Post: #51

I am of the millennial generation, at 21 years old, and let me tell you, there are multiple reasons for the issues stated above. Being able to witness day in and day out the plight of my classmates and colleagues I can give you first hand reasons as to why most young adults today will be forever poor, deep in debt, and I wouldn't say underemployed, but at a point where they will cap out at high 5-figure salaries.

First of all, as touched on earlier by el mechanico, there is rampant laziness in people that are aged 18-26. My generation is weak, I'll be the first to state it. Most kids have never had to work for anything in their lives and are perfectly content with a 9-5 position. The vast majority of people are settlers, in that they do not strive for anything more than comfort; and this is the first issue when it comes to the current situations of people in their early 20s.

Second, the education system and the way we have been fed from birth that the path is: go to school > get good grades > go to college > get a degree and perhaps a masters > get a good paying and secure job > live a life of mediocrity and never amount to much. Now, school in the information age is next to pointless. This is an old way of thinking, and contributes to the massive student loan debt of the millennial generation. The government doesn't care if you become a meaningful member of society and contribute to helping others, they just care about a guaranteed 50-125k in their system. You cannot file bankruptcy and fall out of student loan debt. For most people, this literally means starting from below rock bottom. You are in the red and have to dig yourself out after 4-8 years of college.

Third, the whole system of abolishing the middle class has created a rift that no longer can be filled. You are either rich or you are poor, the middle ground is like an antarctic ice drift; ever shrinking. A society cannot function on such a disparity of wealth, and inequality is rampant. Tie this in with the laziness and overall lack of desire to work, and you will have a generation of people that are going to try to eat out of societies hand, with not nearly enough to feed everyone. Jobs no longer carry with them a security, you can be fired at any instant, and then you're fucked. Yet people pursue this ideal in belief that they will never be the victim, they will always have this job to fall back on in tough times. Add in credit card debt, add in terrible spending habits, add in spending like you're rich even though you don't have $20 to your name. All of this plays a factor in adding to the issues millennials face (and the issues are almost unanimously self inflicted).

You can add to the fact that the US debt, the social media culture (people are absolutely socially retarded nowadays), and the intensifying of feminist and Marxist beliefs, and you have the perfect shit storm.

The solution? Be the 1%. Don't fall in line, and literally do everything that society has conditioned you not to do. Work 7 days a week creating a business, forget about further education because its pointless (real world experience is the only education people need, yet cannot see it), be social in the traditional sense of the word, there are multiple ways to avoid being these people with no job, drive, or money. Essentially do what we as a community have been doing since inception in taking the Red pill, seeing the world of what it really is, and defying the status quo. I'm not worried about tomorrow, because I'll be perfectly fine; however, I worry for my customers, where will they get the money to purchase my products and make me an absolute fortune?

Post: #52

(11-05-2014 06:18 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  Kids are sleeping on the biggest, best-kept secret in the United States.

The fucking military and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

I don't sense most millennials are tough enough for the military. The burden of the military often falls on poorer individuals from tougher circumstances than the avg useless millennial.

Edit: I think if you took an avg young male from a Western country and put him up against an avg one from a third world country, the avg Western male would take a beating. I am not hating here, just these kids are so soft these days.

Post: #53

(11-05-2014 07:09 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 06:18 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  Kids are sleeping on the biggest, best-kept secret in the United States.

The fucking military and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

I don't sense most millennials are tough enough for the military. The burden of the military often falls on poorer individuals from tougher circumstances than the avg useless millennial.

Edit: I think if you took an avg young male from a Western country and put him up against an avg one from a third world country, the avg Western male would take a beating. I am not hating here, just these kids are so soft these days.

Not rednecks/ country dudes. They're on it hard, building mud trucks etc.

Post: #54

(11-05-2014 07:09 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 06:18 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  Kids are sleeping on the biggest, best-kept secret in the United States.

The fucking military and the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

I don't sense most millennials are tough enough for the military. The burden of the military often falls on poorer individuals from tougher circumstances than the avg useless millennial.

Edit: I think if you took an avg young male from a Western country and put him up against an avg one from a third world country, the avg Western male would take a beating. I am not hating here, just these kids are so soft these days.

Look at it from a hustling point of view. "What can I get out of this?"

The military is a 4-6 year program to teach you a profession, give you real-world experience and pay you while doing it.

Check out my data sheet on the Air Force: /thread-29991.html

This isn't a toughness contest. We're talking about young adults today getting into insane amounts of debt while going to school.

The military circumvents the entire college/loan scheme. You can hack the system. I look at my peers and people older than me that have all this college debt and I just can't relate.

The benefits are there. It's the cultural/class snobbery that the military is for poor people that really is the ultimate stupidity of the millennials.

It has nothing to do with toughness and everything to do with taking advantage of lesser-known opportunities.

Post: #55

Quote:Third, the whole system of abolishing the middle class has created a rift that no longer can be filled. You are either rich or you are poor, the middle ground is like an antarctic ice drift; ever shrinking.

Society in the west is still mostly middle class..that is another myth that it went anywhere. Problem is the middle class is so vast that it has a large range of income.One can make 30k and be middle class or make 80k and be in the same class.

Saying that the majority is in the poor class is just passing blame again. Not blaming you, but the media that gives that idea. It isn't so.

In US the average income I think is 45k. That isn't poor class. Heck even the poor class that actually is American born and works isn't that poor. Immigrants always need to start at the bottom. My grandparents were poor. My father grew up poor. Did he blame every one?
No now he is retired, has a pension and has over a million(probably 1.5).

Sure the gap is getting bigger. The rich have much more than they had before. But the net worth of the middle class in cash assets is also higher.

The biggest problem facing young people today is PRICES. Certain aspects of the American dream has ended due to home prices. But that is supply and demand and very location dependent. There are places you can buy a home for way under 100k.

If one comes in the workplace with debt and decides they need to travel and party and have 100 dollar a month data plans and 150 cable/internet bills, sure one will feel poor.

You think I didn't feel poor when I was a teacher for 1 year and didn't have a car ,etc?

It takes time to get ahead. But I notice many want everything RIGHT NOW. Those people will always be behind. That reminds me of my mother.

To be honest the greatest generation when it comes to adult prosperity has to be my fathers generation. He is 76 so right before the boomers. Back then tuition was cheap and can even be free. Unions were around. Just having a degree meant you got a job that can lead to a lucrative career.

But lets look at the reality. They had rarely any consumer products to spend on. If they had shelter, food, tv and a few bucks to go out and a yearly local road trip vacation(most couldn't afford to fly)..they felt rich. Left over went into savings.This was the typical middle class. They didn't think they were poor.

I bet 99% of millennial's have all of the above. So nothing has really changed. The difference is that they want to have the smartphone, internet connection, vacations overseas, more money to eat out since most can't cook, etc.

Are they poorer? Do these workers have less influence in the economy?No..infact today even the lower classes have a larger market influence than the older generations.

Next time you think of someone who is poor..go and see what lifestyle they have. You will probably notice they have no less access to goods and services than the middleclass of the baby boomer generation.


Observation: I mostly worked in the ghetto. Obviously this is where the poor supposedly live. Many/most on food stamps. But here is a few observations:

1. Many own homes..nice homes. Check out homes in brownsville.
2. many have cars including BMW'S and nice motor bikes. When I was in viper( housing project monitoring) we use to comment on the amount of luxury cars in the full parking lots of the projects.
3. Many have big pitbulls..who EAT a lot
4. Many/most are fat..not starving.
5. most had smart phones..I didn't
6. Most had flat screen tv's ..i didn't at the time.
7. Most have cable..including premium channels.

Point: even the so called poor isn't REALLY poor. They with help of handouts live just as good as the middle class did 30 years ago.

Poor in the west live better than the upper middle class in most of the world.

Post: #56

(11-05-2014 07:09 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  I don't sense most millennials are tough enough for the military.

You have no idea what the social experimenters have done to 85% of the military - in the US, at least. Forget about the first half of Full Metal Jacket - it was still like that, more or less, through the mid-90's (minus the racial epithets and the hitting). Nowadays though, a drill sergeant behaving like a drill sergeant would see his career ripped to shreds if he behaved like that. Then again, the sad part is while the physical standards have dropped, the kids coming in STILL have trouble meeting them - so you might actually be right!

Maybe everyone thinks we can drone our way to victory but if we ever need a very large, physically fit and motivated ground force, we're in some serious fucking trouble.

Post: #57

Though this is anecdotal, during the first Iraq war, some troops didn't want to go to war with various objections. Some just thought they would do their time and get out without ever having to perform their end of the bargain, ie go to war if ordered. Not, I won't go into the whether we should have gone to war the second time with Iraq (I am not a hawk) but a deal is a deal.

I just imagine many of the millennials don't go the military route because they have no interest in actually making a sacrifice. I direct this mainly at the millennials that have had everything handed to them growing up.

Post: #58

(11-05-2014 07:28 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  It has nothing to do with toughness and everything to do with taking advantage of lesser-known opportunities.

I have never served and cannot speak about the experience. I respect those that have. But I bet you need to have some degree of toughness to serve in the military. Maybe I am wrong. But I can't imagine having mental toughness plays no role in doing well in the military.

Post: #59

(11-05-2014 07:43 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  I have never served and cannot speak about the experience. I respect those that have. But I bet you need to have some degree of toughness to serve in the military. Maybe I am wrong. But I can't imagine having mental toughness plays no role in doing well in the military.

I contend that if the prissy white girls that were in basic training next to me can do it, almost anyone can. I came from an easy life in small towns and suburbia...Mental toughness can be learned.

(11-05-2014 07:40 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  Though this is anecdotal, during the first Iraq war, some troops didn't want to go to war with various objections. Some just thought they would do their time and get out without ever having to perform their end of the bargain, ie go to war if ordered. Not, I won't go into the whether we should have gone to war the second time with Iraq (I am not a hawk) but a deal is a deal.

I just imagine many of the millennials don't go the military route because they have no interest in actually making a sacrifice. I direct this mainly at the millennials that have had everything handed to them growing up.

They are just uninformed. I'm a millennial. I joined the military for purely selfish reasons and never once thought about sacrifice, nationalism or anything like that. I know it doesn't sound pretty, but it's the truth. Military service and everything that came to me through it was a means to an end. Four years and the best decision I've ever made.

Post: #60

(11-05-2014 07:40 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  Though this is anecdotal, during the first Iraq war, some troops didn't want to go to war with various objections. Some just thought they would do their time and get out without ever having to perform their end of the bargain, ie go to war if ordered. Not, I won't go into the whether we should have gone to war the second time with Iraq (I am not a hawk) but a deal is a deal.

I just imagine many of the millennials don't go the military route because they have no interest in actually making a sacrifice. I direct this mainly at the millennials that have had everything handed to them growing up.

Well until the war on terror minus the 1991 mobilization the US basically had almost 30 years of a desk job military. Very few actually had the risk of dangerous duty..and most of those units were elite or volunteered.

I assume after 9/11 the civilian type military that we had now changed and the the recruits as well.

But funny thing about the military is any smart clever person can reduce their chance of dangerous deployments to basically nothing. There really is no excuse. I thought of joining when I was younger with my 2 friends. I didn't because I was pushed into HIGHER EDUCATION.

Behold: both are were rebels but ended up staying. One is a major in the Marines and loves his war assignments. Other is an AF major or colonel and has a very prestigious position. He was the smart one. He never did anything but desk type jobs. He has a masters degree already paid by uncle same.

Repeat: be intelligent, score high on the entrance exam, pick the right job and training and one can basically cruise right though the Navy , coast guard or Air force without much risk and come out in 4 years with a degree almost finished and training. That isn't including the GI bill where they can go get another degree.

My fathers generation you were required to do a year in the Army with little choice.

Post: #61

I was told by a military recruiter that I would be better off in unconventional covert style operations. Anyone want to tell me what he meant by that?

Post: #62

(11-05-2014 07:52 PM)Old Fritz Wrote:  I was told by a military recruiter that I would be better off in unconventional covert style operations. Anyone want to tell me what he meant by that?

Assassin-IA stuff, recon/sniper stuff

Post: #63

(11-05-2014 07:52 PM)Old Fritz Wrote:  I was told by a military recruiter that I would be better off in unconventional covert style operations. Anyone want to tell me what he meant by that?

He meant this post Military.

Post: #64

(11-05-2014 07:54 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 07:52 PM)Old Fritz Wrote:  I was told by a military recruiter that I would be better off in unconventional covert style operations. Anyone want to tell me what he meant by that?

Assassin-IA stuff, recon/sniper stuff

Makes sense. Guess that was a compliment. He did say I would make a terrible soldier though.

Post: #65

(11-05-2014 07:46 PM)Checkmat Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 07:43 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  I have never served and cannot speak about the experience. I respect those that have. But I bet you need to have some degree of toughness to serve in the military. Maybe I am wrong. But I can't imagine having mental toughness plays no role in doing well in the military.

I contend that if the prissy white girls that were in basic training next to me can do it, almost anyone can. I came from an easy life in small towns and suburbia...Mental toughness can be learned.

(11-05-2014 07:40 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  Though this is anecdotal, during the first Iraq war, some troops didn't want to go to war with various objections. Some just thought they would do their time and get out without ever having to perform their end of the bargain, ie go to war if ordered. Not, I won't go into the whether we should have gone to war the second time with Iraq (I am not a hawk) but a deal is a deal.

I just imagine many of the millennials don't go the military route because they have no interest in actually making a sacrifice. I direct this mainly at the millennials that have had everything handed to them growing up.

They are just uninformed. I'm a millennial. I joined the military for purely selfish reasons and never once thought about sacrifice, nationalism or anything like that. I know it doesn't sound pretty, but it's the truth. Military service and everything that came to me through it was a means to an end. Four years and the best decision I've ever made.

You know what i think? The hollywood frightens them. Mostly they see movies where guy goes though basic for 8 weeks and they think it is year after year of that.
Then they see being sent off to war.

They don't see the reality for many if NOT most for most of the last 3 decades.
They don't realize that they will go to a technical school(A school?) and have a dorm mate and access to state of the art gym while eating their faces out.

They don't see that if they become E 4( done easily by scoring well and agreeing to study some boring skill..generally safe) that they can live off base in a nice pad of their choice and live a nine to 5 in some position while taking course work for a degree not wasting their GI bill EVEN.

So many choices but they don't know.
Even kids joining don't know , that is why they end up in infantry , even if they don't want it.

Post: #66

My 26-yo nephew graduated from U of Arizona law school last May. Moved back to Wisconsin and passed the bar on his first attempt. He is currently a waiter at my parents' country club. The saving grace is that his parents paid the freight, so no debt hanging over his head.

Post: #67

(11-05-2014 07:43 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  Maybe I am wrong. But I can't imagine having mental toughness plays no role in doing well in the military.

Depends what you mean - some jobs, yes; most others, no. If you mean making it through Ranger school, yes - at least for now - you need plenty of mental and physical stamina. That will probably change within the next few years as the social experimenters push for women in the combat arms, as well as a concomitant lowering of the standards being marketed as "fairness" to the single mommies who joined the military as their new baby daddy.

If you mean career wise, the military is not a meritocracy. At the most basic level, promotions are based upon attendance and attrition.

Post: #68

(11-05-2014 08:04 PM)slats7 Wrote:  My 26-yo nephew graduated from U of Arizona law school last May. Moved back to Wisconsin and passed the bar on his first attempt. He is currently a waiter at my parents' country club. The saving grace is that his parents paid the freight, so no debt hanging over his head.

Didn't he hear the alarm bells three years ago when he applied?

Post: #69

(11-05-2014 08:03 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  They don't see that if they become E 4( done easily by scoring well and agreeing to study some boring skill..generally safe) that they can live off base in a nice pad of their choice and live a nine to 5 in some position while taking course work for a degree not wasting their GI bill EVEN.

So many choices but they don't know.
Even kids joining don't know , that is why they end up in infantry , even if they don't want it.

Maybe in the Air Force you get a housing allowance as a single E4, but in the Army that's not the case unless you are married - which is why so many young Joes make horrible decisions on getting hitched for a pay raise. If they don't, they'll be in the barracks until they make E6.

And you'd be surprised how many of us "ended up" in the infantry by choice. Everyone thinks that's the shittiest job in the Army, but it's not nearly as shitty as putting up with unmotivated and unprofessional slobs in some of the combat service support roles (transportation, quartermaster, etc.) Easy jobs attract lazy people, I've learned.

Post: #70

(11-05-2014 08:16 PM)Jack198 Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 08:03 PM)jimukr104 Wrote:  They don't see that if they become E 4( done easily by scoring well and agreeing to study some boring skill..generally safe) that they can live off base in a nice pad of their choice and live a nine to 5 in some position while taking course work for a degree not wasting their GI bill EVEN.

So many choices but they don't know.
Even kids joining don't know , that is why they end up in infantry , even if they don't want it.

Maybe in the Air Force you get a housing allowance as a single E4, but in the Army that's not the case unless you are married - which is why so many young Joes make horrible decisions on getting hitched for a pay raise. If they don't, they'll be in the barracks until they make E6.

And you'd be surprised how many of us "ended up" in the infantry by choice. Everyone thinks that's the shittiest job in the Army, but it's not nearly as shitty as putting up with unmotivated and unprofessional slobs in some of the combat service support roles (transportation, quartermaster, etc.) Easy jobs attract lazy people, I've learned.

When were you in? I believe they changed it to E 4. Marines I think might be different NOT sure.

Quote:And you'd be surprised how many of us "ended up" in the infantry by choice. Everyone thinks that's the shittiest job in the Army, but it's not nearly as shitty as putting up with unmotivated and unprofessional slobs in some of the combat service support roles (transportation, quartermaster, etc.) Easy jobs attract lazy people, I've learned.

Agreed..most cops I worked with joined the Marines because they wanted to 'get some', but I am talking about what the lazy unmotivated SCARED millennial's can do.

Post: #71

I've actually contemplated joining the Air Force reserve. I could still make a little cash on the side while getting some training and skills in the engineering related sector. I'm concerned about the 6-8 commitment but at least it isn't active duty. There will still be time on the side for my business.

Thoughts?

Post: #72

(11-05-2014 08:11 PM)Jack198 Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 08:04 PM)slats7 Wrote:  My 26-yo nephew graduated from U of Arizona law school last May. Moved back to Wisconsin and passed the bar on his first attempt. He is currently a waiter at my parents' country club. The saving grace is that his parents paid the freight, so no debt hanging over his head.

Didn't he hear the alarm bells three years ago when he applied?

he figured declining law school enrollment meant less competition when he got out.

Post: #73

(11-05-2014 04:48 PM)britchard Wrote:  I want to warn you guys that it's getting worse. I'm not even put of school yet, but I already have 2 jobs and study a lot as well. Then in my hour or so of free time every day I log on to twitter and see women my age tweeting or retweeting shit like "All I want is a tall, muscly boyfriend, money to travel the world and an easy well paying job. Is that too much to ask for?"

Yes. It fucking is too much to ask for. I'm slaving my ass away already so that in 10 years you can live off my taxes.

I think a lot of students in university don't really have the chops to be there. A person doing a useless humanities major at a third tier school really doesn't belong in university, and historically should not have been there. You can't blame them though, because going was drilled into their heads by their parents, their high school and the media etc. from birth. These people grew up in a time when having a bachelors degree wasn't as common, but now so many kids are going to university the marginal benefit of going is a lot less especially at lower tier schools.

This doesn't just hurt humanities majors. There is a huge over supply where I live of law, teaching and science graduates. Even from a top tier school the job market in those areas is very poor. The universities seem to pump out as many students as they can teach, which is a lot more then those sectors actually need. That said it's not like there's enough non-credentialed jobs out there for these surplus graduates in the first place.

If you go to college, get good grades in high school to go to a target school, major in something lucrative and go out all out on getting good grades, extra-curricular's and internships. If you don't do the later two points especially you are wasting your time and your money. I can't speak about how much tuition you should pay since university in my country is very cheap, but Wall Street Playboy's advise against taking on debt that is higher than your likely graduate salary.

Post: #74

Even for diligent students with a legit major, the "return" has been cut in half over the last 20 years. Real life example -

I graduated from Big Ten U in 199x with a degree in accounting (not STEM but legit major). Tuition for four years - $16,000 total. I got a job at a "Big 6" accounting firm, pulling down $32k per year. So lets call it a 2x return in my investment (ignoring taxes).

Fast forward 20 years. Tuition for four years - ~$50,000 total. Current graduates are making about $50,000 at a "Big 4" accounting firm, so call it a 1x return.

Millennials get a lot of shit (mostly deserved) but no doubt the deck is stacked against them.

Post: #75

(11-05-2014 08:33 PM)slats7 Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 08:11 PM)Jack198 Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 08:04 PM)slats7 Wrote:  My 26-yo nephew graduated from U of Arizona law school last May. Moved back to Wisconsin and passed the bar on his first attempt. He is currently a waiter at my parents' country club. The saving grace is that his parents paid the freight, so no debt hanging over his head.

Didn't he hear the alarm bells three years ago when he applied?

he figured declining law school enrollment meant less competition when he got out.

He's not necessarily screwed, but if he doesn't get some kind of lawyer job pretty soon, that gap in his resume could make it extremely difficult for him. For reasons that I don't post about or talk about, I didn't work for over a year after I graduated from law school. I was eventually able to get a job, which I had for five years. I left that job with over $250, 000 in debt and all kinds of other problems which that job either directly or indirectly caused me. Through some contacts which I made at that job, hard work, and some strokes of good luck, I was able to turn everything around surprisingly fast. If I had gone much longer without getting a job, I think many prospective employers would have been scared away by the gap in my resume. You nephew's job at the country club should put him in contact with some pretty powerful people, both in the the gal community and outside of it. There are worse things he could be doing, but if too much time passes, things will be extremely difficult.