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Subscribe to RSSThe economic funk of the past four years has made it tough for younger workers trying to grow up and get a good job. Lucky for them, a growing number of their parents don't really expect their 20-something children to be financially self-sufficient.
A study being released Thursday found that only 67 percent of parents expect their children to be independent by age 22 or younger, compared with 80 percent in a similar survey conducted two decades ago.
The shift appears to be at least partly a reaction to the difficult economic environment, according to the Pew Research Center study.
“These accommodations to a tough economy appear to have contributed to a broader change in social norms about when adulthood begins,” the report stated.
The report on younger workers and the economy also found that despite high unemployment, workers under 25 are optimistic about their future prospects and their ability to make ends meet. Perhaps that is related to the generous support many of them still enjoy from their parents.
“While young people are less likely now than they were before the recession to say they currently have enough income, their level of optimism is undiminished from where it was in 2004,” according to the Pew report.
Among the study's other findings:
- Nine out of 10 young employed adults said they don’t earn enough money to lead the kind of life they want but believe they’ll earn enough in the future.
- Among young adults who are not working and say they don’t currently have enough income, 75 percent are confident they will have enough income in the future (18 percent believe they won’t).
It’s a lot of positive thinking for a group that has had sustained double-digit unemployment. At the end of last year the jobless rate among workers aged 18 to 24 was 16.3 percent, compared to 8.8 percent for all adults under 64.
“The gap in the unemployment rate between 18- to 24-year-olds and all working-age adults is the widest in recorded history,” the Pew study said.
The numbers would be even worse if more young workers were in the labor market. The labor force participation rate among the under 25-crowd has been on the decline for years, as a growing number of younger workers have opted to focus on school. The rate continued its decline last year, dipping to about 65 percent, compared with 69 percent in 2007.
Gen Yers are making less money too. Pew reviewed government data and found “young adults employed full time have experienced a greater drop in weekly earnings (down 6 percent) than any other age group over the past five years.”
In the face of such economic realities, actions by Gen Yers may speak more loudly than their optimistic words.
The survey found that about half have taken jobs they didn’t want just to pay the bills; and 24 percent said they took unpaid work to gain experience. More than a third said the tough job market forced them to go back to school.
Their personal lives have also been hit: 31 percent said they’ve postponed marriage and 20 percent have put off the nuptials altogether because of the dismal jobs picture. And 22 percent are opting to wait for better times before having babies.
The Pew study was based in part on a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 adults.
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I love my parents! :)
Signed,
A Millennial born 1988 :)
Welcome to America ....
Where's Millennial ....??
I was born in the U.S. ....
Enjoy your parents ....
It's so so sad. All of this despair because we just have to cater to the needs of greedy corporate barons.
Maybe these parents are where the "entitlement culture" is coming from. Not welfare, Obama, or the liberals.
Or maybe they are just intelligent people that understand that it's more difficult for people to enter the job market. Maybe you need to stop being a GOP troll Wakehead.
I think parents understand the desperate times for their kids in their 20's and commend them for supporting them in their struggles. What I don't agree with are the brats that get pregnant and can't afford @!$%#. Living with mommy and daddy who take care of the BF and the new child. RETARDED!
This is a sliding scale, 20K/yr, 40K/yr, 60K/yr or even 125K/yr will qualify people to say that. No one I know of said they earn too much for their desired lifestyle. There is an old Buddhist saying "If you aren't happy with what you have now then you won't be happy if you possessed the world."
Our society has given people the position of not having to work to live, but to have more money. If people don't want to do what is necessary for more money then enjoy that daytime TV and those video games.
LMAO..thanks to mom & dad...Mom and dad be doing it into their kids 30's most likely (support)..and its not because of the economy either ( there were plenty of bad times for employment not just these pass four years). Its mom and dad's fault for raising their kids... spoiled and lazy!
This is a sliding scale, 20K/yr, 40K/yr, 60K/yr or even 125K/yr will qualify people to say that. No one I know of said they earn too much for their lifestyle. There is an old Buddhist saying "If you aren't happy with what you have now then you won't be happy if you possessed the world."
Our society has given people the position of not having to work to live, but to have more money. If people don't want to do what is necessary for more money then enjoy that daytime TV and video games.
They reflect the changing realities. Since the end of World War II until recently it was expected that families were mother, father, and minor children. Prior to that, especially in rural and ethnic communities, families "stuck together" more. The extended family was much more important. In the 1970s or 1980s it became impossible for families to live off of one income, so mom went to work. Now mom, dad, and adult children need to work and all live together in order to maintain a standard of living that people want. The idea of adult children living with, or very near their parents and relying financially upon their parents isn't new; it's actually really old. This was common in the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. The parents helped the children financially, and in turn the children helped the parents as they aged and needed more physical assistance. This actually isn't a bad thing. It strengthens generational family ties and ends up being a beneficial relationship for all parties.
@Mike-
Just because your parents help out doesn't mean they hold your hand through everyday life. My fiancee and I live together in a small apartment. We both have full-time jobs, and he bartends on the weekend nights for extra cash. I finished junior college with a degree in business and manage an office. But, between rent and power and car payments and insurance...if something bad happens like an accident or an unexpected expenditure like new tires or something, we can't stretch for it. That's where our parents come in to help us. We just couldn't do it.
Beleive it or not, what you just read on MSNBC is the rosiest interpretation of the findings you will ever see.
Reals new sites included much more of the details:
"The share of young adults 18-24 who are employed has dropped to 54.3 percent, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1948.
Young adults working full time have median weekly earnings of $448, about 6 percent less than in 2007,...
About 19 percent of men ages 25-34 were idle in the weak job market, neither
working nor attending school. That's up from 14 percent in 2007."
"I'm surprised young adults remain so optimistic," said Mark Mather, an
associate vice president at the Population Reference Bureau who has analyzed the census data. "The research points to long-term economic problems for young adults."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-jobs-gap-between-young-050926726.html
That is what you get for electing a president based on speaking abilities... how is that "parental health insurance coverage until age 26" treating you now? Would you rather have it, or a real future?
There are a few issues here:
1. Parents helping out is a far cry from parents enabling their kids to remain dependsents. As bananabubblez notes, some parents help their children (living on their own, per se) when there are bumps in the road. It seems like banana and her fiancee are working hard to make something of their lives, so I commend them. So long as they realize that there can quickly be an end to those "aid" payments, they should be working on saving and keep moving forward.
The parents that give their kids the new cars, thousands per month, give them rent free stay at home, etc. are the ones with the problems. They are giving their kids more excuses to not be independent. Why should I rent an apartment when I can pocket the few grand a month and party with it (or get my BMW)?
2. I saw the results of the parents giving constant aid (partly in competition for loyalty through divorse, partly with good intents); it destroyed the couple's lives. In this case the couple had pretty low paying jobs, but weren't motivated to look elsewhere for better opportunities because every month they were getting payments and every holiday there were gifts of everything they could have wanted. They lost all of their motivation to grow personally and essentially became private welfare recipients. They stagnated and eventually divorced when the well started to dry up and they couldn't cover the costs and couldn't figure out a way to get out of it. They blamed everyone else and took no personal responsibility. This is just one example of why keeping your kids "upbeat" may not be in their best interests".
“These accommodations to a tough economy appear to have contributed to a broader change in social norms about when adulthood begins,”
DUH. Maybe it's because these particular parents have not given these kids the right tools and they really aren't adults by 25.
I dont know how kids really can afford to do it these days.
Education costs are significantly higher.
Housing costs are significantly higher.
Fuel costs are significantly higher.
Food costs are significantly higher.
And wages...stagnant, or going down.
Especially wages for jobs that recent college grads (or current students) would be getting.
It's a shame, embarrassing and pathetic that the richest and greatest (supposedly) nation on the planet cant manage to do a little better.
Meanwhile, we call people lazy and entitled, all because they want a decent job with a decent wage...so they can feel like all their hard work is benefitting themselves as well, not just the employer they slave away for.
and collectively, we simply dont care about them...or ourselves...or our children and their futures, because we think every person should be forced to work $5.50/hr jobs and be just fine, because the bafoons over 40 worked those kinds of jobs back in their day and "did just fine" - all the while ignoring the list I posted, about where costs have risen...and how truly big of a difference that REALLY makes.
Im sorry, but when I went off to college, gas was $1.25/gallon.
Now it's $3.50...I dont see how any college kid gets by working a $8/hr job with that reality alone.
bananabubblez, you're lucky that your parents' situation is well enough off that they can afford to do that. Or can they? Are they going hungry to help you out? Are they able to afford their medications, mortgage, etc? What about their retirement? You take from them and probably never even offer to pay it back, but does it ever occur to you that they may never be able to retire because of it?
If you and your boyfriend can't make it on your own, then you shouldn't be living together. You should be at home with your parents and he should be at home with his. You don't play house unless you can afford it. You want to be a grown-up, but you can't afford the responsibility.
I would never dream of asking my parents to help me out. They've raised you and put you through school. That should be enough. Eventually you have to cut the apron strings and be a grown-up.
Prices are relative. In 1980, gas was $1.25/gallon and minimum wage was $3.10. In 2011, gas was $3.50/gallon and minimum wage was $7.25. Compare the ratios. Gas is essentially cheaper now.
I'd say it comes from the nanny state mentality that has been going on over the past few decades. The idea that a child shouldn't be made to take a grade over because it might hurt their feelings. The idea that no one is a loser and everyone gets a trophy. These are the things that have lead to todays youth feeling optimistic even in this economy. Just wait until reality hits them square in the face.... then you'll really hear some whining and crying.
I don't have sympathy for anybody my age that has to live with their parents. I am sorry, but I'm about to sound like a real @!$%# here.
I didn't have much growing up, my parents gave me what they could, and I will always been thankful for that. Most importantly, I'm thankful they raised me to work hard. Before college, I had worked every summer when I was 13-15, then when I turned 16, held a year round part time job until I went to college. When I went to college, I was focused on studying/graduating. I amassed a decent amount of debt from my student loans and a little bit of a credit card debt because my parents couldn't always give me the money I would need for groceries.
So now, with approximately 60k in debt and making payments of around 1200/month for both my cards/loans. I am having to carefully manage my money, but I'm getting by, because I worked hard through college, got my electrical engineering degree, took a semester off to go on a coop (6 month internship) so I could earn some work experience. I graduated with a slightly lower than a 3.0 GPA, 2.98 and a job offer with a 55k/yr starting salary. I was happy, my work finally payed off, and I'm still enjoying both my job and counting down the years till my loans are payed off. But I did it, and I never asked anything from anybody, other than my parents for money for food. I have repaid them a few times by paying some of their bills when I had a little extra in my bank.
No it isn't Sam Adams. $1.25 is 40.3% of $3.10, and $3.50 is 48.3% of 7.25. So it is not, in fact, cheaper.
AJ you should be proud of yourself!
Front page material? If MSNBC raised a white flag would anyone notice?
The landscape is changing. As government managed Social Security collapses, this generation of dependent adult children will need to return the favor and care for their elderly parents.
Yeah, we probably will have to. But thankfully, I think the rapport we have with our parents' generation is a lot better than how many other generations had it.
Most of our parents are either Baby Boomers or *very very early* Gen Xers. I think there's a broadly unspoken peace between us and our parents' generation that's often hard to explain. Not sure how to explain it properly, though...
If you say so. I kicked both of mine out at 18. They are doing ok, but not great. Too fkn bad, life's a btch who don't put out.
Signed,
Gen Xer glad to be rid of kids (I do love them btw but I was raised old school, fend for yourself or die).
BTW, my boomer parents sent 3 of my grandparents to old folks home where they died miserably. One grandmother asked me to put her down on a visit. I will never forgive them for that and I won't take them in when they have finally squandered their wealth and die poor which is their greatest fear as if they were put on this earth to be special. What bs.
Wow David-2394626, you have problems man. Sounds like you have worse family dynamics than i do. I'm 25 and still at home (have an engineering degree, paid off my student loans, have a great job and a great down payment for a house). I'd say I'm doing quite well versus my peers. I've been looking to buy a house for the last year. Maybe you should have let your kids stay instead of kicking them out.
Fenix it's great you have your act together, but I am even more impressed to see you realize your parents played a role in helping prepare you for the future. If you are an example of generation Y I feel much more secure about the future of our planet.
@Samian Equally impressed to see you are prepared to help your parents when they need you and recognize the value of the help they have provided. As a generation Xer I've had my "Kids these days, *grumble grumble*" moments but seeing how you guys/girls are turning out I'll turn that attitude around.
Michelle, unfortunately I am not a good example of other gen Y'ers. I was raised old school with an old school mentality. I know far too many people around my age that do not have that and they are in far worse condition. Heck they don't even care if they leech off of society or their families. It's sickening. Sorry to kill your secure feeling :(, but it is horrible where my generation is going/at.
I help them Felix. I do and if they need to come home they can but that isn't how I raised them. They know that they are born into this world alone and will die alone. We don't play down reality here in Texas.
As for my parents, I do love them but they are some of the most selfish people I have ever known and they are clueless about it, very judgemental, nothing is ever good enough, etc. etc. I probably will take care of them when one of them is dead and the other needs it but the idea of it just pisses me off.
and if I have to hear about how they went to the moon and brought about civil rights and all that other sht they are so proud of I will vomit.
If you listen to them you'd think they were the only great Americans (real Americans) that ever lived, horribly racist too. I'm surprised I turned out half as good as I did. My dad's father (may he rot in h e l l) was a member of the Texas Posse (Texas version of the KKK).
Tea partiers of course.
Likewise David, Gen Y, especially those of us who do work very hard to position ourselves well, gets tired of being told we are lazy, stupid, and overall inferior than our parents generation by so many people, examples of whom post on this thread (not implying that you do, just trying to make a point to people who may read this). Things are different, and standards should be different...not higher or lower, just different.
Agreed Christine. There are a lot of our generation that is crap, but there are a few of us that still try our best and work our asses off to make something of ourselves. The imbalance can be explained by the movie "Idiocracy".
I think there is a lot of every generation that could be considered crap. However, nobody wants to think about them. I know plenty of parents in my parent's generation who are selfish and lazy, and treat their kids like crap. A point to be made is that this forum is somewhat self-selecting given that many of these "crap" people in our generation and previous ones are not interested in reading the news and being up to date on current events and opinions.
I was forced to go out into the work force in 1988 and drop out of college due to a child on the way. I worked two jobs making ends meet for many years, off and on. Today, my daughter has a college degree, but had to take a job at Walmart due to a bad major decision. It may cost me father of the year, but I still made her get her own place and learn to be self sufficient. She does work here and there, as a second job, using what she learned in college and is now becoming a much stronger person because of this experience.
Tell her to consider Target. It might be better for her self-esteem.
steve, I had a minor hickup during college that had me move back home for a year. My parents had a simple solution. I was expected to pay room and board. Worked out well untill I decided to go back to college. It was also during a recession and it was not unusual to stand in line with 20 others for one job posting. Good luck to your daughter.
I agree you lose at father of the year based on popular opion, but I think you did the right thing. Many young adults have made bad major decisions. Many did so with the council of academic advisors and general statements in the education community that one should study what one wants. Make yourself happy. So we are up to our ears with people holding social science, political science, sports movement, art history, golf, and psychology degrees. These are wonderful majors, but if ice cream was the only food in grocery stores and restaurants we'd all say things were screwed up. We need some nutrition too ! Meanwhile foreigners are studying math, science and languages and taking our jobs. Of course there is more to the whole thing than just the major kids study, but it is a very important component. I see managers in business with political science and communications degrees and have no knowledge of business law regarding the contracts they must honor. Can't read financial statements, can't read and write business reports or even a letter or email. Worse yet, they want to argue with qualified people about what these things are. The business loses great amounts of time and opportunity trying to teach managers concepts that a person educated in the relavant discipline has when they are hired. The willingness to argue with the qualified people indicates little hope for turning the general business conditions into growth. I read that senoir managers everywhere are working existing workers longer hours to avoid hiring the young.
I agree IReadYou, the right kind of education is a key that opens many doors...
apprenticeships or "on the job training" worked in the past because it was generally accepted that we all have much to learn..today's youth think they know more than they really do...very sad that attaining a piece of paper has so much power & can "dumb down" the mind...
even Einstein made it clear that he knew little as he awaited the time when people would come along to prove his theories wrong!
My kids 'launched' in their mid-20's and have been on their own for a couple of years now. They both have a solid education, good jobs and reasonable dreams. I enjoyed working in many ways, and that carried over into our home life.
The 'kids' that some of you are describing aren't kids that I know. There's something to be said with surrounding yourself with successful positive people, yes?
Steve, I disagree that you'd lose on Father of the Year. We need more people teaching their kids personal responsibility instead of coddling them. This society is spoiled rotten with people looking for handouts and trying to sue their way to wealth instead of working for it. Everything is somebody else's fault. If your daughter doesn't thank you now for teaching her to be self-sufficient, I hope she'll thank you later.
She will!
I (a woman born in 1989) graduated last year from a four year college, and although my parents wanted me to move back home so I could live without expenses, I managed to find a job (not in my preferred field) that allows me to live independently, if not as comfortably as I might like. It's not an ideal situation and I can't keep it up forever, but I still take pride in paying my own bills and living on my own finances in these tough times.
I (a man born in 1989) graduated from high school in 2007, and was unable to afford to go to a 4-year college, due to me not being able to get a higher paying job, and my parents not being able to sign off on any potential college loans at the time. (They still can't: my mother used to work at the Borders Group HQ, and is now unemployed.) Although my parents AND I wanted me to move out and live independently, when the bottom fell out Wall Street, I lost my job, leaving me high and dry living at home. It's DEFINITELY not an ideal situation, and I WON'T keep it up forever (even if I could), but I still want to take pride in paying my own bills and living on my own finances in these tough times...I just need to find a job first...and as I live in Michigan, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT!
Jeremy I have three children within a couple years of your age. You said your parents couldn't sign off on loans so that you could go to college. Don't understand that one. If they filled out the out the FAFSA form, which everyone has to fill out for loans, grants, etc, you automatically are given a number of loans that cover the costs. If your parent truly made very little, you would have been eligible for possible grants or scholarships, based on your grades.
The FAFSA form is a pain to fill out, but definately worth it if you really want to go to college.
This is interesting to read. I am in the opposite situation. I have a stable job and a home, and my mother and younger sister are living with me and I am supporting them.
Thanks for taking care of your family!
I'm form Canada, but same deal. I wanted to make big money practicing law but I've realized I'm probably going to have to start off as a Crown prosecutor and start working my a$$ off so I can climb the ladder and live the life I want. The real world sucks but there's not a lot any of us can do to change that. Might as well suck it up and deal with this debacle of a world we're inheriting.
You do know that each generation before you said the same thing? 99% of the people had to start at the bottom somewhere (probably your parents too). We have all thought that our parents made a mess of the world and WE would fix it. HaHa, good luck
Good point.
Boy, I don't envy the kids growing up today. Too many Jobs with Zero REAL Benefits. Corporate America has dismantled Pensions, Unions, Benefits. There are no more jobs with Employer provided Medical and Dental like there used to be. They dismantled the whole system and replaced it with Crap and they are getting away with it. The young don't know how good it used to be and that's the way Corporate America wants them to stay, ignorant of the Past and our once great standard of Living.
Our Kids will be replaced by Mexican ready made families because they can no longer afford to raise their own kids...
Problem was the Baby Boom generation's love of cowboy rhetoric, their corporate lust, their overpowering need to consume at all costs, and laziness in raising their kids. The Baby Boomers created our current political situation....now it's time for them to bleed more resources from our government to fund their lavish retirements...and leave this corrupted system to their children. Guess it's ok..most of the Baby Boomers never cared about their kids anyway..and it shows.
TED...
If the Mexican family can do it, YOU can do it sonnyboy... don't blame others for your misery!!
We lived off this deficit for a very long time.... and now it's PAYBACK time and we're all going to be poor for a long time to come.. !!
Ted415784
You are spot on about the replacement of american citizens with the mexician
families. Mexician families are also able to draw upon a growing mexician owned business base which is biased towards hiring their own. As the mexician demographic grows the requirement of spanish speaking(hmm hispanic culturally sensitive..i.e hispanic) employees will become the norm. I really wonder if all the politically correct aspiring journalists are ready for the new reality of cultural displacement.The lack of reporting about the very real effects of illegal immigration and the intentional pursuits of increased market share through support for illegal immigration is something
this generation must be vocal about and learn to protect their own interests.
I'malwayswrite - I'm glad you brought the illegal immigration point of this UP....
I live in Phoenix, Arizona and it has become a HUGE issue here. Although it has gotten a little better since this recession, has lingered!
I wanted to ADD that they are not ONLY " biased towards hiring their own" but hire illegals that are paid under the table, avoiding income tax.
On top of that, I've notice MOST of these stores I have gone into, use a adding machine for a register, again avoiding paying tax on sales.
I worked during high school washing dishes, bagging groceries, busing tables, working at Fast food rest... and what not. Those are typical jobs these "illegals" now do....remember...the ones WE Americans won't?
Now however, when you get into college, There is so much competition for every type of job available, it's almost not even worth APPLYING, unless you know someone. We have all the parents of this "Gen Y" competing, for the same jobs, so they can keep the household together, for not only themselves, but these college age children, still living at home.
I have wonderful children, but both have been in and out of the house a couple times, because they just CANNOT make enough income to survive (even together). They are both gone again, but one, recently had his hours cut (he works at the Airport FEDX) to 12 hrs A WEEK? This is the second time, he orignally only had 35hrs, but at least that, paid his bills.
The other is more a "Techno" type, has managed to land a decent job that pays well, but STILL is P/T, with NO benefits. So they both have NO medical. I can no longer cover them due to other reasons...
Such is life nowadays, I suppose. My generation (late Baby Boomer born 1953) made it though, but I don't think we'll leave our children, as well off, as our parents did us....
Amazing to me how the "great American" nation would be reduced to only Mexican families b/c "Americans" cannot afford their own. You want to know how Mexicans can survive when Americans cannot? B/c they have not been doted on the whole of a spoiled existence. They know what it is like to start work at 13 years of age to contribute to their family as opposed to going and blowing it on electronic crap that will provide no sustenance for their bodies. As an American I am tired of LAZY a$$ Americans blaming all their pitiful woes on other cultures. Get a life and get some initiative to make something better of yourselves rather than just whining about it. Oh p.s. in general there are plenty of white, black, green, purple people the world over who will only hire "their own" as well as pay little in taxes, not just the brown people so lay off.
glw-321945
You are not a
you're an early one. Baby Boom is 1946 thru 1964.
It's even worse for the "late" ones.
BigLucy,
I'm retired. It's no secret that American workers are the Most Productive in the World, yet their rewards are no longer commensurate with their effort, that was devastated by the Bush Sub Prime Melt Down and 30 years of a Race to the Bottom...
annon - I'm shocked at YOUR reply....It must be to my or iamalwayswrite's post as they contain the "illegal" information.
I SIR did not mention any NATIONALITY AT ALL IN MY POST!!! IT APPEARS YOU KINDA TOOK FOR GRANTED....THIS WAS ABOUT "THE BROWN PEOPLE"....
I didn't in anyway say anything negative about the life style or about the way anyone LIVED? I simply pointed out some information I have first hand knowledge of, about the "Stores" that they operate and some of thier employees!
However, since you brought it up, your comment that bothers me most!;
I am retired, worked hard all my life and YOU have the nerve to call me "a lazy A$$"??? You continue your RANT and additionally tell me to
and tell me to "LAY off".....
Well sir, I believe YOU are the igorant one here as EVERYTHING I wrote, IS TRUE! Having first hand knowledge as a LEGAL, US citizen, concerned about this topic!
I've lived in Phoenix for almost 50 years, it is a Beautiful city and wouldn't live anywhere else! It is NOT ONLY the "Brown People" (as you put it), that have taken these jobs I mentioned in my post above. It is ALL nationalities...YES!
My brother employs 12-15 people in his small contruction firm he runs and hires all nationalities....I know several others who run businesses and thier onlyobjection, is to find someone that can do the JOB, not that they have the same color of skin, as them.
I WAS SPEAKING OF ILLEGALS, NOT US CITIZENS.....
I suggest you next time READ, what is posted, before you ATTACK the poster, for things they didn't even write....BIGOT!!!
Come now glw, you live in Arizona and you speak of illegals, why would I equate them to being anything other than Hispanics? That's mostly what I hear Arizonians complain about, never once has it been about Asians, Middle Easterners, Europeans, or even Aliens from Mars. If you took offense to being called lazy (which was not necessarily aimed at you in particular), well all I have to say is the bit dog barks loudest. I only pointed out that Hispanics are not the only ones who hire "only their own" or go lax on taxes. If you had the misfortune of being born into a crap-hole 3rd world country wouldn't you do anything you could for your children to give them a better life, including going to a better place illegally? If not, I'm glad you're not my parent. And by the way, I'm no sir. I do not promote people coming here illegally, but I do not blame them for wanting a better life that they cannot get in the country of their birth. And the whole color thing is to really say that no matter what the color, we are all human and we all have similar tendencies.
P.S. it was the one above you that mentioned Mexicans and you agreed with their statement about what they said in reference to Hispanics, so yes you in turn also brought up Hispanics.
annon - Well, I guess you're RIGHT and everyone else is WRONG.
So sad that some people, just cannot love their country enough, to protect it from an invasion! No matter if it's FROM Mexico, ASIA or what ever.
NOT SURE WHAT IT IS THAT YOU PEOPLE DO NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE WORD - "ILLEGAL"???
I could care less what color/nationality they are, ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL, and that is what people like you CAN'T understand. I could care less if they were born into poverty or what ever. There are LEGAL ways to come to America, they should use them! and don't tell me about the hardships to come to America legally either....MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS HAVE DONE IT....
BTW - I also DID NOT SAY I agreed with THAT statement, I simple, thanked him for bringing "Illegals" UP!
I am just wondering how much better children would do with two parents? How much better they would do if someone stayed home, cooked, took care of the house, etc.? It could be swapped and does not have to be a permanent role. One works one week while the other takes care of the house, kids, etc. then that one stays home for a week while the other goes to work for a week.
Why must both parents work to make ends meet? I think some people got tricked into working for less then they should. I think people are addicted to shinny things and neglect their children. We love to support this unfair system, who was voting all this time? Then we like to point the finger at our children and except them to make miracles happen, when the PARENTS are to blame.
Nice try with the blame game, I love my parents anyway btw. They mean well, but my mother is a work junkie. She will put in extra hours all the time, not get paid for them, and sacrifice everything else for work just to impress the boss. I think of how much effort she puts into work, 60+ hours a week min, and how little she gets paid. It is crazy, she knows the system is messed up, but she cannot stop herself. She is addicted to work and is as much to blame as the greedy on top of this pile of rats.
She has to try to be in charge, and is why I laugh when people say if they cannot make X amount then why bother, B.S. you would do it for a happy meal. Who are you trying to fool? She has worked 60+ hours a week her entire life and made OTHER PEOPLE RICH, not her. You took my mother away from me, and you wonder why I get pissed.
It amazes me how much effort women put into pleasing their boss, yet refuse to DO THE SAME EXACT THINGS FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY for their husbands. It is ok to kiss your bosses a$$, but not your husbands... If there were half the workers then people would get paid more, it is supply and demand, but nooo EVERYONE HAS TO WORK A JOB AND BE PAID MONEY. Husbands will hand over large portions of their pay checks, women on the other hand will not hand over large sums of money to their husband.
Sorry if the truth hurts, but if you have a child you should take care of it. Why did you have a child in the first place if all your going to do is work? You miss out on half the fun of having a kid. Throw money at the problem like always...
I think you need some therapy.
I think that you're about spot on actually. My mom (a boomer) said that the women's rights activists really screwed us as opposed to helping us out. Not one of these ladies addressed the issue of what was to become of the house work now that the lady of the house is actually the lady of the office. Just because women get to go to work doesn't mean that all husbands are going to start helping take care of the house, children, and finances. Many men still expect to be the primary bread winner and expect the woman in their life to be the primary care taker. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule, but most of us are married to the rule, not the exception. I have come into contact with a growing number of women who have been college educated and did a pleasant amount of traveling and have only the desire to be married and raise their children. To each their own in how they choose to live their life, but this original poster is a child of their mother and has every right to expect time and affection from their mother as every child has the right to expect it from the person who brought them into this world. Too often we dismiss others' feelings and try to invalidate them. This is not a proper approach, do you like it when other people try to invalidate your own feelings? I'm gonna guess no.
Wow, Tired, you are obviously very young but, you hit the nail on the head. It has become the standard for both parents to work a full time job, in fact it is necessary for most families just to make it, and I too believe it is one of the many contributing factors to the current funk we are all in.
I hope all the conservatives read your post. They love to blame the gays for the fall of the American family and would never dare point the finger at the "job creators" who have nickeled and dimed the American worker to the point that it is hard to make it even on two incomes much less one.
I do have to say though, in defense of your mom, that when she is kissing the bosses ass, please don't think she is doing it for his sake, because she is most likely doing it for you. If your mother grew up poor, she may feel like providing a good lifestyle for you is much more important than actually being with you. Maybe someone should point out your post to her. She may be completely oblivious to how you feel about the situation and just feel like you are ungrateful for her working so hard to support you.
@Tired--
In my experience, also working 60-70 hour weeks, etc. I did it for the recognition that comes from a job well done as well as the steady paycheck. I tried very hard to prioritize family over work without risking my career goals. I can't speak for your Mom, but she might be very happy with the choices she's made.
That you feel neglected is certainly a problem though, and something that you should get some help with.
That's another thing Corporate America got rid of, "Single Earner Households"...
OK, EVERYONE on this thread, I agree that Tired shouldn't feel totally neglected. But why is it MOM's job to stay home, do the housework, etc.? You people are insane.
annon- yes, a child should have time with his/her mother. But what about Dad? Shouldn't a child expect just as much time from him? HE brought the child into the world, too! It wasn't like mom just thought, hey I want a baby, and BAM there he was!
and Tired- I love how you sidestep the "sexism thing" by suggesting that the parents take turns staying home. Seriously? What job that pays anything more than minimum wage would let you take EVERY OTHER WEEK off?? And if it really doesn't matter which parent stays home, why are you condemning your mother for enjoying her job but stay completely silent on your father's time at work? Is it because he's "supposed" to be there but mom's being a terrible mother because she's out in the workforce doing something she obviously enjoys in order to give you a better life? Parents do the best they can with what they have. Maybe you should have some kids, try to make ends meet, and THEN decry your mother's horrible mothering!
Sorry Allielcea, in general it's just the way it is. Trust me, it bothered me for a long tome about how women were expected to stay at home mostly and that their career essentially meant nothing next to their husbands. As I said before, most of us are married to the rule, not the exception. We are trying to break the mold set for women for thousands of years, and we're trying to undo it in less time than it was done. Speaking only for myself, after I had children I realized that work sux and I would rather be able to enjoy my children, seeing them grow up and get to be there for them always. But then reality set in and I realized that I also wanted to be able to provide a comfortable life for them as well. Unfortunately life is not always what we wanted it to be. Men generally expect women to take care of the house and the children while the men generally expect themselves to be the primary bread-winner. Changing the family dynamics aren't always a good thing, my husband became a full-time student due to a crappy economy and I became the "bread-winner". It takes an awful toll on a man (or at least it did mine) to not be the "man" of the house. It kills him not to work outside the house and I know many more men who would never be satisfied being the "man of the house" rather than working. Many of the issues are on a primal level and aren't easy to change. So yeah, kids should have time with their dad but kids generally don't expect as much of dad's time as they do mom's.
Over the years I've found that American society is quite stupid. We have all the resources in the world, yet force ourselves to live a pointless life of hardship (devoid of most of the things that make life enjoyable). You have the "work will set you free" rhetoric, and the social darwinism nonsense....the goal for everyone is to become a Nietzchean Man of Ice...an aloof, rugged individual...alone forever, except when mating. There are millions of idle workers (professional, white-collar, blue-collar, skilled, and unskilled), yet we have to work a handfull of workers to death. We tell people to postpone their enjoyment of life's real experiential pleasures until retirement (when we will all be too weak to enjoy it as much as in our youth). There is also a lot of emphasis on neurotically pursuing expensive healthcare to keep us in debt and working for life. I wish I could move to France or somewhere nice....where I could work enough and enjoy just being alive.
AmericanPauper...
Maybe you can tell the unions to share the wealth so that many others can get a job and at least live modestly.... by the way, good luck in France !!
Maybe we need to tell the corporate management to share the wealth.
In every other country it is ok to live with your family, but here we are obsessed with always being alone...also, everyone is always afraid you might ask them for help or money. You just can't have relationships with people here (that don't involve sex, money or a religious cult). It is a very bizarre society. In other countries there are actually "friendships" that don't involve sex or money...but not here.
Pauper,
I don't know where you live but sounds like you need to move away from there. I grew up in the midwest and lived on both coasts for a time and most places are not like what you described.
Sounds more like you need to choose better friends.
Alternate headline: "More Evidence Emerges That Young People Have No Sense of Reality Whatsoever".
You could not have put it better.
What? I'm not still playing a video game? What is this sh*t?
Beleive it or not, what you just read on MSNBC is the rosiest interpretation of the findings you will ever see.
Reals new sites included much more of the details:
"The share of young adults 18-24 who are employed has dropped to 54.3 percent, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1948.
Young adults working full time have median weekly earnings of $448, about 6 percent less than in 2007,...
About 19 percent of men ages 25-34 were idle in the weak job market, neither
working nor attending school. That's up from 14 percent in 2007."
"I'm surprised young adults remain so optimistic," said Mark Mather, an
associate vice president at the Population Reference Bureau who has analyzed the census data. "The research points to long-term economic problems for young adults."
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-jobs-gap-between-young-050926726.html
That is what you get for electing a president based on speaking abilities... how is that "parental health insurance coverage until age 26" treating you now? Would you rather have it, or a real future?
That is mostly because they are Fed a False Reality by the Corporate Media. Television and the Internet are not Reality, full of Happy Commercials that Bombard people with Crap to Buy that you don't even need. The Message is, if you don't but this or that, you're not Cool. if you don't have a credit card, you're not Cool or Hip, etc, etc, etc...
the solution... UNION UNION UNION !!!!!!
You seem to have "solution" confused with "problem". Union costs forced jobs overseas, and union protection of worthless, incompetent, slobs prevents jobs from opening up for starving Americans.
Ha, so many old people whining about young adults living with their parents. Using the same stupid logic of tradition, backed up with anecdotal evidence, to belittle others and claim superiority over them; Arrogance at it's finest.
No one cares if you're still living with your parents, so long as you're contributing to the household expenses and not just being an overgrown parasite.
If you think about it, though. if you're a parent with an adult kid living at home, it doesn't really make sense to charge them rent because that just makes it take that much longer to save enough money to move out! If I were a parent in that situaiton I'd just say, fine you can live here, but you have to get a full time job, even if it's working at a fast food place or being a janitor, you have to show me how much you're making, you have to show me your bank balance every month. That way you can see if they're blowing what they make instead of saving. Then, I'd say: when you reach $5,000 in your bank account, you are outta here, on your own. That's how to have a kid live at home. I don't want your rent $, kid--I want you outta here! So save, don't spend, and move out!
Its certainly strange. Even if you have a 4 year degree if it isn't its engineering or law it doesn't mean anything to employers
Actually, not even law degrees are valued much...unless you have relations in the bus. If it ain't Engineering, Medical, Accounting, or some hard Science...no one cares...it's just paper that boosts your ego for a couple of years after graduation. Something you can use to assert your mental superiority over others, but not necessarily find a job.
Wow, it must be nice to be able to delay getting slapped in the face by the real world for a few more years. I just hope these Gen Y'ers appreciate the sacrifice their parents are making, way past the time they should have to.
Left the house at 18, survived the economic downtown, still pulling in bank.
Paying off my mother's Merc to be a good son. :D
I live in Arizona & EVERY job ad you read says "spanish speaking preferred". I live in America I should'nt have to learn Spanish to qualify for a job. That's not how it works in Mexico!
Thats because Mexican politicians aren't as dispicable as Democrats.
Bilingual people are preferred in pretty much any job field.
I live in America I should'nt have to learn Spanish to qualify for a job.
Maybe you should have learned in school that the United States doesn't have an official language.
Then again maybe you wouldn't be complaining about learning another language to be competitive if that were the case.
I speak English, Chinese, and Spanish and have never had a problem finding a job due to language requirements.
The speed at which they change their minds just give it a minute, things will be back to negative soon enough.
According to the liberal media and Obama administration we've added millions of jobs since Summer. makes you wonder what OWS is complaining about as well as the folks in this article.... someone isn't being honest.
The unemployment numbers are calculated on flawed data which makes it possible for the Government to hide the truth.
Let's see. 2.3 million jobs added. 13 million unemployed. You do the math.
flbiker - How many people were added to the total population, and how many were excluded from the "seeking work" count during that time?
"Doing the Math" is actually more than just looking for a number that makes you feel good.... despite what your liberal "education" tells you.
Dear mom & dad. Please send $8 Tri dollers. I broke. From unemployed Son.
"Where's the job?"
Old people are the problem.
They are the biggest whiners in the world. They have one setting; FEAR.
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I guess you did not read the article. It is the young people who are whining and running back to mom and dad in increasing numbers when most of us went out on our own even if it meant hard times and sacrifices had to be made. It's called growing up. You are a bunch of softies. LOL
I bet these kids voted for Obama. Don't feel bad. I voted for Jimmy Carter when I was in college and found everything in a mess at graduation. Little naive me. However, I did correct my error four years later.
As a Gen Yer (1988) I have conflicted opinions. On one hand, I've been on my own for a long time, paying my way through school in engineering. I chose a practical job so I don't ever have to live the way I did in college with $5 to my name and working two jobs. I have a hard time sympathizing with my generation because they just signed away loans without thinking about it and got degrees in drama and art just assuming everything will work out for them or that they're parents will take care of it.
But I do think it's really unfair how high the unemployment rate if for our generation and how we have to pay for our parents mistakes. It's frustrating to know I'm paying for everyone else to retire but I have to pay solely for my retirement. And yet everyone talks about how much we complain. Are we just supposed to sit there and let everyone walk all over us?
You cannot blame the current problems, particularly the economy, solely on the "mistakes" of previous generations. Historically, the economy periodically goes through a correction, a recession, once every 8 to 10 years, regardless of who is President. How quickly the economy bounces back through fiscal and regulatory policies, and confidence or lack there of, provided by the President determines if he gets a second term.
I don't recall saying solely....I mentioned it as a frustrating part of the system. I only talked about solely when it came to paying for my retirement - which is true. I did not blame the current problems only on the previous generations
Frankly, I hate social security, medicare, medicaid, prescription drugs, ObamaCare and entitlements that every administration implements. The spending never stops. Since it is the current young generation and future generations that have to pay the price, I don't understand the youth voting for a president, whether it's Bush or Obama, who spends like drunken sailors and continues to increase the tax burden on future generations.
That's a pretty eloquent way of putting it. There are still some of us out here that worked and didn't borrow for school and are fiscally responsible.
The sad thing is, we're the ones that always get stuck with the bill, and by 'we' I don't mean the 1% either.
People are too comfortable to care enough to take true action. Poor people have cell phones and lcd tv's and taxpayer subsidized health care and housing and food stamps and...
...the middle class shrinks while the top few percent gets more and more.
They know after thousands of years of studying sociology and psychology just what 'we' are willing to accept to stay complacent.. and it's working... so far.