> in my generation we grew expecting to bust our tails and make it in the world
I respect the attitude, but realize that times are different now. It's just not possible in a lot of situations to do this.
Since I don't know the generation you grew up in, I'm going to assume the 60s. Which means you would be getting started in the 80s.
In the 80s a "basket of goods" (CPI) was 3x cheaper. And that's assuming they haven't hacked the numbers to make that report seem a bit nicer. Meanwhile, wages have stagnated and college tuition has increased substantially. They are also dealing with obesity epidemic, never-ending war, and the impending doom of climate change.
So those kids are just not in as good a position to succeed.
>They are also dealing with obesity epidemic, never-ending war, and the impending doom of climate change.
I can picture it now. A cry echos from many basements in America: "MOM I CAN'T GET A JOB, CLIMATE CHANGE!"
I'm 27 and a high school drop out. I've supported myself since I was 18 and own my home. war, climate change, and obesity (I'm not a thin man) never prevented me from getting a job.
> I'm 27 and a high school drop out. I've supported myself since I was 18 and own my home.
Nice, that's not easy. And if it was 50% harder to do, you might have been able to do it anyway. But there is some threshold where you would not have been able to. It might be 200%, 500%, 1000%, but there's a line somewhere.
> war, climate change, and obesity
This was more to point out how different the world is now, not provide excuses for laziness.
I respect the attitude, but realize that times are different now. It's just not possible in a lot of situations to do this.
Since I don't know the generation you grew up in, I'm going to assume the 60s. Which means you would be getting started in the 80s.
In the 80s a "basket of goods" (CPI) was 3x cheaper. And that's assuming they haven't hacked the numbers to make that report seem a bit nicer. Meanwhile, wages have stagnated and college tuition has increased substantially. They are also dealing with obesity epidemic, never-ending war, and the impending doom of climate change.
So those kids are just not in as good a position to succeed.