“[Young people] are high-minded because they have not yet been humbled by life, nor have they experienced the force of circumstances. ... They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it.” -Aristotle
One part of the equation that I think is addressable though is unsophisticated employers, for lack of a better term. If you work for a small business, the owner's personality is a bigger factor in your experience - in negotiating, being paid, handling leave (an owner rarely gets formal leave, so some will resent people asking). Being underpaid is one thing, but being underpaid and dealing with a difficult personality who controls everything about your employment is another thing on top.
There's definitely a crisis in America of people who've never worked not wanting to work. And it's the ultimate first world problem. If you want to tackle privilege instead of getting a relatively shitty job in your 20s... you're probably privileged as hell.
Citation needed. Do you have one single shred of evidence that this is the case, to the extent of being a "crisis"?
Oh wow. Just talk to any of the beatniks, or the hobos and vagabonds in the greatest generation or...
You can't take a sample from people who have dropped out of society and become drug addicts or to live in a van and make a conclusion about society!
If I took the same sample from of 25 yos from a Harvard lecture theater you can bet most of them are expecting to work 60 hours weeks.
I live in Portland by PSU. I used to live in inner SE off Belmont. You’re 100% talking out your ass. I would put money you don’t talk to anyone OR as others have said are only talking to those living on the street. You’re manipulating things to fit your narrative it’s gross. Please stop.
The subset of people you’re attempting to identify are by and large suffering from mental illness and/or abuse. They don’t need you to misrepresent them and portray them as lazy, bourgeois, and/or unwilling to work. It’s completely disgusting behavior to do so and you should feel shame.
Also, Roadside tends to be a slightly older crowd and generate better than average conversations. I love that place.
FWIW I also live in inner SE and it has changed drastically for the worse in the last few years. But I can assure you, one thing hasn't changed, I still talk to tons of people from all walks of life. I can walk a few blocks in any direction and run into a dozen people I know and who know me by name.
> just talk to anyone under 25 here who's living in a van or shooting heroin on the street and they'll explain to you in collegiate level prose why there's no point getting a job.
It's always strange to me when critics look at this highly productive country, where many people work hard with fewer benefits & protections than other nations, and then call those people lazy.
lol c’mon. The ol’ “$CURRENT_GENERATION is uniquely weak/lazy/bad, unlike $SPEAKER_OWN_GENERATION” chestnut is a nice touch, I’ll give you that.
So would you consider your comment "tackling privilege"?
Ie : I wish I could grow some beans in this field VS I wish my wealthy neighbor would use me.
In the present, there is plenty of cheap land if you want to live off the grid and grow beans. That's not what people want anymore. They want cars and modern appliances. You can't get those without an advanced manufacturing society, and thus, people work for other people.
But you don't extract your living from wealthy neighbors. You provide a service that you get paid for. What you get paid depends on what you can provide.