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The Cheapest Generation

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Cheapest Generation

#101

Post by sliverstorm »

jnbiche wrote: post #74
jseliger wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like a lot of what you say, especially about cars and urban development ( http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/why-would-you-want-... ), but I will note a couple other things: Police... always always always make things worse They don't always make things worse, as I discovered when a random guy pounded on my door in the middle of the night and threatened to kill me: http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/guy-…

Sorry, I'm going to disagree here. My generation worked our asses off getting Obama elected, and was really the driving force behind his election (to my shame). Yet, as soon as he's in office, all his promises to us, all his soothing words, all his assurances of change, were out the window. Other than some lame alternative to single-payer health insurance, and (only after major prodding) some gay rights advances, he'…

The President is the wrong place to focus IMO. My local government is both empowered enough and unencumbered enough that it can achieve things, and as the voterbase is smaller we agree on more and campaigning is easier.

I refuse to give up on voting entirely, but I've focused more on local issues because things actually happen. Hooray, Federalism.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#102

Post by sliverstorm »

tylerhwillis wrote: post #66
angersock wrote: post #7

Here are some scattered observations and opinions as somebody in this generation. I'm basically just dumping gut feelings here--don't expect a lot of well-written explanations. There is not a lot worth buying that is long-lasting. Most everything feels mass-produced and cheap, and the things that aren't are pretty obviously marketed at people trying to buck that trend. I don't want to pay 10x more for something witho…

I share a lot of the sentiment here, but I also think our generation is conditioned from a decade of hearing about all the newsworthy corner cases. As an example: cops don't always make it worse, 95+% of the time they are helpful and create better outcomes for society. That said, all we've heard for the last ten years are the news stories that you mentioned - so we think of them as a negative force. I think this same…

The irony is your parent calls out a lack of trust in the news, and yet doesn't seem to recognize the places the news has shaped his/her other opinions.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#104

Post by tekalon »

krstck wrote: post #60
exit wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> in starting families the only part you lost me on. everyone i know considers the world far too precarious to start a family.

I'd love to start a family, but my partner and I won't be able to afford it any time in the foreseeable future due to student loans.

Agreed, and since I'm paying my loans, can't save for a downpayment for a house (which is cheaper than renting).

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#105

Post by JVIDEL »

Joister wrote: post #77
boyter wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gen Y here. OP nailed it. I live in Sydney Australia and its exactly how I feel.

Gen Y Hobart Australia here. I also think he mostly nailed it, but I trust Australian police officers. The few occasions I've dealt with them they've been level-headed and very friendly. This last election has been demoralizing as fuck though. I stayed up to date on all the news and policies. I tried to talk around people I knew who were voting Liberal. I had 0 effect. Next time around I may just not bother. And the…

Gen Y here and yes the OP nails it, but I wonder what's left for us second and third worlders. Things are much worse here, you truly can't trust the authorities at all.

The situation is, short version, 10x worse than any point made by OP. The only exception would be the sprawl: there is some here, but not the madness I have seen over there in the USA. Still public transportation even in the best case is a complete disaster so there's that.

Owning a car is a luxury, and owning real estate basically impossible for any Y Gen without wealthy parents or some previous financial advantage. Credit is a joke and don't even dream you will be able to save enough for even a studio apartment. Square meter prices dwarf any but the highest paychecks.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#106

Post by fibbery »

sliverstorm wrote: post #25
angersock wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"why would millenials buy a car on the first place?". That's exactly it. It's not the status symbol it used to be, because it should've never been one in the first place . You can't work on cars much anymore, and it's clear that the car-centric planning we've gone with was a terrible fucking idea and has been setting us up for much sadness.

You don't understand status symbols. The less practical and more of a pain-in-the-ass something is, the better its potential as a status symbol. Yachts aren't status symbols among the rich because of their immense practicality & utility.

That might be true for the upper class, but for middle and lower classes the biggest status symbol currently is a shiny new smartphone with much utility.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#107

Post by ahlatimer »

milsorgen wrote: post #48
bradleyjg wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Late Gen X here. If these feelings are widespread amongst Gen Y, that actually makes me optimistic for the future. Thanks for writing it up.

30 year old, borderline Y here. OP's points #4, 5, 9, 10 and 12 really nail it for me. I think I've driven, maybe, 6 months out of my life. Bikes, carpools and the bus have so far worked out. From the Oregon Coast to Southwest Idaho... I've never wanted to own a car or even really drive for that matter. I'm glad there might be more people like me out there. Full disclosure: I wouldn't mind an '83 cutty, however.

I enjoy driving. I don't enjoy sitting in traffic or mindlessly plodding along a freeway alone in a steel box. I bought a car that I enjoy driving, but I'm also actively looking for a house in a location that means I don't have to drive to work. That's the ideal for me: a car for doing auto-x or HPDE or road trips or whatever, but not having to drive to work or the store or the bar or…

Edit: Gen Y here (24). I also agree with most of sentiments that OP has.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#108

Post by _delirium »

mkr-hn wrote: post #94
jnbiche wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I'm going to disagree here. My generation worked our asses off getting Obama elected, and was really the driving force behind his election (to my shame). Yet, as soon as he's in office, all his promises to us, all his soothing words, all his assurances of change, were out the window. Other than some lame alternative to single-payer health insurance, and (only after major prodding) some gay rights advances, he'…

> Sorry, I'm going to disagree here. My generation worked our asses off getting Obama elected, and was really the driving force behind his election (to my shame). Yet, as soon as he's in office, all his promises to us, all his soothing words, all his assurances of change, were out the window. Other than some lame alternative to single-payer health insurance, and (only after major prodding) some gay rights advances, h…

Yeah, apart from the general aura of "change", the only really concrete things I remember were health-care reform, and closing Guantanamo. At least one of the two did happen, sort of.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#110

Post by randallsquared »

graeme wrote: post #21

Back of the envelope calculations put the cost of car ownership around $7,000 per year. I'd have to earn an extra $10,000 before tax to cover that. That pays for a lot of "overpriced Apple products" that we millenials are constantly blamed for overspending on. And my electronics are a business expense. I can't see the use case for a car. I live in the Plateau Mont-Royal neighborhood of montreal. Everything I need is…

"Back of the envelope calculations put the cost of car ownership around $7,000 per year."

You could buy a ten-year-old used car every year, plus insurance, for $2,000 or less [1] (assuming insurance is mostly the same as in the US). When it breaks down, buy a new one and sell the old one for parts or junk.

Owning a car provides courses of action you wouldn't consider without it. There's an extra level of planning involved if you have to try to find a car first, or take a train or airplane; if you have a car, the first step to any medium-length trip is to jump in the car, rather than to try to work out the logistics of how you'd get there.

[1] http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/search/cta?query=&zoomToPos...

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