And where do you think credit cards came from?? Hmmmm……

I also have a University Degree, plus two certificate trade programs. Any advice for me? I’ve been struggling to get a toe-hold into a position for 5 years. I don’t over-spend. Haven’t been on a vacation for 7 years. Thank you for your opinions. Just remember that we all have one. And, we all come from our unique perspective which we hold dear. So let’s be easy on the finger-waving and stereo-typing. And, come on folks, let’s support our own!!

I think the problem here is differences. Baby Boomers and Generation Xers could not be more different.
Baby Boomers value experience and money. Gen Xers value education and time. No one way is ‘right’.
I would say we each have something to learn from each other. But from my vantage point (as a Gen Xer) I see that we do have a difficult road ahead. We’ve had three recessions in our lifetime. We are the most educated generation in history. And, most of us aren’t working at decent jobs. The simple fact is that 1/3 of Canadians are Boomers. And I hate to “whine”, but we are the minority, we are the under-dogs, and we are at the bottom of the barrel until the Boomers retire. BYE BYE!!!

Having said all that, I do feel sorry for the younger generations because they simply have been told by multiple sources that they are special and unique and that they deserve everything because they exist – their parents, their schools, and their politicans have told them this – its not true, but that never stopped anyone before. Yes living in your mom’s basement is sad, but if you are 25 you can work 2 or 3 jobs to pay off your debts and save money – but whining is not going to change things, particularly if you choose to spend all your money on games for your Playstation. And parents you need to kick your 25 year old out of the house – he may have to share accommodation with some others and set some priorities, but in the end it is the basic lessons that were not learned previously.

This is the real world. Not some fantasy land. Nothing is guaranteed, well almost nothing. Nobody is going to walk up and just give you handouts. What we have here is not a failure of a generation, but rather a failure of two individuals who failed to plan, and then chose to wallow in their own self pity. It should be made clear that these two do not speak for the majority of workers at Cami or elsewhere who have found themselves in this position.

Joe says everyone he knows is in the same position. That’s interesting company he keeps. Most of the people I know have decent jobs and make a decent living, and have worked hard to get where they are. Like myself, these people constantly seek to improve themselves and their positions. Something Joe has apparently decided is not important.

Canadian fatuousness about immigration is reaping its rewards.

I’ve heard of flash bulbs, bud never a flash bud. Maybe it’s a flower that blooms rapidly. Thanks for thinking of us and sending us flowers. If you wanted to use “bud” to refer to GX’er, you should have put a comma after flash.

By the way, CMHC started in 1946. Boomer-age home buyers didn’t have to work for a 20% down payment in this country. (Down payment is two words, by the way.) It was the parents of the boomers who had to save twenty percent.

Being a technically literate Gen-X’er, I was able to Google the above fact. But I’d better stop posting and get back to my full-time job so that I’m done on time to get to one of my two part-time jobs. Txt u l8tr.

Us younger workers are victims of demography, and it is sad, cause they always tell us to get involved, go out and vote, create your own job opportunities but its like running up a muddy hill. And it’s going to get a lot muddier with bailouts to keep a failing system and retirement portfolios alive that we, the younger workers, will pay for.

Give me a break. All the Gen X’ers I know work very hard too.

I have no debt and no sense of entitlement. I have my parents’ work ethic. Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean the same as it used to.

P.S. I am debt free and make what I consider a decent wage but I have gotten there through hard work (though not as hard as my parents and company), common sense spending, and avoiding keeping up with the jones’s. Try it.

Please note that Canada’s private industry is the fuel of Canada – not the government (they just regulate it); so for those that want to contribute to Canada’s economy and innovation it’s difficult to do so without “experience”. Unfortunately, the private industry wants us to have university education, work experience (b/c they don’t want to spend money on training you…they simply want you to produce…) in order for them to employ us.

Your point is meaningless to the VAST majority of hard working YOUNG Canadians!

I wonder if the guy that designed the iPhone got his needed experience from working for Parliament of Canada? Probably not…..

I’ve made my career mostly in Britain and it was the best choice I’ve ever made. opportunities existed here that were unthinkable in Canada, which was crippled maybe forever by Trudeau. Britain’s in deep doodoo now thanks to New Labour replaying almost all of Trudeau’s playbook in 12 years of pissing away the previous generation’s hard work, so the next generation won’t be able to do it again.
The interesting thing in britain is how little schooling you need to get ahead.. i had my BA and just hit the ground running. None of this going back to school again and again getting useless degrees, which seems to be a particularly Canadian affliction and was interesting to read about in this article. Bay Street people are massively overqualified.. people getting CFAs and MBAs to work in the back office at Scotia or a mediocre mutual fund company.. LOL.