I guess it somewhat depends on when you were born and the age of your parents as well as where they were born and lived?
Dropping in right after a world war wasn’t always a good thing- much of the world was devastated by the war and the subsequent reconstruction didn’t benefit everyone equally and often required great sacrifice and effort- the stereotypical “work to death” culture often ascribed to Japan was a direct consequence of post war reconstruction, and revolutions raged across the globe leading many to grow up in war torn poverty or as refugees fleeing for their lives from spreading communist brutality, ethnicity cleansing etc. across parts of Europe, much of Asia, Africa, south and Central America, etc. parents born in the late 50’s and early 60’s often lament missing out in the “flower power” movement and the 1970’s saw more global conflict and displacement as well as economic slumps.
We can’t forget that the specter of the Cold War and potential nuclear destruction were looming over head 24/7 365 either.
Riots in scale and scope to dwarf recent ones popularized for media and social gossip, the rise of the drug epidemic and unprecedented violent crime and organized gangs, several other major economic events world wide…
Global warming aka climate change was already a pretty known and big issue by the early 1990’s that had many kids and adults worried. Look back even to the 1970’s and 80’s- a heyday of distipic fiction where the future was often shown as an environmental wasteland, nuclear wasteland, criminal hellscape, or combination of.
The gear and social consciousness were there.
It’s also perhaps a misconception that houses were so cheap and affordable not so long ago. Part depends on where you live- I mean- you can buy a large and nice home in Louisiana USA in 2022 for a touch over $100k- many places still have homes in that range- a range achievable in theory even for a minimum wage worker.
But it’s more like the elder millennials grandparents than parents who had access to the cheap housing people tend to think of. How many elder millennials parents didn’t have homes they owned? If homes were so cheap a generation back- why did so many kids grow up in rental properties or with relatives homes? That narrative is popular bit a bit misleading.
And well- again- the retirement thing was more common for elder millennial parents- but it was more a thing for grandparents.
You just have to look at the statistics to see the reality. Of course for upper class or upper middle class people those numbers are a bit different. But… that’s sort of my point. This argument often comes from a place of privilege while trying to disdain the privilege of others. If you grew up with parents who owned a home you’re already privileged vs. all the people who’s parents couldn’t even afford a home in the late 70’s or the 80’s and 90’s. If you get up in some rural or suburban setting where gangs and drugs and such weren’t a big factor in your life-
That’s privilege. If your parents were born after 1940 or so and have a good retirement- that’s privilege generally.
And for kids born in the 90’s and later this stuff just really doesn’t apply unless their parents had them at like 70. A 25 year old in 1990 was 20 in 1985, by then jobs and industries
Had been drying up. I mean- it was cheaper to get a house and if you were caught up in the dot com boom- engineers and salespeople etc sure but also security guards and janitors and support persons who saw some wealth go their way from it-
You may have had an easier time- but that’s like your kids saying you had it easy because you lived in a time when if you’d got a job at Tesla their second year doing almost anything you’d have several million in stock at least. Do you have several million in Tesla stock? Some do-
Most don’t. So you kinda have to remember that life wasn’t so rosy then either- but for those being born in the 90’s and early 2000’s your parents didn’t grow up in this world where most jobs paid crazy wages and houses were $20k and your job came with a full pension and benefits.
Had been drying up. I mean- it was cheaper to get a house and if you were caught up in the dot com boom- engineers and salespeople etc sure but also security guards and janitors and support persons who saw some wealth go their way from it-
You may have had an easier time- but that’s like your kids saying you had it easy because you lived in a time when if you’d got a job at Tesla their second year doing almost anything you’d have several million in stock at least. Do you have several million in Tesla stock? Some do-
Most don’t. So you kinda have to remember that life wasn’t so rosy then either- but for those being born in the 90’s and early 2000’s your parents didn’t grow up in this world where most jobs paid crazy wages and houses were $20k and your job came with a full pension and benefits.
Don’t get me wrong- there were a lot of advantages to being alive then- IF you were able to take advantage of them. I mean again- how many people got rich because they got into computers or software early? Facebook and social media made people who made the right choices and were in the right place at the right time rich- crypto make some people pretty rich. Tesla made some people who bet on Tesla pretty rich. In hindsight that’s easy to see but where are your Tesla or Google or Facebook billions? How much apple stock did you or your parents buy before 2000?
While you’re playing that game help me out and tell me what the next place to put my money to make millions off of a few thousand dollars is… you probably can’t. Because that’s not how that works right? Not everyone wins when these booms hit.
And speaking on privilege- the inherent ignorance or persecution bias of people who talk about how sweet it was to be born “back then” is palpable. You think that things were so easy for black or Latino or Asian etc. people then? “Our parents…” the “we” implied there is a certain group because I can tell you right now that with how much property values have increased and how “easy” it was to get property and benefits etc… historically we don’t see that wealth being carried forward from the 1950’s,60’s,70’s, 80’s…. By families in certain racial and ethnic demographics nearly as much.
You think when they were developing the suburbs and selling those $20k houses that grandparents were buying and leaving to your parents that they were by and large taking money from black families and they were all moving to suburbs and being welcomed with open arms…?
So I’m gonna go ahead and say that the rose colored glasses that look back without any experience from a position of privilege and complain how much the world is against them are just as bad as the old farts who opine the “good old days” and how we should “return to a better time of a bygone age.” Some things were “better” for some people- but as far as things go as someone who has lived through what to many is now a history they can only read or hear about- life wasn’t so much better 10,20,30 years ago even in general, and when you go back further than that it was maybe better in some ways for some people but a whole lot worse in other ways for some other people.
And while we are at it on the environment- every generation for over 200 years has been messing that up worse for the next.
And every generation next has complained and then done the same thing. And now we have a generation scared the ocean will swallow them up and… mindless consumerism, wasteful consumption continue. The obsession with new toys and technology and convenience marches on. So either break the cycle or just own your part in leaving the e waste and heavy metals and al the carbon pollution from the massive energy consumption of a “cloud” society and big data and internet and GPS and crypto and all the silly things that people today are willing to sell the future of the next generation to enjoy.
Dropping in right after a world war wasn’t always a good thing- much of the world was devastated by the war and the subsequent reconstruction didn’t benefit everyone equally and often required great sacrifice and effort- the stereotypical “work to death” culture often ascribed to Japan was a direct consequence of post war reconstruction, and revolutions raged across the globe leading many to grow up in war torn poverty or as refugees fleeing for their lives from spreading communist brutality, ethnicity cleansing etc. across parts of Europe, much of Asia, Africa, south and Central America, etc. parents born in the late 50’s and early 60’s often lament missing out in the “flower power” movement and the 1970’s saw more global conflict and displacement as well as economic slumps.
Riots in scale and scope to dwarf recent ones popularized for media and social gossip, the rise of the drug epidemic and unprecedented violent crime and organized gangs, several other major economic events world wide…
Global warming aka climate change was already a pretty known and big issue by the early 1990’s that had many kids and adults worried. Look back even to the 1970’s and 80’s- a heyday of distipic fiction where the future was often shown as an environmental wasteland, nuclear wasteland, criminal hellscape, or combination of.
The gear and social consciousness were there.
But it’s more like the elder millennials grandparents than parents who had access to the cheap housing people tend to think of. How many elder millennials parents didn’t have homes they owned? If homes were so cheap a generation back- why did so many kids grow up in rental properties or with relatives homes? That narrative is popular bit a bit misleading.
You just have to look at the statistics to see the reality. Of course for upper class or upper middle class people those numbers are a bit different. But… that’s sort of my point. This argument often comes from a place of privilege while trying to disdain the privilege of others. If you grew up with parents who owned a home you’re already privileged vs. all the people who’s parents couldn’t even afford a home in the late 70’s or the 80’s and 90’s. If you get up in some rural or suburban setting where gangs and drugs and such weren’t a big factor in your life-
That’s privilege. If your parents were born after 1940 or so and have a good retirement- that’s privilege generally.
And for kids born in the 90’s and later this stuff just really doesn’t apply unless their parents had them at like 70. A 25 year old in 1990 was 20 in 1985, by then jobs and industries
You may have had an easier time- but that’s like your kids saying you had it easy because you lived in a time when if you’d got a job at Tesla their second year doing almost anything you’d have several million in stock at least. Do you have several million in Tesla stock? Some do-
Most don’t. So you kinda have to remember that life wasn’t so rosy then either- but for those being born in the 90’s and early 2000’s your parents didn’t grow up in this world where most jobs paid crazy wages and houses were $20k and your job came with a full pension and benefits.
You may have had an easier time- but that’s like your kids saying you had it easy because you lived in a time when if you’d got a job at Tesla their second year doing almost anything you’d have several million in stock at least. Do you have several million in Tesla stock? Some do-
Most don’t. So you kinda have to remember that life wasn’t so rosy then either- but for those being born in the 90’s and early 2000’s your parents didn’t grow up in this world where most jobs paid crazy wages and houses were $20k and your job came with a full pension and benefits.
While you’re playing that game help me out and tell me what the next place to put my money to make millions off of a few thousand dollars is… you probably can’t. Because that’s not how that works right? Not everyone wins when these booms hit.
You think when they were developing the suburbs and selling those $20k houses that grandparents were buying and leaving to your parents that they were by and large taking money from black families and they were all moving to suburbs and being welcomed with open arms…?
And while we are at it on the environment- every generation for over 200 years has been messing that up worse for the next.