IF YOU LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE!!
*SNIP
Being stupid and not having financial commen sense is why the "youth" is not more ahead. Me and my wife have chosen to pay cash on a house by the time we are 30, but we are belive God for one sooner. We will see what happens. But younger folks need to CHOOSE to build wealth.
I'm glad you picked up a David Ramsey book at your young age. Financial responsibility should be taught in schools (at least in high school). It's not. Why isn't it? I can think of many other classes that could be replaced with this.
Or be less materialistic and live in a small house, drive old cars, own used stuff, but have tons of free time. I'd rather have used beater junk and my free time than any amount of shiny toys. I paid $1300 for my last car, have had it 7 years, there are good deals out there for just about everything. I am working a lot of hours at a factory right now to pay off my student loans, but once that is over, I probably won't do anything past part time work. I manage this through rigorous financial discipline. I am spending a "lot" right now, just replacing things, doing important stuff like getting my teeth fixed and car repaired and getting some ultralight hiking gear so I don't damage my knees(problems from the military). But other than that, I buy food.
Since I barely own anything, it is more freeing. Commute an hour to work? I don't, throw your crap in the car on a day off and find a place for rent close to work. I got people at my job that drive an hour and a half to get to work, just move. Also, owning less stuff frees up all kinds of unorthodox ideas, like being able to live in a 200 sq foot house. Moving isn't a chore, you don't have to go get a uhaul or plan anything, spend 30 minutes putting your stuff in your car and you are ready. Don't get stuck in the idea of having to own a home, or a nice car. It is just stuff. Your time is your most valuable possession.
Not everyone is nomadic. Let's be realistic, some people (myself included) have children (who have their stuff), dishes, appliances, lawnmowers, you get the idea. I'm not complaining, but at YOUR stage in life, you sound like you're in a good place - a place that
I was comfortable in prior to marriage and kids. Having kids changes everything, and by everything, I mean
EVERYTHING.
Yes let's "get to work". "Work" being the word that is kryptonite to your generation's Superman.
Go look at ANY poll you choose ... EVERY generation when queried does not want to give up ANY benefits and by the way your generation voted for the Messiah in droves shows anyone with half a lick of sense that there is ZERO fortitude to do ANYTHING except "hope" for the best.
The only way to "fix" it is to END it. That will NEVER happen in my or your lifetime.
The first sentence of yours I quote is crap, and if you thought about it for a moment or two you'd realize that. The youth of today have virtually ZERO control over the direction things in our country are taking. This is no longer a country that builds things - so where is the real "work"? Overseas. We are increasingly becoming a nation of Services: IT; consultation; environmental; repair; sales; food; services.... Because of the global market and how we conduct ourselves in it, this problem is going to get worse before it gets better. Gone are the days when Americans made things. There are only a handful of products that are 100% made in America, by Americans. I can only think of one off of the top of my head: Maglite.
Yes, young people today make extremely stupid decisions with money. Several people here pointed out the smart-phone addiction as one of the most obvious. I wholeheartedly agree. Mobile phones are a great example of an item that did not exist just a few years ago but is now considered a necessity.
That said, there are some fundamental differences faced by young people today that the Boomers did not face. The most obvious:
The average Boomer born in
1963 came into the world at a time when the national debt was $1635 per person. Inflation adjusted that $1635 in today's dollars is $12,164.
But guess what.... today the amount each and every one of us owes is
about to roll over to $50,000 per person.
Why? Take a look at this....
Take a look at WHEN we added debt. The years correspond exactly with the increasing earnings of Boomers. The more they earned the more politically active they became. They more the raised benefits while at the same time cutting taxes and borrowing.
And guess what.... the Boomers have no intention of paying back all that debt before they die. They are going to leave it to the young people to pay back while at the same time calling them lazy complainers.
Also, please note:
1) I am the OP
2) I am middle-aged
3) My wife and I have no children so, essentially, I have no dog in this fight other than truth.
Agree with everything you've said, so far
As a father of children born in the early 21st century, I'm very fearful of what their future holds. My own generation is screwed on the whole, but a few of us have been able to pull ourselves out of the mire, will future generations be able to? I don't believe so, not at this rate.
I do think there's something that we, as "average" citizens can do, albeit a small thing - we could talk with our school administrators and have them add some things into the curriculum (as I posted above, financial responsibility class).
WHAT part of the entitlement "debt" goes to the non-producers? WHY does 50% of the populace pay ZERO net federal income tax?
You are blaming the "boomers" when you really should be blaming the redistributionists and socialists masquerading as Democrats.
You realize that the "boomer" generation are the re-distributionists and socialists you refer to, right? In all fairness, they're also the conservatives.
In today's world I do feel that we should give our son every advantage we can to help him become a solid and productive member of society. Not that when I grew up things were all rosy because times have been difficult for many periods over the years. I got a late start in becoming productive but finally found the right road. We have the means to offer him opportunities I never had and he has earned these benefits through good behavior, good grades and being a responsible young man.
Sure we could have used the cash to enhance our enjoyment by buying a sports car, vacations, more investments/PMs/preps or whatever but we have everything we 'need' in our current situation and most of what we 'want'.
Paying for his education may not have been the best thing in the world for him, but it sure beats seeing him try to find a high paying job to pay off student loan debt. He loves the unique area he grew up in and desires to stay locally in our small community if he can and enjoy so much the lifestyle our neighborhood provides.
My wife insisted on his education, as I may have let him go a different direction if he wished (IE, trade school or something). It is done and his schooling can never be taken from him along with all of his firearms training, conservative values and common sense we have instilled in him through his upbringing. I think we put together a good package to release into society and hopefully he will help to make a better world.
BTW, no disrespect taken and this leads to great debate and sharing of ideas. I even find myself agreeing with aramchek once in a while.
I too got a late start. I also still have a mountain of student loans to repay. I made my bed, so I'll lie in it. One day it'll be a thing of the past.
Most of us want better for our children than we had, I know I do, but at what point do we draw the line in the sand when it comes to providing for them? By paying our kids' rent, buying their car, paying for their education, aren't we depriving them of the very thing that we are complaining about in today's youth: a sense of responsibility and accountability?
I'm reminded of an old saying, "I'll be there to pick you up when you fall." That isn't to say I won't help my kids before they "fall," but that maybe I should, for their sakes, show restraint when doling out "freebies."
You need to COMPREHEND just how the SS income benefit was sold to the people. It was ALWAYS portrayed as an insurance policy ... just like millions of deferred annuities or defined benefit pension plans. Your constant harping on folks for "not paying their share" is completely fallacious and totally off base. That's NOT how "insurance" works. When an insurance company quotes out a guaranteed annuity it has decades of life expectancy rates, mortality figures and investment returns to add in to their calculations.
I'm 100% for privatized SS. Then again, I know it'll be gone before I retire (in it's current form). I'm sure you know how Welfare and SS began, I'd like to see them return to that...
Which generation overwhelmingly voted in the current POTUS who got them (at least for the time being) continued medical coverage on their parents' employers' dime up to age 26?
Allows them 8 more years of laying on the couch fooling around on FB while "working" part time or "studying".
8 more years bumping along for "free" until the real world FINALLY beckons with all its inherent horrors, apparently.
LOL, there is an element of truth to this. I know that I was pretty ticked off at my younger brother for helping vote in O-bum. I used to have friends that fell right into line with your generalizations - I've since acquired new friends that are more like-minded and hard-working. Six+ years ago, I'd have agreed with you 100%, but not now, not after having seen many of my friends struggling financially, working hard, and not living the lavish lifestyles that you accuse them of.
As for the negative attitudes towards my generation owning cell phones, computers, or whatever... Get over it, they're as much a part of daily life now as a newspaper was in your day. It's cheaper to have a cell phone than it is to have a landline in many places. You can't get a job if you don't apply, and almost all jobs accept resumes only through their websites. If you don't like the way youth is dependent on technology, don't make us dependent on technology. Dumbasses.
