[quote=bearmarkettrader]

You older folk fail to realize the predicament facing the younger generation. Young adults listened to their parents and society, studied hard, went on to higher education, incurred unprecedented debt, and are now finding themselves in a desperate situation. At least the boomers that went on a home buying frenzy have the option of walking away. Generation Y cannot walk away from student loans. Not only Gen Y, but the most recent graduates that also happen to carry the largest debt loads are the ones having the toughest time getting a job. No generation ever had it this hard, absent the civil war folks. Not even the great depression youth were subject to this. Some attorney told one of my fellow grads that “if i was in your shoes id shoot myself in the head”.

By and large the comments that I get every time i speak about the plight of my generation are haughty and cruel. If society will punish their youth and treat them the harshest out of any class of people in this environment, then there really is no hope for the future. We grads deserve to have our wages garnished to fund your social security benefits becuase we elected to pursue a higher education? No, in the end you will get what you deserve when the entire system falls apart.

[/quote]

This older generation person worked his ass off from the age of 12, worked 24 hours a week carrying an 18 plus credit load at an academically demanding East Coast university, pulled the grades to get a full scholarship working on a second degree, lived in a ghetto apartment going to school to save money, didn’t have a car or even a phone to save money, ate a lot of rice and beans to save money (and sometimes even fasted), etc., didn’t have to get any loans as a consequence, and didn’t whine about it to anyone.

What I see in many (but thankfully, not all) of your generation is that if someone disagrees with that, tells them something they don’t want to hear, or makes them feel the least uncomfortable about themselves (even if it’s for their own good), that person is “mean” or, in your instance, “cruel and haughty”. Maybe, it’s time for some self reflection and contemplation to assess why everyone is so “mean” to you. I mean, it must always be them, right, and not your actions … couldn’t be your actions, could it?

My 20 year old daughter got a job at the university she’s at and in the summer, cleaned the bathrooms and hallways in the commercial building I own, babysat, AND also found herself a full time summer job paying $17.82/hour (thank you, President O’Bummer for one benefit of your stimulus package). My 17 year old also does the same janitorial work, shovels snow, mows lawns, and coaches soccer and will be working a full time job in a greenhouse this summer as well . Both of them have earned significant university scholarships as well. Frankly, if they whined as much as you, my wife and I would verbally kick their butts from here to next year and they know it and act accordingly.

No generation ever had it this hard!?!?!? Go back and study your history. You think you have it tougher than the GIs in France in WW I or those in the Pacific or Europe in WW2 or those in Korea or even those in Vietnam. Your a** is high and dry and lead free sitting back in the nice comfy USA and you’re having it worse than they did? Get real!

And furthermore, I paid in for my Social Security benefits with many years of 50-60 hour work weeks but I’m also prepared not to get it. And if and when the system falls apart, we will get exactly what we deserve. We’ve prepared well and have the physical and mental capabilities to handle anything that comes our way. Bring it on, I say.

Frankly, you seem like a nice guy with a promising future ahead of you but you’re spending WAY too much time wallowing in self pity. Get past it and move on and make your future.