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The Fleecing of Millennials

nytimes.com

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Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#61

Post by jimbokun »

hopler wrote: post #8
mschuster91 wrote: post #3

> Medicare and Social Security have been spared from cuts. Programs that benefit younger workers and families have not. This is a political incentive problem. Retired people tend to have free time to engage in politics (or at least watch TV all day and get fed "news") and they turn out to votes in droves (as they don't have to e.g. take a day off to vote!), while young people mainly have the power to pull off a shits…

Don't underestimate the shitstorms. Look at the candidates who flipped districts in the 2018 elections. Also, Social Security benefits young families who aren't earning money. The student loan mess is terrible, but it's not a case of missing government funds but too many -- community colleges are in pretty good shape, but people borrow too much for useless private colleges thanks to modern marketing techniques and mo…

> Quality of life is pretty darn good compared to ancestors.

If you go back far enough, sure. For most Americans economic conditions have been downhill since the 1970s, though.

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#62

Post by diogenescynic »

war1025 wrote: post #53
diogenescynic wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Housing and childcare are also outpacing inflation and wages. It’s crazy how much more things cost as a percentage of income than in the ‘90s. We’re going to have an inevitable retirement crisis when most millennials are forced to work until they die since they won’t have anything left to put into savings. 70% of Americans can’t even put together $400 in an emergency. I see things getting even worse unless something…

Part of that is the structure of the economy, like you say. A significant proportion of it, as a millennial myself, is people having a terrible understanding of personal finance. If you spend all your money on things to impress people or because "you deserve them", then you end up with an empty pot.

There have always been people with bad personal finance. The difference is that the necessities that you cannot avoid all cost orders of magnitude more—-healthcare, housing, college, childcare. This means people how a smaller margin for mistakes and even one hospital trip can put them in debt for years/decades or bankruptcy.

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#63

Post by Pocketknife »

normal_man wrote: post #37
DataWorker wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Millennials don’t seem to have a clue what’s in their best interest so I’m going to disagree with you. If there were any solid ideas coming from anybody in terms of helping millennials those ideas would have political traction. To think that only millennials can represent millennial interests is stupid.

The rising popularity of socialism and distrust/hatred of capitalism among young people would indicate that they have a very clear idea of what is in their best interest.

[flagged]

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#64

Post by tinktank »

Pocketknife wrote: post #60
tinktank wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We'll have to agree to disagree. Millennial lives and issues are far removed from the current establishment to be completely alien to people in power at present. To be disingenuous enough to believe millennials don't have a clue what's in their best interest is stupid.

Considering a majority of millennials support socialism, but also cannot provide a meaningful definition of the term... I don't think most have a serious position worth considering. I say this as someone lumped in this demographic whipping boy. There is plenty to be legitimately angry about too. I just don't trust this generation to come up with solutions that aren't literally "let's try real communism. This time it…

> There is plenty to be legitimately angry about too. I just don't trust this generation to come up with solutions that aren't literally "let's try real communism. This time it will work!"

What makes you feel this generation would go that far? I haven't seen anything that's led me to believe they think this way, in my understanding, they are more aware of and accepting of fundamentally "socialist" concepts such as government assistance and high-taxation. That's a far cry from communism.

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#65

Post by bryanlarsen »

alexgmcm wrote: post #40
bryanlarsen wrote: post #20

Boomer's may have accumulated a large amount of wealth, but that wealth is going to be hit hard by Baumol's cost disease. Right now the US has ~4 workers per retiree. That's going to be dropping to about 2 in the next few decades. And despite frantic efforts from the Japanese, the services that the elderly need are hard to automate. These services generally suffer from Baumol's cost disease: nursing et al are very 1:…

It's weird though - my girlfriend studies nursing and Geriatric Nursing is still one of the lowest paid specialisations with poor conditions and respect (compared to say working in the ICU). It seems residential homes charge the 'guests' loads and pay the staff (carers, nurses, cleaners etc.) very, very little.

But nursing salaries in general have increased dramatically over the decades. From wages suitable for "unskilled girls" to something that is almost appropriate for the highly skilled professionals that they are.

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#66

Post by bryanlarsen »

canuseeme wrote: post #56
bryanlarsen wrote: post #20

Boomer's may have accumulated a large amount of wealth, but that wealth is going to be hit hard by Baumol's cost disease. Right now the US has ~4 workers per retiree. That's going to be dropping to about 2 in the next few decades. And despite frantic efforts from the Japanese, the services that the elderly need are hard to automate. These services generally suffer from Baumol's cost disease: nursing et al are very 1:…

> nursing et al are very 1:1 jobs with or without the help of technology How's that? I'm not familiar with the industry at all, but every place I've seen has far fewer nurses than patients. Is there a source on this information? Or some inside information I am unaware of? Or are you just exaggerating by using the term 'very'?

By 1:1 I meant that nurses spend time hands on with patients one at a time.

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#67

Post by JumpCrisscross »

snikeris wrote: post #7
rnernento wrote: post #4

It's cute that they call it a fleecing, as if millenials could really have done anything about this. Sadly (I guess...) I suspect the generation responsible for all of this is going to end up paying some unexpected prices when the time comes as they age out of power and have to look to millenials for care.

No, the millenials will be paying for the older generation's retirement and healthcare via Social Security and Medicare.

> millenials will be paying for the older generation's retirement and healthcare via Social Security and Medicare

My guess is younger generations, once better politically ensconced, will flip the script on boomers by funding broad social benefits out of social security and Medicare. (For example, by reducing Medicare benefits while making them available to all age groups.)

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#68

Post by Joeboy »

gaius wrote: post #41
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #2

Does anyone know / remember if there were similar pieces written in the late 90s about people in their 20s and 30s then? Ie is this a trend that has always happened or something new?

Read Douglas Coupland’s Generation X, the original book that coined the term. It’s all about 20-somethings in the ‘90’s dropping out because the rewards seem so impossibly far out of reach that it’s not even worth trying. Also held the Boomers to blame.

From the back of my copy:

"""Andy, Dag and Claire have been handed a society priced beyone their means. twentysomethings, brought up with divorce, Watergate and Three Mile Island, and scarred by the 80s fall-out of yuppies, recession, crack and Ronald Reagan, they represent the new generation - Generation X. Fiercely suspicious of being lumped together as an advertiser's target market, they have quit dreary careers and cut themselves adrift in the California desert. Unsure of their futures, they immerse themselves in a regime of heavy drinking and working at no-future McJobs in the service industry."""

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#69

Post by normal_man »

Pocketknife wrote: post #60
tinktank wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We'll have to agree to disagree. Millennial lives and issues are far removed from the current establishment to be completely alien to people in power at present. To be disingenuous enough to believe millennials don't have a clue what's in their best interest is stupid.

Considering a majority of millennials support socialism, but also cannot provide a meaningful definition of the term... I don't think most have a serious position worth considering. I say this as someone lumped in this demographic whipping boy. There is plenty to be legitimately angry about too. I just don't trust this generation to come up with solutions that aren't literally "let's try real communism. This time it…

What's wrong with that? We're trying 'real capitalism' and that's not working.

Also, there are large and loud political movements pushing for Scandinavian-style democratic socialism which has been successful, it's simply dismissive to act like all millennials don't understand politics and are just trying to be edgy.

Re: The Fleecing of Millennials

#70

Post by echelon »

bengillies wrote: post #38
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #15

The fleecing affects millennials in that they cannot save and invest their income. Once they've paid their health care and education [1] payments, they have nothing left to save. Per capita, in 2017 dollars, 1970 Americans spent $1,797 on health care. In 2017, $10,739 [0]. In return on that $9,000 annual investment: Life expectancy rose from 74.7 to 78.6, adding 3.9 years. In 1993, the annual cost for tuition & fees…

I think it's worth pointing out here that the terms Gen Y and Millenial both refer to the same generation (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials )

You're correct. None of the parent's argument makes any sense in light of this error. I don't understand why the post is being upvoted--the data is outright wrong!

I sense that people may blindly upvote posts reporting figures, especially if they come with sources.

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