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HuffPo: Poor Millennials In 2017

Wulfric

Wulfric

Member
Poor Millennials: Why millennials are facing the scariest financial future of any generation since the Great Depression.

A very well designed and thought out article from the Huffington Post. I know too many students in their early-20s who are either still working their old high school job or not finding decent paying work in their field. Outside of moving to a bigger city or going back for graduate school, I'm not sure what to do to get on my own two feet.

This part on housing stuck out to me:

The housing crisis in our most prosperous cities is now distorting the entire American economy. For most of the 20th century, the way many workers improved their financial fortunes was to move closer to opportunities. Rents were higher in the boomtowns, but so were wages.

Since the Great Recession, the “good” jobs—secure, non-temp, decent salary—have concentrated in cities like never before. America’s 100 largest metros have added 6 million jobs since the downturn. Rural areas, meanwhile, still have fewer jobs than they did in 2007. For young people trying to find work, moving to a major city is not an indulgence. It is a virtual necessity.

But the soaring rents in big cities are now canceling out the higher wages. Back in 1970, according to a Harvard study, an unskilled worker who moved from a low-income state to a high-income state kept 79 percent of his increased wages after he paid for housing. A worker who made the same move in 2010 kept just 36 percent. For the first time in U.S. history, says Daniel Shoag, one of the study’s co-authors, it no longer makes sense for an unskilled worker in Utah to head for New York in the hope of building a better life.

This leaves young people, especially those without a college degree, with an impossible choice. They can move to a city where there are good jobs but insane rents. Or they can move somewhere with low rents but few jobs that pay above the minimum wage.
Click to expand...
 
F

Flux

Member
Great article. Pretty much hits all the notes of the struggle to stay afloat in the current economy for young people.

On a side note, since when where the HuffPo articles this well designed?
 
K

Ke0

Member
If old people are to be believed the reason why isn't stagnant wages while everything else increases but because we all eat avocados and drink coffee and are killing retail stores or something like that. Like back in the day everyone told us to move to London for the big jobs, but good luck with the price of rent being ridiculously high while wages are....ugh.
 
G

GodOfVG103

Neo Member
I have mixed feeling about these articles, the internet has created so many opportunities to make money.

If you don’t have critical thinking skills things will be very hard and that is true. Meaning if your playing the go to college for a degree that is not in a booming field like the medical and trades then you will lose everytime.

But if you have drive you can get skills online right now that can get you a decent to good salary without going into major debt.
 
pramod

pramod

Banned
Wages are stagnant for those with the wrong type of jobs.

Wages are soaring in the energy, technology and medical fields.
 
I

i-Lo

Member
Lord Thrappleper The 49th said:
The reason capitalism needs to die.
Click to expand...

It's the only system that works in an incentive based society which values technological advancement and individualism. I am all for capitalism but with aspects of nordic social policies embedded for people to be able to survive with some dignity and/or fall back on during hard times.

As technology advances, the concept of "basic guaranteed income" needs to be explored and with it logistical concepts to be able to export certain job types to more rural parts of the country.

However, first and foremost, "unskilled" aspect needs to be dealt with. Access to higher education or programs dedicated to same but more specific goals in these rural parts must be made possible whilst making them either very affordable or virtually free.


I hold a more realistic view of America since the election of Trump. Given how rapidly they have been able to enact certain deregulation and employ incompetent people in position of great influence and the consequent dire ramifications for public, I'm afraid as the pressure builds, a new group of people will be chosen as the scapegoat to draw the ire of the frustrated rural millenials (aside from the racist ones). Reading articles such this (Ghosts of white people past: witnessing white flight from an asian ethnoburb ) make it feel a matter of "when", not "if".
 
BANGS

BANGS

Banned
Typical Huffpo victim complex. I'm sure they have access to only the best economists...

I too am 32 and own a home, and have all the same financial struggles my parents/grandparents went through despite having an even less skilled occupation. The only thing is I'm a bit older than they were at this point in their lives. I was patient and did the right thing instead of having babies and wasting tons of money in college on a useless degree...

Yes, times are tough and competitive. But also yes, you can make it just like everyone else who actually tries instead of cries. You also have a much higher standard of living than my parents could ever dream of. Stop with the victim complex, get to work...
 
tkscz

tkscz

Member
CampbellzSoup said:
What’s considered a millennial? I’m 32 and have my own home, did I escape it?
Click to expand...

You're still considered a millennial, but there are two millennial generations.

Firstly, can I just read the article without all the extra bells and whistles? The fuck was going on with that site?

As for the article, like many before it, it fails to mention an important part of why millennials are going to have a hard time, the national debt. I'm sick of seeing "Well back in them olden days, people could afford houses on minimum wage, but now, minimum wage barely can afford food let alone a place to stay", but they never say why that is. The national debt plays a big part on why. As of now, it's sitting at $20 trillion dollars and rising. The more it rises, the more worthless the dollar bill is. The more worthless the dollar is, the more is needed to meet financial expectations. The debt in the 60's was nowhere near what it is now, giving more worth to the US dollar. We've been in a deficit so long that things just keep getting more expensive (not sure if it's just to meet financial budgets or taxes). No shit two people making the same amount in the 60s and now is different when the dollar was worth more than it is worth now.
 
Z

Zidy

Member
It's a struggle. Don't be afraid to be creative.

I'm turning 28 soon. I have two kids, me and the mother are together. We rent a house, I work two part time jobs and she works a full time job. We've gotten by but sometimes bills will catch up with us a bit. I stopped being afraid to ask for help every so often.

I'm doing better than my mother who was a single mother of two and lived in a 2 bed room apartment at my age, so that's kind of comforting. Hopefully I find a full time job with the county this upcoming year (my degree field was government administration). I was thinking about doing some stand-up to bring in some side income. Always thought about it so now its time to stop doubting myself.
 
Turnip Truck

Turnip Truck

Member
As a member of Gen-X, this doesn't sound a whole lot different than the stuff I was hearing back in my day. I had the same concerns: wrong degree, college debt, expensive rent, etc. I changed majors so many times that I finally cobbled together a lame liberal arts area studies degree from the credits I had accumulated over years of interesting but non-practical courses. I had no clue what value it would be in the real world. Rents were expensive and I bounced back home a few times. Most people that age I knew had to have roommates to help break up the costs. There were a lot of articles published about the "slackers" as they called us, and how our opportunities would be less than the Boomers.

Fast forward: It took a few years, but I managed to prove myself and establish a career in IT, got married, had kids, bought home, etc. That "useless" degree earned me at least 50% more right off the bat than my non-degreed co-workers, and salary growth has been much faster compared to non-graduates. So never discount the value of a college degree. The specific major doesn't matter outside of a few highly specialized fields like engineering and medical. There is also success to be had in the trades. My brother is a long haul trucker and is pretty flush, owns his own home too, etc. Most of the other people I knew who were struggling in our 20's & 30's are doing pretty well now.

Yes, there will always be unfairness and disparities in the system, but that doesn't mean you can't carve out your own little slice of happiness from the mess. The good life is there to be had, but it takes a while to get going. As you grow older and things start to get easier, you can look back at how far you've come and tell yourself, "I worked hard for that". It helps you appreciate the journey.
 
Portugeezer

Portugeezer

Member
Turnip Truck said:
As a member of Gen-X, this doesn't sound a whole lot different than the stuff I was hearing back in my day. I had the same concerns: wrong degree, college debt, expensive rent, etc. I changed majors so many times that I finally cobbled together a lame liberal arts area studies degree from the credits I had accumulated over years of interesting but non-practical courses. I had no clue what value it would be in the real world. Rents were expensive and I bounced back home a few times. Most people that age I knew had to have roommates to help break up the costs. There were a lot of articles published about the "slackers" as they called us, and how our opportunities would be less than the Boomers.

Fast forward: It took a few years, but I managed to prove myself and establish a career in IT, got married, had kids, bought home, etc. That "useless" degree earned me at least 50% more right off the bat than my non-degreed co-workers, and salary growth has been much faster compared to non-graduates. So never discount the value of a college degree. The specific major doesn't matter outside of a few highly specialized fields like engineering and medical. There is also success to be had in the trades. My brother is a long haul trucker and is pretty flush, owns his own home too, etc. Most of the other people I knew who were struggling in our 20's & 30's are doing pretty well now.

Yes, there will always be unfairness and disparities in the system, but that doesn't mean you can't carve out your own little slice of happiness from the mess. The good life is there to be had, but it takes a while to get going. As you grow older and things start to get easier, you can look back at how far you've come and tell yourself, "I worked hard for that". It helps you appreciate the journey.
Click to expand...
Is your brother not afraid of automation in driving?

It's looking likely in 10 years (probably less time, but regulations will slow down adoption)
 
Turnip Truck

Turnip Truck

Member
I don't think so. He has a lot of experience as a trainer and in warehouse operations, so I think he'd be ok with getting off the road and reskilling to some other job function in logistics.

And really, that's a key point to success. A willingness to change and adapt to the rapidly shifting economy and job market. It matters less whether you're a younger millennial or an older boomer or X'er, and more that you're willing to learn something new. The younger crowd has the advantage of not being stuck in their ways however, so I see them adapting to the shifting digital marketplace a lot more easily than us old farts.
 
P

PataHikari

Banned
BANGS said:
Typical Huffpo victim complex. I'm sure they have access to only the best economists...
Click to expand...

Yes they have people who actually know what they're talking about.

BANGS said:
I too am 32 and own a home, and have all the same financial struggles my parents/grandparents went through despite having an even less skilled occupation. The only thing is I'm a bit older than they were at this point in their lives. I was patient and did the right thing instead of having babies and wasting tons of money in college on a useless degree...
Click to expand...

And it's the usual "I lucked out, why aren't you all just as lucky as me?" giant pile of arrogance and the "useless college" outright lie.

The top six most popular majors are:

  1. Business
  2. Health Industry
  3. Social Sciences
  4. Psychology
  5. Biological Sciences
  6. Engineering

None of these are "Useless" and no degree is "useless." But, of course, you choose to use that comfortable lie to try and pretend the world is fair instead of you just being lucky because if you're just lucky then that means you could become unlucky and lose everything.

BANGS said:
Yes, times are tough and competitive. But also yes, you can make it just like everyone else who actually tries instead of cries. You also have a much higher standard of living than my parents could ever dream of. Stop with the victim complex, get to work...
Click to expand...

No we do not.

Millennial are Poorer than any generation because we've been royally screwed over.

Also, we do work harder despite being worse off.

So in short, your Just World Fallacy Induced Fantasy is in no way indicative of reality, how about instead of trying to blame others for their misfortune you extend compassion to try and help people less lucky than you?
 
BANGS

BANGS

Banned
I didn't say college degrees are useless, I said that some college degrees are useless and I didn't waste my time with those like so many who complain...

Also, please fuck off before calling people "lucky" for being successful. Just fuck right the fuck off with that garbage...
 
P

PataHikari

Banned
BANGS said:
I didn't say college degrees are useless, I said that some college degrees are useless and I didn't waste my time with those like so many who complain...
Click to expand...
You used a proven falsehood and are still using a falsehood.

Millenials don't "complain" about their "useless degrees" they did what they were told was "right" and worked harder than any generation and still got screwed over.

BANGS said:
Also, please fuck off before calling people "lucky" for being successful. Just fuck right the fuck off with that garbage...
Click to expand...
Lol nope. Luck is the most major factor in your sucess because you need to be lucky in the first place to even get a chance of success.

Stop with the FYGM attitude and actually have empathy for other humans
 
Blood Borne

Blood Borne

Member
pramod said:
Wages are stagnant for those with the wrong type of jobs.

Wages are soaring in the energy, technology and medical fields.
Click to expand...
Shhhh, don't tell them. They should keep on studying gender studies, feminism intersectionality, liberal arts, sociology, etc and leaving the university with astronomical debts with no employable skills.
 
P

PataHikari

Banned
BANGS said:
This is what millennials ACTUALLY believe, and is the sole cause of why they can't keep a steady paying job and make smart financial decisions...
Click to expand...

The fact that you have a steady job to even "keep" is a sign of how lucky you are.

Blood Borne said:
Shhhh, don't tell them. They should keep on studying gender studies, feminism intersectionality, liberal arts, sociology, etc and leaving the university with astronomical debts with no employable skills.
Click to expand...

Are you being willfully ignorant or just straight up lying?

Because this is not what is happening. I literally pointed this out earlier in the thread. People did get the "good" degrees that everybody told them to, taking on thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt because that's what society told them to do and then whoops, turns it out they were lied to!
 
P

Pomerlaw

Member
Dear millenials looking for a job,

Come to Quebec City, we need you.

Quality of life is great here. If you don't mind learning a bit of french and cold weather (I will be frank, Quebec's winter is really cold. But I love it! You just have to dress up correctly.

Unemployment is between 2 and 4%. The city (and province) is looking for thousands of new employees in the IT sector in the coming years. There are also a lot of jobs in restauration and other sectors.

The city is beautiful and the girls are too.

quebec-old-city-canada-winter_93244_600x450.jpg
 
PSYGN

PSYGN

Member
Pomerlaw said:
Dear millenials looking for a job,

Come to Quebec City, we need you.

Quality of life is great here. If you don't mind learning a bit of french and cold weather (I will be frank, Quebec's winter is really cold. But I love it! You just have to dress up correctly.

Unemployment is between 2 and 4%. The city (and province) is looking for thousands of new employees in the IT sector in the coming years. There are also a lot of jobs in restauration and other sectors.

The city is beautiful and the girls are too.

quebec-old-city-canada-winter_93244_600x450.jpg
Click to expand...

Do you mean dear Canadians? Or is it easier for the average American to move to Canada now? It seemed pretty tough when I wanted to move in 2015 even before Trump.
 
RiccochetJ

RiccochetJ

Gold Member
PSYGN said:
Do you mean dear Canadians? Or is it easier for the average American to move to Canada now? It seemed pretty tough when I wanted to move in 2015 even before Trump.
Click to expand...

Well, you have to prove that you'll be adding value as a non-refugee immigrant. Is that a difficult task for you?
 
PSYGN

PSYGN

Member
RiccochetJ said:
Well, you have to prove that you'll be adding value as a non-refugee immigrant. Is that a difficult task for you?
Click to expand...

But don't they have to prove to the government that they couldn't find any Canadian citizen qualified in Canada for over a year? Is there talent drought in Canada now? As a web designer/developer, what are the chances that they can't find anyone?
 
BANGS

BANGS

Banned
PataHikari said:
People did get the "good" degrees that everybody told them to, taking on thousands upon thousands of dollars in debt because that's what society told them to do and then whoops, turns it out they were lied to!
Click to expand...

It's almost like markets shift and can become incredibly competitive over time, especially when everyone is trying to get into the same market...

Didn't they teach you that in college? No? Then why are you blaming "society" and not the college that failed you?
 
V

Vicetrailia

Member
BANGS said:
It's almost like markets shift and can become incredibly competitive over time, especially when everyone is trying to get into the same market...

Didn't they teach you that in college? No? Then why are you blaming "society" and not the college that failed you?
Click to expand...

Moving goalposts. All you do make any generic excuse necessary to pin it on individuals. You have no idea what's going on with the bigger picture.
 
I

iamblades

Member
ssolitare said:
The libertarian responses in this topic:



Lost all sense of reality in sticking to their ideals.
Click to expand...

Huh, by and large libertarians are on the right side of all the things that are screwing over millennials. The giant entitlements that are just transfer programs from poor young people to rich old people, the massive subsidization of college loans that has resulted in the explosion of education costs, and the terrible zoning policies that make it completely unaffordable to live in certain places.

Plus the ACA mandate and the elimination of catastrophic coverage that forces young healthy people to buy coverage they don't need.

Libertarians aren't the ones fucking over millennials, government is.
 
V

Vicetrailia

Member
iamblades said:
Huh, by and large libertarians are on the right side of all the things that are screwing over millennials. The giant entitlements that are just transfer programs from poor young people to rich old people, the massive subsidization of college loans that has resulted in the explosion of education costs, and the terrible zoning policies that make it completely unaffordable to live in certain places.

Plus the ACA mandate and the elimination of catastrophic coverage that forces young healthy people to buy coverage they don't need.

Libertarians aren't the ones fucking over millennials, government is.
Click to expand...

Actually it's the boomers in control fucking everyone over. Government, Corporations, lobbyists, Betsy Devos, etc.

With the ACA there's that bad side, but there's the good side like people actually being able to afford healthcare, and it massively slowing down the rate of rising insurance costs. But hey.

Zoning is local stuff, but yeah we need better alternatives.
 
T

turbodog

Member
I think that the "must get a college degree" advice AND the quality of acedemia has been the biggest negative effect on millennials. I went to a state university (not a very good degree or gpa) and was surprised at how many second chances and bail outs students received in the form of bonuses or extensions. My theory is that some colleges are letting more students in knowing that they will probably drop out.

I think students were sold a lie and I would be curious to know the drop out rate for freshmen at universities on the lower side of tuition costs.

When I interviewed candidates for an assistant sys admin position, I had so many associate degree grads that couldn't answer simple technical questions.

Although it does seem like it's hard for millennials to get jobs, it looks to me like companies aren't hurting to find people. They seem to be doing fine (they ARE filling the positions). I do think wages should be increased, but I also think that there are a lot of job seekers that are over confident and haven't learned simple lessons on being a professional.

I will say that the cost of living is higher than today's wages. That means that we no longer can have the less disirable jobs and still afford the American dream. People could work at a grocery store and successfully contribute to a household's income.
 
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