Yes they are getting ripped off but, it isn't by me or my children. If you grow your wealth by investments you should know the risks. You should know where your company invests your pension plan and know the risks associated with it. There is no way my children should take it on the chin because of their bad investments. It's not fair.
I know I'm sounding cold and I do have empathy for their situation but, the burden is going to be huge going foreward. The children growing up today are not going to have nearly the opportunities to aquire wealth. For the first time in our nations short history the next generation will be left poorer than the last.
Agree with your posts, but the thing is pensioners can vote today while future children can not, so it is pretty easy to figure out who is going to take it on the chin. That's how democracy rolls.
Yes they are getting ripped off but, it isn't by me or my children. If you grow your wealth by investments you should know the risks. You should know where your company invests your pension plan and know the risks associated with it. There is no way my children should take it on the chin because of their bad investments. It's not fair.
I know I'm sounding cold and I do have empathy for their situation but, the burden is going to be huge going foreward. The children growing up today are not going to have nearly the opportunities to aquire wealth. For the first time in our nations short history the next generation will be left poorer than the last.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have some sad news for you. You are already the first generation that it has happened to, it won't be your children's generation. The generation that graduated mid 60's to mid 70's were at the peak and it has slowly been going downhill from there.
And yeah, you do sound cold. Do you really think that when those people invested in their retirement funds, they did it knowing full well that those funds would be worthless or worth a lot less now? Do you really think they were that dumb? Circumstances have changed greatly to put them in the situation of having decreased retirment worth, a lot of it none of their fault.
And while the country did accumulate a lot of debt in the last 30 or 40 years, and while you and your generation and the next will be responsible for paying a lot of it off, Canada did achieve a high standard of living within that time frame too. If you want quality in life, you have to be willing to pay something towards that end. By the way, do try and remember that it was not the West that continually voted in Trudeau and company.
Now not taking away anything from the current generation, they are very well educated and very dedicated to their jobs and put in long hours, but so did the generation that graduated 30 and 40 years ago. And yes, you might be innovative and be introducing new ways to do things, but so did the prior generation. Such is life and if that does not happen, you are no longer progressing and stagnation has set in.
The one big thing that I notice is the current generation does run a lot more debt than the generations of 30 or 40 years ago did. I am not talking accumulated debt by the government of Canada or the various governments of the provinces. I am talking individual debt on credit cards, various loans, mortgages etc.
That was something prior generations on the whole were much more prudent about and actually far more regulations were in place to control one even getting into those situations in the first place. So for instance, when we bought our first house, both incomes were not allowed to be used in calculating how much you could get for the mortgage on a house you were buying, only the primary earner's income was allowed.
And another big factor, is 30 or 40 years ago, it was more often the case than not that only one parent was working outside of the home. It just never seemed as hectic. When both parents work, so much has to be juggled, and unfortunately in a lot of the cases, in the long run, it is just easier to say yes to cranky and whiny kids than it is to say no. And when no is not heard enough, in some cases you get children growing up thinking they were entitled.
Yes they are getting ripped off but, it isn't by me or my children. If you grow your wealth by investments you should know the risks. You should know where your company invests your pension plan and know the risks associated with it. There is no way my children should take it on the chin because of their bad investments. It's not fair.
I know I'm sounding cold and I do have empathy for their situation but, the burden is going to be huge going foreward. The children growing up today are not going to have nearly the opportunities to aquire wealth. For the first time in our nations short history the next generation will be left poorer than the last.
"Your generation should have to eat generic brand dog food and die poor and lonely under a bridge because I want to have enough cash to give my kids whatever they want, go on vacation twice a year and buy my very own hover car. Now stop whining and go drown yourself in your sense of entitlement."
That about sum it up?
<insert my generation> is the greatest generation ever. We're the smartest, best looking and have the best taste in music. The <insert previous generation> and <insert next generation> are so spoiled and have it so easy - my generation should receive more. If they'd just be a bit smarter and work a little harder they'd actually earn their keep and wouldn't have this awful sense of entitlement.
I think every generation is better then the last, its the simple evolution of society. With the resources available to this generation and whats been available to us to develop our minds, yes I think we are better. Likewise, the next generation will advance above us, and so on.
My father should be better then my grandfather, I should be better then my father, and (if things go according to plan) my son/daughter will be better then me and their child will be better then both of us.
__________________
"With a coach and a player, sometimes there's just so much respect there that it's boils over"
-Taylor Hall
I work 37 hours a week, I make decent money, but definitely not as much as some other people. And I'm ok with it. Its all about balance.
I should preface that there is nothing wrong with the normal 40 hr a week job. I don't believe in working 60+ hrs a week long term, but it was just a response to the unfair perceptions that "this generation" is lazy, puts in minimal effort, and does the bare minimum to get a maximum paycheck.
As I said before, I was just reacting to this probably a little more bitter then usual because someone sort of gave me that rub yesterday.
__________________
"With a coach and a player, sometimes there's just so much respect there that it's boils over"
-Taylor Hall
I am fortunate enough to have a written history of my family's forefathers. Just 3 generations ago, they were still planting and harvesting wheat by hand in the harsh uncleared lands of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Boomers, X'ers, echos, whatever else, we've ALL got it really, really easy by comparison.
I"m a staunch evolutionist, but how are you defining better? Just curious
More knowledgeable, more innovative, more well rounded and diverse for someone who is 25 now versus someone who was 25 years ago. Innovation via the internet and the sharing of knowledge has allowed people to branch outside of their field, and apply their expertise into fields that they otherwise would not be exposed to; ease of accessing information speeds up learning and design, so I can go grab 30 papers off of the web in 3 minutes rather then spend 3 hrs in a library trying to find; ability for those to learn trivial tasks that would otherwise take much longer without the internet (i.e. learning software); faster sharing of info via email, comm, et al; digital design tools over those sitting at a sketch table, allowing a designer to spend more time focusing on the actual design then the multiple more hours it would take to do by hand; technology to solve iterative tasks that would take much longer to do, allowing us to push previous tasks that would otherwise not be possible - all of these opportunities allow, at least those who pursue it, an opportunity to stretch innovative and creative things, and become more knowledgeable because of accessibility thus the ever evolving generations of more innovative, more creative and more knowledgeable people out there.
Opportunities that present itself to those with a can-do attitude, leading to those who find their "what I want to be when I grow up" to put more of an effort then being segragated to medial tasks that arn't "what they want to do when they grow up" ... accessibility to VC's and angels, accessibility to expertise (i.e. linkedin) and cooporation with experts allowing young people who have a passion to work that much harder because its something they want to do.
And so on
__________________
"With a coach and a player, sometimes there's just so much respect there that it's boils over"
-Taylor Hall
Last edited by Phanuthier; 05-01-2009 at 06:20 PM.
Most of the younger generation spend, spend, spend assuming that they will never have to worry about money.
Fixed.
Who are these young people saving up all this money? I can guarantee you that if you were to ask random 20-29 years old their opinions on the CPP premiums that alot would have no idea what your talking about.
Who are these young people saving up all this money? I can guarantee you that if you were to ask random 20-29 years old their opinions on the CPP premiums that alot would have no idea what your talking about.
Want to know something funny? I was talking to a fellow 24 year old here on CP who wants to go to university and is saving up to pursue an education. He couldn't believe some of the rediculous spending when he is trying to save up a few grand for school?
Want to know what spurred that PM? The thread about the $300 jeans.
(sorry, "denim")
__________________
"With a coach and a player, sometimes there's just so much respect there that it's boils over"
-Taylor Hall
Want to know something funny? I was talking to a fellow 24 year old here on CP who wants to go to university and is saving up to pursue an education. He couldn't believe some of the rediculous spending when he is trying to save up a few grand for school?
Want to know what spurred that PM? The thread about the $300 jeans.
(sorry, "denim")
What's your point here? Sure they're will be members of that generation including myself who save, choose to pay their own way through university, and understand the concept of money. However in my experience there are many more who simply don't get it and the sense of entitlement many of this generation have is ridiculous.
I will however agree with you that our generation has, for lack of a better word, become "better" than past generations in that we were more knowledgeable, innovative, etc. But we've also taken steps back in terms of respect, hard work, etc.
Oh and with the 300$ jeans (at least for the raw denim) I could actually break it down economically to show you that it's not as expensive as it sounds on the surface.
More knowledgeable, more innovative, more well rounded and diverse for someone who is 25 now versus someone who was 25 years ago. Innovation via the internet and the sharing of knowledge has allowed people to branch outside of their field, and apply their expertise into fields that they otherwise would not be exposed to; ease of accessing information speeds up learning and design, so I can go grab 30 papers off of the web in 3 minutes rather then spend 3 hrs in a library trying to find; ability for those to learn trivial tasks that would otherwise take much longer without the internet (i.e. learning software); faster sharing of info via email, comm, et al; digital design tools over those sitting at a sketch table, allowing a designer to spend more time focusing on the actual design then the multiple more hours it would take to do by hand; technology to solve iterative tasks that would take much longer to do, allowing us to push previous tasks that would otherwise not be possible - all of these opportunities allow, at least those who pursue it, an opportunity to stretch innovative and creative things, and become more knowledgeable because of accessibility thus the ever evolving generations of more innovative, more creative and more knowledgeable people out there.
All the above technology you mentioned allows for a lot of dumbing down also.
Just because I can do an analysis using a stats program in minutes whereas it would have taken hours years ago doesn't make me cleverer. It just makes me more efficient with the tools at my disposal. That my peers were able to sit down and do complex analysis by hand IMO would make them cleverer even though it took more time. Ask a 25 year old student to do statistical analysis by hand now and they'll crap themselves. They rely on algorithims written by someone else for their problem solving.
Being able to untilise software for problem solving to me anyways isn't necessarily a correlation with intelligence.
As you say technology is solving the tasks, not the multiple individuals operating the software.
All the above technology you mentioned allows for a lot of dumbing down also.
Just because I can do an analysis using a stats program in minutes whereas it would have taken hours years ago doesn't make me cleverer. It just makes me more efficient with the tools at my disposal. That my peers were able to sit down and do complex analysis by hand IMO would make them cleverer even though it took more time. Ask a 25 year old student to do statistical analysis by hand now and they'll crap themselves. They rely on algorithims written by someone else for their problem solving.
Being able to untilise software for problem solving to me anyways isn't necessarily a correlation with intelligence.
As you say technology is solving the tasks, not the multiple individuals operating the software.
Yes, and it makes work more efficient. Doesn't mean they don't understand it.
Also - I'm a 24 year old student, and I design circuits that do this math - add, subtract, multiply, even divide (divide is a pain to do in logic), derivatives and so on. When you do stats, and you pull out your handy calculator or if you are doing your stats on a Matlab or whatever, some poor schmuck designer like myself is the one who build the circuit or the FPGA so you could use your calculator to do your stats. I can also do equations no problem, and have had to pull out algabra and math more then a few times in design (or written programs to solve algabra and math) since new technology = new behaviours = new equations and algorithms.
__________________
"With a coach and a player, sometimes there's just so much respect there that it's boils over"
-Taylor Hall
Interesting article. Although the part you highlighted about 44% of people aged 20-29 living with mom and dad can probably be related to alot more than laziness/entitlement. In the last 15 years, college tuition has gone up close to 500%. Not to mention how expensive rent/housing has become. It's made it basically impossible to try to balance living on your own and going to school full time without going tens of thousands of dollars in debt, unfortunately.
