• AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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    1 month ago

    In another timeline where boomers didn’t destroy the housing market, didn’t ignore climate change, and didn’t continue to vote for regressive policies, maybe they’d have grandchildren.

    • acargitz@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      At some point, us millennials need to also start taking that responsibility. Our oldest cohort is definitely at an age where we are starting to take over power. We won’t be able to blame boomers for shit for long.

    • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
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      1 month ago

      I’m sorry but the collapse of the housing market and lack of action against climate change has way more to do with the commodification/privitization of housing and energy (as well as labor exploitation in the case of fossil fuels) than some arbitrary generational definition.

      Don’t let yourself be convinced to blame fellow workers for the consequences of corporate and state action.

      • AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today
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        1 month ago

        My point was that they’ve continually voted against their own interests (and against the interests of the rest of their class, which is why they now don’t have grandchildren). I will continue to blame them for that at the very least, as they’ve continually proven that they enjoy the corporate and state inaction (because they’ve always voted to keep it up).

        It should also be noted that this is a post about boomers, so of course people are going to bring them up in the comments.

        • Sc00ter@lemm.ee
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          1 month ago

          I was told it’s all those immigrants vault. It was on my TV last night so it must be true!

        • ComradeSharkfucker@lemmy.ml
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          1 month ago

          It should also be noted that this is a post about boomers, so of course people are going to bring them up in the comments.

          Of course and I expected that. I only bothered commenting because I see a lot of media attempting to use boomers as a scapegoat for severe structural issues. I feel it is our responsibility to rebuke this reactionary rhetoric when we see it. Yes boomers often vote against their own class interest but we must also understand they grew up in a time where propaganda was rapidly becoming more effective and increasingly privatized. Which is to say that the propaganda machine served the rich and their interest. They are severely brainwashed especially in the imperial core. Its easy to be angry at them for letting this happen but we must remember who did the brainwashing. Falling for their scapegoats makes us like dogs fighting over bones thrown by meat

      • stoly@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        You’re being charitable. You need to remind yourself though that pretty much all of them voted for Reagan because Carter had the audacity to say that we can fix a lot of problems by consuming less. This was a generation that fully believed that they could do a consumerism without end.

  • SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz
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    1 month ago

    Young folks have been priced out of housing & healthcare, you can be fired from your job on a whim, food is astronomically expensive, the political climate is tense, your basic human rights could be rescinded at any time, the future of the planet is being murdered by shitty capitalists with 0 regard for human life…

    I mean, who wouldn’t want to bring a child into this world right now?

    Eat shit.

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.techOP
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      1 month ago

      I’m hunting for a new job for the second time in less than a year, and I’m honestly a skilled professional with over 10 years of experience, with a lot of proof that I do great work. The labor market is stupid right now, just down right stupid. Full of executives searching for short term profits rather than anyone wanting to actually run a company well. That’s alone is a huge reason, on top of everything else. I don’t even know if I’ll have stable employment, and that means I don’t know if I’ll have stable health insurance - so genuinely what are any actual incentives to my generation to have kids? Literally are there any beyond just “you have a kid now”

      • Dr. Wesker@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 month ago

        I’m a software engineer currently trying to find employment, and it’s so bad I’m wondering if I’ll just have to do something else for a while.

        My last company basically fired all their US devs, and outsourced to foreign countries for cheaper.

        • stoly@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          I am a computing director. My take: software dev has been over saturated for the last 12-15 years but people keep seeing dollar signs in their eyes. My advice: learn a business skill like project management. It will allow you to work in any location.

          • Dr. Wesker@lemmy.sdf.org
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            1 month ago

            I have 7 years professional experience, and I’m even getting passed over for positions listed as requiring 1-3 years. It’s wild right now.

            I’m thinking about just going back to school, while the market is complete shit.

            • stoly@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              That works too. A degree is a reset button on your career. I’d suggest either specializing in something niche to make you more desirable or doing something very different so that you have more options.

            • jas0n@lemmy.world
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              1 month ago

              There are always different parts of the stack to work in. I started in the backend database land. Then, moved to general application dev with a side of web. Now, I do embedded. Never stop learning ;]

      • SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz
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        1 month ago

        It’s shit, right? I’m so sorry. I hope that stability comes to you very soon.

        Reject tradition. You have no obligation to sacrifice your well-being because some old, out-of-touch fuckwads want something life-changing from you. Can’t even afford groceries.

        They can foster a child if they want one around so badly. Or go sit at a park. Or volunteer at the church nursery or something, ffs.

        • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.techOP
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          1 month ago

          bingo. The SO and I have talked about it, and we decided if we regret it a bit later and it’s too late, adoption is always a valid choice. After all, we’re not bringing new life in so we don’t have to feel guilty about that, but instead we would be giving a home to someone else who needs one. However, there are still many, many negatives as to why we don’t want to or simply can’t right now.

    • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      The parts of the world with the most population growth are generally also the poorest. Richer countries have fewer children, and within those countries richer people have fewer children.

      I’m not saying that your concerns about your quality of life are invalid or that they aren’t the reason you personally don’t want children, but they don’t explain this general phenomenon.

      • demuxen@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        Kids are a retirement strategy in poorer countries, they are the opposite in richer ones.

  • Wiz@midwest.social
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    1 month ago

    Once again Gen-X is ignored. It’s Gen-X hitting grandparenting age.

    My two kids probably won’t be parents, and I’m ok with that. I want them to be happy more than I want to enjoy grandkids. Whatever they choose, I’ll be happy with.

    I felt pressure from Boomer parents to have kids, and I didn’t want to do the same to my kids. That’s a hard nope.

    • criticon@lemmy.ca
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      1 month ago

      Seems like old = boomers and young = millennials for journalist and a lot of people

    • KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      1 month ago

      maybe if gen x did something we wouldn’t be forgetting about them /s (i kid i kid)

      but seriously, go get into the government or something, you guys are the prime age for entering the government right now.

    • The_v@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Gen X is normally described as 1965-1980 so 44 to 59 years old.

      Average age of mothers first birth right now is 27. It was around 25 for most of Gen X. So 25 + 27 = 52. Yeah new grandparents are not boomers.

  • Asafum@feddit.nl
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    1 month ago

    I want the lions share of the profits of our economy! I want to pull the ladder up behind me! Why aren’t these lazy millennials having kids for me!?

    You’re entitled millennials!

    /Vomit

    • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I mean, she’s a boomer, if she said she had I still wouldn’t trust her.

      Boomers: “Reality can be anything I want.”

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      she better stop voting for conservatives

      Democrats have won the popular vote in the last seven of eight elections. If everyone struck this deal, I would expect to see significantly more grandkids than we’re getting.

      But also, states like California and New York and Massachusetts are seeing grandkid-gaps bigger than anything you’ll find in Utah or Ohio or South Carolina. If conservatives are causing the problem, you would expect to see more Gen Alphas in the bluer states, wouldn’t you?

      • nifty@lemmy.world
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        1 month ago

        The poorer families in those states make do better than poorer families in red states, but not enough to support having kids

  • DarkSpectrum@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Maybe they shouldn’t horde and partition their wealth from their children and do everything possible to ensure every penny is spent before death.

    • FuzzyRedPanda@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      You’re not wrong, but this is more of a class issue than a generational issue, although in this case they certainly intersect. My boomer parents don’t have any money; they got screwed over by the 1% just like the rest of us.

  • JaggedRobotPubes@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Make the world a place that will be liveable in 100 years and pay people enough to exist:

    A) without children, and B) with children

    and boom, problem solved. Statistically, anyway.

  • coolkicks@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Elder millennial here. I had kids, my brother didn’t, and my kids, though young enough to change their minds, are adamant they won’t have kids.

    I think the more interesting stat likely unfolding is the marked decrease of great grandparents in a generation.

    To be clear this is not a “threat to society” or whatever, people can decide if they want kids or not. Just a shower thought.

    • stoly@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      The real solution has always been immigration to get more bodies in the country managing the economy. It’ll never happen though.