Have Millenials have it the worst of living generations?

[Higgs]

It is whiny threads like these that make me sympathize with grumpy old men who think youths are spoiled and lazy. 

[PresidentSamTilden]

Economically, I think we have it worse than all but the generation alive for the depression. They got a happy ending though after the war with a huge economic boom. Its tough to see that happening again.

[dead0man]

Well one thing is for certain, you guys are the most depressed and pessimistic generation in history.  And no, you don't have the reasons to be that way.

[PresidentSamTilden]

Well I don't argue with your first statement, but I do with your second. What about the fact that we are projected to be the first generation in american history to be poorer than our parents? What about the increasing environmental destruction that puts our future in jeopardy? The highest level of indebtedness in US history?

We obviously won't know how it plays out until we have the advantage of hindsight. But I think there are plenty of reasons to be pessimistic, unfortunately.

[dead0man]

What about the fact that we are projected to be the first generation in american history to be poorer than our parents?

The generation before yours was told the same thing...and I'd be willing to bet the idea wasn't invented in 1984.

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The air in the US is MUCH cleaner now than it has been in a long, long time.  Wiki leaded gasoline.  Wiki smog.  It ain't perfect, never will be, but like with most things, we're getting better.

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and far and away the most toys/tools/sh**t.  Cool toys too.  We are flooded in ways to be entertained.

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And plenty of reasons to be optimistic too, it just doesn't make the news like the bad things do.

I'm not saying everything is rainbows, puppies and unicorns, but it's not all clouds, death and fire either.

[PresidentSamTilden]

The generation before yours was told the same thing...and I'd be willing to bet the idea wasn't invented in 1984.

I'm sure it wasn't. However, whoever said that in the 70's or 80's was speculating in an economy that was growing on average a lot faster than our current one. There's definitely more evidence to support that statement now than at any time since WW2.

Plus, what's up with the government not even investing our future? One of the biggest problems for young people in the US, other than poor paying jobs, is student debt. Yet education budgets keep getting cut in PA, Illinois, and all over the nation. That forces individual students, who are supposed to be the future of our country, to shoulder the burden themselves. That might be a factor in negative outlooks as well.

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I hear you on this point, but to an extent we just exported that smog and pollution to other countries by outsourcing. Climate change is gonna bring all these problems home to roost unless we start acting decisively. But with leaders like Theresa May and Donald Trump, it ain't looking good.

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True, we do have a lot of toys. But I bet you most people would trade all this crap for more affordable housing and better paying jobs, such as the ones that existed 40 years ago.

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True and I don't disagree with you. I mean its not like everyone is walking around completely bummed out all the time. All i'm saying is that there are valid reasons for people to be less excited about the future than in recent times.

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

Not that I agree with generational labels, but teens-low 20s aged people are pretty screwed in the job market and get a lot of smoke blown up their butts about the economy being recovered.  I still think it never truly recovered from 2008 yet.

[Human]

Absolutely not

[White Trash]

It is whiny threads like these that make me sympathize with grumpy old men who think youths are spoiled and lazy.