So, what makes Gen Y the most entitled generation ever? I'd argue that title goes to the Baby Boomer generation (at least for the time being). They're the generation that decided that, while their parents paid for their education, kids should really pay for theirs (paying for zero educations in their lifetime while each other generation will pay for 1). They're the generation that has decided anything that costs money can be shuttled onto future generations through debt. They're the generation that paid too little in Social Security and Medicare taxes who are gearing up to fight for expanded benefits paid for by their children.
We'll see if Gen Y decides to be as entitled. Yeah, Baby Boomers get annoyed with Gen Y kids who think they know everything when they don't. Most people in my generation think they're a ton smarter than they actually are and think that minimal work should result in great reward. Maybe we're no better than the baby boomers, but I resent this implication that we think the world revolves around us. The baby boomer generation seems to like to forget that part of their success was that they were able to shift burdens onto others (often their children).
I guess I should apologize for how I started off this comment. It was too harsh. I got a little too aggravated by the article and being lectured down to by a generation whose greatest accomplishment was being born in the only industrialized nation not bombed out by WWII and, therefore, had the opportunity to create with barely any competition. OK, I'm still aggravated. I'm sorry.
Most people are hardworking folks and this author is trying to appeal to the few that are probably less hardworking and want to blame society on someone else. It happens all the time - it's those immigrants that are making your life suck and the like.
I think we'd all be better off if we remembered who we are really - not the idealized vision we have of ourselves. Baby Boomers went through a period of pot smoking and being lazy. Before them, dating was the hot button being seen as a waste of time and a disregard for morality. Let's all try to remember that life is a little more universal than this essay would have you believe.
lol! I remember being called all sorts of things in the 70s. But now it's my turn! Damn kids! Get off my lawn! The fun part is you'll get to do it to the next generation.
So, what makes Gen Y the most entitled generation ever? I'd argue that title goes to the Baby Boomer generation (at least for the time being).
I'd apply your criticism to the generation a half-generation younger than the Greatest Generation, namely the generation born during the birth dearth of the 1930s. (They are largely the parents of the Baby Boom.) The Baby Boom generation paid into the Social Security system to a greater degree than the birth dearth generation did, but will have a substantially higher retirement age.
The demographic facts are reported in reasonably good detail (but pointing to different issues) in Malcolm Gladwell's new book Outliers.
We'll see if Gen Y decides to be as entitled. Yeah, Baby Boomers get annoyed with Gen Y kids who think they know everything when they don't. Most people in my generation think they're a ton smarter than they actually are and think that minimal work should result in great reward. Maybe we're no better than the baby boomers, but I resent this implication that we think the world revolves around us. The baby boomer generation seems to like to forget that part of their success was that they were able to shift burdens onto others (often their children).
I guess I should apologize for how I started off this comment. It was too harsh. I got a little too aggravated by the article and being lectured down to by a generation whose greatest accomplishment was being born in the only industrialized nation not bombed out by WWII and, therefore, had the opportunity to create with barely any competition. OK, I'm still aggravated. I'm sorry.
Most people are hardworking folks and this author is trying to appeal to the few that are probably less hardworking and want to blame society on someone else. It happens all the time - it's those immigrants that are making your life suck and the like.
I think we'd all be better off if we remembered who we are really - not the idealized vision we have of ourselves. Baby Boomers went through a period of pot smoking and being lazy. Before them, dating was the hot button being seen as a waste of time and a disregard for morality. Let's all try to remember that life is a little more universal than this essay would have you believe.