My goal is to represent the Millennial voice. Millennials are members of Generation Y which is made up of people born from 1980 to 1992 or so. I was born in the fall of ’86. My peers and I are have grown up with the transition from analog to digital, from cassette to disc, and from disc to data.
Though I consider myself quite the eccentric, I have a lot in common with others in my demographic. I find myself still living at home and unemployed, living without health insurance and requesting aid from the state. I went to college after high school trying to get a degree in broadcasting. I ended up only getting a certificate because I became disenchanted with that as a career choice. Most broadcasting companies demand that their applicants for hire have a bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 2-3 years of experience. Thus we face the catch-22, how can you get experience when no one’s willing to give you a job?
Now I’m going to school online, yes I am a Phoenix. I’m pursuing an BA in Psychology. I’m taking out hefty loans for school. Like many in my generation, I’m in debt. I recently tried to apply for a Fresh Start loan at my bank because I owed them over $200 in overdraft fees that had been accumulating. Why did I overdraft? Because even though I hadn’t the money I still needed things. It’s as simple as that.
Like most Millennials, I usually find myself on the left side of the political line. Who can blame us for this? Since we were born we’ve witnessed the decay of American society. We’re coming of age in an age of despair. In a time when the nation is trillions of dollars in debt to China, health insurance prices are sky rocketing and there’s little hope that we’ll be able to get Social Security when we’re elderly. At this rate, a lot of us will find ourselves never owning a house, lacking the cushion of a well-built 401K.
Who in the House will represent us? Who in the Senate will stand behind us? For we are of the voting class but not of the ruling class, nor the ruling demographic. How often do you see someone in their late 20s running for some kind of office? That’s because we don’t have the money or the connections to be successful politicians. A lot of the 20 somethings are enamored with the idea of Change. That’s why Generation Y voted Obama whose entire campaign was based on that idea. Change. Change for the better. I ask you my friends, where is the Promised Land? It has not yet been delivered. The time has come for us to demand the change we deserve.
We will settle for nothing less then universal healthcare. We’ll settle for nothing less then a booming job market. We must settle for nothing less then an excellent education system.
I won’t lie to you; I’ve learned more in online encyclopedias then I ever learned in my twelve years of public schooling. I wasn’t even taught the difference between “Solar System” and “Galaxy” in high school. I knew nothing of the religions and philosophies of the world. Though they did teach us of obedience to authority. They conditioned us with bells like scientists do with lab mice. We carry this training into the workplace where we’re expected to be well-functioning cogs in a giant machine. Living according to bells and whistles, following set programs and rituals.
It’s my belief that colleges have challenging curriculums and high tuition costs to dissuade people from graduating. They don’t want the workforce to be composed of freethinking intellectuals do they? America’s education system ranks 6th in the world behind Canada, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and Finland. There’s no reason why we can’t be number one. The current system is imperfect, impersonal and it patronizes the students. If we weren’t treated as if we were idiots when we were children, maybe we would’ve found learning a bit more enjoyable.
Teachers need higher pay and better training. Classrooms need up to date textbooks and interactive educational programs that encourage research and inquisitiveness. Students should be taught about stress and depression and the ways to combat them. As the years continue to ascend, so does the speed at which we pace our lives. At times it can be overwhelming. Almost everyone I know in my demographic has been to a therapist and is or was on some kind of antidepressant.
Many of us are unhealthy due to lack of insurance, or because they have plans with a ridiculously high deductible. We avoid going to the doctor because we just can’t afford it. I still owe money to an anesthesiologist and a shrink. As Millennials’ credit scores drop we’re going to find it harder to get loans for houses and small businesses. This can only hurt the economy even more in the long run. How can I settle down and have children when I can’t even get out of the nest? It’s time that we begin a massive restructuring of our government and all the systems it controls so that by the time the Millennials are in office, we can implement policies that will make it so that those younger then us don’t have to grow up in the midst of a depression.
Generation Y, our government has failed us. It’s failed our parents. It doesn’t have to fail our children. This is 2011, there’s no reason why anyone should be going homeless or hungry in this nation. There’s no reason that we shouldn’t be able to go to the doctor when we’re sick. There’s no reason that we’re jobless with degrees. This the age of plenty, and there is plenty to go around.
There is a grand feast but we’re only being fed crumbs and table scraps, even though the powerful waste most of what they have. Like a dog that’s been kicked too many times, we’ve been desensitized and we’ve submitted to a state of perpetual apathy. We know how terrible things are, yet we’ve adapted to it. We have to break free from the shackles of ignorance and despair and rise up to witness the dawning a new age of reason, tolerance and understanding.
Debt & Financial Outlook
36% of all Millennials depend on financial support from their families, including 14% of all young adults who are working full time.
More than one in three young workers say they are currently living at home with their parents.
31% of young workers are uninsured.
One-third of young workers cannot pay their bills.
7 in 10 young workers do not have enough saved to cover two months of living expenses.
In 2008, 67% of students graduating from four-year colleges and universities had student loan debt which averaged $23,200.
Only 58% of Millennials pay their monthly bills on time.
60% of workers 20 to 29 years old cashed out their 401(k) retirement plans — typically a big financial no-no because such a move squanders retirement assets and forces the recipient to pay a tax penalty — when they changed or lost jobs.
