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I think there is a generational shift contributing to the problem. My parents let me know that once I turned 18, I was paying my own way, whether it be college, rent, whatever. I was free to make my own decisions but there were going to be no handouts.
That may have been possible 10-15+ years ago, but now it seems that prices for everything keeps going up and up, and few entry level jobs can support basic necessities in a realistic environment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cobolt
When I was teaching college English, I noticed alot of students lived at home, or had parents who were paying there way, not only their college tuition but other things. I saw alot of students driving expensive vehicles, designer clothes, and playing with all sorts of toys.
I never could understand that mentality. I graduated HS not too terribly long ago, and the parking lot was filled with Corvettes and Mustangs belonging to Juniors and Seniors. A brief tenure at a local college revealed many students - aged 18-22 - driving BMWs, Mustangs, and other high end cars, all belonging to them. Furthermore, they had the latest $200+ cell phones, iPods, laptops, expensive clothes, etc.
Having all of these expensive toys raining down on them from their parents spoils them, which probably results in a sense of entitlement when they graduate, expecting to get a high paying job right out of school and be set for life. Of course, cold hard reality hits them like an atomic bomb after they finish school..
Yes, let's go back to those days where I'd be chained to my kitchen while my kid is strapped to my back, have no voting rights & I can sit around the kitchen table w/Marge & Betty drinking Folgers & talking about how truly splendid my husband Ken is. Ahh, the good ole days!
I didn't say that women shouldn't be allowed in the workplace, but that the DOUBLING of the workforce OBVIOUSLY caused the value of labor to plummet. It's pretty much the most simple concept of Economics. When supply increases, the cost goes down.
Well, in 1950 the average family had one income and it could sustain the entire household quite easily. Then the two-income family started to arise and the incomes began to fall to the point where those two incomes couldn't even reach the level of the single-income from before.
You can see a direct correlation between the number of women in the workplace and the drop in the standards of living for people making it on a single income. Not only that, but the income disparity between the rich and poor has skyrocketed, making it even more difficult for those without high-incomes to get by.
I am not saying that women don't belong in the workplace, but that once someone has a family, they should have one full-time parent, and one full-time worker, of course with our economy only those with fantastic jobs could afford that...and you have the 1960s and 70s feminists to thank for that.
After all, if the available workforce went from 100,000,000 people to 70,000,000 overnight without a drop in population, the companies would be scrambling to get the best employees and wages would skyrocket.
My kids had seen me work like a whirling dervish my whole life plus I taught them financial survival skills. After high school they were immediately on their own to pay for college and start their lives as their father had made sure none of us had a home anymore. It was a sink or swim situation, you either make it or starve and are homeless, and they worked like dervishes and made it.
On the other hand the bf's son is 32 and still living at home, never really had a job. His father is early retired because of an inheritance and the kid has become use to being around the retired life. Both of them are frustrated and argue. He isn't handed much but neither is he use to seeing anyone get up in the morning and spend the day at work nor does he have a clue about how to look for work or any direction in life.
I don't think parents use to be able to afford to have kids stick around in previous generations. Hunger is a strong motivator. I know it was for me. Certainly things are more expensive now than they use to be and it seems there are fewer jobs. I was able to build my first house at 20 (worth $30) even though my salary was only $60 a week because I worked a second fulltime one on commission and saved every penny of it.
That might depend on what one would call unrealistic. I'm meeting quite a few young folks who are struggling to find a job, and these are well educated. Parents did a fine job, and while they are not living with their parents, they are still depending on them, while they try to settle down.
And then, I just met a guy who bought his 17-yr old son a brand new Infiniti G37 coupe because he didn't want to drive a 2000 Volvo S80.
Well there you have it; the first example would represent the 40% the second example would represent the 60%.
Yes, let's go back to those days where I'd be chained to my kitchen while my kid is strapped to my back, have no voting rights & I can sit around the kitchen table w/Marge & Betty drinking Folgers & talking about how truly splendid my husband Ken is. Ahh, the good ole days!
Don't forget soaking our hands in Palmolive Dishwashing liquid and remarking how smooth they are.
Sometimes it's both--parents that created what that generation is and circumstances...
Ever hear of "helicopter parents"? You know, always hovering to make sure little Johnny never gets a bump or bruise? Soemtimes that extends during their entire life where the parent never allows teh child to struggle or fail.
I had to fire a 28 year old little boy for just failing to show up for work--more than once. I got a call from his mother about it and the next day a visit from both parents wanting me to re-hire him and then furious and threatening legal action when I wouldn't.
28!! With these types of parents, the guy didn't stand a chance.
Unfortunately, I've had a couple of similar instances since.
There have always been kids of every generation who didn't make it...it just seems more prevalent today.
So sad ... I'd be humiliated if my mommy and daddy had to bail my butt out at that age!
Throw in some major structural shifts such as the termination of the military draft, and mom working instead of being home raising kids, technology automating much of the production type jobs and the evolution towards a worldwide economy, and there is a different world those younger folks are experiencing. I don't think the structure they grew up in really equipped them for how to thrive in this environment, and many are now struggling.
Yeah, i'm in my early thirties and one thing i've noticed for our generation compared to prior generations is that my generation is multi-tasking many life skills like a son of a gun. Of course, many are susceptible to falling through the cracks, so to speak.
For instance, the onus is put on our generation to provide ourselves with our own pension plan, (see 401k) when truth be told, we need to be something of an "expert" investor.
I lot of people my age and older were told that if you went to college/university and got a degree that everything would be fine. Far too many people went to university without clear career goals and ended with a generic degree that didn't make them suitable for doing all that much except to struggle over their student debt. Far more people went to university than the generation before and this created a very competitive job pool. It was a case of over-promising and under-delivering.
High schools need to do a lot more to teach fiscal responsibility and basic home financing. High schools also need to do a better job present career options to the students so they can have some sense of what they might want to do BEFORE they go to higher learning.
i think ultimately its themselves. note 2 years ago on CDF i would get cypber yelled at for even suggesting a young person seek out VE option in jr college or military for debt free education (my usual pitch was RN) now i am seeing young people posting considering this option more and more. btw what astounds me at this ripe age, is how young people (and some not so young) can be in a state of name calling moral outrage--- and be utterly wrong. being a parent must be hell.
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