this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024
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[–] AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today 218 points 2 months ago (6 children)

In another timeline where boomers didn't destroy the housing market, didn't ignore climate change, and didn't continue to vote for regressive policies, maybe they'd have grandchildren.

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[–] SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz 179 points 2 months ago (7 children)

Young folks have been priced out of housing & healthcare, you can be fired from your job on a whim, food is astronomically expensive, the political climate is tense, your basic human rights could be rescinded at any time, the future of the planet is being murdered by shitty capitalists with 0 regard for human life....

I mean, who wouldn't want to bring a child into this world right now?

Eat shit.

[–] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 75 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I'm hunting for a new job for the second time in less than a year, and I'm honestly a skilled professional with over 10 years of experience, with a lot of proof that I do great work. The labor market is stupid right now, just down right stupid. Full of executives searching for short term profits rather than anyone wanting to actually run a company well. That's alone is a huge reason, on top of everything else. I don't even know if I'll have stable employment, and that means I don't know if I'll have stable health insurance - so genuinely what are any actual incentives to my generation to have kids? Literally are there any beyond just "you have a kid now"

[–] wesker@lemmy.sdf.org 43 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (9 children)

I'm a software engineer currently trying to find employment, and it's so bad I'm wondering if I'll just have to do something else for a while.

My last company basically fired all their US devs, and outsourced to foreign countries for cheaper.

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[–] SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz 31 points 2 months ago (1 children)

It's shit, right? I'm so sorry. I hope that stability comes to you very soon.

Reject tradition. You have no obligation to sacrifice your well-being because some old, out-of-touch fuckwads want something life-changing from you. Can't even afford groceries.

They can foster a child if they want one around so badly. Or go sit at a park. Or volunteer at the church nursery or something, ffs.

[–] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 24 points 2 months ago

bingo. The SO and I have talked about it, and we decided if we regret it a bit later and it's too late, adoption is always a valid choice. After all, we're not bringing new life in so we don't have to feel guilty about that, but instead we would be giving a home to someone else who needs one. However, there are still many, many negatives as to why we don't want to or simply can't right now.

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[–] Wiz@midwest.social 97 points 2 months ago (8 children)

Once again Gen-X is ignored. It's Gen-X hitting grandparenting age.

My two kids probably won't be parents, and I'm ok with that. I want them to be happy more than I want to enjoy grandkids. Whatever they choose, I'll be happy with.

I felt pressure from Boomer parents to have kids, and I didn't want to do the same to my kids. That's a hard nope.

[–] criticon@lemmy.ca 48 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Seems like old = boomers and young = millennials for journalist and a lot of people

[–] thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 18 points 2 months ago

People are having kids later in life, and the youngest millennials are only ~29.

Millennials are predominantly the children of Boomers, so that’s why these two generations are basing singled out.

Gen-X were called the a Baby Bust generation for a reason; there aren’t enough of them around in order to swap population metrics compared to what came directly before and after.

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[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 87 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Told my mom if she wants grandkids she better stop voting for conservatives. Didn't work, and a deal's a deal.

[–] InverseParallax 17 points 2 months ago

I mean, she's a boomer, if she said she had I still wouldn't trust her.

Boomers: "Reality can be anything I want."

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[–] Olgratin_Magmatoe 77 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Maybe next time leave the ladder behind instead of taking it with you.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 31 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

The wealthier Boomers left behind millions of tiny little ladders specifically for their kids to climb.

The poorer Boomers died before hitting retirement age, or died in debt, or bankrupted themselves paying for end-of-life health care, or got scammed or otherwise denuded of their accumulated wealth.

Incidentally, its the wealthier Boomers who continue to set national policy from the board rooms and lobbying offices established by their own parents and grandparents. Meanwhile the poorer and more isolated Boomers are left to drown in their own poverty, ineffectually raging at the collapse of neighborhoods and the destitution of their pension funds and the deterioration of their suburban homes, unless their children and grandchildren are able to help them out at the end of their days.

Folks like to pretend this is one generation pitted against another. But its selection bias. The only members of the Boomer generation you hear from are the ones that came out on top. The rest have been killed in the wars or poisoned by industrial waste and lead pollution or foreclosed into homelessness to die on the streets or confined to digital communities like Facebook where they're drowned out by waves of misinformation accounts. Legions of dead Boomers never got to decide how the current generations live. They were burned up and thrown out, just like the current generation of bourgeois GenXers and Millennials and Zoomers plan to do with the rest of us.

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[–] DarkSpectrum 69 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Maybe they shouldn't horde and partition their wealth from their children and do everything possible to ensure every penny is spent before death.

[–] Fuzzy_Red_Panda@lemm.ee 21 points 2 months ago

You're not wrong, but this is more of a class issue than a generational issue, although in this case they certainly intersect. My boomer parents don't have any money; they got screwed over by the 1% just like the rest of us.

[–] Seraph@fedia.io 66 points 2 months ago

"Oh no it's the consequences of my own actions!"

[–] buzz86us 66 points 2 months ago (7 children)

Make college and homes unobtainable.. You get what you get and you don't get upset.

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[–] Asafum@feddit.nl 57 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I want the lions share of the profits of our economy! I want to pull the ladder up behind me! Why aren't these lazy millennials having kids for me!?

You're entitled millennials!

/Vomit

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[–] owenfromcanada 48 points 2 months ago

Shouldn't 'ave fucked up the economy and environment, simple as

[–] someguy3 46 points 2 months ago

Yeah cuz they're hoarding the houses.

[–] bizzle 39 points 2 months ago

Lmfao thanks for ruining our whole society, boomers. Reap what you've sowed.

[–] HorreC 34 points 2 months ago

How dare someone elses wants effect me!!

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 33 points 2 months ago

Who writes this trash...

Imagine a society ran for benefit of gereatrics and nepo babies at the expense of young working people

Now open your eyes 🤡

[–] jaggedrobotpubes 32 points 2 months ago

Make the world a place that will be liveable in 100 years and pay people enough to exist:

A) without children, and B) with children

and boom, problem solved. Statistically, anyway.

[–] coolkicks 22 points 2 months ago (15 children)

Elder millennial here. I had kids, my brother didn’t, and my kids, though young enough to change their minds, are adamant they won’t have kids.

I think the more interesting stat likely unfolding is the marked decrease of great grandparents in a generation.

To be clear this is not a “threat to society” or whatever, people can decide if they want kids or not. Just a shower thought.

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[–] samus12345 22 points 2 months ago

Guess you shouldn't have been entitled little shits and fucked up the world, then.

[–] Kalysta@lemm.ee 21 points 2 months ago

Aww. Maybe if they didn’t spend their days treating their kids like their bank accounts and actually voted to help them afford things like housing and health care they’d have grandkids.

Instead they supported ghouls like trump and clinton instead of the guy who wanted to give everybody health care!

[–] NutWrench 17 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Way to focus, Wall Street Journal. We can always count on you for in-depth journalism

/s

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[–] BigBenis 15 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

"You should have kids so you'll have someone who will take care of you when you're older."

Bruh, I'm not subjecting a person to this godforsaken world so I can guilt trip them into babysitting me when I'm old and senile.

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[–] v4ld1z@lemmy.zip 14 points 2 months ago
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