Posted 2/5/2012 12:31 pm
Gen X were whiny wannabe rebels listening to Pearl Jam and drinking Starbucks in the 1990's (see movie Reality Bites) and grew up to become whiny SUV driving parents of the even whinier Connor and Madison and then sued Starbucks for making the coffee too hot.
I've seen there are two types of GenXers. It has nothing to do with clothes, or music, or even wealth.
It all comes down to one thing: did they trust their parents and did they take their advice OR did they at an early age learn to think on their own and be suspicious of authority.
Some Gen Xers wanted to be just like their boomer parents. They emulated them in their conservative republican politics, wanted to live the same debt-fueled lifestyle, and never learned to think for themselves. They go along with the crowd and make fitting in job #1. Even if there is evidence to the contrary screaming in their face, they always default to doing what everyone else is doing.
Then there were the Gen Xers who figured out early on that mom and dad were out to lunch and had outdated ideas. They could see with their eyes as the internet took off and jobs were outsourced that the future was going to very different than it was for their parents and they had better learn to develop their own instincts for survival or else.
I saw this during the housing bubble. I saw friends who listened to their parents about house buying and even encouraged them to go crushing debt during the peak of the bubble. I also saw friends who saw their parents were using an outdated view of the world and they had better do their own research. They stayed out of deep debt and are now better equipped to deal with the crisis ahead.
2004
YOU BETTER BUY A BIG HOUSE BEFORE YOU'RE PRICED OUT! YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH HOUSE!
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I better listen to him! He's a wealthy older person! I'm going down the bank tomorrow and getting an ARM loan!
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I wouldn't be so sure. I've been doing research on the internet and this whole thing is going to crash like a house of cards.
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NONSENSE! REAL ESTATE ALWAYS GOES UP!
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2011
OH SHIT! I'm upside down on my home and I just lost my job!
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Don't look at me for a handout! Pull yourself up by your bootstraps!
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Is there a possibility it can be reinflated? Also, rumor has it on these internets that everything is going to become unbearably expensive to fuck savers and inflate everyone in debt out of it, is that possible?
Perhaps? But in the meantime, I know plenty of 40somethings who go home every night to a and after working long hours at some shitty job (if they are lucky enough to be employed) and they work and they work and they work and they work and they are just going deeper into debt and building NO WEALTH and NO EQUITY!
ONE DAY THEY WILL RE-INFLATE THE ECONOMY AND WE'LL BE FREE AND CLEAR!
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As long as we have our iPhones and twitter we will RULE THE WORLD!! ..... what the fuck ..... who cut my cell service ..... you mean you need electricity to power cell transmitters ....... WHAT THE HELL??? .... you mean the government can pull a switch and shut off our internet....THEY CAN'T DO THAT!! WE OCCUPY WALL STREET!!!WE ARE ANNONYMOUS!! THAT'S NOT FAIR!!! ...they can trace me by my iPhone and arrest me?.....oh shit.
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This underscores a point I have made over and over again.
There is NO RECOVERY till they bring back the housing bubble. If Romney becomes president, he'll try his best to do it. But it won't help the middle class. It will be yet another gimmedat for Wall Street parasites with the ordinary person holding the bag...who will blame Obama yet again.
TOO BIG TO FAIL! THIS IS THE FAULT OF THAT DAMN KENYAN!
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Again, there is no monolithic Gen Y mindset. I'm sure when the shit hits the fan there will be plenty of Connors and Madisons who will curl up and die without the ability to make Facebook updates. Others will drink/medicate themselves to death. But a few will adapt and learn to thrive in a tough new world. The same thing happened to Gen X. Some became basket cases and drank themselves to death and never broke free of mommy and daddy. Others did what they were told and ended up in deep debt as they tried in vain to emulate their boomer parents high-consumption lifestyle. And a hearty few found a way to make their own path.
But there is still a hardcore group of bubble-believers who think it's only a matter of time before we "go back to normal". They are banking on it. They can't imagine any other world except one where home equity and real estate is a never ending cornucopia. I know boomers who are digging into meager savings to customize their kitchens and put in hot tubs in the hope it will add value and they'll score a jackpot for retirement when prices re-inflate. They are used to a world where the economy always comes back bigger and better. Go read up on what happened with Japan's housing bubble. The same thing happened.
Remember the Gen Y faggot who starved to death living in a bus in Alaska while being just down the road from a major highway with traffic? The 'hearty few' will die like that thinking they are living in a Jack London novel.
True, very true. Sadly, some of those kids who used to question authority back then drank the kool-aid from the late 90s up until 2008 or so and are starting to question it again. After two divorces, foreclosed houses, tens of thousands in CC debt, etc.
I rent.
after working long hours at some shitty job (if they are lucky enough to be employed) and they work and they work and they work and they work and they are just going deeper into debt and building NO WEALTH and NO EQUITY!
