to-value. I have abundant credit available. But it has taken decades of hard work to get to a place where I thought, when I was in my 20s, that I should be at age 40. Time is growing shorter by the day, and I won't allow myself to waste any of it wallowing in bitterness over the past.

Your condescension towards those who have to try to figure out what to do in the face of a desolate economic landscape just displays what a d*^$#ßå& you are at heart... and that fact that those your age and slightly older are, in fact, the one's who have been in charge of the economy for the last 20 ish years... does in fact mean that "it's the fault of older people". (That's just math, and HR.)

Youth is wasted on the young. I hope that you live long enough and keep your health so that you have a chance to become sufficiently mature to see how childish that entire paragraph seems to me. Everyone my age HAS faced a desolate economic landscape. Stamping your feet, pointing fingers, and throwing out personal attacks isn't going to get you hired or make you creditworthy. I hope you know how to behave better in real life.

[LooseWilly]

49. Keep telling yourself that it was your "hard work", not the dumb luck timing of when you were born..

"I started my first "real" job in 1983, working as a technical writer for a fast-growing financial institution."— having the opportunity to start a "real job" at age 25 is precisely what the "lost generation" lacks. People like you are in all those "real jobs" now... still. Or they're being outsourced. Try to imagine if those "hard years" when you had to do construction lasted until you were 30, and resumed when you were 40. Guess what— at that point you wouldn't be able to get that "real job", even with your college education... because it would be an internship position that would go to a college student for $0 pay, and only someone who can afford to work for $0 will be able to get the "experience" to then "have a skill set that is in high demand".

I remember the mortgage world of the '80s... that was when my single mom first bought a condo, then a house... because housing valuations were climbing and loans were available if you could come up with a down payment. Now housing values are spiraling downward and anyone buying a house is investing in something that will lose value nearly as quickly as their car... none of that is really relevant though to someone who has to work retail because there simply isn't anything else... because retail workers simply can't buy real estate (not anymore anyway, now that predatory loans are no longer profitable).

You can continue to preach condescendingly and self-righteously, pretending all the while that it is a sign of your "maturity"... but we both know that it is just a rationalization to help you pretend that it was "hard work" that got you where you are today, not just the dumb luck of being born at a time when the corporate bosses hadn't yet thought of nifty "profitable policies" such as using interns to do entry level work for free, and outsourcing to cut mid-level work labor costs.

(And by the way... reasoned personal attacks may well get me hired for a "real job"... and is your "personal attack" on my creditworthiness as much an indication of your immaturity as you are arguing that my "personal attack" is an indication of mine?... or is that just another double standard that you apply to other people? Hmmm, does that, in fact, support my allegation that you are a d*^$#ßå&?)


In answer to your anecdotal evidence... http://www.epi.org/publication/bp243/

...
A recession, therefore, should not be thought of as a one-time event that stresses individuals and families for a couple of years. Rather, economic downturns will impact the future prospects of all family members, including children, and will have consequences for years to come.
...
New entrants into the labor market are more likely to be un- or under-employed, which can have a lasting impact on their career paths and future income. An immediate boost to the economy in the near term can thus have lasting effects.
...

You have anecdotally placed your own entry to the job market pretty closely with "An immediate boost to the economy"... much as you'd like to take "personal credit" for your "skill set that is in high demand"... the fact of the matter is that you wouldn't have it without that "immediate boost to the economy" which coincided with the early stages of your career.

I'm sure you're just as much of a d*^$#ßå& in "real life" as you are on this board, I just wonder if you have the nerve to be so patronizing and self-satisfied when face to face with those facing such a bleak economic landscape.

[slackmaster]

50. I reject your attempt to diminish my accomplishments with your extenal locus of control thinking

I reject your nasty interpersonal behavior as well. You can keep it for yourself.

...having the opportunity to start a "real job" at age 25 is precisely what the "lost generation" lacks....

The unemployment rate in 1983, the year I turned 25 and got my first decent job, was every bit as high as it is now if not higher.



http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

...the dumb luck of being born at a time when the corporate bosses hadn't yet thought of nifty "profitable policies" such as using interns to do entry level work for free, and outsourcing to cut mid-level work labor costs.

All of that was already happening in the early 1980s.

You've put a lot of effort into blaming other people for your dissatisfaction with your life. Try taking responsibility for yourself some time. It really can work.

[LooseWilly]

64. Of course you reject my diminution of your accomplishments... that is exactly my point...

that those who benefit from externalities tend to deny the effects of externalities on their own "destinies"... instead rationalizing all successes as being the product of "hard work", thereby allowing them to feel better about disregarding the suffering of their fellows, as well as those who came before or after themselves generationally... but in most cases those who try to insist that their success is the result of "hard work", rather than luck & timing, seem to always, upon closer inspection, have been the beneficiaries of some form of privilege or other...

Methinks thou dost protest too much... ;)

Your link, for example, only seems to have statistics for the "aughts"... 2001-2011. If you can't even make your link relevant to your point, then maybe you should consider the possibility that you are just further illustrating my point that your "skills" are less a product of your innate "wonderfulness"... but rather your having been in the right place at the right time to get a job which you could then put on a resume for future justification of your "skillfulness"... (I bet I could find the statistics you refer to, if I wanted to... but why should I do your research for you?)

And... no, outsourcing of software engineering work to India was not happening in the '80s. Outsourcing of most all manufacturing to China was not happening in the '80s... Japan was "threatening" US manufacturing with their increasing use of robotics in their manufacturing processes... "I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese... I really think so..." and there was worry about the japanese buying up US real estate... but that wasn't at all the same as the current trends of outsourcing things like software engineering, customer service and inoculation serum production. To assert that it is essentially the same is to be completely ignorant of the scope of the changes.

"Taking responsibility for {myself} sometime"?... is that another one of those "personal attacks" that you've already asserted is an indication of immaturity? You seem to be unable to distinguish subtleties of language. I have been arguing about the awful economic landscape facing the "lost generation"... I've never said that I'm actually a member of that generation. In fact, I'm not.

I'm also not dissatisfied with my own life, thank you very much. I am dissatisfied, though, with a system dominated by d*^ç$ß@&&¥ self-righteousness— the likes of which you continue to express... apparently in a determined attempt to diminish the validity of criticisms of a current dysfunctional economic system which, if they were addressed and the system somehow corrected, might possibly threaten your current privileged position.

Maybe you should take some responsibility for the reality of your position, and stop trying to "spin" it in your own mind with rationalizations like "personal responsibility".... rationalizations which, ironically, are synonymous with Republican ideological trends of thought.

(Though I'm sure you'll feel more comfortable continuing to try to convince me that I'm somehow "immature"... so I'll patiently await your next round of such accusations... much like a parent patiently enduring a child that needs to work through a temper-tantrum before he/she can be worked around into taking a needed nap.)

[slackmaster]

66. I linked to a graphic showing UE rates back to 1982. It doesn't display. You can figure it out.

You are just spewing special pleadings and personal attacks. Young people have ALWAYS felt that the deck was stacked against them.

Here's a song just for you, recorded by The Who in 1970.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g30nwCpyaA

[LooseWilly]

67. No... *You* get off of *My* lawn!

"Young people have ALWAYS felt that the deck was stacked against them."— and old people have always thought they know better... except that things just keep getting worse when each wave of old people takes over for the last wave (but the old-people's stuff tends to remain secure no matter how bad things get for everyone else— funny thing about the combination of nepotism & cronyism that controls resources).

And now you've come around to the equivalent of "get off of my lawn" in your arguments... tossing around clichés as if they were insightful analysis. And, as if to illustrate the hollowness of your position... you can't even seem to get the *darned* link to work, and would leave me to work it out for you... like having your kids program your cell phone for you.

Here, here's a song just for you, recorded by Los Gatos Locos in 2007. You can use it to insult all them young whipper-snappers wasting all that youth and mussing up your lawn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em3bFTR4fbw

[slackmaster]

70. The site I linked to creates a dymanic image link when you choose parameters for the graph

Change the first drop-down box to the year 1982, and press Go. The page will produce a temporary graph in GIF format, the link for which doesn't last very long.

You haven't produced a shred of verifiable evidence that things are getting worse for every generation, just a bunch of parroted hype. Young people have always complained in the way you are, and most of them eventually realize that young people have always had similar complaints.

[LooseWilly]

74. I think you should begin lecturing Michael Bloomberg too...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44724927#44725069

(beginning at the 57 second mark)

The Mayor of New York, a former job creator himself and a former Republican, who now operates politically as an independent and happens to be a billionaire, warned recently that there could be riots in the streets if Washington doesn't get serious about generating jobs. "We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs," Mayor Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. "That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. you don't want those kids — those kinds of riots here." Mayor Bloomberg added, "the damage to a generation that can't find jobs will go on for many, many years."

Maybe one day Mayor Bloomberg will "eventually realize that young people have always had similar complaints"... though I suspect he will be surprised to hear you accusing him of being a young person. (He will probably be as amused as I am to be accused, and dismissed, thusly. :+)

Maybe you can find another elegant "link" to show the Mayors of New York "always" warning of rioting because "Young people have always complained in the way you are"? If not... then I think it's safe to say that this is not a "get off my lawn" moment, much as you'd obviously like to think, after sharing your anecdotal tales of your own suffering, that this is just a case of kids whining as much as you apparently did when you were a snot-nosed punk.


The irony, of course, is that later in the segment, at the 4:26 mark, Chris Christie expresses your position more eloquently and cogently for you than you have done for yourself.

President Obama, prepares to divide our nation to achieve re-election. This is not a leadership style. This is a re-election strategy. Telling those who are scared and struggling that the only way their lives can get better is to diminish the success of others. Trying to cynically convince those who are suffering that the American economic pie is no longer a growing one, that can provide more prosperity for all who work hard, insisting that we must tax and take and demonize those who have already achieved the American Dream.

(bold and italics added)

Sounds like Christie is accusing Obama of pretty much the same thing that you have been accusing me of. "diminish the success of others", "convince... those who are suffering that the American economic pie... no longer... can provide prosperity for all who work hard", "demonize those who have already achieved the American Dream"...

The phrasing is a little different, but the sentiment that people should just work hard like everyone who came before them and all will be dandy, and that it is a cynical ploy (or childish) to criticize those who have already "got theirs"... is pretty much the same in Christie's speech clip and your posts on this thread.

It's kind of a funny little coincidence, no?

[treestar]

73. People older than you are always going to be condescending

Other generations have started out in bad economies - people who were young in the 30s sure did. And late 70s - there was a recession.

[raccoon]

48. I second that emotion. As a boomer, I believed that when I finished college, employers would be

beating the door down to offer me fantastic jobs. Silly me! But that was the zeitgeist then--go to college and then you'll get a fantastic job.

It didn't happen. There were undoubtedly more good jobs around then; there was also a large
generation competing for them. Which of course meant a lot of people were going to be disappointed.

[AverageJoe90]

27. Well, given how badly we've been regressing since the end of the '80s......

...especially since the Bush era, I'm not all that surprised.

[ieoeja]

69. The "end" of the 80s? I don't have a friend who didn't spend half that decade unemployed.

Every friend I have, without a single exception, went through a series of jobs in the 80s as their employers either kept going out of business, or fired everyone to hire cheaper newbies. You weren't even allowed to stay and take a pay cut because they knew you would have bad morale.

The 80s were an absolute disaster for the workforce.

[ellisonz]

28. This country is failing miserably.

If you brought down the Pentagon budget to 2002 levels and got rid of the Bush tax cuts -



You could reinvest $500 billion every year into American society - education, healthcare, environment, infrastructure.

:evilfrown:

[Capitalocracy]

30. I was so sure there was no future when I was in high school

that I didn't even bother trying to get into college. I knew I couldn't pay for it. Now I should probably be glad I didn't, because my financial situation is bad, but I'm not sure it would be better if I had a degree today, and with what I'm making now (or even double that amount) I'd be in a world of hurt if I owed anything to anyone.

Sure would've liked to go to college, though. Still haven't ruled it out... but I'm not going until I can pay for it. At 28, this looks very unlikely to ever happen.

[NNN0LHI]

41. Used to be after someone got a job their employer would pay for college

Back when we had strong private unions.

Don

[Capitalocracy]

51. It's beyond the scope of my imagination

that an employer would pay for me to be educated

[NNN0LHI]

52. The UAW first negotiated Tuition Assistance in our 1964 contract

There were improvements in the program in our 1990 and 1993 contracts.

I worked along side of a guy doing the same job as I was who earned a law degree using the Tuition Assistance program.

Don

[patrick t. cakes]

60. Don't bother with college

Read prefaces, save the money.

[coalition_unwilling]

62. Please check out your local community colleges for low-cost

higher education options. Santa Monica City College, for example, charges $26/credit hour. This means a typical 3-hour college course would set you back some $75 for tuition (and probably as much or more for books and materials). Still, the CC system offers a very financially competitive way to complete the first two years of higher education before transferring to a 4-year institution to get the 4-year degree. And you may get some 'life experience credits' for free also.

Definitely worth checking out.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. If I had disillusioned younger relatives, I'd tell them to emigrate

while they're still young enough to be considered desirable additions to the population.

Seriously.

[cyglet]

35. Working on it n/t

[BeHereNow]

55. My daughter is in Berlin-

I am encouraging her to figure out how to live there-
She loves Germany.
She is coming back in a few weeks and I plan to have
a serious sit down with her about getting out of this country.
I would miss her terribly, but I want her to have a future.
There is little chance of that in this country for some one like her.
BHN

[cyglet]

33. Why is it they think

there's an age limit to this? Those of us older who had good jobs are losing them...

[ellisonz]

36. To a degree - the recession/depression - has been disproportionate...

...in it's impact. I agree though there is another cluster around those in their 50's who are "too expensive to keep." That's been around since the 80's at least.

[slackmaster]

42. Age discrimination in the workplace is pervasive, and it's very hard to prove

Stay young-looking as long as you can, and never volunteer your age to anyone who doesn't have a legitimate need to know it.

[ellisonz]

58. Will do.

;)

[KurtNYC]

47. Auto mechanic: $45K to $70K per year

Veterinarian: $52K to $90K
MRI Technician: $53K to $90K
RN Practitioner: $90K to $120K
Physical Therapist: $62K+
Jr Assoc Lawyer: $65K to start
Forensic Computer Analyst: $60K+
Electrician: $50K+

None of these jobs can be exported. It's a tough economy. If you're in college or going to be, pick wisely.

There are still ways to make a living without kissing corporate butt. Research a little and get some skills that employers or customers HAVE TO buy locally.

[patrick t. cakes]

61. As a former electrician....

that 50 grand ain't in no way guaranteed.

[coalition_unwilling]

63. Um, the RN field is no longer the sure thing it once was either, from

reports I've received and read from health practitioners. I'd be wary of taking on a lot of debt to acquire credentials in any field right now.

[NutmegYankee]

65. 45K for an auto mechanic? LOL Try $12 a hour.

I know several skilled ASE certified mechanics, and not one of them has ever made that much in a year.

[Lucian]

54. I'm 29 and gave up on it years ago.

I'm a graduate student right now and I'm wondering why the hell I'm putting in all the work to get a Master's. Maybe it's the faint glimmer of hope that maybe when I'm done, things won't be so fucked up.

[ieoeja]

68. And every poster on that site blames it on one of two things: taxes or welfare.

The response to Reaganomics gutting the United States by the people most hurt by it": scream for more Reaganomics.

[XemaSab]

71. I think this is where Obama has really, really, really messed up

He ran as one thing and all the kids turned out to vote for it, but then he turned out not to be that thing at all.

I know that I have never felt ripped off by a politician before, and certainly all these kids haven't.

You think they're all going to turn out in droves the next time they're told to?

I would be surprised if the republicans aren't functionally dead in 15 years, and I also wouldn't be surprised if the democrats go not long after that. I've been to Tea Party meetings, and the average person there is 70. Meanwhile, the democrats are still trying to ride the fence of the culture wars of the 1960s. The democrats aren't leading these days, they're following.

Obama's not introducing bold proposals and pushing the comfort level of the American people, he's talking about things like marijuana, gays, and health care, which aren't controversial to anyone on the left who is under the age of 50. That is, when he's not upholding the status quo.

I'm probably going to keep punching the ticket for the D, but I'm not feeling any enthusiasm for anything coming from that direction these days.

Most young people I know are very, very, very cynical about the system, and cynicism towards a system isn't healthy at all in the long term.

The more time I spend semi-unemployed, the more I think that working in the yard is the most political act that I can accomplish as an individual.

[treestar]

72. So are they emigrating?

In the millions? That's the only practical way I see of "giving up on the US economy."