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Subscribe to RSSMany Americans have long lived with the notion that the next generation should be better off than the one before it. The Great Recession now has some questioning whether that can continue.
A post this week looking at how much financial ground households under 35 have lost in recent decades prompted hundreds of you to comment on what the future may hold for young people weighed down by the recession, housing crisis and increasing cost of going to college.
Some said there should be no guarantee that young people will live better than their parents. But others felt differently.
“As a 60 (year-old) I can say that our generation has had it all. Tuition was affordable and jobs were plentiful. The younger generations are paying into Social Security and will never see a benefit. The least we could do is to forgive student loans and make education affordable for them - as it was for us. Stop funneling all the money to the DoD,” the reader wrote, referring to the U.S. Department of Defense.
There are some ways that younger Americans have seen improvements over their parents’ generation. Another post this week looking at the slow gains in the number of new moms getting paid maternity leave also got plenty of people talking about whether employers should provide those benefits.
The vast majority of the more than 12,000 people who took our poll said yes, parents should get paid time off with their babies.
But many commenters disagreed.
“I don't think companies should have to pay you to take time off to start a family. You need to choose: family or work. There is no 'and' in this scenario … This isn't Sweden. Here, maternity leave should be seen as a privilege, not a right. Just like starting a family is a choice. And choices have consequences. YOUR consequences, not your employers,” one reader wrote.
Some commenters felt it was unfair to offer employees paid time off when so many people are looking for work. For some jobseekers, a major barrier to employment is a low credit score.
Is that a fair measure? Another Life Inc. post this week looked at recent research showing that people with low credit scores aren’t more likely to call in sick or steal, but they are more likely to be agreeable.
Most readers felt that a low credit score shouldn’t keep you from getting a job.
“During these tough economic times absolutely not. Credit scores and reports tell a story and every story has two sides to it. Negative credit could be due to a recent loss of a job, serious illness, change in family, etc. and may not reflect the individual's capacity or character to perform a job,” one reader wrote on our Facebook page.
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"This isn't Sweden."
So is that an acknowledgement that the Swedes are better treated by their society than Americans are by theirs ?
yes pretty much. People don't understand that one of the reasons the government gives incentives to have children (like tax credits) is gradual responsible population growth is good for teh country and teh economy.
also...wouldn't it be pro-life to encourage people to bring more life into this world?
Yep
And pretty soon we have a gradual increase to 10 Billion people by 2150. Now how bad can that be for the countries, economy and the evironment.
I firmly believe that the 'young' generation will be better off than their parents. What I observe is that the younger people are not lowering expectations - they are changing expectations. The younger generation is redefining how we measure success.
I believe we are witnessing a transformation of cultural norms around the world. It is exciting and frightening at the same time. Tomorrow's world belongs to the young.
Its unfortunate, but perhaps we will be better off in the long run. I imagine the generation that pushed through the depression and WWII would see the "current" generation as weak. You tend to place more value on something if you have to earn it as opposed thinking that it is your birthright. I think the "under 35'ers" will knuckle down and persevere, but it will be tough medicine going down.
The younger generation is only happy with "more", has never known frugality, and has been mostly indulged by boomer parents - oh, and by the way not all of the boomers were able to get good jobs, and now are struggling to find work
The boomers were defined by their jobs. A more desirable job meant higher status - along with more 'stuff'. That is how the boomers defined success. The young generation is defined more by who is in their circle of friends.
The boomers were about common experiences - watching the same sitcoms. The young generation is about sharing unique experiences.
Boomers were about material things - leaving family and friends for a career. The young generation is more about people. Work is just something they have to do - work does not define them.
Yep, baby boomers had everything handed to them on a silver platter, and they squandered it, ruining this country. Now their children are left to clean up their mess. They are the worst generation this country ever had.
As a boomer, I can tell you that I had nothing handed to me on a silver platter. I began work at age 12. I've put myself through college, and 2 post grad degrees. I built my first house with my own hands, as the bank would not lend money for construction to a woman. I've saved at least 25% of my income every year of my working life. Do I have a good life now? Yes, due to the hard work and good fortune I've had over the past six decades.
Yes, and you lived that good life thanks to decisions your generation made like exporting jobs to china for cheap trinkets rather than live less comfortably with american manufactured goods. You sold out your children for a little comfort.
Greedy Union wage and benefit demands drove the jobs to China and elsewhere.
I believe my parents, who are 'boomers' had it better than I ever will. Life was a lot less complicated in many respects - not all, mind you. Every generation has its issues.
America has seen the last of the 'good times' thanks to the TeaRepublicans helping corporate and the 1% turn her into a third world country.
The Republicans are not the problem, the welfare and handout addicted democrats are the problem. The bottom 47% in this country pay NO income tax, and 46% of them are on welfare and handouts. Most of them are democrats. When you pay people to be poor, all you get are more and more poor. Until the breeding of poor people is stopped, and until welfare ends, problems will increase to the point of a total collapse. That is the only thing that will end the greedy unions and welfare. Please reserach before posting.