why generation y yuppies are unhappy

[Spungo]

Depends on what you mean when you say they 'earned their pension'. In almost all cases baby boomers passed on the cost of their pensions to future generations and are pissed that now the future generations don't want to pay for it.

In some cases, that intergenerational inequity is far more egregious than in others.

Yep, that's why social security and other old age pensions are often called a ponzi scheme or pyramid scheme. The first people pay maybe $2,000 per year (real dollars) for 30 years then collect $10,000 (real dollars) per year for 20 years. The first people get way more than they put in. The system would only be fair if the population growth was large and exponential, but it's not. America's population growth is slow, and other countries don't have population growth. The birth rate in countries like Japan and Canada are below 2 kids per woman, meaning the population declines if there is no immigration.

 

[Moonbeam]

I think the situation we find ourselves in is political, the result of human decision-making. I think it is also very complex. One issue is that we have structured our system in such a way as to prevent most people from acquiring the sophistication need to analyze and solve the problems we are creating, either by the exegeses of trying just to survive, or by the intentional creation of disinterest. But, whatever the case, there are election every few years, and an intelligent and determined population should be able to reverse our current trends in any one of them. I would say it's all about priorities. But blaming some past generation for present day conditions, while it has a certain logic via cause and effect, is meaningless since what was is and will be tomorrow is just a single continuum of the same thing.

Consider the problem of conservatism and an orange. To preserve it as an orange is to condemn it to rot by penicillin mold.

New organs of perception evolve with need. But do you see your need or do you long for yesterday's orange and curse the existence of penicillin.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

#4, baby boomer gen. needs to take a long hard look in the mirror. Look past the plastic surgery. Look past the fake hair. Look past the makeup. Look past the stack of pills. Look past your legal paperwork that has been piling up. Look past your bills.
Now...
Look at where you were 20-30 years ago when you first had kids.
Now look at yourself and your children now.

Thanks baby boomers!

Man that's a pretty good rant. I'm on the tail end of the boomers, not ready to retire, and I had kids late in live, effectively skipping a generation. I see my sons friends at 15ish, and never saw such spoiled brats. "Oh I have to have a cell phone." "When are we getting a PS4".. on and on. GIMME. Take me to softball. Get me this, buy me that. Hell, the kids in the ghettos are turning up their noses at gifts that their family couldn't afford in the first place. I'll tell you what though, they'll line up around the feeding trough when Mom and Pop kick the bucket because it's their right, and besides their kids will want two cell phones.

 

[Texashiker]

I think people have lost touch with what makes them truly happy.

Is happiness having the newest smart phone, or is happiness working in a garden, or falling to sleep on the grass?

Not very many people take pleasure in the simple things of life anymore.

I recently found a new happy place in my life. Every morning I let the chickens out of the chicken house, then I listen to the silence. The chickens leave the house to start their day of foraging.

 

[Retro Rob]

I think people have lost touch with what makes them truly happy.

Is happiness having the newest smart phone, or is happiness working in a garden, or falling to sleep on the grass?

Not very many people take pleasure in the simple things of life anymore.

...or, Generation Yners! D:

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Guess someone needs to develop a "Happiness" app

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Guess someone needs to develop a "Happiness" app

Funny you should say that...

A study came out recently showing people who are on social media are unhappier than those who aren't. It took a while to figure out if it was the "apps" causing the problem or if unhappy people gravitated to social media. Turns out it's the former and it's a significant effect. Since younger generations tend to favor such interaction it's possible that what we hear complained about is due in significant part to "new age" social interaction.

 

[cubby1223]

The internet plays a large role in it.

Someone cannot desire what one does not know exists.

100 years ago it was difficult to gain knowledge of the toys other people had.

Today all you need to do is pop on a google search and you are exposed to all the toys and gadgets that exist in the world.

Don't tell me the baby boomers or the depression era generation would have the same attitudes if they had the experience the internet gives when they were growing up.

 

[Texashiker]

Don't tell me the baby boomers or the depression era generation would have the same attitudes if they had the experience the internet gives when they were growing up.

Happiness can not be based on physical items.

I quoted during your ninja edit.

 

[yllus]

It's indisputable that in several key areas, "Generation Y" faces significantly greater challenges than earlier generations.

The Globe And Mail – 2012 vs. 1984: Young adults really do have it harder today

All young adults who think they’re getting a raw deal in today’s economy, let me tell you about how it was back in my day.

In 1984, my final undergraduate year of university, tuition cost more or less $1,000. I earned that much in a summer without breaking a sweat.

When I went looking for a new car in 1986, the average cost was roughly half of what it is now. It was totally affordable.

The average price of a house in Toronto back in 1984 was just over $96,000. I wasn’t buying just then, but it’s worth noting that the average family after-tax income back then was close to $50,000. Buy a first home? Easy to imagine for new graduates of the day.

…

After earning a three-year BA (majoring in political science) at York University in Toronto back in 1984, I landed a summer job as a copy editor at The Canadian Press, the national wire service. I earned enough to spend a year in Ottawa earning a bachelor of journalism degree at Carleton University. I had to work the Christmas holidays at CP to top up my savings, but I was financially self-sufficient and incurred zero debt.

Today, financial self-sufficiency is impossible without taking breaks from school to work. The Bank of Canada’s handy inflation calculator tells us that my $1,000 tuition back in 1984 would cost $2,028 today if it increased just by the inflation rate annually. But according to Statistics Canada, the latest read on average tuition fees is $5,366.

In Ontario, the minimum wage is $10.25. A student who puts in a 40-hour work week for 12 weeks would stand to make about $4,900. That’s a sizable shortfall on tuition, never mind the cost of student fees, books and living expenses.

Buying a house is another point where the experience of older Canadians is unlike what today’s younger generation faces. Canadian Real Estate Association data show the average national price of a home in mid-1984 was $76,214. If houses kept up with inflation – and that would be a pretty good result all on its own – the average house would now cost $154,587. In April, the actual average was $369,677.

That’s an annualized gain of 5.8 per cent across the country. In cities like Toronto and Vancouver, the yearly increases are even more pronounced.

House prices themselves are an abstract number – the real question is how affordable a home is. Data from a 2011 Conference Board of Canada study on income inequality shows the average family after-tax income in 1984 was $48,500. In 2009, the latest date included in the study, income levels had risen to $60,000. In 1984, a house might have cost a family 1.6 times its annual income. Today, we’re looking at a multiple of something around six.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

The internet plays a large role in it.

Someone cannot desire what one does not know exists.

100 years ago it was difficult to gain knowledge of the toys other people had.

Today all you need to do is pop on a google search and you are exposed to all the toys and gadgets that exist in the world.

Don't tell me the baby boomers or the depression era generation would have the same attitudes if they had the experience the internet gives when they were growing up.

It's related to the human brain in relation to peers. It's not what exists. It's what The Jones down the street have. Always has. Always will.

I have to admit, the only reason I still have a Facebook is to laugh at other people's lives while bored. You know someone's food is amazing when they deem it worthy to take a picture of and tell the world about :awe: But even more fun is read when they have their emotional bursts. It feeds the troll in me without having to do any work myself!

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

It's indisputable that in several key areas, "Generation Y" faces significantly greater challenges than earlier generations.

The Globe And Mail – 2012 vs. 1984: Young adults really do have it harder today

LOL wut. Relating this to someone from Canada - and not even from that long ago? Seriously, you're trying to make a point with that?

All the crying of college costs more in the world won't get you anywhere. Even if inflation doesn't account for enough of the price increase, it's still a luxury to be able to take out an infinite loan and sail your way through.

 

[yllus]

LOL wut. Relating this to someone from Canada - and not even from that long ago? Seriously, you're trying to make a point with that?

All the crying of college costs more in the world won't get you anywhere. Even if inflation doesn't account for enough of the price increase, it's still a luxury to be able to take out an infinite loan and sail your way through.

Do... you know what the topic of this thread is? The "not even that long ago" is a time gap of 20-ish years, the generally accepted amount of time between two consecutive generations. It's directly relevant.

Some of the challenges faced by a prior generation has been scaled up in difficulty by the time the next generation came around. The numbers don't lie - that's a fact.

 

[OverVolt]

Look at historical mortgage rates. Look closely to the Carter era. Then again, people weren't clamoring for 4400sq foot mini mansions.

You would pay down the house ASAP, which was possible. High interest kept the principle in check. Also 30 year mortgages weren't the norm back then.

They have been perpetually stretching out the terms of a mortgage. It used to be 5, then 10, then 15 or 30, now its almost always 30 years. There is no more stretching of the terms that can be realistically done and so house prices are going to be stagnant but the problem for the economy is that the home-builders are also going to be stagnant - no jobs.

I would rather live in 1981 then now as an adult. I do know about this stuff. Several decades long in the works credit bubbles are becoming saturated at once. Education, mortgages, and soon autos.

The obvious tip off? Extending the terms of auto loans. It will eventually lead to yet another squeeze down the road. There isn't any stability. Cars last for 15 years tops, and car loans are being made up to 8 years now, that is a joke. Those people in reality can't afford the car they are buying but it drives up the price for the rest of us.

 

[desy]

Housing, what constitutes a house nowadays wasn't what a person had in the 60's /70s
We had one tv growing up, no computers no gaming systems
We had one car and dads work truck he got to use off hrs.
We took zero hot vacations in the winter
We took lunch and not purchased everyday
University was for rich kids, we went to trade schools or just got jobs

My depression born parents were the frugal worry warts that tried to instill those values on their gen x kids, harder to do as we never knew a hungry day or wanted for much.

No doubt some things are harder today, globalization has made the single income family a thing of the past. I'd also agree there was more disposable income back and you got to choose what you did with the money. However there certainly wasn't the services, people actually can survive cancer nowadays, crime was much more prevalent, playgrounds are built with some safety guidelines and so on

 

[OverVolt]

Housing, what constitutes a house nowadays wasn't what a person had in the 60's /70s
We had one tv growing up, no computers no gaming systems
We had one car and dads work truck he got to use off hrs.
We took zero hot vacations in the winter
We took lunch and not purchased everyday
University was for rich kids, we went to trade schools or just got jobs

My depression born parents were the frugal worry warts that tried to instill those values on their gen x kids, harder to do as we never knew a hungry day or wanted for much.

No doubt some things are harder today, globalization has made the single income family a thing of the past. I'd also agree there was more disposable income back and you got to choose what you did with the money. However there certainly wasn't the services, people actually can survive cancer nowadays, crime was much more prevalent, playgrounds are built with some safety guidelines and so on

Its crazy. Gen y birth rates are tanking, our first-time home buyer rates are tanking, some sit around collecting unemployment and playing videogames, and 30% still live at home in their 30's. But we have smart phones cause thats all you need in life. Awesome.

There was one car because you could survive on one income.

And University for the masses has done nothing except make it worthless for the masses

 

[Vic Vega]

...

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

My parents are boomers, they worked hard and lived modest lives. I have by and large done the same thing. I'm a genx'er. I have a 20 year old niece, born in 1993. She has a FULL Presidential Scholarship. Her entire schooling for 4 years is paid for, including housing. Is she going to be a scientists, engineer, mathematician? No, she is majoring in psychology. Completely worthless. She has NEVER worked a real job in her life, not even McDonald's. She is totally unprepared and her parents will support her until they die (my prediction).

Oh lawdy - as someone who has a sister that majored in Psychology from one of the most expensive schools in the state (if not nation) and since has done nothing but deliver pizza's and serve tables.... I feel for you man

 

[OverVolt]

My parents are boomers, they worked hard and lived modest lives. I have by and large done the same thing. I'm a genx'er. I have a 20 year old niece, born in 1993. She has a FULL Presidential Scholarship. Her entire schooling for 4 years is paid for, including housing. Is she going to be a scientists, engineer, mathematician? No, she is majoring in psychology. Completely worthless. She has NEVER worked a real job in her life, not even McDonald's. She is totally unprepared and her parents will support her until they die (my prediction).

Yea but it isn't her fault her parents must be really trying to shield her from "the world"

There is Gen y, currently figuring out they are screwed because they followed their parents advice and it didn't work. Gen X, who followed their parents advice and it worked!!! And the baby boomers, who are getting senile and out of touch.

 

[OverVolt]

Oh lawdy - as someone who has a sister that majored in Psychology from one of the most expensive schools in the state (if not nation) and since has done nothing but deliver pizza's and serve tables.... I feel for you man

Mmm she won't figure out where she really stands in society until her parents stop enabling her. There is a fine line between enabling and investing in your kids. Thats what is going on right now is everyone had been investing in their kids except it didn't work for many of them and now they are really just getting enabled now instead.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Born in '80. These types are all around me, it gets worse the younger you go. My family had nothing, so working for what I do have is the norm.

This article sums up much of the issues people face today. Expecting a "good" life to just happen. Coddled and deluded by their parents.

edit: I remember a certain conversation with a friend of my wife, in which this person insisted that she deserves to make more money than me because she went to a four year university. My rebuttal, we're in America, you don't deserve anything.

 

[Engineer]

If I were a betting man, I would bet every generation states that the 'new' generation sucks....

 

[Vic Vega]

...

 

[Vic Vega]

...

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

If I were a betting man, I would bet every generation states that the 'new' generation sucks....

You got that right!

They young people have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things -- and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning -- all their mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively and vehemently. They overdo everything -- they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else. - Aristotle