It is an old story, that the ‘new generation’ is not understood by their elders. But the disconnect between our leaders and the youth of today is even more extreme. This is summed up well by Paul Ryan’s speech at the GOP National Convention, in which he decried college graduates who don’t “get going in life,” as you can see here:

The pro-Romney SuperPAC, Crossroads Generation, then took Ryan’s video footage and turned his line into an attack ad:

This clearly demonstrates that they have absolutely no clue about what it now requires to “get going in life.” They are holding today’s college graduates up to a measuring stick from the more upwardly mobile 1960’s, while applying a libertarian ideology in which the individual is supreme, selfishness is a virtue, that all are in it for themselves. The Libertarian movement gathered steam during in the 1960’s-80’s, and appealed to young people who wanted it all, and wanted it all now, and would do whatever it takes to get it. Now these people are in positions of leadership, and their infantile Libertarian philosophy is their policy platform.

There have always been people in the world who felt this way, of course. But with the Baby Boomers, libertarians found a new and eager audience for their ideas. Some boomers felt frustrated at being so large, but so powerless, so they were fed the dysfunctional concepts from writers such as Ayn Rand, and it took root. But, due to the sheer size of the Boomer generation, the ideal of self-sufficiency loomed larger than it had since the era of the Know-Nothings and Anti-Masons. Those who feel like this are unable to believe that people can believe something else, so their own measuring stick is in turn applied to everyone else.





The following generation, called Generation X, found itself a lost generation, prevented from upward mobility by a Baby Boomer cohort which kept the reins of control for longer than any previous generation, and with their security for the future compromised by short-sighted ideologies. Instead of pensions, they found themselves with 401k’s. Instead of lifetime employment to retirement they found themselves with short-term contracts and ‘right-to-work’ methodologies, always one financial sheet or performance report away from being let go. They were punch lines to their elders’ jokes. Generation X now has almost no retirement options, is under-insured, and is functionally starting from scratch in their 30’s and 40’s.

And now those elders speak about the Millenials, the follow-up to Generation X, and expected this new generation to take their place, moving into high-cost apartments without hope for future security, working corporate jobs where layoffs are a sword of Damocles hanging over their head. They call this new generation lazy, or unmotivated, decry that instead of moving out on their own, they chose to stay at home for longer. They belittle them for not believing that you either are special, or you are not. You will hear the elder generation speaking of “everyone getting a trophy” or how younger people are “not tough enough, were never disciplined.”

These elders are mistaken, the Millennials are not Generation X, conforming into the molds given. They have seen the corporate suit for what it is, a prison, and have as a whole rejected it. They feel no stigma in being closer to their families, they embrace it. They do not go out to find any job just to get going, they saw how Generation X did that and wound up losing everything as the economies tanked. And they simply say, no. That is not what they want.

Within 15 years, this generation will make up 75% of the workforce. They will dominate and replace everything. There is nothing which can stop them, as the Boomers simply age themselves out of the job market. The “Trophy Generation,” or “Boomerang Generation” is refusing to adapt to the workplace. Instead, they are forcing the workplace to adapt to them.

Right now, the average US worker works hundreds of hours more per year than other nations, all while the standard of living keeps dropping. Wages are stagnant, unable to keep up with the increasing inflation. Costs of living continue to climb, with more and more households becoming multi-family or split-family.

Millenials grew up with parents missing recitals for being too busy with work. They grew up with more control to make choices. They grew up with a world so interconnected that they played and communicated with people from around the world on a daily basis via the Internet. Their concept of value is so radically different from the Objectivist concept of self-worth that they cannot even fathom it.

Instead, the Millenials are demanding flexible schedules, telecommuting offices, and even a focus on results instead of hours. And if they do not get what they want, they walk away from the negotiations. Because they chose not to leave the nest before they are ready, they do not have the fear of the rent check and food hanging over them. This in turn is making them pickier.

And employers are taking notice.

The economy is hiding the fact that employers are not getting their way as often as they’d like. With four jobless applicants for every open position, companies can pick and choose. But they are choosing older and older workers, which is creating for them a long-term problem as these workers will not be available in another 10-20 years. And they know this.

But the Republican candidates clearly do not. To Paul Ryan, through his Ayn Rand tinted glasses, the new generation needs to be in the workplace slaving away for their corporate overlords for just enough money to pay for scraps of food and a run down apartment. They should be grateful for the scraps that fall from the table of the élite. And their lack of gratitude is a moral failing in Ryan’s world view.

The disconnect between the Republican party and the next generation is coming to a head. As the rulers age and die off, the GOP is doomed only to extinction if they do not change their ways.