Generation Broke

So I recently read an article about this book called Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead. The author called our generation broke and I couldn’t agree more. All the time I’m like, wow I’m broke. And honestly, it makes me appreciate the little things in life. Like, this food from the grocery store is just as delicious as a $20 entrée from a restaurant, so what it took me three hours to prepare! If the restaurant was popular I may have had a 2 hour wait... so there!

Anyway, back to this article. The author of the book is basically pointing out that we come from a generation that’s highly educated, drowning in debt, working super long hours and making less than ever. In fact, in my opinion, the longer I work the less I make for my time. Coupled with our measly starting salaries, there’s the increase in the cost of EVERYTHING like real estate, gas, college tuition… (They say the average college grad has $20,000 in debt after graduation, while grad of color and from low-income backgrounds owe even more!) Man, I even think that Snickers bars cost more. Those bitches used to be like 3 for $1. Now, CVS is selling them for like $.70. Why do 10 year old DVDs cost the same as New Releases when you rent them? What sense does that make? We all know that DVDs are cheap as dirt to produce... I can own the bootleg for a dollar more! Man, I’m finding it hard to stay focused.. [Before I go on though, I have to point out that a sister wrote a book called The Broke Diaries before this and it's more comical. This is an excerpt.]

So, this lady has this new book that our parents, and anyone who thinks you should be doing better, should read. It basically says, hey! Get off of their backs, they’re broke because society made them that way. She’s saying something that I noticed back in 2002, we’re a generation that was fed the belief that if you work hard and play by the rules you’ll get ahead. Lies! All lies! Man, we had to make super duper grades just to be considered by the top schools. Then you need a clean record, social activities, yadda yadda. So you’re at school until like 8 being super student/athlete/president and coming home doing homework, or hustling your ass home from Wendy’s at like midnight to do homework…only to get to college and find out that the richest minorities in America got all the “merit” based scholarships. I think you got extra “merit points” for every academic degree your parent holds, at my alma mater.
And guess what folks? If a middle class college student can’t graduate and surpass his or her parent’s financial status, how much potential does the lower class college student have? You can’t call mom and dad for a loan cause they ain’t got shit. You still owe lenders AND your “real world” job that you busted ass for 16 years to get is barely helping you break even. The book’s author is saying that breaking into the middle class is harder than ever. The rich are getting richer and everyone else is stuck. This just has me fuming. I say all the time that if I knew then what I know now, I would have taken out even more loans and bought the most expensive degree they offered me. The more prestigious your school, the better your job- end of discussion.

This book is also saying that the richest people in the U.S. are spending major figures on essay “consultants” [read: writers], “tutors” (the kind that do your homework while you get high) and test prep services. So, you're not even competing against kids your age when you come out of high school and aim at the nation's top colleges. You're actually competing against their parents and broke college grads-turned tutors.

There are quite a few people making major moves in their 20s-30s, but I really think that your perception of how many people are doing it depends on who you roll with. Back where I’m from, 20 and 30-somethings have a “good job” if they have benefits and make close to $30,000 annually. Anything over that makes you a baller. I think there seems to be more young successful people because those few who are making it are concentrated in specific sections of the nation.

Unfortunately I haven’t finished this article or read the book, so I have no idea what the solution is. But I have heard that the author is planning to speak to members of Congress and influential types to make them aware of the problem.. Good luck w/ that. Ever heard of global warming? These people aren’t about problem solving unless it’s a problem of who’s paying for their next vacation.

I only have a couple quick solutions…when interest rates go up, how about making student loans exempt? Or how about giving us all low fixed rates to start with? It’s bad enough I gotta pay for undergrad until my kids (who I haven’t even conceived yet) start college, how about cutting me some slack on interest?

Healthcare: Kids and old people get government assistance, how about a little program for post-grads who bust ass all day and have no insurance or shitty insurance? Not dropouts (Sorry dropouts, get your own blog).

If I think of more I’ll be back.. feel free to add your own ideas to my list..