I don’t disagree with this article, but i feel that under the circumstances that are laid in front of me I personally am doing “OK”. Yet i do see the next generation of young adults looking like those from the movie “idiocracy” We are seeing a “dumbing down” in society. Since when is it OK for a 13 year old to dress like a hooker and promenade around town not expecting to get “picked up”? Our country is not what we make it to be. We need to look at ourselves as a whole and slap the hell out of these new parents. They are making our society a stupid one to say the least. Think about it, do you want “little miss ho-bag” taking care of you in your retirement home. Go to any major convenience store, any major gas station, or better yet, look at the schools, they are becoming the dumbest and laziest generation. Check what the average I.Q. is today compared to 50 years ago and you will be scared.

Obviously it is far too late to reteach the younger generation morals and hard work, but what can be done is encourage the portion of the younger generation who were taught properly and are driven to succeed.

Since I currently attend University of Michigan as an engineering student, I see a fair amount of highly driven “younger generation” people who are willing to put in the hard work and put America back on its feet. These people will become the future of America as leaders of the younger generation and hopefully will prove to the rest that there is opportunity if one is willing the seize it.

Now that is what the younger generation can do. What about the older generation? Well since you are currently the ones in power, policy needs to change and the rampant corruption in government and business needs to be revealed and brought to justice. Perhaps I don’t fully understand the “system”, but there are experts who do. This isn’t a problem that will be solved quickly or easily, but with everyone’s combined individual effort and willingness to change we can still instill the belief we had in ourselves as hard working Americans.

Signing off, lets do work America.

–Locke

I saw a comment on here that said flipping burgers wasn’t an opportunity, it’s a slap in the face. Exactly! And this generation objects to this proverbial slap in the face. Why should we go flip burgers for minimum wage, continue to fuel the obesity problem in American, while my landlord who sits on his ass all day complaining about lazy kids charges me three times what I make.

Hey previous generation, thanks for the housing bubble. You guys sure got that one right. A student who works 20+ hours a week is 50% more likely to not completely college. I think I’ll pass on the ‘get to work’ advice.

What’s the real issue here? Resentment, that’s all. I sat on my lazy butt, went to college, got an education, and now I make a decent salary. If you resent that and wanna call me lazy, go for it.

These comments about the internet and social media are ludicrous also. I would argue that a ‘lazy teen’ knows of more current events, news, and random facts from surfing the web in 10 minutes than an ‘old-school’ adult receives in an entire week from their 30 minute nightly newscast.

The number of teens with jobs is the lowest it’s been since 1948. So what? 90% of the processes at Mc Donalds are automated today, what do you expect? It’s called progress.

I see a generation of very well educated peers that can do many impressive things. A life of flipping burgers is not an opportunity, it’s a slap in the face.

You could be considered clinically retarded compared to this generation. Take your 20 year old self and put it up against an average 20 year old of today, the 20 year old of today will talk circles around you.

You were probably better at writing in cursive and doing yard work, however, these activities are mindless and have very little purpose in our world.

My grandfather (one of the nicest men I’ve met and one of my favorite people on this earth) has a degree in mathematics. He commented that his senior year of college consisted of the math I was doing as a junior in high school.

I’m sick and tired of these older selfish generations that broke down the family (yet, had their parents to guide them), bought houses they couldn’t afford (because they deserved it), sold out good paying jobs overseas (that they used to buy their first house) and somehow blame the youth of today. You all should be ashamed of yourselves and embarrassed that you think the problem is the younger generation.

The world has changed and the shift in technology has trained a younger generation with skills that are used to run this world, yet, the companies hire this generation at 8-12 dollars an hour to run everything while they take the credit.

Not being able to use a shovel or mow the lawn doesn’t mean anything. Planting flowers and tending the yard is a waste of time. It’s pointless stuff people did in the 60′s because your jobs were cake.

This younger generation could easily grow and preserve food, make clothing, maintain a house etc. They can change the world while typing away on a keyboard. The younger generation has wasted too many hours of their life supporting the materialism that plagues the baby boomers and was passed down to them through the attitude of me first.

It makes me sick when the older generation thinks they are the harder workers, they are the dumber workers. Work smart, not hard grandpa.

Not only has this generation been stripped of their youth, they have been stripped of their place in society. The cost of housing is too high, the wages for young Americans are too low and the education required to do many tasks is too much and too costly.

Please, please go live in a so called “third world” country for a few years. You will be shocked at just how resilient people can be. I lived in Honduras for a few years. Hondurans make the best out of everything. They are incredibly creative: when the going gets tough, they find a way.

Contrary to the xenophobic, racism currently centered on Hispanics, I have to say I am proud to have these folks here even if they are here illegally. The U.S. was built on the backs of hardworking immigrants. It is amazing how quickly Americans forget that.

Here is the truth. Most folks are pretty slow; it is called a learning curve. Remember back when you were drafted or enlisted in the military. Boy, the chief or sergeant had to show those boys how to tie their shoes. The military went step by step, so that even the mentally handicapped could operate a radar system, etc.

In the old days, most folks were kind of apprenticed, they learned little by little and they made mistakes, lots of mistakes. The difference is that today work has become Darwinian. You make a mistake at the register, the camera watches you. Don’t scan fast enough, some sucker will take your place. Most of the successful people in mundane white collar or blue collar jobs were lucky because they had a suitable environment.

Take it easy on the youngsters. After all it is these young folks who are fighting G.W.’s wars, etc.

You are not the only one. I’m back in school myself working on an associates degree because my “hard-working” and “genius” parents knew exactly what career I was going into. Then, when that didn’t pan out and I wouldn’t continue taking their marching orders, they threw me out on the street to fend for myself. I did that successfully for three years and put up with all their bitching and abuse about not working “hard enough” or “expecting other people to take care of me.”

Fortunately, I discovered that I have a great aunt and uncle who have been letting me live with them and go back to school. I’ve got a decent part time job at the school, but I am barely making enough money to pay rent to them. My advice is don’t give up and don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends. I would probably be living in a card board box if not for my aunt and uncle helping me.

For all those people saying why can’t you get 3 or 4 jobs to support yourself, I hate to break it to you, but employers are not going to hire someone who is working at another place and plan their schedule around them. They are only going to hire employees that are available 24/7 and not have to pay them above minimum wage.

This is the major crisis of our times right now. Instead of blaming and bickering, let’s do what we can to help everyone out.

I have TWO post secondary degrees and the best job offer I’ve had all year is 34k. Now what exactly am I suppose to do with that? It’s not enough to mortgage a house, it’s not even enough to qualify for financing on a new car!

My father bought his first home for 20k. That is no longer an option! I can barely afford to feed myself. How are we suppose to buy our own homes and start our own families when prices are simply too high and wages have not rises to meet them?

So, I continue to toil at an unfulfilling and degrading job where I answer to, and debase myself to people who are so tragically unintelligent and uneducated that someone like myself should be allowed to keep them as PETS!

And why?

Just because they finished their own less demanding and less impressive academic careers 20 years before I did! What makes you so special that your time is that much more valuable than mine?

Is it any surprise my generation is angry?

I know jobs are scarce right now, but that is just devastating to me. A whole year of searching for a job, and all I get back is one phone call? Go ahead and call me lazy, but I’ve tried my best to find one.