MILLENNIALS CARRY BIG CHIP?

via buzzfeed.com

As They Age, Do Millennials Get More Bitter About Their World?

Today’s news offers up an expert opinion on the Baby Boomer vs Millennial battle. How expert?

Authored by the founders of a local public affairs company with ties to Republican politics, they are expert enough to explain how negligent baby boomers have swept the cupboard clean for the rising Millennial Generation.

And they’re not too happy about it, those millennials. Especially when their case is presented by the other side, in this case baby boomers.

In the spirit of shaming boomers into submission, into tapping out, the authors essentially give themselves the spanking boomer parents are blamed for omitting from their children’s upbringing.

Now they’re going to spank us all. Failure is all around, but here’s the focus today:

1. Oregon’s Bloated Public Union Pensions.

Talk about shooting fish in a barrel. Is there an easier target than public union pensions?

Before you take the leap and start banging on teachers who make more in retirement than they did working, remember your teachers.

Boomers went to school when lady teachers were old maids determined to make better citizens of the trashy youth, you and me boomer, that funneled into their world.

Male teachers, outside the PE department, had interests outside education like farming and ranching. You knew it would be a hard day when Mr. Purcella showed up with his goat farm fragrance and a jug of goat milk for students to sample.

Call it hillbilly, or call it a cultural experience, but millennials will never have that experience. And they’re worse off for it.

Teachers from way back took to education as a backup job when the dream of doctor, lawyer, or astronaut faded away. Why not teach, they heard. It’ll be fun, they heard. You won’t make any money but the retirement is great, they heard.

Well, the old guard retired and they’re living longer than any of the smart money bet on, so they collect on the promise made to them in the beginning.

Who’s fault is that? Who can millennials blame? The same people non-public union people blame: baby boomers.

There is one superstar in the public union windfall.

2. Millennial News.

How many complain about where anyone gets their news?

These authors suggest boomers “hold their breath and pray: Millennials are getting their news from Facebook and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” who recently left the program.”

Here’s more news: The Daily Show is not stand-up comedy, but it’s written by stand-up comedians. Some have high school diplomas, others have small college degrees, and a sprinkling of Ivy League writers.

In other words The Daily Show isn’t a result of throwing stuff on a wall and seeing what sticks. They plan the show and write.

Are millennials really too stupid to understand that The Daily Show broadcast on the Comedy Central isn’t real news? If only they’d surf on over to Fox News for a real scoop of news. We can only hold our breath and pray.

Another update: Facebook carries news feeds from every reputable and disreputable news source worth the name. NY Times, Washington Post, WSJ, Time, al jezeera, all the big names.

If millennials find what they need to know from Facebook and The Daily Show, and a topic sparks their interest, they’ll dig until they find a truth they can believe. Just like everyone else, unless Fox News is the only sermon, millennials are seekers.

PS: Walter Cronkite is still dead and Brian Williams still wasn’t on that helicopter, so why knock news sources?

3. Millennial Socialism.

The Pew research loving authors write:

“42 percent of millennials think socialism is preferable to capitalism, but only 16 percent of millennials could accurately define socialism.”

This is why millennials hate baby boomers. If you can’t accurately define socialism you’re an idiot?

Then let’s accurately define democracy and see what the numbers say.

Let’s accurately define oligarchy, communism, and dictatorship.

Millennials are as educated as anyone, as their college debt suggests, and to peg them for failing to accurately describe anything is a test bound to fail. They know the trick. You can change your accurate descriptions based on sources and circumstances.

Before you read another millennial slam post, or a baby boomer slam post, consider the source.