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Correct me if I'm wrong, but your perspective seems contradictory. On one hand you argue that we more or less "should not discuss it,"
OK. I'll correct you:
Not once have I said that it *shouldn't* be discussed (and investigated and analyzed and pontificated upon and all those other wonderful and laudable approaches to theories about sociology and politics and economics...)
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while on the other hand arguing that we should be voting.
Nope. I just pointed out the one post that described an actually constructive task related to a (general) solution.
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In my mind the two go hand-in-hand.
Political and economic discussion helps people distinguish their ass from a hole in the ground.
You know the expression "circle jerk"?
My perspective is that concept admirably represents the net value of 99% of what has passed for discussion.
Rhetoric abounds... but specific, meaningful, achievable solutions? Not so much.
It seems boomers were/are heavy into playing the status game; I live in a upscale neighborhood that is mostly boomer age folks who are always trying to 1-up eachother with fancier cars, nicer yards, more incredible remodels (I swear I am the only one without a Wolf or Viking range, and the only one who doesn't "get" why I should have one ), ect.
Kids growing up in that kind of environment grow up figuring that's what is normal, and are very protected and or coddled by their parents. They grew up being told they are special, can do anything and will be more successful than their already wealthy parents too.
So when the Y-ers got out in the real world, they almost universally expected to jump into the good life with all the bells and whistles like their parents have.
Y-ers fail to realize their boomer parents not only worked decades to get where they are, but also borrowed well beyond that to get where they are. Y-ers can't seem to understand that companies are not going to pay a green recruit 100K a year, no matter where their degree is from. The current economic status only makes it harder.
So here's my advice to Y-ers. Stop comparing yourself to your parent's generation (for good or ill). Life rarely comes served on a silver platter; expect to work hard and start at the bottom, even with a degree.
Untrain yourself and alter your false expectation that were implanted in you growing up. I reccomend an extended stay in a third-world country to rid you of entitlement issues and make yourself greatful for what you've got.
Above all DO NOT GET IN DEBT!!!! Learn the value of delayed gratification.
You'll eventually have everything your parents do and maybe more, just be smart about getting there.
Um, I'm 35, and I haven't missed one of the HUGE differences between younger folks today and people of my parents' generation:
People today want at 25 what it took our parents till 40 to earn. They want it all RIGHT NOW. They is no sense of delayed gratification. And when they wind up screwed financially or can't have what they want, they blame everyone else for setting up some 'system' that stole their 'opportunity.'
Give me a freakin' break.
You can't have a house in your 20s. Deal with it.
You can't have a $30,000 car in your 20s. Deal with it.
My parents came to this country with nothing...their apartment had a mattress and a spoon...and they still managed to have the time of their lives...and BUILT THEIR LIVES OVER TIME...my dad was in his late 40s before he could by a half a million dollar house...since 1985, they have bought TWO NEW CARS...they have kept their cars (a Toyota and a Plymouth) and driven them into the ground...people my age have a new Lexus every five seconds...
It's just mind-boggling how financially inept and how geared towards instant gratification this latest crop of adults is...it's embarrassing to be associated with them sometimes.
So we push on for 98%, rather than conceding the full 100%.
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Originally Posted by le roi
Can I come up with a set of policies that I believe will solve these problems? Yes.
Do I have the influence needed to actually implement new policies? It's debatable, but I think not.
Maybe you're in a good situation personally and are genuinely available to focus on the larger issues
and macro economic aspects in some political manner and you're certainly eloquent enough to probably be good at such...
But for most who want to "discuss" these topics (the whine I referred to) I contend that:
1) they would be far better off focusing on getting their own personal situation in order, and
2) doing so (at least for the present) in ways that aren't limited to what they went to school to learn.
That whole 'real world' thing again.
Actual feet on the ground solutions in the micro economic context.
One life at a time.
Too few are willing to get their hands dirty (in the literal sense) and I suspect you know them personally.
But for most who want to "discuss" these topics (the whine I referred to) I contend that:
1) they would be far better off focusing on getting their own personal situation in order, and
2) doing so (at least for the present) in ways that aren't limited to what they went to school to learn.
That whole 'real world' thing again.
Actual feet on the ground solutions in the micro economic context.
One life at a time.
Speaking of "the real world" -- I have mixed feelings about who is in closer touch with reality: Gen Y, or the Boomers.
In my mind, the elephant in the room with regards to "Boomers vs. Gen Y", is interest rates. Boomers have a false sense of economic security that is based upon a lifetime (more or less) of falling interest rates, and they go around giving advice as if perpetually loosening credit standards will go on forever.
They overestimate the amount of time they've spent on this earth, and the wisdom that they've accumulated -- therefore they are liable to treat the last 20 or 30 years as the entirety of American history, and in the process, dismiss structural problems as cyclical problems.
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Too few are willing to get their hands dirty (in the literal sense) and I suspect you know them personally.
My philosophy is work smart first.... then you work hard.
What constitutes "smart" has undergone a big shift since my dad was in his 20's. Real estate agents (glorified salesmen) in my area own million dollar beachfront mansions, acquired by little more than luck and personal connections. (Lots of this sort of thing in my area.) Local blue collar retirees worked their fingers to the bone for years, and are now contemplating retirement on a diet of cat food and garden veggies.
It isn't that we're lazy, in my opinion - it is that kids my age perceive success to be a product of irresponsible risk, properly gaming the system, and/or receiving help from the government, as much as it is a product of diligence, honesty and hard work -- and I really can't blame them.
You can't have a house in your 20s. Deal with it.
You can't have a $30,000 car in your 20s. Deal with it.
It's possible to have those things so its more like........
You could have a house in your 20s. Stop whining and work for it (aka bust your arse).
You could have a $30,000 car in your 20s. Stop whining and work for it (aka bust your arse).
What Generation Y needs to learn to do is to vote. If 70% of Generation Y would start voting the politicians would have to start taking them seriously. Understand that all the old people out there, including Boomers, vote in large numbers and the politicians have to listen to us.
My 19 year old son is of course a member of Generation Y. I have tried and tried to explain to him the importance of participation in the political process. He is very disinterested and instead prefers what most youth prefer: Dating; watching movies; hangin' with his friends; doing college work; and posting on FB.
He has a lot of fun. However, he and other Generation Y members are going to learn the hard way that failing to participate in the political process has consequences.
What the younger generation has figured out that the older generation still has it's head in the sand about is this: It does absolutely NO good to vote. It's a complete waste of time because it's a smokescreen.
That meaning it gives the sheeple the impression that they have some say in matters when the reality IS that the only laws/people elected etc are going to be the ones that benefit a very small minority of people in this country. That being the 2-3 % elite. And the only people elected will be one of two or more puppets willing to do their bidding.
If you always ask yourself, who does it benefit if such and such is passed or so-and-so is elected, it makes things MUCH clearer. Because very little of what is passed or who is elected ever seems to change things better for the masses.
This is life out of the Matrix, folks. Not always fun, but at least realistic.
My philosophy is work smart first.... then you work hard.
I would like to blow THIS huge lie perpetuated on the American people right out of the water.
I've done this my whole life with virtually no rewards. Most recently with a job that should have gone to me (a college educated person who busted her ASS to learn and apply this knowledge) going to a non-english speaking non-educated person instead.
So enough with the "If you work hard..." Bull****, please.
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Why do baby boomers look down on Gen Y?
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