A Boomer Response

A bit off my usual subjects but I had an interesting conversation a few weeks back with a millennial. It was rather one sided as he told me all that was wrong with the “Boomers”. I wasn’t really willing to engage because he was the type of individual who would get his feelings hurt very easily, a crybaby. So rather than risk getting turned into HR, and my feelings weren’t hurt, I just let it go. But in this forum, on this blog, I think I can let my feelings known. It truly is a sad state of affairs that folks can't have honest conversations any longer without the fear of getting into hot water.

Here is what a so-called "Boomer" sees in his mind when thinking about Millennials. Not that we think about us guys too much, except many of you are our kids and grandchildren. 

Full disclosure, I'm at the tail end of the Boomer generation. My parents are pre-WW2 babies. Kind of interesting if you think about it. The Boomer generation (1945-1962) covers a lot of ground. There are people designated as Millennials who are grandchildren of the earliest Boomers and others who are children of the late Boomers. 

There are some issues that Millennials do have correct. Homes ARE expensive. And yes, Boomers and others can be given some blame. The generation that fought WW2 and their children are the first generations where home ownership was widespread. Previous generations, unless they were farmers, were mostly renters. And rent took a large chunk of their paychecks. 

We see an unwillingness to work. And by work, I mean work hard. My dad worked hard. And later, my mom worked hard. As an adult I worked hard. Let me correct that just a bit. I started working hard as a pre-teen. I mowed lawns. I picked berries. I had newspaper routes. I even did some babysitting. By the time I was 15, I had worked at a steak house, busing tables and washing dishes. I was on the crew of the first McDonald's in my neck of the woods. I worked through high school. If I wanted spending money, I had to earn it. I worked while I was in college. One of the reasons why my folks worked hard is so they could HELP pay for college. While I didn't graduate (a whole 'nother story) I had zero tuition debt. I went to school for over three years. My folks paid tuition, I paid for the books and all of the other fees (parking, sports, etc.), which was just about equal in those days. To pay for the books, I worked. In the fall and winter, I worked at a ski shop. In the spring, I drove a van taking people up to the slopes and did landscaping. In the summer I did whatever I could (construction, landscaping) to earn a few bucks. Most of my friends did the same thing. We don't see that same work ethic in Millennials.

SIDE NOTE: A pet peave of many of us is Millennials want student loan forgiveness. It is a burden, no doubt. But you took it on freely, with no coercion from anyone. You signed on the dotted line. That meant you took on the obligation to pay back the bank or the taxpayer the money you borrowed to get the degree so you could get a high-paying job. And now, after signing the contract, getting your four degree in gender studies in six years, you want us to coddle you even more by transferring that obligation from you to us. After all that we did to get you to where you are at, you still not finished suckling at the teat of the previous generations. At some point in time, the cord must be cut. 

I don't know if Millennials are aware of this, but skilled trades are aging rapidly. The average age for plumbers, electricians, truck drivers is plus 50. These jobs pay very well, if, a big if, one is willing to work hard. Plumbers and electricians can earn north of $100K, if they are willing to put in the time. Truck drivers can earn $75K if they keep the wheels rolling. Hard work. But for whatever reason, college is the only avenue that Millennials take. Boomers share some of the blame here. We pushed our children towards college as the only path to success. But it is more than that. These trades mean hard, sometimes dirty work. And Millennials have a reputation for not willing to work hard. 

You want your cake and eat it too. You want to have a good work to life balance. You want to be able to enjoy life. You want to go skiing, hiking, surfing, camping, travel. And you want work to intrude on those activities as little as possible. That's all well and good. Have fun. Wish we could have done it. But somebody had to work to put you in designer clothes, get you the latest gaming console, put organic food on the table, and keep a roof over your head. 

You don't want to start at the bottom. For whatever reason, being a "lowly" mail room clerk is beneath you. When I joined the service way back when, I didn't get to be a major or a colonel or even a staff sergeant. I started out as a lowly airman. I had to take orders from all of those above me. I had to work rotating shifts. I had to buff floors. I had to clean latrines. But over time, with hard work, I eventually made to a point where I didn't have to do all of those chores. But listening to Millennials you get the distinct feeling that doing the things that we did back in the day is beneath them. 

To a degree Boomers are responsible for your attitudes. We babied you. Gave you everything you ever asked for. We didn't make you earn, even a little bit. Growing up, Levi's 501 jeans were all the rage. I wore Wrangler jeans. That is what my mom bought for me. It wasn't because the Levi's were in a completely different price range. They were about $5.00 more. Even in the 1970s five bucks wasn't a break the budget sum. But if I wanted Levi's I had to earn the money to make up the difference. And I did. Mowed a couple of lawns. Did extra chores around the house. Had a couple of newspaper routes. Funny thing, those 501s I wore felt so much better than the Wranglers. Was it because I earned them? Maybe. 

We also did you no favors by making sure you went to college. No son (or daughter) of mine is going to make their living with hands, no siree-bob. You wanna know why XYZ Company wants 5 years experience for an entry level job that pays like crap? It's because they can. Outside certain STEM specialties, college degrees are a dime a dozen. Oh sure, it’s all about the evil capitalistic system. It called the law of supply and demand. This is economics 101. When supply exceeds demand, the dynamic is in favor of the demander. Fairly simple concept. 

In countries like France and Germany, who govern on a semi-socialist basis, degreed individuals wait years to start jobs in their chosen fields. Why? College tuition is "free" so everyone has a degree. This means the level of competition for a limited number of jobs can be fierce. Until there are job openings via attrition, space is limited. It will the same here, only employers aren't going to want five years of experience, they'll want 10. 

BTW: if you think your pay would be any better under socialism or a lite version, you have to pull you head out of your professor’s ass and see the light. Oh sure, maybe the benevolent government will dictate that all entry level jobs at XZY Company start at $70,000/year. Buuuuuuttttt, we're gonna have to tax that salary at 65% to pay for the "free" childcare, the "free" college, "free" Healthcare, "free" etc. 

On top of that tax rate is the cost of living. It will most certainly skyrocket. You think it's expensive now, wait til you get a gander at the cost of living under socialism. Companies will still need to make a profit. And they will. They will make sure of that. If you think your representatives in DC will be any better for you than they are now, all I can say is "Wow!". They will still feed at the trough of big businesses, no matter the party, just like now.

SIDE NOTE: I always found it interesting that many people called for President Trump to disclose his tax returns because he was a billionaire. Or course the guy was wealthy, he was a very successful real estate developer. But nobody called for Nancy Pelosi to disclose how she became a multimillionaire many times over on a representatives salary. We'd all be millionaires if we had the access she has. When Liz Cheney became a congresscritter, she was worth just under $2M. She is now worth over $36M. Why is nobody curious how she got so rich on a congresscritter's paycheck? 

I know there are issues Millennials have to deal with that those in previous generations didn't have to worry about. But when we look at Millennials and hear them complain about their lot in life, we have a tendency to roll our eyes. You have so much going for you. You are so much better connected to the world and locally than we ever dreamed of. You are better educated than we will ever be, or even hoped to be. There are so many conveniences that you have at your fingertips that we never had and will never fully master. We want and expect you to take advantage of these advancements and fly. Quite whining about how you can’t get a job an are stuck at the coffee house waiting for that job to open up at XZY. Go learn a trade. Become a plumber’s apprentice. Get your welding certificate at the local community college. Do you know that because of all of the diversity crap going on right now, skilled labor organizations are clamoring to hire women and people of color. And no, the skilled labor trades are not filled with a bunch of racist rednecks. What we do have are no nonsense folks that don’t cater to you just because you belong to some real or made-up diversity group. We will expect you to work hard, earn your way, and learn the skill. Drive a truck and see the USA. You just might find out that you like working with your hands. You just might find out the people who do these kinds of jobs are people you can appreciate because we are truly the backbone of America.