Such an important essay. We as a society need Generation P. Limiting their economic viability has social justice ramifications and political fallout. I believe political term limits could inspire younger Americans for elected office. We need their insight desperately
Interesting points. The one advantage I do see for younger people is that there are now immense employment opportunities as the economy rebounds, unlike during recessions when there wasn’t a job to be had for new graduates. There are so many in need as a result of the pandemic, people who are now homeless with no family to rely on, people begging on street corners in affluent communities. Families need to help one another out during hard times, and communities do rally. We can’t rely exclusively on the government in these times as the gov has its own debt crisis to contend with as well. But I do agree with the younger generation P’ers have a lot to teach us going forward. Thank you for your perspective.
It's so frustrating to know that so many young adults are struggling to make ends meet. Like you said they did everything right, but still are having financial difficulties. A majority of Congress care only about their own agenda, and the few that truly care for all Americans are always voted down. Minimum wage rising to $15 an hour, or a student loan forgiveness of $50000 could be life changing for so many. We can call our Representatives or Senators, but they read the same script over and over again. So tired of trying to express our concerns. What do we do? Thanks Ari for keeping us so well informed.
"As an old white guy", I've listened for years. always the teacher I place Ari in the category of intellectually sound mission based reporting as teaching the public what the law means.
Thanks, Ari. As usual you are on target. You were a blessing during the Pandemic year and you continue to be a blessing as we find our way to a new normal. It’s a journey. The Pandemic was traumatizing for everyone. The real threats to our Democracy are traumatic. What’s in our souls as Americans has been challenged ( George Floyd murder as a recent example). Humans can only take so much trauma hitting them at once. I wonder if this is why many shut down and want to “ move forward.” Sticking your head in the sand as if the world will go away. It’s a protective defense but it won’t help us. I think the challenge is to keep the traumatizing events in front of us, and do the hard work of changing what we can, in the ways we can.
I love your newsletters and the replies. Thank you for doing this.
Thank you Ari for these interesting words, I only hope the older folks that’s governing the country, will look into themselves and see the truth in what you’ve written,and start listening to, and putting younger people up front . It high time a lot of them step down and go home to relax themselves.
One other issue — long term effects of Covid19 is hitting people under 40 disproportionately. Identifying those problems, particularly brain related issues, and treating them. Education in health related fields has to be amped up, and health insurance should be amended to include codes for these issues.
As you point out, governing bodies are dominated by people, mostly men, who are far older than the average American. But of more concern is the aging of the employed. Japan is the model for the expected contraction of GNP as long as workers to fill critical jobs aren’t available. The workforce available will be older, and retraining for certain jobs in computer science and demands of green energy and communication will be a challenge as people work beyond the traditional retirement age.
Once again, thank you Ari, for alerting us to a situation that may be neglected by others, media and society at large. If we claim to be people of empathy and compassion, then Gen P must be included as well. Did not actively realize the pandemic was their second major misfortune after the financial collapse of 2008. Add to that the "without representation phenomenon", those in political power 2+ generations beyond their immediate concerns.
Yes we are in a gerontocracy! I think that these folks have experienced life and often make wiser choices than youth However there must be a balance and stuckness , stasis and stagnation are detrimental to our health and our governance. We have a deficit of open minded people! Negativity and vitriol are fueled by the unwillingness to really listen and learn from younger generations. As well as racism sexism and classism! My hope lies in many of the young democrats and we need more but clearly our elders must respect the generations before them🙏☮️
600k deaths when the article was written, 1.5k today. Who would have thought? School loans forgiven, minimum wage raised, but people are still dying and being stupid about democracy and their health.
This analysis was really interesting and built on the Generation P segment you did on the Beat. It all points to a larger cultural issue at how the baby boomer generation seems to not care at all about the generations that follow them - not only are they not addressing student debt (or high college costs in general), they are also not addressing climate change, the deficit (once a conservative cause), guns/school shootings, k-12 education disparities, etc. This seems like something unique to baby boomers - they are no cultural or governmental institutions I can think of that they built.
And when you look at how disappointing the post Cold War world turned out, it's architects were baby boomers - Clinton, Bush, Blair, Merkel, Sarkozy, Schroeder, Putin etc. (Trump is like the final boss of the lousy videogame they designed) It compares very poorly to the WW2 generation of Roosevelt, Truman, DeGaulle, Churchill, Adenouer, that despite the Cold War, were able to recreate something of the peace and prosperity of the Victorian world that they knew growing up. Or the "Greatest Generation '' which maintained and expanded that peace and prosperity at home and abroad with civil rights and the Great society etc.
The Gen X politicians so far - Ted Cruz, MJT, Josh Hawley, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, are all Republicans and are all terrible. The Millenials who came of age amid the turbulence of 9/11, the Iraq War, the Great Recession etc look like they might be a much better generation.
Hi Ari, this is a great article on covid. Some need to know facts, I just wish more people would take it serious, like some of my relatives , for instance. Thank you Ari!
WOW! love these Insights .Truly Relevant . Glad I found this space...I found it stimulating and enjoy the unique way you challenge us to look from different Perspectives .
i thank god for the ability to restore, rebuild, to heal etc etc, our present suffering is the perfect opportunity to assist and to encourage the youth, they have the opportunity to learn from this dramatic covid-19 lockdown, and fight harder for a brighter future, they have the knowledge from this experience, that empowers them. thx so much ari for the excellent analysis, god bless you my friend:)
This is an excellent article.
Such an important essay. We as a society need Generation P. Limiting their economic viability has social justice ramifications and political fallout. I believe political term limits could inspire younger Americans for elected office. We need their insight desperately
Interesting points. The one advantage I do see for younger people is that there are now immense employment opportunities as the economy rebounds, unlike during recessions when there wasn’t a job to be had for new graduates. There are so many in need as a result of the pandemic, people who are now homeless with no family to rely on, people begging on street corners in affluent communities. Families need to help one another out during hard times, and communities do rally. We can’t rely exclusively on the government in these times as the gov has its own debt crisis to contend with as well. But I do agree with the younger generation P’ers have a lot to teach us going forward. Thank you for your perspective.
It's so frustrating to know that so many young adults are struggling to make ends meet. Like you said they did everything right, but still are having financial difficulties. A majority of Congress care only about their own agenda, and the few that truly care for all Americans are always voted down. Minimum wage rising to $15 an hour, or a student loan forgiveness of $50000 could be life changing for so many. We can call our Representatives or Senators, but they read the same script over and over again. So tired of trying to express our concerns. What do we do? Thanks Ari for keeping us so well informed.
"As an old white guy", I've listened for years. always the teacher I place Ari in the category of intellectually sound mission based reporting as teaching the public what the law means.
You are a blessing MSNBC . every one of you
Thanks, Ari. As usual you are on target. You were a blessing during the Pandemic year and you continue to be a blessing as we find our way to a new normal. It’s a journey. The Pandemic was traumatizing for everyone. The real threats to our Democracy are traumatic. What’s in our souls as Americans has been challenged ( George Floyd murder as a recent example). Humans can only take so much trauma hitting them at once. I wonder if this is why many shut down and want to “ move forward.” Sticking your head in the sand as if the world will go away. It’s a protective defense but it won’t help us. I think the challenge is to keep the traumatizing events in front of us, and do the hard work of changing what we can, in the ways we can.
I love your newsletters and the replies. Thank you for doing this.
Sylviane W.
Thank you Ari for these interesting words, I only hope the older folks that’s governing the country, will look into themselves and see the truth in what you’ve written,and start listening to, and putting younger people up front . It high time a lot of them step down and go home to relax themselves.
One other issue — long term effects of Covid19 is hitting people under 40 disproportionately. Identifying those problems, particularly brain related issues, and treating them. Education in health related fields has to be amped up, and health insurance should be amended to include codes for these issues.
As you point out, governing bodies are dominated by people, mostly men, who are far older than the average American. But of more concern is the aging of the employed. Japan is the model for the expected contraction of GNP as long as workers to fill critical jobs aren’t available. The workforce available will be older, and retraining for certain jobs in computer science and demands of green energy and communication will be a challenge as people work beyond the traditional retirement age.
Excellent! Thanks fir covering this!
Once again, thank you Ari, for alerting us to a situation that may be neglected by others, media and society at large. If we claim to be people of empathy and compassion, then Gen P must be included as well. Did not actively realize the pandemic was their second major misfortune after the financial collapse of 2008. Add to that the "without representation phenomenon", those in political power 2+ generations beyond their immediate concerns.
Yes we are in a gerontocracy! I think that these folks have experienced life and often make wiser choices than youth However there must be a balance and stuckness , stasis and stagnation are detrimental to our health and our governance. We have a deficit of open minded people! Negativity and vitriol are fueled by the unwillingness to really listen and learn from younger generations. As well as racism sexism and classism! My hope lies in many of the young democrats and we need more but clearly our elders must respect the generations before them🙏☮️
600k deaths when the article was written, 1.5k today. Who would have thought? School loans forgiven, minimum wage raised, but people are still dying and being stupid about democracy and their health.
This analysis was really interesting and built on the Generation P segment you did on the Beat. It all points to a larger cultural issue at how the baby boomer generation seems to not care at all about the generations that follow them - not only are they not addressing student debt (or high college costs in general), they are also not addressing climate change, the deficit (once a conservative cause), guns/school shootings, k-12 education disparities, etc. This seems like something unique to baby boomers - they are no cultural or governmental institutions I can think of that they built.
And when you look at how disappointing the post Cold War world turned out, it's architects were baby boomers - Clinton, Bush, Blair, Merkel, Sarkozy, Schroeder, Putin etc. (Trump is like the final boss of the lousy videogame they designed) It compares very poorly to the WW2 generation of Roosevelt, Truman, DeGaulle, Churchill, Adenouer, that despite the Cold War, were able to recreate something of the peace and prosperity of the Victorian world that they knew growing up. Or the "Greatest Generation '' which maintained and expanded that peace and prosperity at home and abroad with civil rights and the Great society etc.
The Gen X politicians so far - Ted Cruz, MJT, Josh Hawley, Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, are all Republicans and are all terrible. The Millenials who came of age amid the turbulence of 9/11, the Iraq War, the Great Recession etc look like they might be a much better generation.
Hi Ari, this is a great article on covid. Some need to know facts, I just wish more people would take it serious, like some of my relatives , for instance. Thank you Ari!
WOW! love these Insights .Truly Relevant . Glad I found this space...I found it stimulating and enjoy the unique way you challenge us to look from different Perspectives .
i thank god for the ability to restore, rebuild, to heal etc etc, our present suffering is the perfect opportunity to assist and to encourage the youth, they have the opportunity to learn from this dramatic covid-19 lockdown, and fight harder for a brighter future, they have the knowledge from this experience, that empowers them. thx so much ari for the excellent analysis, god bless you my friend:)