Why Gen Y yuppies are unhappy

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

Sure I could, but who wants to live in a crappy condo in Harvest Hills for 5-8 years?

I guess that falls in line with the entitlement portion of the article, and maybe that's acurate, but the sacrifice that Pylon mentioned doesn't seem worth it.

There you go, you guys are not willing to start from the bottom.
Asset building (either financially or professionally) is a concept lost to Gen Y'ers. The sacrifice that Pylon mentioned is definitely worth it, his parents are probably laughing now.

Your first house should be a crappy one, especially if you're not married. Just have an asset.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

There you go, you guys are not willing to start from the bottom.
Asset building (either financially or professionally) is a concept lost to Gen Y'ers. The sacrifice that Pylon mentioned is definitely worth it, his parents are probably laughing now.

Actually, I disagree with that. Buying a property is an investment - at a 30 year mortgage, your liability is that you hold a debt on an investment for 30 years. Are you trying to say its more responsible to commit to a 30 year debt on a property you do not expect to hold a liability for over the duration of the 30 years?

I know people move before their mortgage is up, but the way I view your risk is over the term of the liability. The irresponsiblity of expecting to hold a property shorter then the term (well, the sub-prime anyways) done by, well, baby-boomers is the reason for the 2008 recession that severly hurt a lot of people coming out of school who are in the 25-30 year old range - the range of people that is being critisized for having too easy of a life.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by blankall

Except it's not about a funny issue.

People my age are having to forgo things like the opportunity to have children. Their ability to have a career that affords things like basic housing gets pushed further and further back. And we aren't talking about lazy or troubled people. People who've done everything right and gotten specialized skills. Teachers, firemen, etc...who can't find permanent positions.

Baby boomers create a system that destroys people's lives through their own greed and then make light of it. Yeah great.

Yeah, that's a pretty good example we're seeing the effects of now in BC. My mom got a full time teaching position straight out of university (which only required 3 years back then, not the 5-6 you need now) at the age of 22.

Fast forward to now and she's retired, but there are still a bunch of teachers her age who are are completely burnt out and useless but are clutching on to their positions because they can't afford to retire (despite an extremely generous teacher's pension they're entitled to). Because of that fact, you have people taking up to 10 years from graduation before they're securely in a full time position.

[polak]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

There you go, you guys are not willing to start from the bottom.
Asset building (either financially or professionally) is a concept lost to Gen Y'ers. The sacrifice that Pylon mentioned is definitely worth it, his parents are probably laughing now.

Your first house should be a crappy one, especially if you're not married. Just have an asset.

There is an added risk to viewing a home purchase as a liquid asset. It's pretty risky to commit to a home you don't plan on living in for a while. Real estate is a good long term investment, but short term, not so much.

Personally, I plan on buying a crappy condo but with the intention to turn it into an investment property when I upgrade, but that assumes that I can afford two properties by that time which is far from a sure thing. If I can't afford both, and need to upgrade to start a family or something then I risk a sizable loss as even a small dip in the market can kill short term real estate investments.

It's nice that Gen X'ers were able to experience consistent real estate growth but that's not the reality. Yeah, in 2000 you could buy a starter home for 150 K and sell it for +300K when you wanted to upgrade in 2010, but that's not the reality anymore. There is actually a very good chance that a Gen-Y who buys a starter home loses money when they need to upgrade in 2020.

Don't assume that conditions haven't changed from when you were their age.

[NuclearPizzaMan]

1/3rd of working baby boomers (55-64) in the U.S have less than 1 year's income as savings, 1/3rd have NO savings, but it's the other generations that are evil materialist lazy entitled commie lovers.

[Tinordi]

I read this book a while back, was scary: The Coming Generational Storm

http://www.economist.com/media/globa...storm_e_02.pdf

• The U.S. population of people older than 100 will rise from 60,000 to 600,000 by
mid-century.
• The “pig in the python” effect describes the bulge caused by the baby boom
generation.
• Demographics show that America is becoming “one big retirement community.”
• Our culture is essentially shopping with the credit cards of our children, running up
huge debts that they will have to repay.
• Generational accounting measures the debt burden that one generation leaves the next.
• Accumulating huge government debt and social security entitlements amounts to
fiscal child abuse.

[macker]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

One thing I've noticed is that the 20-somethings I work with are happy to go home at 430 or 5, and come to expect it. When they get to project management positions, it hits them like a freight train that the time commitment and responsibility is a consistent endurance battle.

A good handful of 20-somethings I work with too will prefer to "top out" at a senior level position but not as high as a PM or Director. They're happy to have just enough responsibility but without the time commitments and workplace pressures that come with the territory.

It's either genius or lazy, depending how you look at it.

For most people the perfect job is the one that takes the least amount of time.

[polak]

Mandatory life limits here we come. Sorry boomers. We're pulling the plug at 80.

We'll hold a vote for this new law and of course with your sizeable population you might be able to shut it down. Unfortunately, we'll place the voting booths in places with lots of stairs and no elevators. We will then revoke the law after you all bite the dust. Tick tock

[macker]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

I read this book a while back, was scary: The Coming Generational Storm

http://www.economist.com/media/globa...storm_e_02.pdf

• The U.S. population of people older than 100 will rise from 60,000 to 600,000 by
mid-century.
• The “pig in the python” effect describes the bulge caused by the baby boom
generation.
• Demographics show that America is becoming “one big retirement community.”
• Our culture is essentially shopping with the credit cards of our children, running up
huge debts that they will have to repay.
• Generational accounting measures the debt burden that one generation leaves the next.
• Accumulating huge government debt and social security entitlements amounts to
fiscal child abuse.

There is also Boomernomics and all the books that Henry Dent has put out over the years while the market has remained irrational.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by NuclearPizzaMan

1/3rd of working baby boomers (55-64) in the U.S have less than 1 year's income as savings, 1/3rd have NO savings, but it's the other generations that are evil materialist lazy entitled commie lovers.

Do you think the baby boomers will support austerity budgets when it's their retirement income on the line? They (speaking as a collective group; obviously there are individual exceptions) didn't save nearly enough for retirement, and their children and grandchildren will be forced to pay for it. Of course, the career earning potential of those subsequent generations will be greatly reduced because the boomers are staying in the workforce longer (because the didn't properly plan for retirement), delaying promotions and advancement opportunities for the very people who will be funding their retirement.

[macker]

Happiness?

Henceforth, I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing. Strong and content, I travel the open road.

[Tinordi]

And Boomers will be the dominant political force. Our political system only responds to short term interests and will continue to mortgage the future to satisfy this voting block.

[Tinordi]

You can also add on the impending, real and significant costs of dealing with climate change, something Boomers simply have no appetite to dealing with at all (who cares they'll be dead anyway when it really comes to roost) and the public purse will be overwhelmingly strained. Something will have to give, and that something, unless young people miraculously become politically engaged, will be us.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by opendoor

Yeah, that's a pretty good example we're seeing the effects of now in BC. My mom got a full time teaching position straight out of university (which only required 3 years back then, not the 5-6 you need now) at the age of 22.

Fast forward to now and she's retired, but there are still a bunch of teachers her age who are are completely burnt out and useless but are clutching on to their positions because they can't afford to retire (despite an extremely generous teacher's pension they're entitled to). Because of that fact, you have people taking up to 10 years from graduation before they're securely in a full time position.

This is exactly it. It's not our generation that is entitled, it's their generation. People who've worked 30+ years with zero savings. Most people I know my age, who are managing to find work are investing into RRSPs and are generally more investment savy than their parents ever were.

As others have mentioned, the baby boomers will continue to win on political issues as they form a large and unreasonable voting block.

The concept of entrepreneurship is also being squashed as the cost of capital rapidly rises. It's all good to say, if you don't like it start your own thing. However, the cost of basic warehouse space, office space, etc.. are all going to heavily influence your ability to succeed. Now factor in a general lack of experience and capital due to a general lack of entry level jobs, and you've got an even more daunting task.

[nik-]

I'm curious as to how many of these entitled people who feel they should own a 50K beemer out of University are approved for financing.

[polak]

Only saving grace would be technology continuing to increase exponentially cutting costs and potentially creating new industries. That might sound backwards (won't technologies steal job etc...) but think about how many people are employed by companies who make smart phone apps or manage cloud technologies. Industries that you couldn't even realistically dream about 20 years ago. What could be next? Driverless cars will probably off shoot some industries. Carbon capturing? Lots of stuff we don't even know about. Hell even taking care of baby boomers will increase job opportunity.

Then again, when Fusion power comes online the whole world is going to be turned on it's head so who knows what will happen then.

[AMG_G]

Originally Posted by nik-

I'm curious as to how many of these entitled people who feel they should own a 50K beemer out of University are approved for financing.

They'll give you a LEASE if you breath.

[Red]

Originally Posted by nik-

I'm curious as to how many of these entitled people who feel they should own a 50K beemer out of University are approved for financing.

Probably most. They get their no good for nothing, free loader baby boomer parents to co-sign

[NuclearPizzaMan]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Do you think the baby boomers will support austerity budgets when it's their retirement income on the line? They (speaking as a collective group; obviously there are individual exceptions) didn't save nearly enough for retirement, and their children and grandchildren will be forced to pay for it. Of course, the career earning potential of those subsequent generations will be greatly reduced because the boomers are staying in the workforce longer (because the didn't properly plan for retirement), delaying promotions and advancement opportunities for the very people who will be funding their retirement.

Baby boomers are in full support of austerity budgets, for other people. That is why Obamacare is socialism and medicare is a god given right.

[undercoverbrother]

I think the whole system is a$$ backwards. We should not work until we hit say 25-30, then you work like a ####er till the day you die. Front end loaded retirement.