It’s pretty difficult to find objective news on the go- especially with iPhone apps.  Unfortunately, I am often times reduced to reading the Huffington Post.  As painful as it is, I power through and remind myself of the source.  (I also just tell myself that it’s a nice way to stay up-to-date with what liberals are learning.)

That being said, I recently came across an article the other day that was truly disturbing.  “AARP For Under 30 Set Aims to Get Fair Share for Millennial Generation”.  Here is the general gist:
-The article complains of an average $24,000 in debt from student loans
-1/10 of people under 30 are “forced” to move back in with their parents
-1/6 of people under 30 are unemployed
The proposed solution is an organization called “Our Time”.  This organization “seeks to change corporate practice, create exclusive deals and spark a national conversation”.  It also seeks bargaining deals on health insurance and credit cards.  The president of this organization is 25.  He claims that it’s a “civil rights issue for our generation” and that we are simply “pawns” for lawmakers to leverage their legislation but nothing is actually happening.  Our Time uses humor in their advertising claiming “Living at Home Sucks!” as one of their many slogans.  The organization also claims that they were not able to vote in the 2010 election because they were too busy looking for a job.

Let me start by asking a few questions:
1) Why are you waiting for that big break? You don’t want to live at home, you want to be independent, wouldn’t you take the opportunity to do by taking any job you were offered, whether it be a grocery clerk or a Chick-fil-a janitor? There actually is a term for that…it’s called being underemployed.  You may have a college degree, a truck load of experience and an impressive resume, but you are forced to take a job that you are more than qualified for. Thousands of American’s are doing just this simply to make ends meet. Why are you above this?
2) Where does this sense of entitlement come from? Oh yes, the track record of our government allocating funds and incentives to certain demographics because they are in some way unequal or disadvantaged. The organization claims that they are NOT looking for a handout, but the direct mission statement says otherwise.  At a minimum, they are looking for special treatment with their request for breaks in health insurance and credit cards.
3) What happend to starting at the bottom and working your way to the top? Sure budgeting isn’t always fun and I’m certainly guilty of overextending myself every now and again, but who’s fault is that? Mine.  I know how much money I make and what my monthly expenses are.  It’s MY responsibility to make that work.

With a society that is obsessed with image, cars, the size of your home and the amount of money in your bank account, we’re not in a position to offer hand outs.  We are teaching society that they DESERVE things, and then we give it to them.  There is no motivation, no drive, no accountability.   People want a certain sandard of living but they are not willing to work for it, at least not without a little help.

The most frightening part of it all is that the government continues to grant different handouts to different demographics.  Before you know it, everyone will be entitled to something…But at what cost? Aside from taking from those who actually work for their money, we are teaching this generation, my generation, to be lazy and dependent upon the government. What good can come from this??