Social Security Running 130B Deficit This Year, Trust "Fund" Empty By 2037.

• believer

  

  sleeper;663709 wrote:I guess it doesn't really matter what you pick. Option 2 is going to happen anyway(and 60% is probably a high estimate), so I hope you're ready to riot.

  No problem. I'll just take my 60%. That should qualify me for Food Stamps and a welfare check. Call it a wash.
  
  Do you suppose that if they cut my ROI by 40% they'll have the decency to stop income tax deductions from my Social Security check in recognition of my sacrifice?
• sleeper

  

  believer;663711 wrote:No problem. I'll just take my 60%. That should qualify me for Food Stamps and a welfare check.
  
  Do you suppose that if they cut my ROI by 40% they'll have the decency to stop income tax deductions from my Social Security check in recognition of my sacrifice?

  
  How about my generations 100% reduction?
• CenterBHSFan

  

  People younger than the Boomers have not put in nearly the amount of years/money = work.
  Is it fair to ask them to give up some of their money so we can have some of ours, which is BY FAR the lesser amount?
  
  Is it fair to ask the people younger than the Boomers who have already paid X amount of dollars/time into SS to not get all of that back in order for the Boomers to get what they are owed?
  
  Those are the same questions being asked over and over and over again.
  Has anybody changed their mind, yet?
  Who is more right?
  Who is more fair?
  
  At the end of it all the only answer is that we will all feel the sting, frustration and lack of control. There is absolutely NO one correct argument to this, as we will all lose something.
  
• believer

  

  CenterBHSFan;663724 wrote:People younger than the Boomers have not put in nearly the amount of years/money = work.
  Is it fair to ask them to give up some of their money so we can have some of ours, which is BY FAR the lesser amount?
  
  Is it fair to ask the people younger than the Boomers who have already paid X amount of dollars/time into SS to not get all of that back in order for the Boomers to get what they are owed?
  
  Those are the same questions being asked over and over and over again.
  Has anybody changed their mind, yet?
  Who is more right?
  Who is more fair?
  
  At the end of it all the only answer is that we will all feel the sting, frustration and lack of control. There is absolutely NO one correct argument to this, as we will all lose something.
  

  amen
• sleeper

  

  CenterBHSFan;663724 wrote:People younger than the Boomers have not put in nearly the amount of years/money = work.
  Is it fair to ask them to give up some of their money so we can have some of ours, which is BY FAR the lesser amount?
  
  Is it fair to ask the people younger than the Boomers who have already paid X amount of dollars/time into SS to not get all of that back in order for the Boomers to get what they are owed?
  
  Those are the same questions being asked over and over and over again.
  Has anybody changed their mind, yet?
  Who is more right?
  Who is more fair?
  
  At the end of it all the only answer is that we will all feel the sting, frustration and lack of control. There is absolutely NO one correct argument to this, as we will all lose something.
  

  
  Hey BHS, re-read my posts. No matter what, my generation will pay in THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT as Boomers and even with the 40% reduction from Boomer's SS, my generation will still get NOTHING. Its a foregone conclusion that no matter what happens with SS, my generation will not get it. PERIOD. The only reason boomers will have to give up some of their earnings is so that America can have a FREAKING CHANCE to not be a 3rd world country. This is isolated, there are many more sacrifices that need to be made, but my and the boomer generation. This is just a start.
• believer

  

  sleeper;663729 wrote:Hey BHS, re-read my posts. No matter what, my generation will pay in THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT as Boomers and even with the 40% reduction from Boomer's SS, my generation will still get NOTHING. Its a foregone conclusion that no matter what happens with SS, my generation will not get it. PERIOD. The only reason boomers will have to give up some of their earnings is so that America can have a FREAKING CHANCE to not be a 3rd world country. This is isolated, there are many more sacrifices that need to be made, but my and the boomer generation. This is just a start.

  Same arguments I used to make when I was fresh out of college and thought I knew how to fix the world.
  
  30 years later.....Déjà vu'...the more things change the more they stay the same....what goes around comes around....this too shall pass....
  
  I've got more!
• sleeper

  

  believer;663743 wrote:Same arguments I used to make when I was fresh out of college and thought I knew how to fix the world.
  
  30 years later.....Déjà vu'...the more things change the more they stay the same....what goes around comes around....this too shall pass....
  
  I've got more!

  
  SMH, you're an idiot. The only thing I can't fix is stupid, and judging by your post, you clearly have no idea.
  
  I wanted to add, lucky for me, most of the boomers will be around to experience the collapse of America. Now, sure, they might only live a couple years while its happening, but they can see the world they've left for their children and grandchildren. I can just imagine them on their death bed turning the TV to mass riots and mass unemployment and saying "Well at least I got mine". I hope that helps you sleep at night as it wouldn't sit right with me to leave future generations with a burden of epic proportions.
• sleeper

  

  And can we please stop with the "fresh out of college and I thought I knew the world" BS. I'm a college educated person, I've seen the numbers. They aren't fake, they aren't made up, you can find them yourself if you have the time(http://www.stlouisfed.org/ you can start here). I may not know EVERYTHING, and I don't claim I do, but at least I'm not naive in thinking that this is just going to pass.
  
  The insinuations are ridiculous(and not just by you), I know what I'm talking about, my age has nothing to do with it.
• believer

  

  sleeper;663750 wrote:SMH, you're an idiot. The only thing I can't fix is stupid, and judging by your post, you clearly have no idea.
  
  I wanted to add, lucky for me, most of the boomers will be around to experience the collapse of America. Now, sure, they might only live a couple years while its happening, but they can see the world they've left for their children and grandchildren. I hope that helps you sleep at night as it wouldn't sit right with me to leave future generations with a burden of epic proportions.

  Yes, indeed. The Civil War, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, the Cold War, recessions too many to number, and a host of other national crises we've managed to overcome clearly pale in comparison to the SS debacle to be sure.
  
  I'm thankful we have brilliant young minds such as yours to spell out the doom & gloom for all of us who clearly have no idea.
• sleeper

  

  believer;663761 wrote:Yes, indeed. The Civil War, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, the Cold War, recessions too many to number, and a host of other national crises we've managed to overcome clearly pale in comparison to the SS debacle to be sure.
  
  I'm thankful we have brilliant young minds such as yours to spell out the doom & gloom for all of us who clearly have no idea.

  None of these are anywhere near the magnitude as this problem. To think otherwise is ignorant. Do I have to post the numbers again?
• believer

  

  sleeper;663766 wrote:None of these are anywhere near the magnitude as this problem. To think otherwise is ignorant. Do I have to post the numbers again?

  All of these crises had numbers. Screw your numbers. You completely miss the point. I'm may be just a clueless idiot but I'm fully confident the we as Americans will face this newest crisis in much the same manner as we have in the past and we will come out stronger for it....we always do.
• sleeper

  

  http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10468sp.pdf
  
  To put some credibility to my numbers, scroll to page 7, and look at the chart. Gives a pretty good picture on how bad this situation is, and is sort of where I got my 40% reduction guess from.
• sleeper

  

  believer;663776 wrote:All of these crises had numbers. Screw your numbers. You completely miss the point. I'm may be just a clueless idiot but I'm fully confident the we as Americans will face this newest crisis in much the same manner as we have in the past and we will come out stronger for it....we always do.

  
  Really sums up your argument nicely. "Screw the facts, I am right."
• CenterBHSFan

  

  sleeper;663729 wrote:Hey BHS, re-read my posts. No matter what, my generation will pay in THE EXACT SAME AMOUNT as Boomers and even with the 40% reduction from Boomer's SS, my generation will still get NOTHING. Its a foregone conclusion that no matter what happens with SS, my generation will not get it. PERIOD. The only reason boomers will have to give up some of their earnings is so that America can have a FREAKING CHANCE to not be a 3rd world country. This is isolated, there are many more sacrifices that need to be made, but my and the boomer generation. This is just a start.

  You're missing the boat. I'm not a Boomer, I have just the same amount of chance as you to get zero, zilch, nothing.
  
  One of the biggest points of my post is that frustration, resentment and a feeling of futility is a two-way street.
  I'm not arguing against you, or for Believer. I can agree with both points being made. He is no more wrong than you are more right, if you will.
  
  SS can go to hell for all I care. I've already given up on that a long time ago. The best and only thing that I can do is vote for somebody who takes part is salvaging whatever is left of our finances. Sure, it would be nice to have that extra couple hundred bucks a month when I get old(er) but it won't make me eat cat food in a cardboard box if I don't get it. No, I don't exactly appreciate my money being squandered away.
  
  Yes, previous generations really messed things up. Younger generations (including X & Y) haven't done much of anything else, either. The question is: Will we, X & Y rise to the occasion and figure out what to do next? I'm hopeful that we can. But, in order to do that, all generations will have to get pinched.
  Period.
• sleeper

  

  I really don't think you understand the magnitude of the situation either Center, but that's okay, a lot of people do not get it either.
• O-Trap

  

  believer;663743 wrote:Same arguments I used to make when I was fresh out of college and thought I knew how to fix the world.
  
  30 years later.....Déjà vu'...the more things change the more they stay the same....what goes around comes around....this too shall pass....
  
  I've got more!

  Same argument? That's fine.
  
  Same numbers? Not even close. 35% =/= 94%
  
  And like I said, you were right to have that discussion with your folks. The country was headed in the wrong direction. Now, it's further down that wrong direction, but you seem like you've become numb to the problem ... the frog in the slowly boiled water.
  
  In terms of the "this too shall pass" notion, that's always true ... until it's not. Those who made the USSR a world power overcame everything in their way ... until the policies they put into place finally brought down the house. The problems of it "passed" for awhile, and might have possibly been perceived as being overcome by the strength of the nation.
  
  The truth is, the Social Security problem has not passed. Just because generations have survived it (actually, barely one has "survived" it to completion, as the generation that started paying into it has still not completely died off, and the remnant is probably still gripping that tit) does not mean that the problem has passed.
  
  To quote the Apostle Paul, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!" If we ignore a problem that continues to snowball, it will ruin us as a nation.
  

  believer;663761 wrote:Yes, indeed. The Civil War, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, the Cold War, recessions too many to number, and a host of other national crises we've managed to overcome clearly pale in comparison to the SS debacle to be sure.
  
  I'm thankful we have brilliant young minds such as yours to spell out the doom & gloom for all of us who clearly have no idea.

  We outlasted those things, and we did so because WE DID SOMETHING TO CHANGE THEM. We didn't sit back, let them continue to roll on, and just try to wait them out without trying to change them. Not in a single instance.
  
  That's where the difference lies. Too many people take the position that we just need to sit back, collect our checks when it's our time, and not try to fix the problem. If that continues, we won't survive like we did in all the instances you mentioned, because in those crises, we actually acted toward REAL change (solving the problem, not further perpetuating it, as we have done with our spending in recent years).
  

  CenterBHSFan;663821 wrote:But, in order to do that, all generations will have to get pinched. Period.

  Indeed. ALL of them.
• dwccrew

  

  believer;663776 wrote:All of these crises had numbers. Screw your numbers. You completely miss the point. I'm may be just a clueless idiot but I'm fully confident the we as Americans will face this newest crisis in much the same manner as we have in the past and we will come out stronger for it....we always do.

  
  I get your point, but to that point, the way the US gets out of this crisis may be by reducing your benefits. I have confidence that my generation will overcome this problem, just as previous generations overcame the problems you listed, such as wars, depression, recessions. However, the way we fix the problem you may not like (if we were to reduce benefits).
  
  Also, this is a completely different situation compared to the events you listed. The numbers (as Sleeper and Otrap stated) do matter. We have out of control spending. We have a generation that is going to be collecting soon that far outnumbers the generation that will be paying for the aforementioned generation. We have a government that can't keep their hands out of the SS "cookie jar". So yes, the numbers do matter and there should be no 'screwing' of the numbers. We can't just ignore them. Ignoring them is what got us into the mess we are in and heading towards in the first place.
• believer

  

  You all act is if I'm oblivious to "the numbers." I'm not that stupid folks. I know the numbers and what they mean.
  
  Just don't sit around and boo hoo and hand me the "whoa is we" crap. You Gen X and Y-ers are generations of whiners. *sniffle*
  
  O-Trap, not ONCE did I ever say anything close to your statement that too many people (IE: us greedy Boomers) take the position that we just need to sit back, collect our checks when it's our time, and not try to fix the problem. Not once. And spare me the Scriptures. I know who's in control.
  
  If you read between the lines there are two main points I'm trying to make:
  
  1. When gubmint inflicts socialist entitlement programs upon its people they establish a social contract and it is very, very difficult to reverse it once it's in place. Hence the dangers of socialism. Yet for some inexplicable reason, you Gen X and Y-ers thought BHO was the shit and were a major influence in putting the current batch of idiots in charge. Yet you blame Boomers for voting in big spending politicians. Suffice to say we're all to blame. With SS and Medicare in such dire financial circumstances, you would think the morons in DC would have shit canned ObamaKare before it even hit the Congressional floor but not BHO-Reid-Pelosi Crew. They wanted to take good care of us. So it not only passed but it, as usual, was packed full of unnecessary pork. So WTF??? Is there any wonder the Tea Party movement took place? If the clowns in DC want to spend us to oblivion, why is it I'm taking so much shit from you guys for wanting my confiscated SS money back? I did my part. I paid as required by law. Now you're telling me I'm greedy for not sacrificing that confiscated labor for the greater good. What is this...reverse socialism?
  
  2. I get tired of hearing you Gen X and Y-ers moan & groan. You act as if you're the only generations to face tough issues. You're all victims of the Boomer Greed. LMAO The Boomers gave you your computers, video games, designer jeans, cell phones, shiny cars, the Internet, HD TV's , and all the rest of the materialistic crap you enjoy. You were raised in a situation where if you lived just a block from school you got bussed, teachers weren't permitted to spank your asses for getting out of line, parents who use corporal punishment on disobedient Gen X and Y-ers were subject to visits from the child protection agencies, learning how to recycle was more important than learning math, etc., etc. You are easily the most pampered and sheltered American generations ever. And now that you have to face reality, all is doom & gloom.
  
  Yes we ALL need to pitch in, but PLEASE stop the incessant whining and the blame game.
• sleeper

  

  Yes we ALL need to pitch in, but PLEASE stop the incessant whining and the blame game.

  So why balk at a reduction in SS benefits? My generation is pitching in 100% and your BITCHING about a less than half reduction in benefits?
  
  You say you want to fix the problem as long as you don't have to pitch in.
  

  You all act is if I'm oblivious to "the numbers." I'm not that stupid folks. I know the numbers and what they mean.

  Ok, then what do they mean? I want you to tell me what your interpretation of the numbers is because I really do not believe that you have a flippin' clue what the numbers mean.
• fan_from_texas

  sleeper;663705 wrote:I asked you to pick one of the two scenarios I laid out. Those are your only options, that is the reality. I understand you want your money back, so would I, but I'd also want the future generations of America to have a fighting chance of maintaining the same standard of living that I had.
  
  You keep avoiding my questions with this useless shit in which I've already conceded is wrong, but this is REALITY. Welcome to it.

  Exactly, exactly, exactly.
  
  All this nonsense about "rights" completely misses the point because it assumes that the "rights" exist only on one side. Believer has a right to the return of his money. Gen X/Yers have a right to the return of their money. At least one of these "rights" (and possibly both) cannot be met. This isn't a moral debate--it's a pragmatic debate about determining who should get screwed. Should Boomers get screwed out of 40% of their money? Or should Gen X/Yers get screwed out of 100% of theirs?
  
  That's the ultimate question. And I stand by my contention that since Gen X/Yers weren't alive/voting and had nothing to do with the creation of the problem, if someone's rights have to be trampled on, better to trample on the people who made/exacerbated the problems.
  
  Sucks to be a Boomer who relied on this, but life isn't fair. Stop whining. You've had a lifetime of low interest rates and tons of economic opportunities to save. If you didn't, that's on you. Sorry about your luck.
• sleeper

  

  fan_from_texas;664576 wrote:Exactly, exactly, exactly.
  
  All this nonsense about "rights" completely misses the point because it assumes that the "rights" exist only on one side. Believer has a right to the return of his money. Gen X/Yers have a right to the return of their money. At least one of these "rights" (and possibly both) cannot be met. This isn't a moral debate--it's a pragmatic debate about determining who should get screwed. Should Boomers get screwed out of 40% of their money? Or should Gen X/Yers get screwed out of 100% of theirs?
  
  That's the ultimate question. And I stand by my contention that since Gen X/Yers weren't alive/voting and had nothing to do with the creation of the problem, if someone's rights have to be trampled on, better to trample on the people who made/exacerbated the problems.
  
  Sucks to be a Boomer who relied on this, but life isn't fair. Stop whining. You've had a lifetime of low interest rates and tons of economic opportunities to save. If you didn't, that's on you. Sorry about your luck.

  
  Ya, but 2/3 of us voted for Obama so we are part of the problem too, lawl.
• fan_from_texas

  sleeper;664588 wrote:Ya, but 2/3 of us voted for Obama so we are part of the problem too, lawl.

  And when I'm 65 and my kids are threatening to cut off my generations benefits to balance the budget, I'll deserve every bit of it, even if I hate it.
• sleeper

  

  fan_from_texas;664593 wrote:And when I'm 65 and my kids are threatening to cut off my generations benefits to balance the budget, I'll deserve every bit of it, even if I hate it.

  
  My kids won't even know what retirement benefits are lol
• Al Bundy

  sleeper;664573 wrote:So why balk at a reduction in SS benefits? My generation is pitching in 100% and your BITCHING about a less than half reduction in benefits?
  
  You say you want to fix the problem as long as you don't have to pitch in.
  
  
  
  Ok, then what do they mean? I want you to tell me what your interpretation of the numbers is because I really do not believe that you have a flippin' clue what the numbers mean.

  If someone is in their early 60's and you suddenly take away 40% of their retirement, there is no way they can make up that difference in a few years. Many of them would be forced to go on a social program to make up the difference.
• O-Trap

  

  believer;664441 wrote:You all act is if I'm oblivious to "the numbers." I'm not that stupid folks. I know the numbers and what they mean.

  believer, I'm sorry if it seemed like I was implying that you didn't know the numbers. That wasn't my intent. It merely seems that your attitude is as if they don't matter, and that the situation is just the same as it has always been. It's not, and that's what the numbers are saying, which is why I brought them up.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:Just don't sit around and boo hoo and hand me the "whoa is we" crap. You Gen X and Y-ers are generations of whiners. *sniffle*

  I only say this because it's been said several times in this thread: It's "woe." Not giving you a hard time. Just always been a stickler for having discipline in writing, penmanship, and communication.
  
  Careful, though, believer. Painting an entire generation with such a broad brush is, it seems, what you resent if the younger generations are doing it about yours. Not once have I "whined" in this thread. I've observed. I've raised objection. However, not once have I said that we are owed anything here. I even said we WEREN'T. I do blame the Boomers, but no exclusively. They, as every generation to this point, have perpetuated the problem. That includes the Gen-Xers, and even to a small degree (small only because of age), the Gen-Yers.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:O-Trap, not ONCE did I ever say anything close to your statement that too many people (IE: us greedy Boomers) take the position that we just need to sit back, collect our checks when it's our time, and not try to fix the problem. Not once.

  In regard to my statement about sitting back and collecting the checks, that was not directed at you in particular. There are people I know, even pre-Boomer and post-Boomer who talk like that (or do it, if the case warrants). I was only suggesting that such a mentality is a problem.
  
  If one adopts a passive attitude toward it, that is the natural response, though. So what needs to change first is the passive attitude toward the problem. Again, this isn't directed at you. It's directed at every generation, administration, and party affiliation that has allowed this problem to grow, unchecked and for the most part unaddressed. That, again, even includes GenX, and to some degree, GenY. Both have caused further problems economically.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:And spare me the Scriptures. I know who's in control.

  I know you do. So do I. And he wouldn't have spared us any Scripture if he didn't think we would need it from time to time. Just because we know who said it and what it says doesn't mean we always live like we recognize how true it is, and that's been going on a LOT longer than the Social Security problem. It's simply an appropriate principle in the face of a wait-it-out-passively attitude.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:If you read between the lines there are two main points I'm trying to make:
  
  1. When gubmint inflicts socialist entitlement programs upon its people they establish a social contract and it is very, very difficult to reverse it once it's in place. Hence the dangers of socialism. Yet for some inexplicable reason, you Gen X and Y-ers thought BHO was the shit and were a major influence in putting the current batch of idiots in charge.

  Indeed, many Gen X and Gen Y voters played a HUGE role in getting the current administration and Congress into power. Again, though, saying that was purely generational is too broad a brush, as there are many, many Gen X and Gen Y voters who knew such a talking-head group of yutzes were not fit (or in some cases even interested) to help the country. I, and many I know, didn't want the current administration in office, so the blame, and lack thereof, DOES cross all generational gaps.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:Yet you blame Boomers for voting in big spending politicians. Suffice to say we're all to blame. With SS and Medicare in such dire financial circumstances, you would think the morons in DC would have shit canned ObamaKare before it even hit the Congressional floor but not BHO-Reid-Pelosi Crew. They wanted to take good care of us. So it not only passed but it, as usual, was packed full of unnecessary pork. So WTF??? Is there any wonder the Tea Party movement took place?

  Yes, the Tea Party started out as a wonderful thing. People spanning all party lines who were simply tired of being spent out of global power as a nation. I, for one, was thrilled when it began.
  
  Unfortunately, when partisan politics gets a hold of something, it usually alienates too large a subscriber base, and it ends up being one more circle-jerk segment of that party.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:If the clowns in DC want to spend us to oblivion, why is it I'm taking so much shit from you guys for wanting my confiscated SS money back? I did my part. I paid as required by law. Now you're telling me I'm greedy for not sacrificing that confiscated labor for the greater good. What is this...reverse socialism?

  If I knew that my paying into Social Security and getting even 0% back would be enough to fix this problem, I would still be royally pissed, but I'd be willing to do that, because I want to choose to put the good of many above the good of just me and mine. It should still be a CHOICE, but I would be willing to do that.
  
  However, suppose the option was available for me to get 50% back, and as a result, the United States would then likely fall out of being an economic world power, lowering the wellbeing of the nation as a whole. Am I selfish for putting myself above everyone else?
  
  Well, yeah.
  
  Doesn't mean it's not my right to be, and I guess that's my point. If you're able to get 100% back, country-be-damned, you are COMPLETELY within your rights to do so, and that IS how it should be (the rights part). Doesn't mean it's not selfish, as it's pretty much the definition of selfish, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve it, nor does that mean I really blame you for it.
  

  believer;664441 wrote:2. I get tired of hearing you Gen X and Y-ers moan & groan. You act as if you're the only generations to face tough issues. You're all victims of the Boomer Greed. LMAO The Boomers gave you your computers, video games, designer jeans, cell phones, shiny cars, the Internet, HD TV's , and all the rest of the materialistic crap you enjoy. You were raised in a situation where if you lived just a block from school you got bussed, teachers weren't permitted to spank your asses for getting out of line, parents who use corporal punishment on disobedient Gen X and Y-ers were subject to visits from the child protection agencies, learning how to recycle was more important than learning math, etc., etc. You are easily the most pampered and sheltered American generations ever. And now that you have to face reality, all is doom & gloom.

  And this attitude is one that bothers me.
  
  Technically, Gen Xers did a lot of this (remember, Gen X is typically the generation born in the '60s and '70s). They're in their 40s and early 50s now. The Internet wasn't really available to the public at large until the mid- to late-'90s, and can be attributed as much to Gen X as to the Boomers. Most of what you mentioned, while created in large part by the Boomers, was never directly experienced by the youngest generation, because Gen X improved them considerably. Boomers gave the world pong and Atari. X took that to the level of Playstations. Boomers gave us cell phones. X made them pocket computers (that are better phones as well). Boomers have laid a good foundation for a lot of these things, but the X generation made unimaginable strides ... which is the way with every generation.
  
  And about some of those complaints you have with the youngest voting generation, Generation Y, that can be turned around. Who created the culture where kids are bussed a block away? Who put all the rules in place preventing teachers or parents from putting their hands on students? Who has lobbied for the last 20 years to give recycling such esteem?
  
  These are realities we've grown up with, yes. They were created by prior generations. We had no choice but to grow up that way.
  
  We've been raised in schools where kids don't get back at bullies by beating them up. They shoot and kill them. We've been raised in a culture that solicits us with commercialism and sex at absurdly young ages (largely through commercials that the Boomers and Gen Xers are creating). STDs are far more prevalent in middle schools and high schools than they've ever been in prior generations. We've been raised in a culture where getting a decent job is, as a rule, impossible without going into a five- or six-figure debt for a four-year degree (never has any other generation had such a hard time getting a good, sustainable job without a college degree, statistically). Learning to work on a car has been replaced by learning to work on a computer (more parts than a car, generally), because that's where society is. It's not better or worse. It's just different. We have advantages prior generations didn't have, and we have disadvantages that prior generations didn't have. THAT is just the way of things. It was the same when you were young. It was the same when your parents were young, and so on.
  
  (cont. in next post ... over 10000 characters)