How Baby Boomers screwed their kids

However, look to their parents and you may have some sympathy for the boomers. The Boomers were born in the 1940s to people born in the 1910-1920s period when social mores evaporated, the "Jazz Age" took over, and people basically became vainglorious self-important drama queens.

"I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited — they went there. They got into automobiles which bore them out to Long Island, and somehow they ended up at Gatsby’s door. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby, and after that they conducted themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with amusement parks. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission."

That's a fairly brutal and accurate condemnation of that generation and its social mores. It's worth noting that many of them, especially the East Coast elites, went on to become Communists.

"A New Jersey-based accountant told me that he sees a clear difference between his older clients and his younger ones. “My older clients want to work within the confines of the tax code to do what is fair,” he explained. “They are willing to simply pay the tax they owe"

In court that is "hearsay" evidence. It's not even coming from someone who is an accountant who is writing the book but someone just talking to the accountant. For all we know the accountant said that at a party after having 3 drinks. Separately, from my experience with people of the older generation I have definitely not found that to be the case. Not to mention that even that would vary by ethnic group, geography and I'm sure many other factors.

> Many employers complain of the demands their entry-level employees often make.

I asked my previous employer that I didn't approve of having a senior employer shout "Ah, fuck off" at me several times a day, or being called "thick", or having to put up with threatening behaviour. That was considered a hefty demand.

> We would prefer that that air traffic controller check his e-mail or send his text messages during his breaks. I think we would all feel much better if access to the Internet and a personal cell phone were completely forbidden (which they are).

I usually don't have enough money to debit my cell phone (The other day I had my first go on a Samsung Galaxy). I rarely have access to these distractions because I lack the capital.

> Generation Y thinks that, because they have grown up with all these technologies, they are better at multitasking. I would venture to argue they are not better at multitasking. What they are better at is being distracted.

I didn't grow up in constant contact with these technologies. I've grown up being expected by Gen Xers and other Gen Yers to be able to multitask and be a tech whizz with said technologies. I would agree that I am better at being distracted than Gen Xers - having to endure abuse and threats is very distracting, as is being expected to know everything about how a computer works.

> They seem flummoxed when told that things take time. They are happy to give lots of short bursts of energy and effort to things, but commitment and grit come harder.

I started practising programming in my spare time about eighteen months ago, and I'm still practising. I'll probably get proficient at it when I'm say, 36. I'm never told by my peers or Gen Xers that it will take time. I'm often told "you're wasting your time" or "stick to what you are capable of" (then I get turned down for minimum wage jobs). I was wondering how flummoxed a person from any generation would be if you told them that even dead simple programs often require at least 100 lines of code. One of the main reasons that I am able to do this is due to a small band Gen Xers (and some Gen Yers) who had the determination and patience to write free software, so many cheers for them.