I’m willing to be that millions of words have been written about how anyone born after WWII has had an “entitlement chip” hardwired into their brains.
The difference between, say, the Depression era folks and those who came later is that “I DESERVE this” mentality – dont you think?
It has only gotten worse in the last 10-15 years IMO.
I worked with a woman about 10 years ago. Her husband had lost his job running a car dealership. So, they immediatley lost their “dealer” cars and had to get new ones. Tina wasnt making much money, the husband was unemployed and they had two daughters who wouldnt even look at clothes unless they were designer duds.
They refused to tell the teenage girls that daddy wasnt working. Instead, they applied for about 20 credit cards and lived off Mr. MasterCard and Mrs. Visa. They used cash advances to pay the mortgage, leased new cars, etc. They even switched to Merry Maids (from the normal housekeeper) so they could pay with plastic.
Worse yet, Xmas was around the corner and they didnt want to “disappoint” the girls. Tina and her idiot husband wanted to make sure they all had a “good xmas” so they went out and rammed some cards up to the limit so the girls could have everything on their “wish lists.”
I dont have kids, so maybe I dont “get” this mentality. But I remember telling Tina, “wow…dont you think it would be better to let the girls in on the situation – which is just a reality of life – so they might pitch in more around the house and understand that life isnt always perfect?” The girls were horribly, horribly spoiled.
Tina said, “I dont want them to know what struggle is – I had to struggle for years and I wont put my girls through that.” WTF?
So, guess what? Tina and Tom eventually had to file for bankruptcy. One of the girls got pregnant and the other (last I heard) was headed to rehab for the second time.
I guess my point is that entire generations HAVE become accustomed to immediate gratification and having all that they want – regardless of how much it actually costs. Like it’s a birthright.
I think something drastic will have to happen to kind of bring everyone back down to earth when it comes to money.
