Millennials Are Way Poorer Than Baby Boomers Ever Were

a reply to: Aazadan
I think that you just described the crux of your problem. It is not that you are an over achiever, you are just unrealistic in your perceptions of self.

It is a good thing to shoot for the moon, but to consider it a failure that you don't reach it on the first try, is not being hard on yourself, it is destructive.

Failure doesn't come from not succeeding in resolving a problem overnight. Failure comes when you give up on trying to find solutions or when you waste time beating up on yourself because you didn't sprout wings and fly.

Concentrated on what you did right, there are enough people standing in line already, ready to tell you the things you did wrong.

a reply to: 3n19m470
It was believable because the middle class thought that if it was on TV then it was true, and it became something to dream about.

I remember when I was young that I used to sleep with the "Wish Book". It had all the things that I didn't have, and it was visual proof that if I worked hard enough, and saved my money, I too could have everything in that book that I wanted.

When lay-away came around, it didn't just store away my dreams until I could make that final payment, it was now tangible proof that if I work hard enough and saved my money, I could have all those things that were dangled in my face, half of which I did not need.

We were primed and ready when credit cards started being mailed to those that were worthy. Now we didn't have to just dream. We could have whatever we wanted, "now", and pay later.

What is that saying about the devil coming in all sizes and disguises?

originally posted by: NightSkyeB4Dawn
It is a good thing to shoot for the moon, but to consider it a failure that you don't reach it on the first try, is not being hard on yourself, it is destructive.

It depends on if you think you can do it on the first try or not. I have a very good grasp of what I can and cannot do. My mind works a lot like Mozarts (I don't know the technical name for it). When I think of something, I think of the entire body at once, and then write it out. Papers, forum posts, homework, work projects, and so on. It's all the same. When I was a kid I used to have a real nice Lego collection, and I would get an idea to build something, and within moments know the exact numbers of every piece I would need. So when I get an idea, that idea also comes with all the support necessary to make it happen. So what I've learned to do, is examine the system I initially come up with and find enhancements before ever building it.

Not finding significant enhancements is a failure.

Failure doesn't come from not succeeding in resolving a problem overnight. Failure comes when you give up on trying to find solutions or when you waste time beating up on yourself because you didn't sprout wings and fly.

Systems are easy, it's not hard to think of something that will work. Implementing complex solutions tends to take a lot more time.

Concentrated on what you did right, there are enough people standing in line already, ready to tell you the things you did wrong.

What was done right doesn't need improved on, what was done wrong does.

a reply to: Krakatoa

Don't worry, my 'fragile ego' and feelings are not offended; no need for apologies.

I was just pointing out that having compassion vs being a rude individual can be just as beneficial to "win an argument", as you say, as being cold and indifferent to others' situations.

Not so sure the title of this thread is accurate. I'm more in the generation between the boomers and the millennials, so a Gen Xer, I guess, but from what I've seen, kids today are a bit better off than my parents were at the same age, or I was at the same age.

Financially, about the same. I know my parents struggled and I know that when I first moved out, it was not easy to eat every day myself.

But, today's kids are richer in FAR more ways.

For example, today, they have a device in their pocket that can give them any information they wish, connect them to anyone in the world, and even allow one to watch TV shows, movies, etc.

Today, they can punch a few buttons on their phone, and get a guaranteed ride that costs less, and services more areas, than the taxis we could call. So they often don't even learn to drive a car. (or have the expense of keeping one).

Today, there are more options to get an education, while STILL working a normal job with normal hours, vs. spending all day in lecture classes.

Today, there are far more employers paying for college for their employees, to prevent racking up more student debt.

Today, social media contacts greatly expand your own network for finding jobs, services, etc.

So please, spare us a bit with the whole poor millennials routine....

a reply to: Krakatoa

I'll take it a step further, how much time do they spend on their phones or on social media or playing video games as opposed to time spent actually working to improve their lives?

I'm surrounded by millenials in my current life position. At 36 years old...I decided to leave the military and finish my education. A bold move Cotten, I know!

These kids are not poor! They all have $2,000 laptops, $800 phones, $200 headphones and all the warm clothes they need. Most drive very nice cars AND have an adequate bike to get around campus on. The majority choose the more expensive campus meal plans and they drink Thursday through Sunday practically non-stop.

Not all, of course...but most. When I first went to collegein 1999 I weighed 130 pounds and scoured through shared living spaces for loose change so I might be able to afford some substance in the vending machine. I drove a 1985 Nissan Datsun that had more rust than paint, sometimes needed to be push started, no operable heater, and holes in the floor board. I had no cell phone, no computer. In between semesters, I lived out of my car or on a friends couch. I worked at a Blimpies full time...but all that money went to pay for tuition, room and board, and books.

I experienced what life was like as a young person with no money. I don't want to hear about these self-entitled, lazy, cry-baby millenials who feel like they don't have any money or the means to make money. PERSPECTIVE!!

"Millennials Are Way Poorer Than Baby Boomers Ever Were"

really, you think??? how many milliennials raised by low income families wore hand me downs to school?? I am curious here. how many of yas had to go out into the cold dark night and run to the outhouse? had six or seven siblings? helped their mom carry the the family's laundry to the nearest laundry mat? grew up without a family car? had only one phone line that you shared with a few other families.

no, I don't believe you. I think your schools were much nicer than ours, I doubt if many of yous had to sit in class or eat your lunch while feeling pieces of the ceiling above fall onto your head, and in your food.

That's not to say that I don't think yous have it rough at the moment, just that I really think that most of yous had a much better start in life than we did. and I kind of doubt that there a too many female millienials that were told that hey, if there's any men applying for those jobs, you won't get it. men need a job, they have families to support, women have men, or should have.... you should be applying at the restaurants and fast food joints...

a reply to: dawnstar

Honestly if you guys did a little research and read something about economic data you would see how wrong you are but since you only rely on an individual experience to understand the greater economy you will never have knowledge of why things are headed in the direction they are

originally posted by: toysforadults
a reply to: dawnstar

Honestly if you guys did a little research and read something about economic data you would see how wrong you are but since you only rely on an individual experience to understand the greater economy you will never have knowledge of why things are headed in the direction they are

Poor:
adjective, poorer, poorest.
1. Having little or no money, goods, or other means of support:
a poor family living on welfare.

2. Law.; dependent upon charity or public support.

3. (of a country, institution, etc.) Meagerly supplied or endowed with resources or funds.

4. Characterized by or showing poverty.

5. Deficient or lacking in something specified:
a region poor in mineral deposits.

6. Faulty or inferior, as in construction:
poor workmanship.

7. Deficient in desirable ingredients, qualities, or the like:
poor soil.

8. Excessively lean or emaciated, as cattle.

9. Of an inferior, inadequate, or unsatisfactory kind:
poor health.

10. Lacking in skill, ability, or training:
a poor cook.

11. Deficient in moral excellence; cowardly, abject, or mean.

12. Scanty, meager, or paltry in amount or number:
a poor audience.

13. Humble; modest:
They shared their poor meal with a stranger.

14. Unfortunate; hapless:
The poor dog was limping.

Definition

Please...tell me which of these definitions of "Poor" do millenials fall under?

a reply to: toysforadults

??? I have three sons struggling in this economy... like I said, I know it's tough for them...
but every one of them carry a little box in their pocket that probably gives them more access to more information than those weekly trips I would make to the local library.... trips I made on foot!! heck, my first three or four jobs I had I walked to everyday... and I am in the later range of the boomers, by the time I graduated and entered the workforce, well, the labor market had more than enough laborers in the pool....
and the "security" started evaporating and the "opportunities" started going overseas years before I entered that market..
I grew up poor, knowing that I was poor!! there was a time when my brother would sit up in the kitchen every night in the dark with his bb gun, waiting for the rats to come out for him to play target practice with.

many millienials grew up poor, but really didn't have a clue what it was like to be poor till the got out on their own. I mean, if they got sick, they went to the doctors, were given medicine, got better. if their family didn't have food, hey there was food stamps. the old run down apartment that I grew up in, has been revitalized and now probably rents out for much more than we could ever afford. the rat alley across the street for the most part replaced with much newer and nicer buildings. and outside of the highschool which was built a few years before I attended it, all the schools I went to have been either torn down, or revamped for some different use. there was very little left of the city that I grew up in by the time the millienials came around.

and by the way, my husband earned more in the early 80's than he did any time after that, and when he died, he was a tool and die maker, much more skilled than he was in the 80's... I don't even think I was out of high school 5 years and the wages were declining, or stagnant.. at least three times the economy has gone bust and we lost everything, had to start over.

the title of this thread is just untrue, there were plenty of poor boomers, there will always be plenty of poor people, the only thing that changes in that regard is how society decides to treat them, and it seems to me that the millenials at least while they were young, were treated much better then the boomers where at that young age!

so, please tell me where I am wrong.

Nope, instead, they'll complain they have no job while sipping a $6 coffee and surfing on an $800 smart phone, while wearing a pair of "vintage" ripped jeans that cost them $50.

a reply to: toysforadults


What i find interesting is the new narrative now to keep us fighting with each other.

baiting by Racism and sexism by the GOP,DNC and the MSM has run its course and their is actually more blacklish for them to do it. '

GOP vs DNC is even beginning to run its course as more people are seeing what BS both party are.

Religion vs Religion or non Religion is even running its course with the people caring less about religion.

So to help in keeping us fighting and to make sure the younger generation gets involved in the hate, they are now going for a generational war: Millennials vs Baby boomers.

The issue of today is not the Millennials or the baby boomers fault its all of them and in between. There has not been a generation that has held THEIR party and THEIR gov't accountable. Neither the GOP or the DNC has focused on the real issue in DC: conflict of interest,term limits in congress, revolving doors, and pay to play lobbying .

As long was we continue to talk about the economy,jobs,education,healthcare, racism,generation at fault, sexism,taxes,world conflict, and the same broken record nothing will get fixed.

We need to stop fighting each other and join forces to hold the gov't ,DNC,GOP, Lobbyist and the MSM accountable in order to fix our issues. Notice its no coincidence that regardless of the state we are in the Lobbyist are always on the winning side.