Participation trophy generation. They seem to expect everything to be handed to them just for the effort of breathing.
I had an argument with someone on substack a few months ago where they were basically saying that I should give up the wealth that I've "hoarded" to give the younger generation a chance.
Hoarded? You mean earned and delayed gratification to save?
They didn't see (or don't remember) the years their grandparents and parents scrimped and saved and lived in crappy apartments and drove 20 year old cars to get to the position where they could provide their kids with cell phones at age 8 and gigabit high speed internet and a McMansion with a pool.
All the kids seem to know is that the latter is how live "is supposed to be" and if they don't have that all on their own, someone must be preventing them from having it.
Damn Boomers with their "work ethic" and "responsibility" and "savings".
Participation trophy, ✅. Delayed gratification, ✅. Don’t leave out “premature affluence”. Many grew up in the upper middle class gated (figuratively or literally) communities and expect that type of home at 26.
I have lived by the following - The Decisions you Make - Dictate the Life that You Will Lead! Make different decisions - get different results. I had a colleague try to tell me that some people do not have a choice - well baring youth in some instances - there is always a choice. The choices may not be great ones at the time, but it's still a choice.
A high school teacher told my wife's class in one lecture - that the most important decision of your life will be the spouse you choose. To be honest - my wife and I think we chose the best. We argue as to who chose better - her or I. To be honest here - we celebrated 50 years this year, and we were married at 19 (me), 18 (her). And for those curious - no we didn't have to get married - we just knew it and said why wait.
We didn't have - as the saying goes - a pot to piss in. But we made many tough decisions over the years including going to college, even with kids, getting degrees (associates - both) and then busting our backsides, working two jobs at times, and moving up in our specific careers. End result - we both retired early (60), do not live in a McMansion - but do well enough to have a good life.
BTW we bought used cars instead of new, used coupons where we could, repaired our own vehicles, furniture, clothing, etc. Brought our coffee to work instead of paying for $6.00 latte's and frankly lived below our means as much as we could. Oh, and we did take vacations too - just not every year.
The bottom line is that it all comes down to decisions and then taking responsibility for the outcome of those decisions.
The younglings prefer to blame boomers. I point out that they can mostly blame Democratic boomers. Or just plain Democrats. And when things like student loans were beginning with LBJ, I was 11 or 12 years old. It's not my fault, it's government's. And thinking you want a more "giving" government to "take" from will only make it worse. They'll be starving, but not artists.
And if you have to relocate, or work in a different career, give it a try. You never know, you may love it, and you may succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
In constant dollars, Boomers + Xers inherited $15 Trillion - $20 Trillion from the Greatest Generation. That was a huge lot of money. Arguably it underwrote several cycles of market boom and bust, but that wealth is still out there. It now looks like paid off primary homes, paid off vacation homes, 401ks and taxable investment portfolios, paid off nice cars, boats, etc - all things that get liquidated when WE die. And most of us also carry life insurance.
Hold your beer: Gen Y and Z will inherit (is currently inheriting) $70 Trillion - $90 Trillion from us oldsters. In constant dollars - that's a 4X increase. And they're having smaller families now - so the windfall isn't divvied up among 3+ siblings, but 1-2 on average.
Note: I get it - it's unevenly distributed - like everything in life.
So yeah, the world they're inheriting sucks much like the world WE inherited sucked, just different. But American Millennials and Zoomers will be (are quickly becoming) the wealthiest generation ever. All we ask is that they bust their asses and sacrifice (for now) the way every previous generation did. And be stoic about it.
And - you Younglings - when Padawan Mamdani shows up with his lifeless eyes and his galactic wide smirk and his light-scimitar already blazing, run away - don’t walk - and keep watching him over your shoulder!
But the Star Wars metaphor carries a darker warning. The younglings were not merely immature. They were slaughtered by Darth Vader, a once-in-a-lifetime evil wearing the face of corrupted power. Maybe America is staring at its own version in the Red-Green coalition: Marxist resentment fused with Islamist conquest politics, whispering to young people that America is evil, work is exploitation, sex is identity, borders are oppression, and violence is liberation. That is not compassion for the young. It is grooming a generation for civilizational suicide. The answer is not despair. It is adulthood: faith, work, family, discipline, truth, courage, and a refusal to be recruited by monsters.
Thanks for a great article! I lived it! You left out that with the gas shortages there was gas rationing. Times were difficult but we didn't quit, we survived and moved on.
Participation trophy generation. They seem to expect everything to be handed to them just for the effort of breathing.
I had an argument with someone on substack a few months ago where they were basically saying that I should give up the wealth that I've "hoarded" to give the younger generation a chance.
Hoarded? You mean earned and delayed gratification to save?
They didn't see (or don't remember) the years their grandparents and parents scrimped and saved and lived in crappy apartments and drove 20 year old cars to get to the position where they could provide their kids with cell phones at age 8 and gigabit high speed internet and a McMansion with a pool.
All the kids seem to know is that the latter is how live "is supposed to be" and if they don't have that all on their own, someone must be preventing them from having it.
Damn Boomers with their "work ethic" and "responsibility" and "savings".
That generation was also raised by helicopter parents, so no wonder they are so screwed up.
Participation trophy, ✅. Delayed gratification, ✅. Don’t leave out “premature affluence”. Many grew up in the upper middle class gated (figuratively or literally) communities and expect that type of home at 26.
I have lived by the following - The Decisions you Make - Dictate the Life that You Will Lead! Make different decisions - get different results. I had a colleague try to tell me that some people do not have a choice - well baring youth in some instances - there is always a choice. The choices may not be great ones at the time, but it's still a choice.
A high school teacher told my wife's class in one lecture - that the most important decision of your life will be the spouse you choose. To be honest - my wife and I think we chose the best. We argue as to who chose better - her or I. To be honest here - we celebrated 50 years this year, and we were married at 19 (me), 18 (her). And for those curious - no we didn't have to get married - we just knew it and said why wait.
We didn't have - as the saying goes - a pot to piss in. But we made many tough decisions over the years including going to college, even with kids, getting degrees (associates - both) and then busting our backsides, working two jobs at times, and moving up in our specific careers. End result - we both retired early (60), do not live in a McMansion - but do well enough to have a good life.
BTW we bought used cars instead of new, used coupons where we could, repaired our own vehicles, furniture, clothing, etc. Brought our coffee to work instead of paying for $6.00 latte's and frankly lived below our means as much as we could. Oh, and we did take vacations too - just not every year.
The bottom line is that it all comes down to decisions and then taking responsibility for the outcome of those decisions.
Seems the younglings want to start where the boomers ended up. That's not how it works. As you've said before, we all start at zero.
Although I do agree with another writer (https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/its-not-about-the-burrito-saturday) who pointed out: "You’re right. You were scammed by the university system, you were robbed by Bidenflation, and you were sold out by open borders."
The younglings prefer to blame boomers. I point out that they can mostly blame Democratic boomers. Or just plain Democrats. And when things like student loans were beginning with LBJ, I was 11 or 12 years old. It's not my fault, it's government's. And thinking you want a more "giving" government to "take" from will only make it worse. They'll be starving, but not artists.
Jeff made some really valid points for sure.
What a fantastic graduation speech this would make. If everyone didn’t walk out before the end…
And if you have to relocate, or work in a different career, give it a try. You never know, you may love it, and you may succeed beyond your wildest dreams.
Amen. Thank you for this. It gets wearisome being told all day long that everything wrong with the world is your fault because of your age.
In constant dollars, Boomers + Xers inherited $15 Trillion - $20 Trillion from the Greatest Generation. That was a huge lot of money. Arguably it underwrote several cycles of market boom and bust, but that wealth is still out there. It now looks like paid off primary homes, paid off vacation homes, 401ks and taxable investment portfolios, paid off nice cars, boats, etc - all things that get liquidated when WE die. And most of us also carry life insurance.
Hold your beer: Gen Y and Z will inherit (is currently inheriting) $70 Trillion - $90 Trillion from us oldsters. In constant dollars - that's a 4X increase. And they're having smaller families now - so the windfall isn't divvied up among 3+ siblings, but 1-2 on average.
Note: I get it - it's unevenly distributed - like everything in life.
So yeah, the world they're inheriting sucks much like the world WE inherited sucked, just different. But American Millennials and Zoomers will be (are quickly becoming) the wealthiest generation ever. All we ask is that they bust their asses and sacrifice (for now) the way every previous generation did. And be stoic about it.
And - you Younglings - when Padawan Mamdani shows up with his lifeless eyes and his galactic wide smirk and his light-scimitar already blazing, run away - don’t walk - and keep watching him over your shoulder!
I stand up and applaud - BRAVO!
Great article!
But the Star Wars metaphor carries a darker warning. The younglings were not merely immature. They were slaughtered by Darth Vader, a once-in-a-lifetime evil wearing the face of corrupted power. Maybe America is staring at its own version in the Red-Green coalition: Marxist resentment fused with Islamist conquest politics, whispering to young people that America is evil, work is exploitation, sex is identity, borders are oppression, and violence is liberation. That is not compassion for the young. It is grooming a generation for civilizational suicide. The answer is not despair. It is adulthood: faith, work, family, discipline, truth, courage, and a refusal to be recruited by monsters.
Well said...
Once again, AMEN!
Definitely sharing. 💝
The younglings will turn you off.
I would have mentioned the Viet Nam war that thousands of us lived through.
Thanks for a great article! I lived it! You left out that with the gas shortages there was gas rationing. Times were difficult but we didn't quit, we survived and moved on.
Thanks again.