re: Baby Boomers: The Entitled Generation?

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Oh, I'll be up bright and early at 5:30 working my arse off at less than minimum wage for what will probably be a 12 hour shift so I can pay off the loans I had to take out for medical school.

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Steam sales have really done a numberr on your wallet.

What's gonna really piss everyone born 1980 and later is when the Feds start dipping into that tax free 401k's to pay for the boomers who haven't saved. Heads will explode.

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But yeah I agree, while we millennials suck at a lot of things, we are ultimately shaped by our environment and were probably dealt a rough hand. The future of the economy looks to be pretty tough, and our kids' generation is going to be in pretty big trouble IMO. But that's not the premise of the thread, is it?

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Eh, it sort of was. Just look at this thread: plenty of older people have their heads in the sand regarding macro realities. How many responses did you see of "WORK HARDER! THERE IS STILL OPPORTUNITY! I STARTED THREE COMPANIES! IN MY DAY...!"

It's funny because I would gander that a great majority of the Millennials posting in this thread are financially and professionally successful relative to their peers; it's a message board full of college-educated men, so you'll only have a small (mostly successful) slice of the demographic pie...yet they can still look around, look at the numbers, see their friends struggle, and understand what's going on.

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because all costs associated with compliance for any regulatory item is passed on to customers as a cost of doing business.

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and bigger businesses are more able to shift and diffuse these costs, which is why businesses use things like licensure and regs to protect themselves. that whole "crony capitalism" thing is a real thing, from local to international law.

and i don't see how being unable to even get a look for a startup loan is a "stretch"

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But inflation is good for young people and bad for old people.

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when goods inflate at a higher level than wages, no

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For education, it's not like there was some grand scheme devised by 60 yr olds to drive up tuition. Yeah there are problems with the system, and academia is likely making way too much money off these kids chasing degrees, but it is still a supply-demand issue.

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and that supply issue is not the fault of the boomers, but, again, completely changes the economic environment the 2 face

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The future of the economy looks to be pretty tough, and our kids' generation is going to be in pretty big trouble IMO. But that's not the premise of the thread, is it?

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those are teh points i am trying to make

Inflation was through the roof when they were in their 20s and 30s. Interest rates got jacked up, and mortgages were sky high in the 70s and 80s (as high as 15%), and people want to talk about how hard it is to buy a home right now when the Fed has been doing everything in its power to make the cost of borrowing cheaper.

It was a trade off. Yes interest was higher, but a house cost 15k$. Now interest is lower, but that same house would cost 50k$ when adjusted for inflation. Now, an average car cost more than 50% of the average salary.

Doing nothing about it seems like the best course of action?

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Cost of borrowing impacts younger people positively

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i think the only thing young people can borrow at a decent rate is student loans. they simply don't have access to the credit markets otherwise

too much industry tightening after 2008-2009

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and erosion of assets affects older people negatively.

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i don't see how the cost/value (whatever perception you wish to use) of their goods and portfolios increasing, increasing the cost to acquire for lower-earners (if a job is possible), hurts them while helps the young

i mean we just had to spend billions to prop up the housing market after 2008 so that "older people" wouldn't be negatively affected

who will pay for that? the young.

who can't afford housing because the pricing is still artificially propped up? the young

certainly is working out in their favor i reckon

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Is CPI blowing away wage growth?

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CPI does not reflect the real inflation rate of goods

you can argue the CPI sucks as a tool because it can't take into account actual inflation, and i'll agree. when things like food keep increasing rapidly, we can't ignore that simply because it's not convenient or may reflect poorly on the state of our nation.

I have plenty of friends and every single of one of them was able to find a good/decent job. Sure it might be harder than when the Boomer's grew up but if you are smart and willing to work there are good jobs out there.

Are you suggesting that he should just shrug his shoulders and say sure kid live in my basement til you're 30?