Thread by @marciclark

THREAD: 1/
On Facebook I've seen people posting a story with the title:

College Student: My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us

Alternate Title direct from her website is 'Thoughts from a hipster coffee shop'.

2/
At the beginning of each post it states:
This article was written by a college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. It's a short article but definitely worth a read. I would love to see this go viral!!

3/
I did a little research and I have some commentary on her article about how prosperous America is with capitalism.

First Alyssa Ahlgren is a real person. She is a millennial from Northern Wisconsin and does have a Bachelor's in Business Admin.

4/ She has written for The Daily Caller and Alpha News. She has been on Tucker Carlson's show talking about "Socialism on the Rise". According to her website, she's been featured on Limbaugh, the Western Journal and Family Research Council. This "viral" article is on her website.

5/ Her website states she is available for public speaking and that she wants to further conservative principles. In fairness, I'll share mine. I'm a 52yoWW from Pittsburgh living in Idaho. I have a master's & work FT in natl sales. No agenda or affiliations. Opinions are my own.

6/
Her article begins with "I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis..." According to Wikipedia and City Data, Nokomis is a small lake community within Minneapolis. Majority are white, born in MN, married with a median age of 38 and income $82K. The US median income $62K.

7/ The article continues..."I see people talking freely, working on their Macbook's, ordering food....We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it. Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose."

8/
First I'll start with the obvious. If you're sitting in a fairly affluent lake community then America does seem prosperous. Next, her statement about vehicles and technology. In America unlike Europe most cities small and large lack good mass transit. A car is a necessity.

9/
Technology is also a necessity for lots of reasons. I've listed a few below:
1) Tech is our top growth industry.
2) Almost all jobs require online applications and cellphones.
3) Most parts of life require access to the internet i.e. work, healthcare, bill pay.

10/ Her article continues on how the USA has "lifted more out of abject poverty...created more innovation in tech and medicine....has the strongest purchasing power on earth...." These are true but she is missing one important factor that she as a millennial should know: DEBT.

11/
Let's talk about individual debt. The avg millennial student loan in 2018 was $42K. That incl community college thru private schools. Some kids have $100K+ in debt.

$50k in loans at 6% over 10yrs is $555/mo & total $66K with interest. Take 15yrs and its $75K, 20yrs $85K.

12/ Those Macbooks and cellphones are most likely financed. Avg for a decent laptop any brand is $1000. Electronic financing avg is 25-30% Low end the total cost is $1839. High end total cost is $2262.

If you have good credit you may get 6-12mos free before interest accrues.

13/ Now I'll talk about my own work experience in comparison to my parents who are in their mid 80s. My Dad was a steelworker & lucky to keep his job in the 80s after steel production went to China. At the end he worked 7days/wk & had 6wks vaca. Most importantly he had a PENSION.

14/
My mom worked later when I was a teenager. Her money went for vacation. When my dad was 49 he could afford to take me, my aunt and mom for 1mo on a driving vacation from PA thru the Western US. Today I can take 2wks at a time but still need to check email periodically.

15/ When he retired at 62yo, he received health benefits until Medicare kicked in and a full pension. He did not have to pay into this pension or healthcare. In comparison, I put away 20% of my pay in a 401K and pay another $150 for individual insurance in am emp plan.

16/ The starkest contrast is that retirees today are at the mercy of Wall street. If they want to retire and it crashes like 2008 then they might have to work longer to make up the difference. Or they may need to work into their late 60s or 70s.

17/ People from my parents era had more purchasing power & disposable income compared to families today. The biggest factor that I have seen since 1988 to now is that wages have not kept up with inflation. Let's look at the average costs of living below.

18/ Start with avg US salary $62K.
Pre-tax deductions of $650 for healthcare and 401K.

Take home pay would be $3579/mo.
Medians below:
Rent/mortgage = $1043
Used car pmt = $381 (*new $500)
Utilities = $175
Internet, phone = $150
Groceries (2 ppl) = $350
1 Student loan = $393

19/ This doesn't include any other expenses like daycare, out of pocket deductibles, loans or auto.

One caveat: Most who make $62K or more usually live in a higher cost area. For example in N Idaho avg salary is $29K yet the average cost of living expenses are the US median.

20/ The overriding theme of this girl's article is that capitalism is good and socialism is bad. But, what I've seen in the past 31yrs of work is unfettered, unregulated capitalism. That kind of capitalism doesn't work for all communities but it does work for the top 400 families

21/ Most of us wanting change want govt policies that stop corporate raiding, empower employees and social programs that enforce affordable housing, healthcare and education laws. These are not some evil socialist ideas. They are making govt work for the common good.

22/ I certainly can present all the solutions in a set of tweets. But, a few ideas.
1) Be careful blindly sharing stories
2) Let's view govt as it should. It is meant to represent the citizens.
3) Make it work for us. Two places we can make it work, healthcare and educ costs.

Above should read "can't present". #CommonGood

This meme captures it perfectly. Not sure who to give credit.

@threadreaderapp please unroll