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[Dr. Feel Good]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-raise-an-american-adult-1493995064

As many parents can attest, independent adulthood is no longer the norm for this generation. Data from the Pew Research Center show that we crossed a historic threshold last year: “For the first time in more than 130 years, adults ages 18 to 34 were slightly more likely to be living in their parents’ home than they were to be living with a spouse or partner in their own household.” Fully one-quarter of Americans between 25 and 29 live with a parent—compared with only 18% just over a decade ago.

A great many factors have contributed to this shift toward perpetual adolescence. The economy has something to do with it, of course—but social and cultural developments do too. The list of culprits includes our incredible wealth and the creature comforts to which our children are accustomed; our reluctance to expose young people to the demands of real work; and the hostage-taking hold that computers and mobile devices have on adolescent attention.

Our nation is in the midst of a collective coming-of-age crisis. Too many of our children simply don’t know what an adult is anymore—or how to become one. Perhaps more problematic, older generations have forgotten that we need to teach them. It’s our fault more than it’s theirs.

This article pissed me off. He starts it off with the issue of too many young adults have not been able to get their feet off the ground and become proper adults because of how they are raised. I agree there are issues with younger generations dependency on social media and materialistic consumption but his recommendations of humble traveling, understanding needs vs wants, and talking with older people will fix this broken youth. He completely glosses over the fact that we have all been dumped into an economy with low paying entry level jobs, astronical college debt, and an insane housing crisis across the nation.

What do people think? Is our youth filled with a bunch of lazy people who refuse to do their taxes because they got too many toys as a child or is their a bigger issue?

 

[Glitchesarecool]

It's entirely because there are poor paying jobs and the housing market is crazy. This has been studied extensively.

Edit: Further reading here, if you want.

 

[Iksenpets]

Lower rents increase incomes problem solved. No one wants to live with their parents. It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to convince yourself that the generation that came of age during the worst recession in living memory is actually a victim of some degenerate culture and not simple economics.

 

[kunonabi]

The economy is the biggest and one of the reasons i live at home but the rest of his points are just as valid.

 

[YaBish]

Really wish this guy wasn't my senator.

 

[old manatee]

How you gonna dupe an entire generation and then rub it in their face by calling them lazy. Hoard your money if you want, but stop blaming the damn kids already.

 

[Vengal]

Lots of student loans, lower opportunity to get cheaper housing, over reliance on credit cards, overall decrease in relative wealth of their parents, most places outside of metro areas becoming job wastelands infested by hopelessness and drug overdose...

I mean i'm sure its just because we made sure our kids wore their bike helmets.

 

[Zophar]

How about you eat shit, Ben.

 

[Boke1879]

Lots of student loans, lower opportunity to get cheaper housing, over reliance on credit cards, overall decrease in relative wealth of their parents, most places outside of metro areas becoming job wastelands infested by hopelessness and drug overdose...

I mean i'm sure its just because we made sure our kids wore their bike helmets.

Exactly. That's just stupid reasoning. It's mostly the economy. If people had the means they'd move out. Simple.

A lot of people would be dead broke just trying to pay rent.

 

[Arkeband]

What a douchebag, as if every young person wants to live with the Ben Sasse generation in perpetuity.

 

[WedgeX]

Did this asshole forget about the Great Recession and who caused it?

 

[Ac30]

Lots of student loans, lower opportunity to get cheaper housing, over reliance on credit cards, overall decrease in relative wealth of their parents, most places outside of metro areas becoming job wastelands infested by hopelessness and drug overdose...

I mean i'm sure its just because we made sure our kids wore their bike helmets.

You forgot the participation trophies and lack of winning attitudes

And bootstraps

 

[TyphoonStruggle]

Funny how the right likes to talk economic issues all the time in terms of budgets and tax cuts. But when it comes to the poor they instantly turn to social and cultural issues as the problem.

Kind of the reverse for the mainstream left.

Here is his tweet: https://twitter.com/BenSasse/status/860576165345370112

 

[Aurongel]

This might be the first time in recorded history where a Republican uses Pew as a source of information in support of an idea they have. Usually Pew Research gets labeled as liberal propaganda.

 

[AGoodODST]

There are economic reasons of course, but lets just gloss over them and instead talk about this highly patronising, stupid theory instead!

 

[pje122]

I read that article yesterday.

This guy gets it.

 

[thekonamicode]

I moved back in with my parents 10 years ago after college so I could save money to buy a house (which I did 6 years ago).

 

[kirby_fox]

How you gonna dupe an entire generation and then rub it in their face by calling them lazy. Hoard your money if you want, but stop blaming the damn kids already.

Because it's always been the same story with these people. Pick up your bootstraps, you all just want it to be this way, you shouldn't live at home still because that's not American!

They hate that we're not following in what they did. It's why all these articles about millenials ruining stuff exists. They find our way of life a threat to the life they knew, but don't want to realize they made it this way.

 

[ezrarh]

To be fair, he did say it's more their fault than ours. His generation are also the ones in charge of housing policy - there's absolutely no need for housing to be as expensive as it is currently. But since old people's retirement depends on their houses increasing value - they have no strong incentives to increase housing supply for the young.

 

[Slayven]

GOP to people:"Git Gud"

 

[OrlanisWorks]

What's that? Some old dude doesn't understand something about today's youth?

Hurry up and have a stroke so we can fix that you fucked up.

 

[capitalCORN]

Netflix and Iphones really keeping people down.

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

I have it on good authority that Ben Sasse is a giant douchenozzle.

 

[Gallbaro]

Lower rents increase incomes problem solved. No one wants to live with their parents. It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to convince yourself that the generation that came of age during the worst recession in living memory is actually a victim of some degenerate culture and not simple economics.

You are missing one thing.

When housing did become affordable we went into a recession.

To be fair, he did say it's more their fault than ours. His generation are also the ones in charge of housing policy - there's absolutely no need for housing to be as expensive as it is currently. But since old people's retirement depends on their houses increasing value - they have no strong incentives to increase housing supply for the young.

Bingo. But in their minds it is ok, because their children will inherit their wealth tax free.

 

[Abstruse Moose]

America would be a great country if Republicans didn't exist.

 

[CreepingFear]

 

[Foffy]

Ignoring the precariat as usual, Republicans.

 

[KingK]

Ben Sasse can Fuck off. People graduating with $30K in college debt and only being able to get $12 an hour jobs with that degree is 90% of the reason. You can't just fucking gloss over that with "sure, economics plays some role I guess."

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if the boomers weren't the shittiest, most selfish and short-sighted generation in a century; hoarding wealth and dooming the future while simultaneously shouting, "Think of the children!"

 

[zeitgeist]

I can't read the whole thing but what is this "Humble traveling" he speaks of?

 

[Herr Schwarz]

If some shit stain baby boomer thatcherite said this shit to me in Britain, I'd flip my shit.

It's whats known as sacrificing a generation so the boomers could live comfortably in the UK anyway. Dunno what it's like in the states

 

[Gallbaro]

America would be a great country if Republicans didn't exist.

Housing prices are largely a result of local Democratic policies.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Would have been a far more interesting piece had it come from a different author with a different title.

To be fair (and I too think Sasse is a douche), he knew exactly what he was doing.

Personally, I would have gone towards a thought piece more based around pragmatism, but this would quickly evolve into something way more far-reaching than some windbag indirectly preaching to his base and the utterly predictable backlash that follows.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

I can't read the whole thing but what is this "Humble traveling" he speaks of?

Experience new places that put your children out of their comfort zone. Go camping to see the importance of shelter. Go fly to a poor country to see how other people live. He does acknowledge that airfare might not be within everyone's budget but I guess forgot that it's possible a lot of these people are already living in low income housing or have jobs that don't allow for extensive time off.

 

[TheSchwab_7]

I'm voting Sasse's ass out of office.

 

[gwarm01]

I moved out of my parents house at 19 to go to college, met my wife and got an apartment. We bought a house at 23 years old which we still own nearly 10 years later.

I was a completely irresponsible idiot with a very poor work ethic who never held a full-time job until graduating professional school at 28.

We just had the good fortune of being born in an inexpensive, non-coastal city. Pay is relatively low, but the cost of living is next to nothing and the job market is fairly healthy.

I guess there are some benefits from living in a flyover state, but I wouldn't expect someone to just move halfway across the country. That's far easier said than done for most people.

 

[kswiston]

My dad bought his first condo in 1979 for $37k ($87k in current dollars), and his first house in 1989 for $74k ($128k in current dollars). That same house would go for about $220k now, and we live in an area that has seen slower growth in the housing market.

Houses in Toronto that were $150k around the same time we bought out 1989 house are now worth over $1M.

A lot of young people can choose to rent for a big chunk of their paycheck, or live at home for a few years after entering the workforce, and save up for a down payment on a house. Even in cheaper areas, if you want to save up the 20% needed to avoid penalties and higher rates, you are looking at $50k+.


All of that said, I moved out at 19. My wife and I have moved around quite a bit for schooling and work in the past decade, so we still rent. The plan is to transition to home owning in the next 3 years, as I believe that our upcoming move will be the final one (in terms of relocating to a different city).

 

[Epsilon-delta]

Ben Sasse can Fuck off. People graduating with $30K in college debt and only being able to get $12 an hour jobs with that degree is 90% of the reason. You can't just fucking gloss over that with "sure, economics plays some role I guess."

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if the boomers weren't the shittiest, most selfish and short-sighted generation in a century; hoarding wealth and dooming the future while simultaneously shouting, "Think of the children!"

Exactly.

Now imagine student loans 20-30 years from now. Something has got to give when it comes to higher education in the future.

 

[RinsFury]

Easy for him to say when he lived through the glory days of capitalism, reaping all the benefits. The younger generations are fucked. The only hope is that this may lead to a revolution.

 

[Amory]

It's wrong to say that young people today are all living at home because they're immature and unwilling to work hard.

It's also wrong to act like we're all victims of the modern economy and it's just impossible for us to get the fuck out of our parent's house by the time we're in our mid 20s. Roommates are a thing.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

If some shit stain baby boomer thatcherite said this shit to me in Britain, I'd flip my shit.

It's whats known as sacrificing a generation so the boomers could live comfortably in the UK anyway. Dunno what it's like in the states

It's shitty in the States. Don't ever come here. Our roads are crumbling, our bridges collapse regularly, you don't pay much in taxes but everything else is expensive to make up for it, our health care is a running joke in the developed world, and everyone is paranoid about everything because fake news is everywhere.

It's amazing how perfectly maintained European roads are. Sigh. It's funny how the roads are all perfect but you're not allowed to drive fast at all (except on the non-speed limited stretches of the Autobahn). If we had roads like that in the States everyone would be doing 100-120 mph all the time.

Also no one wants to live at home when they are 30 years old so fuck this Ben Sasse guy.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Egh, I wouldn't mind being afforded the opportunity to live with my parent(s) until I got my shit together. But I've been living without them since I was 17 and still don't have my shit together. I basically raised myself. I don't think that's ideal either, senator. The problem is the conditions.

 

[MajorMane]

I kind of get what he's trying to say - here are things as a parent you can do that will better prepare your kids to be "adults" - but his glossing over mention of economic conditions in favor of his understanding that this generation is in the perpetual adolescence due to poor parenting or being spoiled is obtuse. Comes from a perspective who has no clue what it's actually like to be in this situation. Frustrating that this man represents the people of Nebraska.

I'm voting Sasse's ass out of office.

If only it were that easy here in Nebraska.

 

[Not]

Hey old fuck, maybe being an adult isn't what it meant back in 1435, you were 23

(I know he's 45)

 

[RDreamer]

Fuck Ben Sasse. Fuck Republicans. And last but certainly not least, fuck baby boomers and any Gen Xers that decided to go along with their bullshit.

Yeah, sure there's a cultural problem going on, but it starts and stops with people like this motherfucker dismantling anything remotely similar to the help they got when they were younger to make sure the economy and opportunities are nowhere near the same for us.

We graduate with massive debt, can't afford housing because of that, have lowered job prospects because the greedy motherfuckers crashed everything a few years back, and now we're forced into internships at massive proportion.

Then they all go out and vote in this massive piece of shit, Trump, who will continue to dismantle the fucking earth itself for ongoing generations because they're fucking 'economically anxious.' Shove it up your fucking asses you bunch of goddamned babies. We're largely pulling up our fucking bootstraps and working our collective asses off here to get ahead and hoping you don't ruin everything before you're done robbing the country like a thief in the night.

I guess in the end the joke will be on you when we're writing think pieces about why our fucking parents have to come live with us because they went bankrupt after the robber barons they voted in snatched away their healthcare and sold away everything they thought they had.

 

[Izayoi]

Ben Sasse is a fucking clown.

Economics, stupid. How the fuck do they work?

 

[Glitchesarecool]

Hey old fuck, maybe being an adult isn't what it meant back in 1435, you were 23

If some shit stain baby boomer thatcherite said this shit to me in Britain, I'd flip my shit.

It's whats known as sacrificing a generation so the boomers could live comfortably in the UK anyway. Dunno what it's like in the states

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad if the boomers weren't the shittiest, most selfish and short-sighted generation in a century; hoarding wealth and dooming the future while simultaneously shouting, "Think of the children!"

What's that? Some old dude doesn't understand something about today's youth?
.

He was born in 1972, he's 45.

 

[Ron Mexico]

My dad bought his first condo in 1979 for $37k ($87k in current dollars), and his first house in 1989 for $74k ($128k in current dollars). That same house would go for about $220k now, and we live in an area that has seen slower growth in the housing market.

Houses in Toronto that were $150k around the same time we bought out 1989 house are now worth over $1M.

A lot of young people can choose to rent for a big chunk of their paycheck, or live at home for a few years after entering the workforce, and save up for a down payment on a house. Even in cheaper areas, if you want to save up the 20% needed to avoid penalties and higher rates, you are looking at $50k+.


All of that said, I moved out at 19. My wife and I have moved around quite a bit for schooling and work in the past decade, so we still rent. The plan is to transition to home owning in the next 3 years, as I believe that our upcoming move will be the final one (in terms of relocating to a different city).

So while I don't disagree here, this touches on why the conversation has to be so much larger than it currently is.

Yes, those houses appreciated in value by an extraordinary amount. The mortgage rates during those times were for quite some time 4x what they are now. So while the principal balance of the mortgage was comparatively smaller, the amount of your payment that went towards paying off that balance was comparatively smaller.

For the 2nd point, there's also opportunity cost to factor in. For instance, were you to dig your heels in on the 20% down to avoid PMI and the process takes X amount of time. In that X amount of time, mortgage rates are also going up quickly. The opportunity risk is by the time you wait to raise that 20%, you're paying more than the one that put 5% down X amount of time before.

So little of what we do collectively is measured pragmatically in terms of risk vs. reward. Same thing with relocation, educational choices, etc etc. Life isn't as simple as "this piece of paper will get me into a comfortable career where I comfortably save 20% for my comfortable house in a comfortable neighborhood where I can feel comfortable raising kids in a comfortable district". Now, do I have the magical answer? God no. If I did, I wouldn't be typing this. But there has to be more weight given to all our decisions, no matter how big or small.

 

[ColdPizza]

It's entirely because there are poor paying jobs and the housing market is crazy. This has been studied extensively.

I don't doubt you, but I feel this post could be bolstered by linking to examples of these studies.

 

[ezrarh]

He was born in 1972, he's 45.

Being a conservative white male automatically ages you +15 years.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

As he points out, the economy is a big factor, but many young people prioritize expensive cell phones, electronics, gym memberships, and other things that could be cut from your budget if you really want to be independent and move out.

What's that? Some old dude doesn't understand something about today's youth?

Hurry up and have a stroke so we can fix that you fucked up.

This guy isn't old and hasn't been in office long.