Do not misinterpret what I am about to say.
I do, for the most part, like Mike Rowe and this has nothing to do with his opinion on anything.
I would like to address your broad generalization with the younger generations being entitled. I also find it quite odd that group generalization was one of the topics Mike "owned" the other gentleman about and, here we are discussing it again.
So, please, tell me how generation Y and after have a problem with entitlement? I don`t want a broad statement with nothing supported, I am talking about something that you can say is true of 51% or more of said generations. So let us start.
Job growth has drastically slowed from previous generations.
- This means that jobs are harder to find, and harder to keep. Ever wonder why a lot of us tend to follow the rules and take less chances at work? Ever think that maybe it`s because it`s so easy to get fired and so hard to find a new job?
We are more inclined to occur a high debt ratio than previous generations.
- Before you get started on how it`s all our fault, let`s look at a few things. First, we`ll go back to the previous topics of jobs. Remember how they`re harder to find? Harder to find jobs means that less of us are working because we can`t find jobs. The unemployment rate steadily declines as the age group goes up. We make about $0.90 to the dollar compared to 1980 too. Yes, it`s a higher dollar amount, but that`s not considering inflation, etc. We also have to deal with higher costs that previous generations didn`t experience. Please, continue reading.
College is strongly encouraged, almost required, and costs more than ever.
- All throughout our lives we are told to go to college to get a good job. It sounds like it makes sense, right? The only problem is that approximately 16% of 25-34 year olds are underemployed. That means that all that college isn`t paying off like they said it would. How many people have you met that were turned down a job for being "overqualified"? I`ve met quite a few. They applied for a lower job to pay the bills but didn`t get it because of that "useless" college degree. You also should take into consideration that not everyone that can`t find a job with a degree has a useless degree. The job field is constantly changing and the demands with it. Certain degrees were also pushed which has caused an excess of qualified personnel, which means they`re not all getting jobs. Oh, and did I mention that college tuition costs have risen 1,120% since they started keeping records in 1978? The average student graduates with about $25,000 in student loan debt after 4 years in school.
Things actually do cost more.
- Before anyone starts, I know that part of this reason is because of inflation. However, that`s not what I am talking about. Medical care costs have increased by over 600 percent since 1978, and food over 240 percent. Houses, fuel, and many other daily requirements for life have also increased drastically more than the inflation rate.
This is already getting longer than originally intended so let`s move on to the next few points.
If we want to retire, we better save.
- Most of the pensions that our parents, grandparents, etc. rely on to live are gone. If we ever hope to retire that`s all coming out of our pockets. I`ve heard it a million times, it`s not a big deal, put it in a 401k and it will grow. Well, the problem with that is that the cost of living is still increasing. We talked about it before. That means that if we save 1,000,000, but the time we retire it may be more like 750,000 or 500,000 (no data to support the numbers, they`re just numbers I picked). Also, with higher debts, lower employment rates, and higher cost of living we have less money to invest into retirement. Rent costs (on a national average) 30% of our income, once you account for other expenses and retirement, our usable income is drastically less than you think. We also pay into social security that we may or may not ever see. The elderly, however, do feel entitled to their benefits. They "earned" it, right? Completely disregarding the fact, given average retirement age and average life expectancy, more is received in benefits than what the average worker pays into entitlement taxes.
Experience is hard to come by.
- Consider everything else in this post and tell me how easy it is to gain job-related experience. I`m not saying that it was ever easy, nor am I saying it is impossible. What I am saying is that the older generations feel they`re entitled to the right opinion because they have experience. I`m not saying that the younger people are always right, but we`re not always wrong either. We grew up during a serious change in the way the world turns. It`s less a problem with entitlement here and more a problem of respect and desire. A lot of the time our input is disregarded because others have more experience and that means they`re entitled to being right.
The world is entirely different, and people don`t seem to grasp that.
- We grew up during a recession. If you`re lucky like me you hit your adulthood during it too. We have constantly adapted and embraced drastic changes in technology. That doesn`t seem like a major ordeal, right? Consider how things are done. I used to pay bills via check and the mail. Now it`s all online. I used to get a paper check, now it`s all direct deposit. I used to go to the bank to deposit/withdraw money, now my bank doesn`t have a local branch. We have dealt with a near collapse of the economy. We still live in a rather poor economy. Point is, all of this adds up to life experiences that nobody seems to consider. Our life experience is entirely different than previous generations which has led to a great divide between the ages.
If this seems like a personal attack, oh well. It`s not intended that way but I will not apologize. The broad generalization that younger people - myself, my friends, my siblings - have a problem with entitlement and all of the other unfounded accusations stroke the wrong nerve. This isn`t all of it either, but hopefully enough to make you rethink your blind accusation.
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