Who Had/Has it Tougher?      

   My parent's generation lived through the 
Great Depression and two world wars, 
not to mention the flu epidemic of 1918. 

   Those with long life also shared my generation's Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, race riots and other chaos of the 1960s, including Vietnam, when patriotism suffered. Some lived from the Wright Brothers through Desert Storm. 

   The next generation had to deal with us, the "me generation" of parents, along with the AIDS crisis, the after-effects of Vietnam, the energy crisis, inflation, occasional recessions and life after 9/11. 

   Here come the millennials, who pick it up there. They enjoy the benefits of all prior sacrifice and all our new technology. Boy, do they have it good! Or not.

   This generation's attraction to socialist Bernie Sanders may be explainable, if not wise. Health care, housing and education costs are spiraling.

   Wages have been stagnant, while jobs with real benefits are not as common. Jobs that offer much also exist in cities where real estate and the cost of living are highest. 

   Many millennials delay marriage and home ownership, probably a trend downward in the number of stable American families. 

   Adjusted for inflation, the average worker, ages 24-36, earns $10,000 less than the previous generation at that age - 20 percent less purchasing power.

   Average student debt has doubled. About half the millennials expect to work at least part time after retirement. Will Social Security and Medicare be there?

   It's not all bad, and some are better off than others. Some are far more likely to receive an inheritance than their peers.

   So, we can question millennials, but they have their challenges - just in different ways.

From an NPR interview with millennial

Michael Hobbes, writer, editor and producer

      Jimmy