Young People's Unhappiness Comes from Our Broken Economic System They Shouldn't Not Shut Up About it

[tabbycat31]

22. My parents' generation is the first one to not want their kids to be better off

My parents are boomers (both born in 1949) and working as a political strategist and talking to at least thousands of voters of all ages (from convincing an 18 year old to register to persuading seniors), I can say that the Boomer generation is very selfish (at least when it comes to political issues). Many in my parents generation are moving into 55+ communities because they're forever bitching about paying school taxes (I've heard the line 'my kids are grown and gone why should i have to pay for the schools' several times and actually told a state legislative candidate to not focus so much on education because the district was mostly 50+). I see a very "I got mine f*** you attitude" from many Boomers I've talked to.

But it was the Boomers and their elders who elected Reagan and started this trend (I was an infant when Reagan was elected). Previous generations were able to attend college and get a decent paying job upon graduation and not be saddled with debt. My mom is having trouble understanding why my cousin (19) can't pay her tuition by waiting tables. Even if salaries did keep pace with inflation (waitresses are paid $2.13 before tips) college tuition has risen several times the rate of inflation. A summer job and a work study job was enough for my mom to pay her tuition at a private college.

At 33, I'm either a millennial or Gen X depending on who you ask (I identify much more with the former--- although when on the cusp you can identify as either). I don't know a world where a college degree is a ticket to a good paying job. THe big box store I worked at while in college still starts their associates at the same salary they started people at when I started there in 2000.