Five Economic Reforms Millennials Should Be Fighting For

WTF?

Jesse A. Myerson
Rolling Stone
January 3, 2014

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It's a new year, but one thing hasn't changed: The economy still blows. Five years after Wall Street crashed, America's banker-gamblers have only gotten richer, while huge swaths of the country are still drowning in personal debt, tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed – and the new jobs being created are largely low-wage, sub-contracted, part-time grunt work.

Millennials have been especially hard-hit by the downturn, which is probably why so many people in this generation (like myself) regard capitalism with a level of suspicion that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. But that egalitarian impulse isn't often accompanied by concrete proposals about how to get out of this catastrophe. Here are a few things we might want to start fighting for, pronto, if we want to grow old in a just, fair society, rather than the economic hellhole our parents have handed us.

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Needless to say, this article has drawn some criticism.

Originally Posted by Golem

WTF?

Jesse A. Myerson
Rolling Stone
January 3, 2014

Quote

It's a new year, but one thing hasn't changed: The economy still blows. Five years after Wall Street crashed, America's banker-gamblers have only gotten richer, while huge swaths of the country are still drowning in personal debt, tens of millions of Americans remain unemployed – and the new jobs being created are largely low-wage, sub-contracted, part-time grunt work.

Millennials have been especially hard-hit by the downturn, which is probably why so many people in this generation (like myself) regard capitalism with a level of suspicion that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. But that egalitarian impulse isn't often accompanied by concrete proposals about how to get out of this catastrophe. Here are a few things we might want to start fighting for, pronto, if we want to grow old in a just, fair society, rather than the economic hellhole our parents have handed us.

More

Needless to say, this article has drawn some criticism.

Who knew you had an inner-Marxist? Your card-carrying Republican days might be in danger. Just saying.

You usually post the same topics here and at the other place simultaneously. But you didn't with this topic. Why is that?

Originally Posted by california rick

You usually post the same topics here and at the other place simultaneously. But you didn't with this topic. Why is that?

I did post it there, Rick - about 10 minutes before I posted it here.

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WTF?

I think the author's use of the term "Millennial" here is something like: "Mom and Dad paid for everything (and still do), so I find it outrageous that the rest of the world doesn't work that way."

As an owner of rental properties, I find his assertion that I never did anything to deserve ownership especially hilarious: I seem to recall living well below my means for several decades so I could put hundreds of thousands down for those properties. Then there's all the long hours of renovation and repair work, paying for new roofs, paying property taxes every year, paying for fire insurance, paying for water service for some tenants, etc.

I think Jesse should round up a few hundred like-minded friends and head for some Third-World country, where they could use the last of their parents' savings to build their "better society". I wonder if Jonestown is still available in Guyana?

Originally Posted by pondering_it_all

As an owner of rental properties...

The author doesn't like you.

Originally Posted by Golem

Originally Posted by california rick

You usually post the same topics here and at the other place simultaneously. But you didn't with this topic. Why is that?

I did post it there, Rick - about 10 minutes before I posted it here.

At Liberty?

OK, I think Mr. Meyerson's ideas are a bit radical and overly simplistic - e.g., "a job for everyone" - but if it causes us to rethink how we think about the economy and our society, I say, let's start the conversation!

What about the concept of UBI (Universal Basic Income)? What about the concept of a financial floor? Although I am pretty skeptical of "redistributive" policies, there is a basic humanistic element that needs to be addressed. In some ways, this is a pseudo-libertarian concept (not paleolibertarian) - adapted for current economic realities - because it allows individuals the liberty of deciding where to spend their money, and would reduce the need for a large bureaucracy to administer various small-bore social welfare systems. If we had a UBI, we could eliminate food stamps, welfare checks, etc. What might the financial benefits be? How much might such a system actually cost? Where would the floor be? I am going to do a little bit of research on the current state of affairs and propose some tweaks.

Frankly, I like the whole article: from start to finish

I think, Golem, that the fellow's article is an example of the muddled thinking that permeates much of society, today. It strikes me as being a shallow blend of Marxist-flavored Keynesianism flavored with a hint of Thomas Paine's "Agrarian Justice". In short, a thoroughly stupid article self-righteously elevated by pseudo-intellectual flotsam disguised as moral rectitude and outrage.

I thank God that I'm not a kid just graduating from high school or college. I'm old enough to have seen the tail end of America. It was the best country in recorded history.

As contrasted with Rothbard or Rockwell, which is unleavened by any humor or attempt at logical considerations? Just sayin'....

As noted, it could provoke an interesting discussion.