The boomers inherited the only advanced country in the world that hadn't had its industrial capacity reduced to rubble over the course of two world wars. The US was the only manufacturing supplier left, so naturally every working age adult had a wealth of employment opportunities. Another way to look at the plight of the millennials (full disclosure, I'm a millennial) is "hurray, society hasn't faced a major setback in the form of a catastrophic global war in 80 years!"
Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
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Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#42I'm surprised at how much flack this article is getting here on HN. Is it because we're all making those sweet 1% salaries in tech?
All my non-tech/finance friends are paying obscenely high rent, crippled with student debt, can't afford houses, can't afford cars, and three times as educated as their parents, but paid less than their parents were. In the case of unpaid internships (unavoidable for lots of industries, especially in the arts and media), many aren't being paid at all.
I think there are some possible cultural reasons (our generation being, on a whole I think, a bit less materialistic and not as motivated to work hard, boring, financially-rewarding jobs [like accounting] and more likely to want those sexy art, media, and non-profit jobs.) But overall I think the Boomers have dealt a real bum hand to their children.
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#43I cannot say I'm very impressed with the article. I could pick out a number of millenials who are doing better than their parents at the same age. But I wouldn't use that to argue that everything is okay. One thing that has stuck out at me has been the ways in which people have money drained from them. I think there is a huge student loan problem where young people were "sold" a crappy education. But setting that asi…
You are slamming an entire generation by claiming that the problem is spending irresponsibly on frivolous things. I don't blame you - it must feel great to feel that the problems of the world are rooted in others being less virtuous than you.
The trouble is, my generation faces lower real wages and higher housing costs, and those effects are so large that Starbucks habits are basically noise in comparison.
That narrative doesn't pat you on the back for your superior discipline, so you're not impresssed with it, and you pivot to anecdata about the moral weakness of kids these days.
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Millennials are reaching their mid thirties. Exactly what is prime working age?
> I thought my (Millennials) generation was born in 1992 or afterwards. So I was about to challenge your 'mid thirties' assertion. Wikipedia also has a wide range of start and stop birth years, ranging from 1976 to 1996 as the start birth year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials#Date_and_age_range... Then I saw this. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-... It claims that Millenials were…
Imo, there's a sandwich date range from around 1976 to 1982 where you either identify as Gen X or Gen Y/millennial.
I'm someone in that gap and identify much more closely with millennials than with the Gen X slackers, though a lot of my childhood friends also in that gap identify more with Gen X.
Perhaps it's a combination of my job, that i feel i grew up with (along with?) the internet because my parents were pretty fast in getting connected, and that i have older siblings who are very much Gen X as in leaving college during very difficult job times in the early 90s, and I never shared their experiences.
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Millennials are reaching their mid thirties. Exactly what is prime working age?
> I thought my (Millennials) generation was born in 1992 or afterwards. So I was about to challenge your 'mid thirties' assertion. Wikipedia also has a wide range of start and stop birth years, ranging from 1976 to 1996 as the start birth year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials#Date_and_age_range... Then I saw this. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-... It claims that Millenials were…
I've always thought it was people born before the millenium, who turned 18 after it, so 1982-2000.
Easy to remember that way, as well ;-)
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#46A boomer I know bought a house right out of college. He graduated with a civil engineering degree. The house cost twice what his salary was as a brand new CE. The house is recognizable today as a standard split foyer.
College for me (in the 80s) was still fairly inexpensive compared to now, but when I graduated with an EE degree, houses started at 4x or more than what I made.
I see millenials taking higher risks with their housing. Instead of living in the burbs, they're in the city where they get the crime and no decent schools discount. I often see them head for the burbs after getting mugged or when they have kids that need to go to school. But by that time, they're more established and can afford it. Or, they live way out in the boonies and commute.
And now, even the good jobs are being offshored via H1B, paid for by our tax dollars.
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#47There is no mention of purchasing power. My hunch is it's even worse than the 20% less income.
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#48I cannot say I'm very impressed with the article. I could pick out a number of millenials who are doing better than their parents at the same age. But I wouldn't use that to argue that everything is okay. One thing that has stuck out at me has been the ways in which people have money drained from them. I think there is a huge student loan problem where young people were "sold" a crappy education. But setting that asi…
I cannot say I'm very impressed with the article. I could pick out a number of millenials who are doing better than their parents at the same age. But I wouldn't use that to argue that everything is okay.
Yeah, anecdotes usually don't stand up well to statistics.
Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#49Re: Millennials earn 20% less than Boomers did at same stage of life
#50I cannot say I'm very impressed with the article. I could pick out a number of millenials who are doing better than their parents at the same age. But I wouldn't use that to argue that everything is okay. One thing that has stuck out at me has been the ways in which people have money drained from them. I think there is a huge student loan problem where young people were "sold" a crappy education. But setting that asi…
You are slamming an entire generation by claiming that the problem is spending irresponsibly on frivolous things. I don't blame you - it must feel great to feel that the problems of the world are rooted in others being less virtuous than you. The trouble is, my generation faces lower real wages and higher housing costs, and those effects are so large that Starbucks habits are basically noise in comparison. That narra…
>> those effects are so large that Starbucks habits are basically noise in comparison
Right, because spending $1500-2000/year on Starbucks and another $2000-$4000+/year on McDonald's and other takeout for 2-3 meals a day is "noise". Consumerism is a very real thing today. There are lower middle class people who blow $30-50 a day on Starbucks, energy drinks, going out for lunch, and ordering pizza for dinner. Throw in alcohol, cigarettes, and/or weed.
You can talk about wages and the price of a home all you want. Nobody 20-40 years ago threw 30-60%+ of their net pay away on daily impulse/routine purchases. Now it's extremely common.
For the pool of people who work 40+ hours a week, while not spending money on any of the stupid things listed above, who still find it hard to make ends meet - those are the people I sympathize with. However, even many people who claim to be wise with their spending like to think that their $7/day Starbucks is just a "small indulgence". $7/day * 5 work days a week * 50 weeks a year = $1750/year. Make it $9-10 dollars a day, for $2500/year, to add a muffin to your morning coffee.