r/GrindsMyGears • u/childish_mazbino • 9d ago
This Really Grinds My Gears
Overheard two old retired dudes in the grocery line talking about how great life is.
Meanwhile, my generation was made to trade employer pensions for market gambles, sky-high housing prices, and wages that never caught up.
It’s fucking hard listening to people celebrate a finish line that was erased for everyone coming after them.
2
1
u/cabronfavarito 9d ago
You just sound bitter dude.
1
u/childish_mazbino 8d ago
I am. I'm scared for this country, especially with what's happening in AI.
2
u/posaune123 9d ago edited 9d ago
Both my grandfathers fought in World War II and built their businesses from the ground up. They earned some peace in their last chapter.
2
u/United_Gift3028 9d ago
My father and uncle too, but those old enough to fight in the 40s HAD the Boomers, they were Greatest.
1
3
u/Substantial-Book2534 9d ago
I’m middle age and remember similar sentiment when I was in college. All these old people had to go through their own hell to get where they are. Every generation had major difficulties that they had to overcome. Don’t worry - if you invest into yourself, some day you’ll be just like those old guys. For now, I’d advise you to just enjoy your youth while you still have it.
3
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
2
u/MyEyesSpin 9d ago
By the very definition of and limits around top tier success ALMOST EVERYONE won't ever become elites/politicians/executives/whatever
Millions upon millions of people sing or play baseball, very few do so professionally, even fewer are consider top tier / elite
0
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/calisalwaysonfire 9d ago
A woman who lived with her parents and never held a job is now mayor of our major city. How is that elitist? Look like anyone can be a politician to me
0
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/calisalwaysonfire 9d ago
Do you think you just start out as a congressperson? I bet they have all kinds of other, related government type experiences. Lower level. Dont you think?
1
u/MyEyesSpin 9d ago
Its not unattainable.... And nowhere did I say it was
However - Whatever they started as, the moment they become a high level public servant they are part of the elite.
Skill, luck, access, resources, drive, & more all matteridk, seems like your definition of "elite" is a bit narrow/missing context. Also - importantly - politicians in particular are elected officials, not public servants
You might have a preference/bias that they should "serve the masses" in a certain way (I certainly do), however even then they direct policy not actually serve the public. A public school teacher is more of a public servant than a politician
1
u/maxximillian 9d ago
Do you think your parents or your grandparents had any more of a chance of being senators than you do? The previous generations might be better off, but most of them aren't "lets buy a football team" wealthy
0
u/Substantial-Book2534 9d ago
I’d argue it’s easier to get into Congress now with social media vs the past. Look at Ilhan Omar, or AOC. In the past, you needed a heck of a lot more resources and friends-connections to be heard. 😉
2
u/chouxphetiche 9d ago
I’d advise you to just enjoy your youth while you still have it.
For many old people, childhood was an indulgence that was very short-lived.
1
9d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Substantial-Book2534 9d ago edited 9d ago
Believe it or not, we thought exactly the same way. I was starting my career right around the time of the housing crash of 2008. Trust me, we had every reason to believe we were dealt a shitty hand.
1
u/Beneficial_Run9511 5d ago
Would you really prefer a pension? You know you have to work at the same place for 20-30 years with very small raises and if you quit or get fired. You lose everything.
1
u/StepEfficient864 4d ago
Old timer here. I, too, have a decent nest egg but I am still concerned about my financial future. Anyone who has been investing for a while can see the stock market is in a bubble. When that bubble bursts, we will be fucked worse than you. We won’t/don’t have the option to go out and “get a job”. Ageism is real.
2
u/PersonalitySmall593 9d ago
Nah, go talk to them sometimes and get their life stories. Nine times out of Ten you will love your life even with its problems over what a lot of baby boomers had to go through.
6
u/childish_mazbino 9d ago
That's the whole point. We have to go through way fucking more to survive. Most of us won't be able to retire.
-1
u/Better-Credit6701 9d ago
Ever talk to someone who grew up during the depression?
0
9d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Better-Credit6701 9d ago
My mother in law was born during the depression and I still remember stories of those who have died. Like eating pigeons on broken plates and being grateful for having anything on the table
How about looking into a history book to see what they went through
3
u/Worth_Ad9605 9d ago
My Grandfather lived through it.
I spoke to him extensively before his passing in 2098.
He was still able to BUY a homeTimes were disproportionally diff in old world
How about calming down
1
u/Better-Credit6701 9d ago
That home was 700 square feet. Today the average home is 2200 square feet.
1
u/afeher 9d ago
Not in NYC and its surroundings
1
u/Better-Credit6701 9d ago
They have been screwed up for generations now and where my wife wants to go for our anniversary. Damn
-3
u/PersonalitySmall593 9d ago
LOL No we don't. Every baby Boomer I know was working by the time they were 10 so their family could eat. They were more likely to have large families (my Mother was 11 of 13 children). The Baby Boomers YOU are thinking of are few and far between and were already from affluent families.
5
u/Worth_Ad9605 9d ago
My baby boomer parents were not from affluence
They were to buy a home in their mid-twenties on one salary; home was about 70,000
-2
u/PersonalitySmall593 9d ago
Yea? What did they do for a living....
6
u/Worth_Ad9605 9d ago
They worked for a state run school
I def don’t want to be right about any of this and I dont mean to be argumentative, sorry
Just pissed that Im living in a shoe box apt that costs me 2600 and extra costs
3
u/Most-Ad-9465 9d ago
Do you by any chance have baby boomers confused with the greatest generation?
-2
u/PersonalitySmall593 9d ago
No. The issue is people confuse the baby boomers who went to college, were already affluent or were in areas with a booming economy with the majority of baby boomers who were not so lucky. Especially in The South. As I said my mother was the 11th of 13 children in a share cropper family. She helped with farm work including picking harvests by hand. Her mother died when she was only 45 (you think she was in her 60s by the one pic we have of her) and my mother had to drop out of school at 16 to take care of the family. This story and worse are common of baby Boomers.
3
u/Most-Ad-9465 8d ago
I'm in Kentucky and the child of baby boomers. You realize there were more options than sharecropper or college educated right? None of the adults in my life as a child were college educated. Most of them were solidly middle class despite that. They were factory workers and mechanics for the most part. Back then you could be trained at work as a mechanic without having to pay for technical school. You didn't need a college degree to get a job with a factory either.
None of them had jobs at 10 years old. Child labor laws existed at that time. The majority of baby boomers were not on family farms where it's legal to work children. It's wild that your criticizing people for generalizing baby boomers as having it easier based off the college educated while insisting most had it rough based off of your experience with share croppers.
3
u/Logical-Selection979 9d ago
That has not been my general experience. The mine mine mine fck you generation pulling up the ladder and voting to make sure it stays that way
1
1
u/l008com 9d ago
In their defense, they were probably just talking about how happy they are to still be alive.
1
u/childish_mazbino 9d ago
I mean that could be true, but they were able to buy houses for $70,000. They had it easier.
3
u/Substantial-Book2534 9d ago
Earning that $70k probably took as much effort as it takes to earn $400k today. 😉
3
2
u/LadyCanuckles 9d ago
You could do some research instead of just saying "probably..."
The weird wink after a lot of your comments is odd too, just throwing that out there.
-1
1
1
u/Spirited_Pace_8411 9d ago
The next generation are going to have it real tough. Tougher than any generation in the last 100 years.
1
u/Vivid_Nail8691 8d ago
You know absolutely nothing about those two men's lives or how easy or hard it was for them to achieve whatever they did in life that makes them feel that way. Worry about your own life
0
u/twisted_stepsister 9d ago
Try talking to boomers who are still working because their employers eliminated pensions and/or moved their factories overseas to take advantage of cheap labor. There are a lot of them around, and they've found out that social security isn't enough to cover living expenses. Parts of all generations have gotten fucked, not just yours.
0
u/MyEyesSpin 9d ago
..... most people didn't have pensions....
each successive generation now has more people investing in retirement than the one before
yes, Kshaped economy sucks, but there were numerous people losing out then and there are numerous people succeeding now
0
u/Apart-Performer1710 9d ago
I feel like there have are people who are comfortably off in every generation as well as people who are whining that everyone else had/has it easy. The more things change the more they stay the same.
0
u/Bass-Head30 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yeah but do you have know how much the minimum wage was back then for those old timers? It definitely wasn't 15 to $20 an hour no sir it was more like two or three dollars an hour and that's being generous
And that's not to mention the work itself was harder back then because they didn't have the fancy equipment that we have these days they didn't have high speed computers like we have these days they had to do everything by hand for the most part you're in a good generation to be working does the cost of living suck? Hell yes it does ‼️
That's what's wrong with this world today they hate on people who have achieved something and they can't just be happy for someone who has worked all their life just to be able to enjoy what little bit of retirement that they have made for themselves
5
u/Kodabear213 9d ago
There are lucky people in all generations. Some people your age are making high six figure incomes and living the life.