Millennials Earn 20% Less Than Boomers Did At Same Stage Of Life

[DamianTV]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/...ents/96530338/
(NOTE: Known FAKE News Source)

SOUTH MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) — Baby Boomers: your millennial children are worse off than you.

With a median household income of $40,581, millennials earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated, according to a new analysis of Federal Reserve data by the advocacy group Young Invincibles.

The analysis being released Friday gives concrete details about a troubling generational divide that helps to explain much of the anxiety that defined the 2016 election. Millennials have half the net worth of boomers. Their home ownership rate is lower, while their student debt is drastically higher.

Lack of young homebuyers fuels generational wealth gap

The generational gap is a central dilemma for the incoming presidency of Donald Trump, who essentially pledged a return to the prosperity of post-World War II America. The analysis also hints at the issues of culture and identity that divided many voters, showing that white millennials — who still earn much more than their blacks and Latino peers — have seen their incomes plummet the most relative to boomers.

Andrea Ledesma, 28, says her parents owned a house and were raising kids by her age.

Not so for her. Ledesma graduated from college four years ago. After moving through a series of jobs, she now earns $18,000 making pizza at Classic Slice in Milwaukee, shares a two-bedroom apartment with her boyfriend and has $33,000 in student debt.

Money 101: Here's everything we know about Trump's student debt plans

"That's not at all how life is now, that's not something that people strive for and it's not something that is even attainable, and I thought it would be at this point," Ledesma said.

Her mother Cheryl Romanowski, 55, was making about $10,000 a year at her age working at a bank without a college education. In today's dollars, that income would be equal to roughly $19,500.

Romanowski said she envies the choices that her daughter has in life, but she acknowledged that her daughter has it harder than her.

"I think the opportunities have just been fading away," she said.

...

Full article on link, not that I encourage anyone to actually click it.

[heavenlyboy34]

I like how they threw this in without proof :

Whites still earn dramatically more than Blacks and Latinos, reflecting the legacy of discrimination for jobs, education and housing.

[bunklocoempire]

"You see, this exceptional system goes to eleven."

"Why don't you just strengthen the dollar by not printing the crap out of it and by allowing competing currencies? Why weren't students held to higher standards, thus negating the "need" for college?"

"But this system goes to eleven... and uh... it's a complex global economy with lotsa changing technology"

Home loanership, with lotsa bank interest.

Home school/apprenticeships or ANY relationship-built learning environment, family/relationship based loans, and some real money. Done. Next!

[Anti Federalist]

So the billions and billions spent on college and advanced education, that the system says you MUST have, is worthless?

With a median household income of $40,581, millennials earn 20 percent less than boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated, according to a new analysis of Federal Reserve data by the advocacy group Young Invincibles

Plumbers make an average of $46000 a year, based on a 40 hour week.

Electricians make an average of $55000 a year, based on a 40 hour week.

Mechanics make $37000 a year.

Lumbermen make $39000.

Truckers make about $50000.

I guess it's too much to ask the special snowflakes to even consider such dirty jobs.

[Anti Federalist]

At least Trump is beating around the edges of what has caused this.

Time will tell if any of it will be reversed in any meaningful way.

[heavenlyboy34]

At least Trump is beating around the edges of what has caused this.

Time will tell if any of it will be reversed in any meaningful way.

Hopefully Mike Rowe's work will help in this regard as well. Industrial arts are often quite fun *welding FTW* it's just that snobs like to look down their noses at "dirty" work. :P

[Anti Federalist]

Hopefully Mike Rowe's work will help in this regard as well. Industrial arts are often quite fun *welding FTW* it's just that snobs like to look down their noses at "dirty" work. :P

Agreed.

Specialty welders can make well over $100,000 a year.

[phill4paul]

Hopefully Mike Rowe's work will help in this regard as well. Industrial arts are often quite fun *welding FTW* it's just that snobs like to look down their noses at "dirty" work. :P

Visited his site the other day. The sponsors of This Old House donated $500,000 the MikeRoweWorksFoundation.

[axiomata]

Agreed.

Specialty welders can make well over $100,000 a year.

More underwater welders, less underwater basket-weavers.

[MelissaWV]

You can still beat those same odds at a desk job by simply skipping college and arriving with experience and frugality instead of a useless degree and debt.

[oyarde]

If you make 18k making pizza AND have 33k in student loan debt @ 28 and a degree after graduating 4 years ago , well , you have problems. More problems than any AP reporter can help you with .

[MelissaWV]

If you make 18k making pizza AND have 33k in student loan debt @ 28 and a degree after graduating 4 years ago , well , you have problems. More problems than any AP reporter can help you with .

Particularly with math

Don't forget that many begin their families somewhere in there, too, which means more mouths to feed (or more assistance to receive).

[Anti Federalist]

You can still beat those same odds at a desk job by simply skipping college and arriving with experience and frugality instead of a useless degree and debt.

If you can get a foot in the door, yes, you can.

[Anti Federalist]

Visited his site the other day. The sponsors of This Old House donated $500,000 the MikeRoweWorksFoundation.

Outstanding!

[MelissaWV]

If you can get a foot in the door, yes, you can.

Yep. It takes moxie and not expecting to be the boss within the first month (or year!). I was talking to the top guy at our office the other day, reflecting that five years ago I was a part time temp worker with no benefits and zero home health experience, minimal payroll experience, minimal managerial experience, etc.. I now supervise that same department. Every attempt they've made to install a degree requirement for department supervisors has failed, because they go to bat and use the dozen or so of us in the same boat as examples.

Or I could have quit the first month because I didn't make enough to afford the latest iPhone.

[Carlybee]

It's a gig economy as evidenced by disruptive business models and crowdsourcing. There are ways to leverage income but just like in the old days you have to work for it.

[tod evans]

English speaking, hardworking, honest tradesmen are always in demand.

Craftsmen too.

[TheTexan]

English speaking, hardworking, honest tradesmen are always in demand.

Craftsmen too.

This is why I tell people not to get valuable skills, because then they'll be expected to work

[PaulConventionWV]

If you make 18k making pizza AND have 33k in student loan debt @ 28 and a degree after graduating 4 years ago , well , you have problems. More problems than any AP reporter can help you with .

I don't think it's that simple. It depends somewhat on your location. If you live in a more urban area, then I would expect you to find some minimally skilled job with a college degree. Out in the sticks, where I'm from, I have to commute at least 30 miles to the nearest decent-sized town just to find any jobs that aren't blue-collar
(not that those are bad jobs. I have great respect for those who do those jobs, but I simply don't consider that my life's passion) and require a minimal amount of skill to do which a degree would qualify me for. What's more, I chose my degree based on circumstances at the time that would change later during my education and I ended up not really being able to use my Political Science degree, especially way out in the country. I know this is partially due to my lack of foresight, but I was really passionate about athletics in college and didn't anticipate having to give that up due to unforeseen circumstances. I believe that, if I lived in a place where more white-collar opportunities were available, I would have been able to find some desk job with my Political Science degree, but I simply didn't think such a change in circumstances would cause me to lose my original trajectory. I simply considered myself curious about politics, so that's what I decided to do just for the sake of being in college and participating in sports. That, to me, is part of the problem. So many people are told that they MUST get some kind of degree, no matter what it is, to prepare them for real life, but they don't realize at the time just how bad that advice is because they aren't brought up to consider future mitigating circumstances. All they know is that they must go to college at all costs because that is the way life works. It's a shame, and I don't think it's entirely the millenials' fault that they don't look ahead that much at that age. Some do, but some people like me, didn't consider future mitigating factors. I was lucky in that my college was completely paid for by my athletic ability, but I still didn't really get enough guidance on how I should consider which major to choose. This is a problem with many gifted athletes in that they lack perspective because they can't imagine any pursuit more fulfilling than their athletic goals, and that's how I thought. I didn't want to consider those less fulfilling 9-5 "jobs" because I was special. Now I'm not special, and life is hard. I didn't consider myself special at the time, but I knew little about how the world really was apart from my chosen dream path which I eventually had to abandon. Only a very chosen few actually make it on the path that I had chosen, and I didn't consider how things might change at the time because I was too passionate about chasing that one dream.

[PaulConventionWV]

I will say it's not all bad for me now since I actually did find something of an "out" in teaching English abroad and I now earn a decent salary doing this. Because my college was paid for and I was fiscally aware as a teenager, I never went into debt. I bought my car with cash, never racked up credit card debt, never spent beyond my means, and lived with my parents until I moved abroad, hardly spending a dime on anything except food and gasoline.

Now, because I did this, I have a tremendous fiscal advantage over my peers from a similar background because I can actually save money and I anticipate being able to buy a decent house with cash in the next 3 or 4 years. This, along with my accumulating experience on the work market, should set me straight after my previous misdirection.

[Suzanimal]

I don't think it's that simple. It depends somewhat on your location. If you live in a more urban area, then I would expect you to find some minimally skilled job with a college degree. Out in the sticks, where I'm from, I have to commute at least 30 miles to the nearest decent-sized town just to find any jobs that aren't blue-collar
(not that those are bad jobs. I have great respect for those who do those jobs, but I simply don't consider that my life's passion) and require a minimal amount of skill to do which a degree would qualify me for. What's more, I chose my degree based on circumstances at the time that would change later during my education and I ended up not really being able to use my Political Science degree, especially way out in the country. I know this is partially due to my lack of foresight, but I was really passionate about athletics in college and didn't anticipate having to give that up due to unforeseen circumstances. I believe that, if I lived in a place where more white-collar opportunities were available, I would have been able to find some desk job with my Political Science degree, but I simply didn't think such a change in circumstances would cause me to lose my original trajectory. I simply considered myself curious about politics, so that's what I decided to do just for the sake of being in college and participating in sports. That, to me, is part of the problem. So many people are told that they MUST get some kind of degree, no matter what it is, to prepare them for real life, but they don't realize at the time just how bad that advice is because they aren't brought up to consider future mitigating circumstances. All they know is that they must go to college at all costs because that is the way life works. It's a shame, and I don't think it's entirely the millenials' fault that they don't look ahead that much at that age. Some do, but some people like me, didn't consider future mitigating factors. I was lucky in that my college was completely paid for by my athletic ability, but I still didn't really get enough guidance on how I should consider which major to choose. This is a problem with many gifted athletes in that they lack perspective because they can't imagine any pursuit more fulfilling than their athletic goals, and that's how I thought. I didn't want to consider those less fulfilling 9-5 "jobs" because I was special. Now I'm not special, and life is hard. I didn't consider myself special at the time, but I knew little about how the world really was apart from my chosen dream path which I eventually had to abandon. Only a very chosen few actually make it on the path that I had chosen, and I didn't consider how things might change at the time because I was too passionate about chasing that one dream.

Great post. +rep

[CaptainAmerica]

adjust for inflation as well.

[timosman]

Every attempt they've made to install a degree requirement for department supervisors has failed, because they go to bat and use the dozen or so of us in the same boat as examples.

Who are these people?

[oyarde]

adjust for inflation as well.

Yes , that in itself is interesting . When I was 17 years old I could pay my rent in what I made in one week . A kid today will not , but I knew a lot more at that age than the avg young person today and was very valuable to my employer .

[heavenlyboy34]

Yes , that in itself is interesting . When I was 17 years old I could pay my rent in what I made in one week . A kid today will not , but I knew a lot more at that age than the avg young person today and was very valuable to my employer .

Kids on the injun reservations usually aren't near so as ambitious, uncle Oyarde. Damn shame. (according to Forbes, folks on the reservations are in the bottom 1% of earners nowadays)

[Anti Federalist]

Yes , that in itself is interesting . When I was 17 years old I could pay my rent in what I made in one week . A kid today will not , but I knew a lot more at that age than the avg young person today and was very valuable to my employer .

I was making $100-200 a day at 17, in non-devalued early 1980s dollars.

[timosman]

I was making $100-200 a day at 17, in non-devalued early 1980s dollars.

You were a baller.

[Anti Federalist]

Visited his site the other day. The sponsors of This Old House donated $500,000 the MikeRoweWorksFoundation.

Off The Wall: That Whole Made in America Thing

http://mikerowe.com/2017/01/otw-that...america-thing/

January 14, 2017

The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe

Mike – I was disappointed in your appearance on Fox and Friends this morning. You appear to be walking back the whole Made in America thing. You seemed skeptical that companies are “getting away with murder,” as Mr. Trump has suggested. Are you? And do you or don’t you favor a border tax? I thought for sure you would.

Frank Bartell

Hi Frank

I’m not walking anything back. I’ve said that our national identity used to revolve around the business of making things. Now, we’re far more defined by the business of buying things. In my view, that’s a problem that goes right to the heart of who we are as a people. So, in a very general way, I favor policies that reward companies for keeping their manufacturing plants in America. But I also know that every economic policy is rife with unintended consequences – especially in a global economy. So I’d be suspicious of anyone who answers your border tax question in such a breezy, “yes or no” fashion – especially someone like me. As for Trump’s “getting away with murder” thing, yeah – I’m skeptical. I think the President-Elect is painting with a very broad brush.

There’s a big difference between companies that act in their own self-interest, and companies that willfully break the law. Clearly, if you’re manufacturing overseas and “getting away with murder,” you’re doing something illegal. But the truth is, most American companies who manufacture outside the US are law-abiding entities. They’re not “getting away” with anything. They’re just using the existing laws and policies to their advantage – which is precisely what they should be doing. Isn’t that what Trump said he did in order to pay as little tax as possible? Isn’t that the very thing he said made him, “very smart?”

Couple months ago, I had drinks with a TV producer I’ve known for years. Let’s call him Tommy. Tommy’s a freelancer who lives in California and works all over the county. Last year, he worked about seven months, and made a little over $200,000. Not bad, right? Over the years, he’s managed to save close to a million dollars while working in a career that gives him months of free time every year. I asked Tommy what he was working on next, and he told me about a few projects in the works that sounded very lucrative. “But at the moment,” he said, “I’m collecting unemployment.”

Over the last five years, Tommy has collected the maximum amount of unemployment the state of California will pay to an individual. Every time a short-term project wraps up, Tommy can reapply – up to 26 weeks a year. So he does. Literally tens of thousands of dollars, for a man with a million dollars in the bank, and a six-figure income.

In San Francisco, I had a neighbor who used to live in the unit below me. “Simon” was an investment banker, and a big shot in Silicon Valley. He and his wife shared a 1,200 square foot apartment that would have rented for close to $4,000 a month. Unfortunately – for my landlord – Simon had already been there for 18 years, and thanks to rent control, his actual rent was more like $1,100. A few years ago, Simon and his wife built a beautiful home around the corner on Union Street. Total cost? $12 million. Good for Simon, right? Thing is, Simon still has his apartment. He and his wife use it as a “guest house.” They still pay a fraction of what the apartment is actually worth, and the landlord can’t do a damn thing.

Has Tommy “gotten away with murder?” Has Simon? I don’t think so. Both are behaving in a way that’s consistent with their own best interests, and neither have broken the law. I guess we could accuse them of benefitting from laws that weren’t intended to benefit them, but what’s the point of that? Wouldn’t it be easier to amend the laws, rather than change human nature?

Our economy is filled with many well-intended policies that have serious unintended consequences. Just like the laws governing corporate behavior in the global economy, and a host of other policies that impact manufacturing and “job creation.” How we make those changes is beyond my pay grade, but I thought Rex Tillerson said something interesting during his hearing this week, regarding immigration laws. He said ,“the worst possible thing we can do is ignore the laws currently on the books. We should either enforce them, or remove them at once. Anything less sends the wrong message.”

I couldn’t agree more. But as we figure out what to enforce and what to replace, we also need to understand the unintended consequences of slapping a border tax on all imports made overseas by American companies. Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t – it just means we shouldn’t be surprised when the cost of goods jumps at a percentage relative to the increased cost of production. We also need to understand what other countries will do in response, and what that will mean for our export business. And of course, we need to acknowledge what we’ll become as a country, if we continue to rely on other people to make our stuff. And while we’re doing all that, we probably shouldn’t be accusing law-abiding American companies who manufacture overseas of “getting away with murder.”

Unless of course, they really are…

Mike

[timosman]

Nah, they would never do that. These are very honest people.

[MelissaWV]

Who are these people?

Sorry for the pronoun overuse.

The hospital we're affiliated with tries to force certain job categories to "raise their standards" and require a degree. My divisional bosses counter that with the work records of those of us that don't have one.