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The Cheapest Generation

theatlantic.com

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Re: The Cheapest Generation

#121

Post by moonka »

hnpoliticsthr12 wrote: post #86
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…

> Most everything feels mass-produced and cheap That's because most everything that you use other people want to use as well. Companies will manufacture them en mass. That's why they're cheap. That's a good thing. Perhaps you should solder your next keyboard yourself? I have a pair of logitech speakers that I bought 8 years ago (mass produced, of course) that sound great. And they were pretty cheap at the time. What…

>> We don't believe in the police.

>Perhaps because the stories where the police do their job professionally don't get reported?

Perhaps it's because of our own interactions with the police.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#122

Post by snogglethorpe »

randallsquared wrote: post #110
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 inv…

> There's an extra level of planning involved if you have to try to find a car first, or take a train or airplane

Note that this not really true of countries with good transportation networks. Granted that the U.S. doesn't have one, but that's exactly one of the things people want to fix....

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#123

Post by jmngomes »

Our government not only doesn't care about us, it schemes to make things worse.

This is the main issue for me, I think about it a lot as it seems to me that we're starting to see the beggining a major change in how people view and respond to government.

For me, the main (only?) problem with democracy is that it requires citizens to pay attention and get involved. Voting is the bare minimum. Taxpayers have to be the watchdog over public spending (it's their money), monitor the ethical behaviour of elected officials and, ideally, be involved in their favorite party to keep political careerism low and avoid electing corrupt/for sale candidates.

Banks can only get as big as regulators allow them to. So it's people that need to force the regulator into action on their behalf, instead of just complaining about getting screwed over by a bank rescue due to incompetence or criminal behaviou.

Whining won't help, only serious participation can save us from an increasingly shitty life imposed by low IQ and/or unethical politicians.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#124

Post by collyw »

skybrian wrote: post #87
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'…

The lesson is to keep voting and look at Congress next instead of focusing on the presidential election. It's possible to fix things; state government in California has gotten a lot better recently due to redistricting and primary reform.

Why vote in someone that doesn't represent you interests?

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#125

Post by collyw »

jseliger wrote: post #50
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.

considers the world far too precarious to start a family By virtually every metric, the world is a much safer, healthier place than it used to be: http://www.amazon.com/The-Better-Angels-Our-Nature/dp/014312... .

Inequality has grown over the last 30 years, so I would disagree.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#126

Post by collyw »

jmngomes wrote: post #123

Our government not only doesn't care about us, it schemes to make things worse. This is the main issue for me, I think about it a lot as it seems to me that we're starting to see the beggining a major change in how people view and respond to government. For me, the main (only?) problem with democracy is that it requires citizens to pay attention and get involved. Voting is the bare minimum. Taxpayers have to be the w…

Such faith in the democratic process, when all the evidence points to a corrupt dysfunctional system.

Occupy Wall Street did a bit more than your minimum of voting. what happened as a result? Nothing. Obama promised big changes including closing of Guantanamo. Has that happened?

Voting validates the corrupt system.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#127

Post by collyw »

sbierwagen wrote: post #65

The obvious dual to "the cheapest generation" is "the poorest generation". College is twice as expensive, and there are half as many jobs.

And they are worse paid in comparison to before. And the generation is probably far more educated.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#128

Post by jmngomes »

collyw wrote: post #126
jmngomes wrote: post #123

Our government not only doesn't care about us, it schemes to make things worse. This is the main issue for me, I think about it a lot as it seems to me that we're starting to see the beggining a major change in how people view and respond to government. For me, the main (only?) problem with democracy is that it requires citizens to pay attention and get involved. Voting is the bare minimum. Taxpayers have to be the w…

Such faith in the democratic process, when all the evidence points to a corrupt dysfunctional system. Occupy Wall Street did a bit more than your minimum of voting. what happened as a result? Nothing. Obama promised big changes including closing of Guantanamo. Has that happened? Voting validates the corrupt system.

Sistematic protests are fundamental, but hardly all that's necessary.

I saw a guy defending a thesis that makes sense to me: register for a party and become politically active within your own possibilities, e.g. participating in local assemblies, voting for candidates, etc. Change has to come from within.

Obviously, you can't do anything by yourself. You'd need taxpayers to rally up for a massive participation in political parties; that's why it's so hard.

But anyway, I'd be happy to know some alternatives to this.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#129

Post by graeme »

randallsquared wrote: post #110
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 inv…

Ok, but what's the total annual cost then? I don't commute, so I guess it would depend on how much I drove – what's a ballpark gas estimate? Don't forget to add the cost of my time for buying + selling – how long would it take to make a good purchase/sale? (serious questions, I don't know the answers because I have had no interest in a car).

My parents own a car, so I know what its like to live in a place with one. Doesn't feel substantially different from what I've got now. As the other comment said, there's a very well developed transport network where I am, including public cars. You could say not every place is like this, but I chose to live here in lieu of a place where this lifestyle isn't possible.

Re: The Cheapest Generation

#130

Post by thedrbrian »

I wonder if the slower car sales have anything to do with the quality of the cars? Modern cars are a triumph of engineering and marketing over fun. Over damped throttles, layers upon layers of "safety" computer systems , auto gearboxes to cheat the emissions tests , wide tyres and a lack of feel and fun.
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