Article written by Claire Stroebel.
Please note: when I refer to millennials in this article, I am going by the Wikipedia definition of millennials as being born between the early eighties, late nineties and early naughties. This is by far one of the largest periods for which a generation is defined, but it certainly encompasses the age group to which I am referring in this article. There are a lot of people of different ages who are still affected by the same problems that millennials face, however, and they should be included in my definition.
We are living in good times. One might think we aren't, but we are living in better times than you might think. The media highlights a lot of atrocities in the world, but it also highlights a lot of good. The coverage of world issues in our time is unprecedented, and so everything seems dire. But the numbers don't lie. Numerous studies show how far we've come, and technology hurtles forward at a rate of knots. We're doing well.
But things could be better. There are many aspects of modern society which would be far more advanced if it weren't for the greed of a few. It is argued that millennials saw the biggest recession since The Great Depression of the thirties. I'm not saying that we had it the worst, it's not a competition. But I feel that it's often forgotten when people of a different generation talk about millennials. The most oddly specific argument against millennials in general is all about whether we should be indulging in avocado on toast. It began when real estate millionaire, Tim Gurner, told young Aussies that to start saving up for a house, they should stop wasting money. On smashed avocado and overpriced coffee.
Now, it's suffice to say that most of us don't. Who among us can afford that every single day, as Tim Gurner suggested? But we do, on occasion, go out and have a nice breakkie. There is nothing wrong with the idea of treating yourself every now and again. It makes us feel human, and normal. But Mr. Gurner further suggests that we should work non-stop, touting his own schedule as working seven days a week, without so much as a break for even a short trip to the pub. Not only is the idea ridiculous, it's bad for you. There's a reason we have laws about how long we can work, and reasonable hours for reasonable pay; society learned the hard way that people can't function forever simply on the desire for money. Regardless of how dedicated companies want you to be for their cause, we still need incentives, and a living wage. And that goes for home life, too. We're not machines. We all need time to go out and enjoy ourselves, even if that means spending extra on expensive green fruit.
Wages have changed, and some have not. Newstart Allowance hasn't had a real increase since Coolio was number one in the Aussie charts – that's 1995 for all you young 'uns – and the cost of living has skyrocketed. When a lot of our parents were younger, university was free, and you could support a family of four on a single income. It wasn't all coming up Milhouse, but there are a lot of challenges that aren't being considered when accusing millennials of being lazy – and the lazy comment comes from people who still want us to serve them coffee at five am. There's also the fact that they've just cut penalty rates, something that a lot people look forward to, because some people rely on that extra money to get them through a week. (To the people who want their coffee at five am, you want us to have an incentive for working those weekends). Of course, we want to save up for a house, but a lot of the time it's a choice between a roof over our heads or a tiny deposit into a savings account. And yet we're still berated for that choice. Then when you do the maths, even if you saved the twenty-two dollars a week as Mr. Gruner suggested, it's only eleven thousand dollars or so in ten years. Those little moments where we treat ourselves with a breakfast at a cafe, are important moments for our sanity. And other's pockets.
If you can't bring yourself to consider that millennials are in fact struggling, and the occasional purchase of a cafe breakfast might help them cope, there is something else to consider. Too often, the older generation complains about where we spend our money. That we give far too much to corporations to feed our desperate need for pre-packaged noodles and iPhones. But when we purchase something like single origin coffee and avocado on toast, we are in fact doing the economy a big favour; supporting small businesses. If there is no other reason to splurge on such things, then that should be a big one. Contributing to small businesses supports growth and new ideas, and well-made things that last far longer than their mass-produced counterparts, which in turn is good for the environment. You are also supporting the jobs of people who are supporting their family business or just pursuing what they love. And if more people are capable of pursuing what they love, we have a happier society and harder workers. The butterfly effect may be simple, but it's a good way for us to contribute what we can, without breaking the bank.
There is also the common complaint that we are a generation spoiled on participation trophies and technology. But who's fault is that? I know I didn't scream to demand my medal for turning up to something at the age of three. That would be little Timmy's baby boomer mum becoming outrageous at the fact that her precious little boy wasn't acknowledged for his well-timed nose-pick in the nativity play. A lot of our parents were the ones foisting the little plastic trophies on us, exclaiming that we're entitled to be rewarded for minimal effort. These same people turn around and accuse us of turning our noses up at a job at Macca's, when they're the ones who've been telling us that we're better than the people who rely on said jobs. And then they turn another three hundred and sixty degrees, and demand to know why we aren't earning seventy-five thousand dollars a year, straight out of university, with a crippling HECS debt and no job because our field wants ten years’ experience from a person of twenty-two. Phew! It's just bonkers the kind of hypocritical talk you hear as a millennial, when all we want is enough money to eat some soft green potato and drink burnt and compressed bean juice.
I'm not saying that we need epic amounts of money, but we do need reform. And it's not just millennials. There are many, many people of various ages going through similar problems and discrimination. We don't want to eat avocado on toast every single day, we just want enough to be able to enjoy it from time to time, because we deserve it, without worrying about whether we'll have enough to pay our power bill for the month. It's something a lot of people before us were able to do when they worked hard. Why aren't we afforded the same courtesies for our massive (often three jobs worth) effort? We bloody deserve it.
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