Friday Interview: Taking Stock of Millennial Generation Complaints | Eastern North Carolina Now

   Publisher's note: This interview conducted by the Carolina Journal Staff, in this instance, Donna Martinez, centers on the maturation of America's aging youth, and the attitude of that process.

CJ associate editor reviews 20-somethings' role in the Occupy protests

    RALEIGH     Protests across the country inspired by Occupy Wall Street featured plenty of people in their 20s. They fumed about everything from a lack of jobs to the cost of a college education. A fellow "20-something," David Bass, is Associate Editor of Carolina Journal. Bass has been watching his generation's involvement in the protests, and he poses the following question: Is society really to blame for the economic plight afflicting this age group? He discussed the issue with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio. (Click here to find a station near you or to learn about the weekly CJ Radio podcast.)

    Martinez: The Associated Press has described your generation as a lost generation. Is it?

    Bass: Well, if you look at some of the unemployment figures, the situation looks pretty dim. I'm talking about unemployment specifically among those who are age 18 to early 30s, and recent college graduates. There's a lot of struggling going on right now because a lot of older people -- more experienced workers -- are out of work in the bad economy, and they're kind of vying for some of those same, perhaps entry-level, positions that college graduates used to be able to get.

    So it's definitely a bad scenario, but I discussed a little bit in the [Carolina Journal] column how, yes, there are some things stacked against my generation, but a lot of the things that are going on are also self-inflicted wounds that we could actually be doing something about if we just used our brains a little bit.

    Martinez: You've been watching the Occupy protests, as they've been called, and there have been several of them in cities in North Carolina as well. And we do see a contingent of younger people in their 20s and their 30s. You mentioned the job situation, but they [the Occupiers] are also saying college is just too expensive. And they seem to want it for free in some cases. So what's that argument all about?

    Bass: It's kind of weird because there's this huge movement of wanting to forgive all of these student loans, but I don't think a lot of these folks have really necessarily thought about the implications of the student loans that they were getting. I mean, if you're getting a student loan and you're majoring in a hard science or something where there is really a huge job market for it, maybe you can afford to take on $20,000 or $30,000 worth of student loan debt. In some cases, a lot more.

    But if it's some sort of humanities ... and I say this as a journalism major myself, which is kind of ironic. Interestingly enough, I was just looking at pay scales, and I kind of make fun of art history as a major, but the median salary for an art history major right out of college is above a journalist, so maybe I have some egg on my face on this. I think the young people just have to ... take a really practical look at what do I want with this degree? Where is it going? Am I going to be able to afford to pay off my student loans?

    And as we're seeing in Occupy Wall Street, I think instead of looking back and saying, "What should I have done differently? Or what can I do differently now from a personal responsibility standpoint," they're saying, "Oh, bail me out." It's kind of like our victim mentality that's so prevalent in America.

    Martinez: And you point out in your column that the cries for "give me a free college education" -- well, nothing is really free.

    Bass: Right. Somebody ends up picking up the tab, and, in this case, it would be productive taxpayers.

    Martinez: Me. My generation.

    Bass: Exactly.

    Martinez: So, self-inflicted wounds. You said, well, there's this situation with the economy and all that, but some of this, you say folks should just look in the mirror.

    Bass: Yes. I mean, the one we've already discussed is student loan debt. That's a big one. And, of course, the entitlement attitude. I think if that shifts and we start to view life as, yes, it's hard, and, yes, maybe in some ways we've gotten a raw deal -- although I think every generation has had their own version of a raw deal -- but instead of focusing on, "Oh, I wish things were different," they could say, "What can I do to make things better? What can I do to actually make my life better?"

    Another thing I bring up in the column - moving from the economic to the social side, although they're connected - is a lot of young people today are kind of staying in perpetual adolescence. Even in their 20s and 30s, a lot of times they're moving back in with their parents or they're delaying marriage. They're delaying what traditionally has been the start of adult life, taking on adult responsibilities. And there's just this delaying of those things while you're, I guess, looking for your true self. I think that has some bad implications for the broader society, too.

    Martinez: That delaying of marriage is a very interesting point you make in the piece you wrote about this. Because it really gets to the issue of, at what point in your life do you have to go out and make a living, even if it's not doing what you were educated for - formally educated for or not - but you've got responsibilities.

    Bass: Right. I mean, I think in previous generations, it was kind of understood. Society was different, even in terms of higher education. Fewer people went to college, so getting married in your late teens or early 20s was more feasible.

    But now, of course, people are in graduate school, and it's mid-20s, a lot of times, before they're done with school. But regardless of that, I think society used to be set up where you could really assume those responsibilities early on. By the time you were in your mid-20s, you were settled down, you were starting a family, you had a job. You basically had to have a job in order to support [yourself] because there were people who were relying on you. Whereas now, it's kind of like, well, I'm just relying on myself, and even if I run into a string of bad luck, I can still move in with mom and dad. And a lot of times they're fine with accepting you back in.

    Martinez: They're OK with it. They clear out the bedroom.

    Bass: You've got to kick them out of the nest eventually.

    Martinez: David, you have also been reporting for Carolina Journal on the [Occupy] protest movement, so you have seen particularly the one in Raleigh. As you see the young people there, what would you say to them if you were not wearing your reporter hat, and you were just talking to them as someone of their generation? What would you say to them about their view and what they need to do?

    Bass: I'd probably say just get your eyes off of your circumstance and start thinking about what you can do to make a difference. Yes, you might have been laid off. Yes, you might have a job you hate. There are a lot of things in life that are hard, that are difficult, but if you're going to go through life focusing on those things, there's always going to be something, and there's always going to be something to complain about. Instead of doing that, focus on what you can change, what you can do better, and move forward with that.

    Martinez: So while some of these protesters are complaining that they can't find a job, even though in at least some cases, they do have a college education, there was a very interesting column written at Forbes.com recently. This had to do with your generation of women who have an education, they do have a job, and they're burned out by the time they're 30. Your generation seems to have a lot of problems, David. What's going on with the ladies in their 20s?

    Bass: It's an interesting dynamic. I think as women have increased in terms of getting advanced degrees or really succeeding in careers and really focusing in on that, men have increasingly, I think, struggled to find what their role should be in society. As feminism has come up, masculinity has been on the decline a little bit. So you see kind of those two things going on.

    But that was a fascinating Forbes article because I think a lot of these young women were promised, "Oh, if you just get this really extremely good career, this is going to be your satisfaction in life." And they get to be 30, and all of a sudden they're saying, "I'm not married. There are really no prospects. I'm working really hard in this job that's not what I thought it would be." And there's burnout.

    Martinez: Adding to the situation is the fact that there's been some reporting recently, David, also on the fact that older people in their 50s and 60s are looking at retirement and saying, "Hey, in order to make it in this economy, I'm going to have to work well past 65 or 70." What's that going to mean for your generation?

    Bass: Well, if we're looking at boomers who are not going to be able to retire in the traditional way, I think those who are in our 20s or maybe early 30s right now are really in trouble. I mean, who knows what life expectancy will be by the time we're ready to retire, but it's definitely not going to be the same scenario that we have today.