5 ms·

45% of Gen Z and millennials don’t see the point of saving for the future

17 points by harambae 5y ago

ggm 5y ago
This is really unhelpful for everyone but especially themselves. At some level, its arguable enforced savings (we have this, anyone in employment in australia has to contribute to retirement savings now on a defined minimum schedule) is needed. The savings do disadvantage some people, its not a panacea. But it solves the primary problem for most people: Shit, i wish I'd started saving sooner.
whatpaysawayrns 5y ago
I think this is a common feeling among adolescents and young adults across generations. My grandparents spent their childhood with bombs falling around them. My parents spent their childhood doing duck-and-cover drills in school. Betting on future disaster is a losing proposition, though. You could be right or wrong, and you'll lose either way.
- jfengel 5y ago
  Duck and cover drills were silly, and your grandparents knew that. They made jokes at the time about their nuclear-proof desks. It was always propaganda to make a nuclear war seem survivable, and fortunately they never had to find out. Kids Today(tm) do active shooter drills. And those aren't useless. The news is full of kids who actually have to implement them for real. Most of them don't die, but it does mean that they have to live with the consequences of knowing that it's a genuine possibility.
prostoalex 5y ago
On the other hand, 55% do. But with savings accounts yielding sub-1%, I understand the hesitation.
hindsightbias 5y ago
As long as they’re paying their SS tax, we’re good.
- ecf 5y ago
  Social Security they will never see a dime of.
zw123456 5y ago
Very famous study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experimen... Delayed gratification is hard, believe me, had my Dad not literally screamed at me to sign up for the 401K when I was 24 and entering the workplace, too many years ago to admit... Well, I am glad I had a Dad that screamed at me. It always seems like a bad time to invest. But, if past is prescient, it is always a good time to invest.
treadmillrunner 5y ago
[dead]
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
djbebs 5y ago
And then they complain that they are poor, that they can't buy a house, that the evil rich people TM are are keeping them down. Ultimately it's all about personal responsibility, and the incentives being create to make the lack of said responsibility the "right" choice. Eliminate all forms of welfare and let people starve to death on the streets, and after a few years where they go hungry they will start to consider the idea that perhaps they should begin saving something
- Jcowell 5y ago
  > Eliminate all forms of welfare and let people starve to death on the streets, and after a few years where they go hungry they will start to consider the idea that perhaps they should begin saving something Hoping I’m not breaking any rules by this. I know often the Hacker News Demographic can be very different compared to the general population. Especially the population that lives paycheck to paycheck without any means of the ability to save. So I want to be very clear here: This is insane, Literally (in every essence of that word’s non-figurative meaning). Inhumane does not even begin to describe what this is.
  - djbebs 5y ago
    > > Eliminate all forms of welfare and let people starve to death on the streets, and after a few years where they go hungry they will start to consider the idea that perhaps they should begin saving something > Hoping I’m not breaking any rules by this. I know often the Hacker News Demographic can be very different compared to the general population. Especially the population that lives paycheck to paycheck without any means of the ability to save. So I want to be very clear here: > This is insane, Literally (in every essence of that word’s non-figurative meaning). Inhumane does not even begin to describe what this is. What's insane is the false belief that people cannot take care of themselves. This has never been the case in human history, and it is not the case now. People live up to the expectations that are set for them, if you expect them to be children that will never take care of themselves, then that learned helplessness is what they will live up to. If you expect people to take care of themselves, and you don't get in their way when they do so, then they will take care of themselves.

17 points by harambae 5y ago

ggm 5y ago

This is really unhelpful for everyone but especially themselves. At some level, its arguable enforced savings (we have this, anyone in employment in australia has to contribute to retirement savings now on a defined minimum schedule) is needed. The savings do disadvantage some people, its not a panacea. But it solves the primary problem for most people: Shit, i wish I'd started saving sooner.

whatpaysawayrns 5y ago

I think this is a common feeling among adolescents and young adults across generations. My grandparents spent their childhood with bombs falling around them. My parents spent their childhood doing duck-and-cover drills in school. Betting on future disaster is a losing proposition, though. You could be right or wrong, and you'll lose either way.

jfengel 5y ago
Duck and cover drills were silly, and your grandparents knew that. They made jokes at the time about their nuclear-proof desks. It was always propaganda to make a nuclear war seem survivable, and fortunately they never had to find out. Kids Today(tm) do active shooter drills. And those aren't useless. The news is full of kids who actually have to implement them for real. Most of them don't die, but it does mean that they have to live with the consequences of knowing that it's a genuine possibility.

prostoalex 5y ago

On the other hand, 55% do. But with savings accounts yielding sub-1%, I understand the hesitation.

hindsightbias 5y ago

As long as they’re paying their SS tax, we’re good.

ecf 5y ago
Social Security they will never see a dime of.

zw123456 5y ago

Very famous study https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experimen... Delayed gratification is hard, believe me, had my Dad not literally screamed at me to sign up for the 401K when I was 24 and entering the workplace, too many years ago to admit... Well, I am glad I had a Dad that screamed at me. It always seems like a bad time to invest. But, if past is prescient, it is always a good time to invest.

treadmillrunner 5y ago

[dead]

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

djbebs 5y ago

And then they complain that they are poor, that they can't buy a house, that the evil rich people TM are are keeping them down. Ultimately it's all about personal responsibility, and the incentives being create to make the lack of said responsibility the "right" choice. Eliminate all forms of welfare and let people starve to death on the streets, and after a few years where they go hungry they will start to consider the idea that perhaps they should begin saving something

Jcowell 5y ago
> Eliminate all forms of welfare and let people starve to death on the streets, and after a few years where they go hungry they will start to consider the idea that perhaps they should begin saving something Hoping I’m not breaking any rules by this. I know often the Hacker News Demographic can be very different compared to the general population. Especially the population that lives paycheck to paycheck without any means of the ability to save. So I want to be very clear here: This is insane, Literally (in every essence of that word’s non-figurative meaning). Inhumane does not even begin to describe what this is.
- djbebs 5y ago
  > > Eliminate all forms of welfare and let people starve to death on the streets, and after a few years where they go hungry they will start to consider the idea that perhaps they should begin saving something > Hoping I’m not breaking any rules by this. I know often the Hacker News Demographic can be very different compared to the general population. Especially the population that lives paycheck to paycheck without any means of the ability to save. So I want to be very clear here: > This is insane, Literally (in every essence of that word’s non-figurative meaning). Inhumane does not even begin to describe what this is. What's insane is the false belief that people cannot take care of themselves. This has never been the case in human history, and it is not the case now. People live up to the expectations that are set for them, if you expect them to be children that will never take care of themselves, then that learned helplessness is what they will live up to. If you expect people to take care of themselves, and you don't get in their way when they do so, then they will take care of themselves.