I was watching Fox News. Yes, I watch it sometimes. I also listen to 770 a.m. so that I can get a daily shot of adrenaline. I get so angry, but I do it nonetheless. I'm sure my blood pressure is super high as a result, but I'll never know since I don't have health insurance. I have three jobs, but no health insurance--it's great. So, I would love to share the clip with you, but I can't find it. The title was "Nanny State." There were four talking heads criticizing young people--ages 16 to 24--for being unemployed. Apparently 1 in 5 people in that age group are unemployed. That's a whopping 20%. The reason why they're unemployed is not the obvious reason, because they are no jobs. Rather, it's because young people can easily move in with their parents upon graduating, can apply for food stamps and are now under their parents' health insurance until they are 26. So, it's because they're lazy. One of the guests said that young people would do well by digging ditches like immigrants (his words, not mine) to learn a valuable lesson about life. Then, the ugly guy from
capiltalistpig.com said that it's the minimum wage that's keeping young people unemployed. I started to nod my head, thinking that the minimum wage is too low for young people to sustain themselves. NOPE. It's too high, so that small business can't afford to hire more young people. Of course, I'm no genius, but I would have loved to be on the show to state the obvious: young people can't find jobs because older people (like me) are taking those jobs. Why would you hire a 22 year old to do a job if you can find a 30 something year old with a proven track record to do the same. Furthermore, most young people don't want to go away to college and then move back in with their parents. Living with your parents is demoralizing. Young people don't want to live with their parents. We need to trust that young people, if given a living wage, will quickly move out of their parents' home. And as for food stamps: if you've applied for food stamps--please tell me here. I want to hear about it. I know many people who are unemployed and they have not applied for food stamps--they eat lots of tuna and oodles of noodles and manage, somehow. We don't have unemployment of 20% in the 16 to 24 age range because young people have too much of a safety net. What parent, in any crisis, would allow their children to become homeless if they didn't have to?
There's a major disconnect in this nation. People are so caught up in their own success to understand why others are not doing so well. Walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you criticize and berate others.
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| Jonathan Hoenig-the Capitalist Pig. |
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"Young people don't want to live with their parents." Why not? This is the generation whose parents helped them fill out their college apps, helped them choose classes, called their professors with grade complaints, and actually accompanied them to whatever job interviews they managed to get. Why shouldn't people raised this way look forward to moving back home - it will be just like being 17 again: free rent, cooked meals, no chores - they probably don't even have to wipe their own asses. The current 20-somethings are the most dependent, infantile generation ever. You must be confusing them with some other gen.
ReplyDeleteI graduated college in a recession; couldn't find work; and finally took a minimum wage job as a cashier. My parents were very upset and basically paid me to quit the job.
ReplyDeleteI think that's part of the problem. People think it's shameful to work a job like that. But I don't think so. Besides, if you are a bright educated person, you have a good chance of being promoted. Probably if you stay at a job like that, you will be a district manager within a few years earning 85k a year with good benefits, sane hours, and a company car to drive.
In fact, I knew a guy like that. He worked part time at a drug store while he was a teenager; went there full time straight out of high school; and was eventually an executive with the company.
I love capitalism as much as the next guy, and I am not a massive fan of the safety net. College is not the great investment it once was. On the radio, I heard a guy mention that the job market is hurting for welders! Everyone is going to be a lawyer or computer tech guy or whatever, and nobody can fabricate shit.
ReplyDeleteBut you know what, family is beyond capitalism and market forces. If your family can help you out and are willing to, then go for it. These educated nincompoops on the tv are all full of shit.
ITS BASIC: THERE ARE NO FUCKING JOBS. The minimum wage has nothing to do with it.
Angel,
ReplyDeleteIf you're going to advocate "walking a mile in somebody else's shoes" why not try walking a mile in an employer's shoes? Let's see what the government does to make employers less likely to hire:
http://johntreed.com/headline/2010/11/19/john-t-reed%E2%80%99s-miracle-jobs-program/
The naysayers are view-from-the-penthouse people, Angel, and they will never think any differently. They will always say that it never had anything to do with being born into a good, functional family (let alone a "wealthy" family), their education, their contacts, or just good old fashioned luck - it had EVERYTHING to do with their own hard work pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, and therefore EVERYONE else is a looser and/or lazy.
ReplyDeleteTypical revisionist history for a lot of these guys - they had it so good that they cover up their "guilt" by railing against those with little to nothing with their tired old strawman arguments.
Daughter of a family friend of mine was someone I used to baby-sit when she was 10. She is now 27. I've watched her grow up, go to school, work hard, and "do everything right." She works minimum wage and is severly underemployed. I dare these pompus know-nothings to tell her to her face that it's her fault. They wouldn't have the balls.
2:27 A.M., you've got to be kidding me, I assume that you are just attributing something that you HEARD on mainstream media or through the grapevine about 20 somethings ALL behaving in this slovenly manner. Do you personally know someone that falls in your broad category? Probably not. Are you a hiring manager that has seen a parent accompany a graduate to an interview? Do you know such a hiring manager.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, let me think of some reasons why a graduate would not want to live with mom and dad after college. Well, perhaps because it is human nature to desire to move to the next phase of life, i.e., dating, saving for the future, marrying, having children, etc. I'm sure some are not interested in moving forward, but to say that 20 somethings are infantile and want to stay in a suspended state is an ignorant assumption. I hope that one day you personally meet some people in their 20s and ask them if they prefer living at home. And,one more thing, go fuck yourself, baby boomer.
"The current 20-somethings are the most dependent, infantile generation ever. You must be confusing them with some other gen."
ReplyDeleteYou're a fucking moron. I'm sorry, there's really no polite way of saying that. You're just about as wrong as a breathing human can possibly be.
No one - and I mean NO ONE - wants to live at home when they're 24. No one's parents want them around. The overwhelming majority of people would choose financial freedom and a stable job without any question.
At a fundamental level, people don't change that much over the generations. Generation Y is no more greedy or lazy than the Baby Boomers or Generation X or anyone else. They certainly aren't more "infantile" or "dependent" as a function of age.
The truth is that we've collectively screwed up our entire economic system to where young people are overeducated, underskilled, and completely lacking in opportunities because or capitalist overlords have decided to move them all overseas. Generation X is, so far, the first generation in American history to not have it good as their parents. Generation Y, currently, is the most educated generation in world history and 50% of the employed ones are working in jobs that do not require a B.A. The majority are getting more needless schooling or unemployed.
I'm in my late 20s. graduated 5 years ago from undergrad, and even with an honors degree from a top 15 university in a worthwhile subject, I had a hard time finding a job. I moved back with my parents for about 6 months. It's an emotional prison, more or less. You can't date, you can't really have people over, and you get a constant barrage of "how's the job search going?"
Saying that this generation wants to be unemployed and homeless is like saying criminals want to go to prison because they'll be fed and clothed for free. That's fucking retarded.
There just are not enough jobs to go around. The one commenter is right that the minimum wage does artificially raise unemployment, but it's far down the list and well below outsourcing and immigration on the list, neither of which FoxNews really wants to talk about.
I know dozens of people in their 20s who have had to live at home and none of them have done it rent- or chore-free, and no one chose it voluntarily. Most only did it to save money because they were unemployed or the jobs they were at were only paying <14/hr.
@ Anonymous December 20, 2010 10:24 AM
ReplyDeleteI always assumed a skill like welding will go father if you have the Bachlors degree to go along with it. Mechanical Engineers need to know how to weld. I could take a job as a welder IF ppl were not scared away by the fact that I also have a B.S in egineering.
Otherwise, well said.
Yeah, living with mommy and daddy is the best!
ReplyDeleteChicks just get so turned on when you tell them you live in your parents' basement. Hahaha, ya gotta love right wing propoganda!
You think someone should give you a job because they feel sorry you can't afford a bachelor pad?
ReplyDeleteI'm a Gen X'er and my generation was deemed as the "Slacker Generation" during the 90's when there was also a recession (during the early to mid 90's). My generation also experienced the big dot.com bust during the latter part of the 90's. Fact is Baby Boomers just don't get it. Gen X and Y Gen have been subjected to lack of jobs, low salaries, student loan debt, and rising costs. X'ers and Y Gens are not lazy; we just do not have access to the opportunities that the Boomers have had in their 20's and 30's. It is also nearly impossible to purchase a home, and even rent in many cities, with the salaries now offered especially in today's job market.
ReplyDeleteI personally think it's wise for recent college grads to stay put at home till they land on their feet financially. I know many people who had to move back home when the economy collapsed (heck...I am one of them!). Worse thing anyone can do is damage their credit. Credit checks are routinely performed during the hiring process now.
If mom and/or dad is fine with the living arrangement, I see no harm in it as long as the kid contributes in some way (either financially or taking care of the home and chores). How people survived during the Depression was helping one another out and family members living together.
Hello ignorant conservative Boomer at 7:50 P.M. Let me see here, no one in our generation, aside from maybe a handful thinks they should receive a job because of the lack of ability to "afford a bachelor pad." Does your comment make any fucking sense? As a general rule, Americas in our generation were encouraged to obtain education, which in turn reportedly leads to employment. In case you have not heard, there is an utter lack of jobs in the U.S. for all of us who obtained this education and for the most part, paid a hefty price in student loans to get it. The lack of jobs crosses all sectors, especially science, engineering, law and business. And go fuck yourself again if you think that someone in our age group can run out and start a business. I've tried it, many of my friends have tried it, there's no way, no how we can get loans absent matching capital or real property collateral. A living wage that allows us to pay our debt, save for the future and have a family like our parents is what we want.
ReplyDeleteI love it...boomer greed is what got us in this mess, made everything so damn expensive and caused the recession, now they are claiming it's our fault!
ReplyDeleteWorst generation ever.
Hear, hear w/comments from the old farts we call "baby boomers." Not every young person is an overgrown child & some of us don't have Mommy & Daddy to fall back on. Maybe some of you should go do like Bob Saget in "Strange Days" and go live among the people you make assumptions about. Perhaps if you SAW with YOUR OWN EYES the realities of the job market firsthand (actual salaries, rents, etc. you'd have some credibility in this discussion.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, you just sound like selfish, heartless dinosaurs that everyone wants to lynch for offering pitiful salaries, outsourcing jobs and selling out to Corporate America. No wonder people don't respect their elders!
Before bitching about young people having entitlements or being unemployed maybe you should consider whether you really need that yearly raise, corner office & if you actually HAVE the drive or awareness to continue making decisions that will affect young people.
If you're pro-"youth are lazy & want to live with Mommy until they're 40", you definitely need to get out of the way. You also have no cause to whine about not getting respect from younger people since you've proven you don't deserve it.
J-Dog, thank you for BITCH-SLAPPING that moron. When there are not enough jobs to go around, no amount of education will get you over that hurdle.
ReplyDeleteDuring the Great Depression, there were LEGIONS of strong, willing and able men who could not find work. Do you get that, ignorant, selfish Boomer pigs?!?! Or do I need to scribble out a diagram for you with Crayola and posterboard?!
Many Boomers are selfish pigs. They hold onto their jobs, because they cannot afford to maintain THEIR lifestyle. We will see many Boomers hold on until they hit their late 70s and early 80s. At my workplace, I see these people holding the next generation back. After all, the older ones want all the credit. Plus, the Boomers may be on board for another 15-20 years.
Ronald Reagan, i.e. the BIGGEST PIECE OF TRASH to EVER occupy the Oval Office, helped pave the road to hell, i.e. over-consumption and abject materialism. Boomers fell in line, as the RETARD said exactly what they wanted to hear.
After law school, I lived in my sister-in-law's basement for 5 months. Idiots would comment on my blog asking me if she has a nice ass, or telling me that I should be kissing her feet. I moved out of my parents' home at 18, and moving in with my SIL was a little embarrassing.
People move in with family out of desperation, NOT because they are lazy or morally deficient. (Then again, it is simply easier to claim that people are lazy than it is to look at the facts.)
Lastly, what the hell is Ichabod Crane doing telling people that the minimum wage is to blame. I see co-workers - many with multiple degrees who work their asses off and speak several languages fluently - making $12 an hour.
Ronald Reagan was the "BIGGEST PIECE OF TRASH to EVER occupy the Oval Office"?? Are you serious? He dragged this country out of the worst recession in my lifetime, yeah, 15-18% interest rates for a mortgage, double digit inflation and unemployment...try graduating into that disaster of an economy you snot nosed little fucking whiner. And how exactly did Reagan promote "over-consumption and abject materialism"? And more importantly, even if he did, what the fuck do you care?
ReplyDeleteDo you have some kind of a problem with people succeeding and spending their money as they see fit, or should they be compelled to send it to DC so they can re-distribute it and achieve your “social justice” goals?? I’m probably twice your age and I work between 70-80+ hours a week. Do you have a problem with that? Do you have some kind of problem with me keeping my hard earned money? I mean really, why did you go to law school? To practice public interest law? No, you probably went in large part because you thought you’d make a shitload of money. And what were you going to do with that money you never made? I’m guessing probably engage in some over-consumption and abject materialism.
And what exactly is it that you think drives a successful economy? It’s called consumption you moron. If people stop buying shit, companies stop making shit, and if companies stop making shit, they get rid of the employees that used to make the shit, store the shit, sell the shit, transport the shit and account for the shit…all because nobody is buying the shit.
Furthermore, the greatest recession of my lifetime began in the Carter years you fuckwad, and that's when all the manufacturing jobs began disappearing in earnest and heading overseas, because not enough people were buying their shit to justify paying union scale wages, and what did Carter do? Oh yeah, they were to busy re-engineering society with the creation of the Department of Education, and passing the Community Reinvestment Act, thereby setting the stage for the current world-wide mortgage backed security economic crisis.
So if you and J-Dog are looking to blame someone for the current lack of “living wage” or manufacturing jobs, you can start with your friend Jimmy.
Do I think your generation ‘generally’ gets a bum wrap, yeah, I think you do sometimes, and I say this because without a doubt, this economy sucks. But I have to say that going on your anti-Reagan, anti-consumption, anti-materialistic rants only makes you sound like an uneducated moron who no doubt voted for “hope and change.”
To the hissing cockroach at 3:43 pm,
ReplyDelete"And how exactly did Reagan promote "over-consumption and abject materialism"?"
You really are dense, old man. He told people that the government could lower tax rates and INCREASE spending "because lower rates will stimulate the economy so much that tax revenues will be increased." Idiots, such as you, believed that garbage and voted him into office. He slashed social services, which led to more vagrancy. You understand that at least, don’t you, retarded bitch?!?!
Furthermore, the old waterhead then held lavish parties in the White House, with all of his Hollywood friends. Somehow, I’m sure they were not all evil commies in your eyes back then. Look at the culture of conspicuous consumption that really took off in the early 1980s. Seriously, open your damn eyes, fool.
You are also aware that "trickle down economics" is complete and utter nonsense, right? The money went to already-wealthy people who promptly proceeded to put their money in off-shore accounts and moved their operations overseas. Nice way to give thanks, selfish pigs.
My needs are met. My wants are few – and always have been. Unlike you, I don’t need a bunch of material possessions to make me feel better. Having a large penis – and lots of stamina - has a way of putting things in perspective. By the way, when you die in 10-20 years, you will not be taking any of that stuff with you.
“So if you and J-Dog are looking to blame someone for the current lack of “living wage” or manufacturing jobs, you can start with your friend Jimmy.”
I don’t give a damn about either political party. They are both trash. Apparently, you are too stupid to recognize this basic truth. Oh well, go out and buy yourself a shiny new dildo to ram up your old, corroded, gray ass. Republicans are also for big government and more spending. If you do not realize this, then you are a lost cause.
I also did not vote for Obama, moron. Since I need to point this out to you, brainless trematode that you are, McCain was also a piece of trash. But that is the point of American elections, isn’t it?
Who helped de-regulate the financial sector, dumbass? Who signed the Immigration “Reform and Control” Act of 1986, thereby providing amnesty to hundreds of thousands of undocumented aliens? Lastly, WHO tripled the accumulated national debt in EIGHT YEARS, you ignorant piece of garbage?!?!
The politicians are paid off/rented and they then pay back their Big Donors. They want to be re-elected, after all. Does this burn your ears, old fart? If you want to fellate Ronald Reagan, have at it.
What's it like to have nando's nuts on your chin, 3:43?
ReplyDeleteNando, you're your own worst enemy. Nobody cares about your plight when you rant and throw tantrums like this. Get your emotions fixed with a friend or a psychiatrist.
ReplyDeleteNando's nuts on my chin?? Thank god they aren't on my chin because I'm laughing so hard right now I probably would have accidentally bitten off his little seldom used (if ever) cocktail wiener...I don't really know 7:47, maybe you know what it's like to have his nuts on your chin?
ReplyDeleteHey shit-for brains, maybe if you spent as much time honing your legal skills (if your TTT dumb ass ever had any to start with) as you do whining, pissing and moaning about your lack of gainful employment in your chosen field, maybe you might actually find some gainful employment in that field.
You are however correct that when I die 10-20 years from now, I will not be taking any of my possessions with me. That's the plan moron, die penniless but leave a lot of irrevocable trusts behind.
As far as the "trematode" comment is concerned my friend, i believe it is you, not I, that mostly resembles a parasite. But being fair minded as I must, I have to agree with you in your assessment of the candidates in the prior presidential election cycle...
Reagan's policies, more or less faithfully followed by his successors in BOTH parties, absolutely launched the rising economic stratification that we see today. It's well known that "productivity" has been rising for decades -- yet the benefits end up in fewer and fewer pockets. It's this inequality that's at the root of the desperation of younger people now (more and more older people, too!).
ReplyDeleteOne thing about the anonymous comment at 3:43 --
"I’m probably twice your age and I work between 70-80+ hours a week. Do you have a problem with that?"
What it is he's doing for all those hours goes unsaid. It could be developing new vaccines, or it could be filing horseshit legal papers for mall developers. (From his praise for Holy Consumption, I'm guessing that he's yet another paper handler, er, "symbolic analyst".)
But notice the implicit equation: More drudgery == more virtue. Of course, there is merit in hard work, enterprise, etc. But more and more it seems that sheer ferocity of effort has somehow become the measure of worth. What it is you're actually trying to **do** in the frenzy is an afterthought.
-- sg
To sg/1:04,
ReplyDeleteWhile some may see nothing but a "rising economic stratification" (the obsession with which is strikingly Marx/Engels-esque)others may choose to look around them and realize that despite not being one of the "fewer and fewer pockets" that the "benefits" end up in, their lifestyle/standard of living still far exceeds better than 90% of the world's population.
While the current state of economic affairs is not without what some would perceive to be unfairness or "social injustice" I have yet to hear any viable alternative proffered from individuals such as my previous interlocutor, other than class/generational warfare incitement.
As a tail end boomer that entered the workforce during a recession that makes the current one look like an economic hiccup, I assure you that I am quite familiar with the shit your generation is going through, and yes, the higher education bill of goods that you guys have been sold is a complete load of horseshit. That being said though, I and many others on the tail end of the boom/GenX tend to become somewhat less than sympathetic when we are classified as "ignorant, selfish Boomer pigs" because we work our assess off to provide for our families. As I may have mentioned earlier, and speaking just for myself of course, I've worked extremely hard for everything that I have and I'd sort of like to keep most of what I earn, that sounds fair doesn't it?
To add some context, I am not developing new vaccines during those 70-80+ hour workweeks - our brethren over at AAJ/ATLA have pretty much doomed that previously American dominated industry - I practice what most would call "commercial litigation" the revelation of which should suffice to explain the workload.
Additionally, I must complement you on your closing paragraph for its insight and agree that often times in this profession, once the shit starts flying, many do tend to lose sight of the goal... Have a happy new year and best of luck in you endeavors