Joe Sustrate 2 days ago

Gen z ranges from 12-27. I didn't have the best grasp on what earning potential for most people was until I was on the high side of that. Give them a decade. The world will crush their souls like it did the rest of us 😂

MrWeezeloner 3 days ago

To all the Gen Zers crying that they'll never own a home, I know how it feels. I felt the same way in 2006 - 07. Guess what though, we had a severe recession in 2008. Housing didn't bottom out till 2012 but when it did, houses were once again affordable. My wife and I bought our home in 2015.

So much can change in a matter of 5 to 10 years. Don't stress yourself out too much. We may be seeing the beginnings of a housing correction already. Just look at Texas.

stude292 4 days ago

I, as a 67 yr old guy, have pondered this subject for years. My observations indicate, to me, that the basic landscape of human nature is unchanged since I was a child. Yes, as a kid, we had no credit card. Nor Amazon. But, my dad had significant war-related experiences and injuries which set the family tone. I remember how angry he was, when I simply had no appreciation for those aspects which he felt were important: doing homework, staying out of trouble, treating Mom with respect and being generous. He, exasperated, emphasizing how EASY it all was, compared to living in a foxhole for nearly 4 years. By the time I was in my late 20's, long graduated from a very affordable college, my best friend, a house painter I occasionally worked for, and I would walk through the new constructions of 3500 sq-ft "MacMansions", we called them, in disbelief at the excess. I don't think "consumerism" is generational. I do believe that the basic system, here at least, survives on consumption, and folks simply fall prey to a marketing organism enabled by ubiquitous highly effective connectivity to the masses. I heard stories of housewives being sold useless items by effective door-to-door salesman, 60 years ago, too. We have not changed, but the social feedback and marketing capabilities have supercharged our egos, accelerating the journey to the crossroads of oblivion and enlightenment. I still work (consultation), and the parking lot contains, I think, more $70k pickups and SUVs than Civics. High- end Teslas, too, driven, in general, by much younger employees. I have seen, within my lifetime, the shift from a constant-profit model, to that of profit growth- clearly unsustainable. Everyone knows it can't be sustained; the goal is to be the one left in the elevator. And, we, of all ages, fuel it, and blame each other, as "the system" programs each of us to chase the insatiable, rather than pursue a joyful life, out of the fear of being left out "of something", of not meeting unclear, pathological ever-changing expectations. I drive a '93 240 Volvo wagon, and, since I enjoy tinkering, have spent less than $30k, total, on auto purchases since the beginning. But, my labor is involved; I have used the savings to fund a lifetime of sailing- a very expensive and luxurious pastime, so I am guilty, too. But, being on the ocean, out of cell range, embraced by that environment, in a very low-tech boat, is very joyful. As is simply walking down our street (she was too ill to leave, has recovered, and every walk is incredibly and uniquely joyful.

LulaJoe’s Pumpkin 4 days ago

I agree with Steven’s comment below. It is very easy to judge the Gen Z generation, writing them off as hedonistic dreamers, but when you factor in the post pandemic economy and the very real fear that they will not have the same democratic social safety net programs that have worked since FDR’s presidency, in addition to the feeling that they will have to finance their retirement and healthcare needs as well as, their present day living expenses, on their own individual incomes, then it is not unreasonable to understand where they get their numbers from. I’m an Xer and I’m already preparing mentally for the real possibility that I will have to work well past the age my mother was when she retired, prayerfully I get to retire. I think about all those years that I poured into the system of social security since the age of 14 when I began working, and how that investment that I have been in part counting on, in addition to my retirement savings may not be there for me; all that money that could’ve been invested privately, if not taken out of my check by the federal system that promised to assist my generation as it did the baby boomers, it really is quite infuriating.

Magnolia Getaways 4 days ago

Steven, the question of how much wasn't based on time travel per generation. It was based on today, for the different generations. Put your bowl of cereal down and pay attention.

Steven 4 days ago

Out of curiosity, I checked what those values were "worth" when each generation's last members were born.
- $100,000 in 1964 is just north of $1 million in 2024
- $212,000 in 1980 is around $900,000 now
- $181,000 in 1996 is about $400,000 today
- $588,000 in 2012 is around $800,000 currently
From this perspective, it's the millennials who are the outliers. Remember that Gen Z is the group ages 12 to 27. Given the very recent period of high inflation, volatile employment prospects, ever rising housing prices, and no expectation that social safety nets like Social Security and Medicare will still be around by their retirement age, why are we surprised that Gen Z would set such a high bar for financial *success*? Remember, this isn't about what they think the average income should be; it's about how much they feel they need to be successful.

gary munroe 5 days ago

So bloody gross and unrealistic. This greed based system cannot sustain itself forever. There is so much JUNK everywhere, litter, bulk trash being shipped from rich to poor, plastic in the oceans, rising temps/seas, insanely stronger weather catastrophes. Gotta get that bling tho, make that money! The whole system disgusts me on principle. $$$$$$. As we savagely destroy our one tiny spec that we're lucky enough to have, floating in a sea of trillions of other specs. So important! Eat eat eat, buy buy buy, sell, sell, sell. Futures Futures Futures when there is no future! End stage capitalism + climate change+ radical individualism+Human stupidity. She is getting ready to shake off soon. Good luck finding all of those 600k a year jobs kids!

Just Some Guy 5 days ago

GenZ gonna have a REAL rude awakening over the next decade.

Freydis Eiriksdottir 5 days ago

Yikes. These locusts are going to turn Mother Earth into a desert.

Jason V Brock 6 days ago

People are delusional. Money is necessary, but hardly the best or only thing. Except to shallow minds.