60 minutes just now on the millenial generation

[bighughdiehl]

Morley Schaeffer had a bunch of corporate heads yakking about the sense of entielment about the millenials, about how awful it is that they don't want to work much moe than 40 hours a week, how they live at home until they're 30, how they're attached to their ipods, how corporate america is catering to them, how it's all Mr. Rogers fault. Bullshit. We don't want to work much more than 40 hours(but we WILL work)because you'll just screw us anyway. We live at home for a prolonged period because college and rent is so dman expensive, and it's easy to be screwed no matter what you degree. Apart from the ipods, we work more for less than the boomers did. A couple hundred to plop down on gadgets now and then is not the same as having a grand every month to put down on a shithole apartment. Not to mention student loans, etc, which we may more of than anyone else has. Screw you, morley, and you corporate smack-talkers. One of these smack-talkers said it was all carrot and no stick out there in corporate america, now, to cater to the supposedly spoiled brats. Bullshit, it's the opposite. Screw you, Morley. Oh, he did have some kids on yakking about how they won't make the same mistakes their parents did, yada yada yada. That's bullshit, too, and every generation-especially the boomers, said the same thing.

:banghead:

[AX10]

1. I want the names of these corporate heads!

F---ing BASTARDS! It's very hard to make these days. The GD corporate-fascists are looking for another excuse to justify even more outsourcing! :mad:

[bighughdiehl]

4. Yeah

Sorry I didn't catch their names, I was too busy yelling "Bullshit!" They showed some some of the exceptionally happy-clappy scenes from the cubicle farms to make their point. I wonder how many believed this shit? Not many under 40, fo sho. Mostly dittoheads, too, I imagine.

[rockymountaindem]

2. Yep

I know plenty of friends in that situation, and it's not for lack of trying to get a good job.

[dflprincess]

3. Let me get this straight....

The corporate heads, who were more than happy to go along with the Reagan/Bush greed is good philosophy are now shocked to find that their "me first" idea has trickled down to the next generation?

There is something karmic about this.

I hope the part about the young ones not being willing to work more than 40 hours a week is true. It's high time Americans adopted the attitude that we work to live, not live to work.... With some agitation maybe the next generation will get us to the 35 hour work week.

[AX10]

5. According to Howe and Strauss (The Forth Turning)

...this is what is going to happen. The next generation is going to be more concerned with society at large. They will be concerned about the well-being of their families, and they will NOT tolerate abuse of the corporate-facsists.

I hope they do adopt this mentality. No one should be a slave to a corporate-facsist.

[rucky]

18. I sense a big "back-to-basics" movement around the bend. n/t

[Delphinus]

56. Years ago I read

the Fourth Turning - wish I had remembered what you said. Will have to read it again - shows hope.

[Odin2005]

66. I have that book.

They wrote the book 10 years ago it's it's just eerie how many of their predictions are coming true. They predicted the "fourth turning" would start in 2005. Katrina...

[bighughdiehl]

7. interesting point, dflprincess

If there was any truth to this report, it may be largely due to corporate America's me-first shit. And, yes, it is time we work to live and not vice-versa. The reason I don't want to work much more than 40 hours is that..and....there is no amount of loyalty and burning the midnight oil that will keep you from getting outsourced, laid off, benefits reduced, what have you. It just ain't worth it.

[aquart]

23. IOW, they reap what they sow.

I remember when being buttoned down at IBM kept you protected from cradle to grave. And then, one day, it didn't.

But I have NEVER been an advocate of unrestrained and endless praise. And it's NOT true that "You can be anything you want to be." Not even for the appallingly overprivileged scions of the disappearing middle class.

[Delphinus]

58. Yeah, I'm living

with realizing loyalty means nothing to the bosses right now.

[Sparkly]

21. Meanwhile, the French government is pushing for 40-hour weeks!

Sad, isn't it? :(

[msongs]

6. expenses versus income is relative for any time period, nobody has it worse now than then

back in the days of "cheap" rents the typical college kid level pay was $1 or $2 an hour. now its maybe 4 or 5 times that and rents etc, whatta ya know, are also 4 or 5 times the oldies days.

my neighbor college students seem to spend most of their money on alcohol (trash cans full of empty bottles every week) and brand new cars, they do not drive old save your money clunkers. the city utilities green tagged them last week (last chance to pay or get cut off) and the gas company was there yesterday for the same reason, ditching the bill. well that's those guys' priorities. I doubt that most people in their age group act the same way...at least I hope not.

Msongs

[bighughdiehl]

11. msongs,

Maybe rent has only gone up in tandem with salaries, but that is not true with student loans, even if you go to a state school. As far as the dumbass neighbors, they are the exception. None of my friends had brand new cars until they got(sort of) good jobs and were sick and tired of the 10-15 year old jalopies. It was cheaper to pay200-300 a month on a new car than a new 500 repair almost every month. Good point about the booze, though, credit card debt that this causes is something I have less sympathy about.

[dflprincess]

36. I would disagree

I think it's harder for kids to get out on their own now.

In 1971 when I started college my first quarter tuition was $207 (plus books). I had a job in a union grocery store that paid about $2.40/hour (starting pay had been $2.07, but by then I'd been there a year and received a raise) and the union required I get at least 15 hours a week, but no more than 20. Minimum wage was about $1.30 - so I thought I was making big money. I also received somewhere around $140.00 a month in Social Security Survior Benefits.

With that I paid tuition as well as supporting myself (rent,utilities, clothes), the only thing I couldn't afford was a car. I did take a break during college (which stopped the Survivor's Benefits) so when I graduated in 1977 I was $2,500 in debt.

And, I'm still living in the same apartment. The neighborhood has stayed safe and the building owners go easy on long term residents when it comes to increases (there's several people who have been here as long as me). Every now and then I toy with the idea of moving to a newer building, but I see what the rents are and can't believe it. I'm shocked by what people who are just moving into my building pay.

[Sparkly]

8. If they offered any stats as evidence for what they said, I didn't see it.

It seemed to me they may have been talking about some slice of some strata (a strata related to education and economic class, I think), and generalizing it to a whole generation.

[Akoto]

9. I'm 22 and still living at home, because ...

I have medical issues and no insurance. If I had rent on top of that, I'd be screwed for treatment. Oh, and I have trouble finding a job with decent pay because they've all been shipped overseas by the same corporations now complaining about us.

[alarimer]

10. Why work hard or be loyal to a company that will dump you at the first opportunity?

Now companies are prohibiting people from smoking AT HOME. Not to mention sending their jobs overseas at the drop of a hat.

My message to anyone joining the workforce: take them for everything they are worth. Use up every sick day, vacation day, time off you have coming to you. Work just enough to get by (but not so little as to get fired!), do what is required but no more because they will not reward you for it. And absolutely do not volunteer for anything. And then jump at better opportunities whenever and wherever you find them. You are just a cog in the wheel. You mean nothing to them.

I know this is a "bad" attitude but sometimes it is more important to look out for number one because your company only cares about you as long as they can get something out of you. Once you start costing them more than they get, out you go.

[AX10]

12. I agree.

If they give you 20 days off a year. Use everyone of them because they will NOT pay you back for those days that you did not use.

[Sparkly]

14. Where are all those jobs, where they're starving for employees?

The segment said employers are so desperate to hire people, they bend over backwards to entertain them (them = the people in the generation discussed).

Your idea has a lot of faith that better opportunities will come along.

What are these jobs?

[alarimer]

17. I don't know where they are

I just meant never stop looking for something better. It may or may not happen. And it largely depends on the field. But I do know one thing, there are no "lifetime" jobs anymore. It's better to jump before you are pushed out, that's really what I meant.

[Sparkly]

20. True.

The 60 Minutes piece just made it seem like employers were very desperate for these young people, and that they were therefore making workplaces like Romper Room to get them to stay.

[alarimer]

24. I've read that about a lot of internet companies back in the boom days

Pool tables in common areas and stuff like that. I think internet companies or video game companies are more likely to do that so people will work all day and night. Personally, no amount of couches and pool tables will make me want to work an excessive amount.

[Sparkly]

28. Right - this piece made it seem is was just about holding on to them.

I thought it MUST be about a certain level of education or specific skills in short supply -- not representative of a majority of young people's experiences.

[bighughdiehl]

16. Totally, alarimer

Totally, Totally, Totally. Milk them because they're going to milk you!

[alarimer]

22. It's terribly cynical of me, I know.

I don't really mean that you should be a slacker or surf the internet at work time. I just wouldn't give any more than absolutely necessary. I do what I have to and I do it well. So long as my performance review is good, I don't really care. I don't go above and beyond for a couple of reasons. At my work place there is no bonus system (well there is but it seems to be mostly reserved for "favorites") so no real incentive to do exceptionally well. And my boss never gives the highest ratings on the performance review on the theory that then there would be no room for improvement. So I don't really try all that hard anymore to impress. And the second reason is that there is no upward mobility.

I am not one of those people who gets really gung-ho about any organization. I hated pep rallies in high school and I hate all that rah-rah "we're the best company ever" stuff now.

[AX10]

30. I know how you feel. I never bothered to attend any pep-rallies..

in high school. I don't like the idea of being indoctrinated into blindly following anyone or organization.

[Sparkly]

31. I HATED pep rallies!!

Never, never, never went to them. (I was always criticized for having "no school spirit.")

Edit: My oldest sister came home crying from her first pep rally. She felt it was like being in the middle of a loud wave of mass hysteria and it just freaked her out. So I was already warned -- but it just seemed like a stupid waste of time to me.

I understand the point, though. Once I worked in a restaurant that kept trying to jazz us up and motivate us somehow, and the "head waitress" gave a pep-talk on "Restaurant Fever!" ("Can you feel it?") I remember repeatedly shaking my head and saying, "No, I'm sorry, I do not have this Restaurant Fever."

[Deja Q]

55. Sickening

But it is a valid point in today's world. A world they made, so for them to pin 100% of the blame and more if they could unto everyone else... Didn't Freud have a term for that?

[Fox Mulder]

60. Agreed.

That's exactly what I do at work.

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. Same complaint about every generation since the beginning of time.

People always worked harder back in the day!

[Sparkly]

27. Yes, but there may be some things different for this generation...

There was, at least from what I saw working in schools, a very broad push toward "I'm a Star!" Like Lake Wobegon, ALL the children were supposed to be above average. And my first husband worked in a high school where kids and parents were irate (one almost broke our apartment door down!) if their kids didn't get *multiple* awards at the end of the year, just for "not spitting in the corner," as another teacher put it.

The other thing I wonder about is whether this generation is the first in a long time to have no -- or few -- first-hand affects of the military draft. The very idea of mandatory non-military service makes many scream about their rights and freedoms, as if these rights and freedoms just sort of happened.

And I wonder what it is about MY generation that made so many of us raise our children to be sort of emotionally spoiled. I've often wondered whether it goes in cycles: My mother was rather spoiled, and I had a more difficult upbringing; I spoiled my daughter in some ways imagining she was like me, and she is tough as nails in making it clear exactly what she wants -- so I expect when she's of the age to be a mother, she will take NO shit from her kids!!

But in any case, I do NOT blame Mr. Rogers. :)

[BamaGirl]

49. I think this is definitely true

I've often wondered whether it goes in cycles: My mother was rather spoiled, and I had a more difficult upbringing; I spoiled my daughter in some ways imagining she was like me, and she is tough as nails in making it clear exactly what she wants -- so I expect when she's of the age to be a mother, she will take NO shit from her kids!!

My parents are Boomers and both say their parents were pretty strict. I'm an Xer and to say I had no rules and was allowed pretty much free reign is an understatement. And now, I have 3 kids that I'm very strict with. I figure they'll take the opposite approach as me lol.

[sendero]

15. I completely believe..

... we've become a nation of grasshoppers when we used to be ants.

The younger generation is simply emulating the "what me worry" attitude of their parents, coupled with the realization that busting your ass for a company is an iffy proposition at best.

[Bitwit1234]

19. He's 100% correct the are the ones Obama is sucking up to...

Don't have a responsible piece of bone in their body.

[bighughdiehl]

26. Care to expand on that, Bitwit?

eom

[rockymountaindem]

29. Why is everything from you an attack on Obama?

You act like he's the devil or something.

[antigone382]

33. I'm not sure if you're sarcastic or not, but...

Let's see...I'm 23, I own my own car (a cheap-ass 88 Accord that needs a lot of repairs, but it's good on gas and it's mine), have my own apartment, and work full-time in addition to doing community theatre and saving money to finish my degree. I help my mom with her bills, in fact I just covered the vet bill for an unfortunately unsuccessful effort to save the family dog.

The kids I hang out with are an incredibly supportive, tightly-nit group of people, a lot of us dealing with the realities of being the underclass in a wealthy college town...it's always fascinating to observe the disparity in the law enforcement's treatment of poor local kids versus the wealthy student body...but hey, they've managed to navigate the legal fun of this community, hold down jobs and make their way in a world of increasing financial hardships and narrowing opportunities.

Most remarkably, so many of the kids from all economic strata and educational level that I've met and talked to have a real dedication to finding practical, constructive solutions to problems both in our society and the world at large. And I'm not talking about joining a commune and smoking up until you realize it actually takes work to grow your own food...they're joining the Peace Corps, becoming teachers, humanitarians, environmental lawyers, you name it...they have a continually surprising understanding of what's wrong with the world and what needs to be done to fix it. Of course there's no shortage of slackers, hotheads, assholes, you name it...but point me to any group, any generation among whose ranks you won't find these.

I have incredible belief in the people of my generation. We aren't as a whole particularly rebellious...but we aren't apathetic, either. We have a strong sense of duty towards our families and communities, an incredible level of acceptance for those who are different from us, and the wisdom to figure out what our goals should be, and what the most logical course of action should be to figure them out.

[killbotfactory]

65. don't be an idiot

[Bigmack]

25. You lazy young whippersnappers....

Your productivity goes up every year... but...

Your wages are stagnant....

Your employers treat you like expendable office furniture...

You're priced out of housing by a bubble market...

Your 401k's are actually losing money because of the drop in the value of the dollar...

Few of you have proper health insurance...

None of you work in actually manufacturing anything... those jobs are overseas.

You must be losers!

Deep, dark :sarcasm: here.

Corporate Murika fucks and refucks your generation(s), and still they feel you need more fucking yet!

My kid works his balls off, and the company delights in telling him - weekly - how his job is hanging by a thread if the company output doesn't constantly go up.

[bighughdiehl]

32. I can't begin....

to articulate what a big sack of coroporo-fascist propoganda this was. Really bad and blatant for even the MSM. And I KNOW that Oxyboy and all his friends will use this tomorrow. I cannot imagine who has completely fallen for this without some more coaxing from talk radio tomorrow. Yes, we need to work harder...for less benefits, stagnant wages, more chances of layoff then ever regardless of hard work, loyalty, etc. It is all stick and no carrot out there. They tried to paint exactly the opposite!

[antigone382]

34. There was a thread on this report awhile back...

...and I couldn't believe how eager a lot of DUers were to pick out everything that cast us in a negative light and use it to tear us to pieces...

"gosh darn it, these kids today are so lazy and disrespectful and apathetic and blah-blah-blah ad infinitum..."

It was infuriating. Especially because they conveniently ignored all the sections of the report that described our increasing interest in community service, our acceptance of ideas that are currently verboten in mainstream politics like gay marriage, our dedication to doing well in school and making real achievements...they just focused on ONE corporate fucktard who was complaining about how we didn't worship the sorry excuse of a job market in this country.

I don't own (or want) a TV...much less a fricking ipod. And I know a lot of kids like me.

[AX10]

35. Hey, I know of a number younger kids (teenagers)..

who have MP3 players, not the latest fad: IPODS!
I am older than a millenial, but I still do not worship material goods and have every electronic gadget on the Earth.

[blues90]

37. All I can say as an old boomer is

I don't how it is for you because i am not in your shoes and you don't know what it was for me because you are not in my shoes . It sucks no matter what generation you are from .

[antigone382]

38. Thanks, actually.

That's a lot more than we get from a lot of Boomers, who you'd think would know from experience better than to condemn the younger generation for traits that are common to all youth.


And btw...it's funny, if you look at it, the way things can completely suck and completely rock at the same time...I'm in a play about labor camps during World War II right now, and as searing as it is to come into contact with such ghastly behavior on the part of so many, I can't help being even more amazed at human beings' capacity for courage and decency. The fact that we get it right even half the time is pretty incredible and inspiring, really. I don't know if that helps you at all, but there ya go.

[bananas]

42. Young Man Blues

Oh well a young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days
I said a young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days

You know in the old days
When a young man was a strong man
All the people they'd step back
When a young man walked by

But you know nowadays
It's the old man,
He's got all the money
And a young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days
I said nothing

Everybody knows that a young man ain't got nothin'.
Everybody!
Everybody knows that a young man ain't got nothin'
He got nothin'
Nothin'

Take it easy on the young man
They ain't got nothin' in the world these days
I said they ain't got nothin'!
They got sweet fuck-all!

----

THE WHO
Live at Leeds 1970
Young Man Blues

http://www.utterlyrics.com/w/who/live-at-leeds-1970/young-man-blues.html

[SteelPenguin]

52. Well basically

It comes down to two incomes today makes less disposable income for a family than one income did thirty years ago. Signficantly less. People like to point out kids ipods or whatever, but the fact of the matter is that thirty years ago people spent more eating out, and on gadgets and devices than we do today.

When you factor in rent/mortagage, student loans, health care, and food, times are so more more tough that half the people of Generation X who are entering their key productive years have no savings whatsoever, not because they don't want to save or are slackers, they simply dont' have the money, as they live month to month.

[blues90]

53. That all depends

I grew uo in the 50's and my father worked hard as a carpenter , he built custom homes . At 9 I had to go with him every school vacation and help and did not get paid for it plus I had all the other choirs to do around the house .

My mother raised four children and had alot of housework going on daily .

we never had extras or more than one X-mas present under the tree and we wore hand me down clothes . Cars lasted 10 to 12 years and many time he had no work so he took on small jobs and brought me with .

I did not enjoy this , these days this would be child labor laws offended .

My point is even though we had food and such not everyone had it easy , there was no thoughts of college just get a job , a trade . Now I never made alot of money and never spent alot and now that I'm old I lost my only good job and am discarded as being to old to hire even though I have many years of experience it does not matter because my experience does not fit with todays job market .

Hence why I said it sucks for every generation unless you happen to come from a great set of parents who took the time to encourage you to do better and even this may not be good enough anymore .

I had to sweat the draft for years too , not a pleasent experience wondering what day that greetings notice may arrive in the mail . Hell the physical alone was horrifying enough for the draft .

I had to live through the nuclear duck and cover and the cuban missile crisis and that was not a fun time , it was no joke .

People used to say , life is a bitch and then you die . It's never been easy for the working class hero , never .

[Malikshah]

39. I see it in college education.

I am so glad I don't have some of my students' nerve in my tooth.

Old gen x-er who actually didn't grade grub and believe that persistence = grade.

[antigone382]

40. Are you saying that...

...before MY generation, no students *ever* whined to their professors because they thought they were graded unfairly? Just because you didn't exhibit a particular undesirable characteristic doesn't mean no one else in your age group did. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if you took all the different "generations" and lined them up next to each other at the same ages, you wouldn't find much statistical difference in their behavior. You can't determine the characteristics of individuals according to what particular twenty-year span they were born in.

And even if kids today ARE more desperate for that undeserved "A," it's possible that if there was actually a decent future for anybody without a degree these days we wouldn't be so horrified at the thought of getting a bad grade...flunk out of college and you're looking at a lifetime of dead-end jobs that offer no security or benefits or even the ability to adequately pay off our bills. Healthcare? Retirement? LOL! A degree at least gives you a slim chance of making it.

[Malikshah]

41. Yes. Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. Oh, and you better stay off

my lawn!

The phenomenon of "helicopter parents", awards for everyone, teaching strategies that abhor the use of red pens because they will damage the egos of the students, syllabi = legal contracts, suing for grades, etc. These are more recent developments.

The focus on the extrinsic value of learning (i.e., the grade) has turned the University into a grade farm vending machines. One sees this as well with the increased focus even at the pre-collegiate level at "results" (NCLB, Standardized testing, "teaching to the test")

The intrinsic value of learning is all but lost on many--not due to something inherent in them, but rather the system that has been built up around them.

Grades = jobs and so people focus on the end result alone. How can a get a good grade? What do I need to do at the bare minimum. Forget about the topic, the process, the journey itself. Just the results.

That leads to flabby minds. Bloated with inflated grades, but not having the wherewithal to "think outside the box". Critical thinking? Critical reading? Nope--not unless it's going to be on the test.

"But I need a job!" Solution-- grades=job. So simple. Nothing about learning skills, spreading one's intellectual horizons, experience all that life has to offer. Just get the grade so I can get the job. By any means necesary.

Such fun.

Here are two brief clips that might wake some people up to the value of teaching and the value of intrinsic learning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw1MFobWD_o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjhOBiSk8Gg

[Deja Q]

59. Talent = grade; Talent = job. At least in theory.

The best way to find and keep a job is to use one's God-given talents. Or be one's own boss.

[Superman Returns]

43. My generation

can't be independent when the college cartel has us by our collective balls and puts us in debt, only to find that fresh new bachelors degree is equivalent to yesterdays high school diploma, and that companies are looking to get us for dirt cheap.

[SammyWinstonJack]

44. Boomer here and my husband, a boomer also, works 60 to 72 hr/wk.

He is 56, is a sales manager in the car business, which provides no retirement benefits and he can be fired simply because TPTB don't like how he looks. Do not talk to me about "entitlements". We boomers got screwed by St. Raygun and we paid dearly! I am sick of the boomer bashing on DU!

[AX10]

51. What does "TPTB" mean?

[Deja Q]

57. The Powers That Be

(tm)

[johnaries]

45. I know I'll get flamed for this, but...

I've been saying the same thing now for several years. Not about Mr. Rogers - but the majority of the younger hires feel like they should get paid for just showing up! I'm sorry, but in my opinion it's very true. I have noticed a huge difference in the work ethic - it seems to decline each generation. The newest generation is the worst.

There are exceptions, of course. But as a trainer, it has been very obvious to me.

What's really embarrassing - the last 2 new hires, 19 & 20, have an excellent work ethic and are very enthusiastic. They are trying very hard and doing excellent work. They are both Egyptian Immigrants.

edit to add:
College has ALWAYS been expensive, rent has ALWAYS been expensive, you were much more likely to get screwed over by management before than now thanks to new HR policies and philosophies. STOP WHINING!
Donning flame retardant suit, now.

[Deja Q]

63. You DO make valid points, but your viewpoint is extremely sheltered.

I know people who have shown interest and acuity in their workplaces, and a couple of which got knocked in their reviews FOR showing interest. Please don't give me the jive talk about "All immigrants have a work ethic and Americans don't."

Rent and college have always been expensive. But if you take a few minutes and study the value of the dollar, Americans' current buying power, you might find it's rather harder to make ends meet than it was two or three decades ago. Add in how the vast majority of our economy depends on our populace spending, you can see why some people think doom and gloom is near.

Plus, most people went to college and got education for fields that usually had a return on investment. These days it's no better than a game of poker thanks to offshoring*, and gambling is supposed to be a sin. Odd in a supposedly "Christian Nation" that our lives depend on a gamble, wouldn't you say? And with peoples' jobs lost to offshoring, that makes paying back bills such as house payments rather difficult.


The truth is in the middle. And, in summary, times have changed and you've been out of the loop.

I'm all ears if you can edify me as to how I am out of the loop.


* Just a reminder - offshoring is about supply side costs only. And because the nations we offshore to have a lower cost of living, lower wages, what our corporations pay them, while nothing to us, is a goldmine to them. Until this imbalance is corrected, the US will be at an eternal disadvantage.

[Oilwellian]

46. One thing missing in this discussion....

and mentioned in the 60 Minutes hit piece....the amount of money corporate America supposedly spends to learn how to "understand & deal with" this younger generation. $50 billion a year for snake oil salesmen to bullshit the bullshitters about a "paradigm shift." Pfffftt! (making jerkoff motion.) Why don't they use that $50 billion and raise the level of pay & benefits instead? Perhaps they'd have a more motivated & loyal workforce if they did.

[upi402]

48. Con kids into buying iPods with billion$ in advertising

and blame them for being victims of your own tactics.


effemall

It's evil out there folks. No good. Like the lady that worked for the fast food joint for decades only to get fired because her salary had gotten too high.

[Deja Q]

64. *DING* *DING* *DING* *DING* *DING* We have a winner!!

It is truly sad that companies want people to BUY BUY BUY and then blame them for doing so.

[Skittles]

47. you are correct that it is crap

no generation ever has it "easy" - we all have different crosses to bear, so to speak, and it affects the way we are viewed. I think these silly generalizations are destructive and serve no real purpose.

[Der Blaue Engel]

50. I just watched the story...what a complete and utter load of crap

I don't believe a damn word of it. I work for a consulting company, and what better way to secure your job as a consultant than to make up bullshit things that only you can teach them about?

The dead giveaway to me was the dissing of Mr. Rogers. When I grew up with fundies, Mr. Rogers and others like him were laughed at and scorned for being "permissive" and liberal and coddling children. Yes, how terrible it is for children to grow up feeling valued and special. :wtf:

And the mention of tattoos just set off my bullshit detector even more.

Corporations are jumping at any excuse to tighten their control over us, and after all the screwing over of the American worker, they want fucking "loyalty"? Are you kidding me? I'm sure they'd all like it if we put in extra hours without pay, too, to prove our "dedication" to the company.

Are there pampered, stupid people in the workforce? You betcha. Is this new? Fuck, no. Are all people of a particular generation like this? Give me a break.

And the rot about people living with their parents longer because they just want to live off mom and dad...I know people in their 30s and 40s with roommates here in San Francisco because it is no longer possible to go to college, leave with a degree and expect a) to get a decent job, or b) earn enough to pay rent in many places. Nobody wants to live with their damn parents into their 30s.

(Well, no one except basement-dwelling freepers. :rofl:)

Damn, this piece made me mad. And for the record, I'm 41.

[Deja Q]

54. How abouit the entitlements accorded the baby boomers and their parents?

Solid jobs, fairly priced college education, an optimistic future, pensions...

And the number of articles that foist up how workers of today don't have the same buying power as the generation that preceded them, who's conjuring up those bogus "reports"?

The 60 Mins report and the article on their website is so one-dimensional, it defies description.

I won't deny there are some out there who are slackers, but the whole situation is not their fault. Particularly when the age of greed started when they were born. Our Millennial kids had to learn it from somewhere. THEIR PARENTS and ambient societal environment (media, peer interests, et cetera).

[XemaSab]

61. I'm not a millennial

but I gotta say it's depressing to see your parents busting their asses in corporate Amerikkka for 30 years with very, very little to show.

Why not eat, drink, and be merry with an iPod? :shrug:

[Writer]

62. Ah, jeez... it's not about YOU, okay?

It's just a general cultural statement on the condition of the incoming American workforce. Why the hell would these corporations commit all this money to educating their management on how to deal with this new trend in worker personality if there wasn't any truth to it?

So you've beaten the bell curve of others in your cohort - well, then, congratulations! The story, then, is not about you, and you can move on with your life.

BTW: Corporate bullshit is a fact of life until we see a economic revolution in this country. Until then, I think a little resilience is in order.

[Odin2005]

67. This Millennial thought that nonsense was a total load of BS. I agree with the sentiments in the OP.

I bet those corporate fuckers were as "attached" to their Jimi Hendrix records when they were our age as were are to our MP3 players.

[JVS]

68. The millenials aren't 30 years old yet. How can they be accused of living at home until they're 30?

[hatrack]

69. Did anybody here ever read "Cold New World" by William Finnegan?

It had two quotes in it I'll never forget:

One was by Walter Kirn: "First the members of the 60s generation hated their parents. Now they hate their kids."

The other was by the author: "What price are Americans willing to pay for social peace? This seems to me a central question. We jail the poor in their multitudes, abandon the dream of equality, cede more and more of our life to private interests, let lobbyists run government. Those who can afford to do so lock themselves inside gated communities and send their children to private schools. And then we wonder why the world at large has become harsher and more cynical, why our kids have become strange to us. What young people show us is simply the world we have made for them."