First off, Tamara Draut’s publicity agent is doing a heckuva job. The agent managed to get Draut’s new book mentioned in both Slate on Monday and the CSM today. Not too shabby.
Right then, on we go. Her book is called “Strapped: Why America’s 20-and-30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead”, and Daniel Gross over at Slate, thinks that her book (along with one written by Anya Kamenetz) is “annoying” because:
It’s not that the authors misdiagnose ills that affect our society. It’s just that they lack the perspective to add any great insight.
To be fair, Gross spent a lot more time mocking Kamenetz than Draut. But that’s neither here nor there. The CSM article has a few amazing quotes:
“We’re so individualistic,” says Deborah Thorne, a sociologist at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. “We see this as an individual problem, and then we look to the individual for the solution. The fact is, these are national problems, and they require a national solution. But this is just not on the radar of politicians. It’s not an issue with which they concern themselves. But it’s the issue the American family is concerned with.”
Ok Ms. Thorne, why are these national problems, other than because you say so?
Compounding these generational challenges is what Ms. [Dayana] Yochim calls “incessant commercial wooing.” On TV, she says, “it’s all about luxury and excess and consumption,” right down to the fancy lofts and apartments where sitcom characters live.
“That is not how people really live in New York City,” she says. And with commercials filling 20 minutes of every televised hour, she adds, “No wonder we all suffer from ‘the wants.’ ”
Oh, I get it now. TV gave us “Friends” and now all we can think about is living in a sweet loft in Manhattan and trying to bang Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe — at the same time (actually, ok, I plead guilty to the latter (but not the former)).
Please. If you are so weak-willed and mamby-pamby that NBC can control your wants and desires, well perhaps the problem is you. No wait, scratch that. The problem is definitely you. Remember 6th grade when we learned about peer pressure and how you shouldn’t succumb to it? Hm, probably not.
Even an Ivy League education is no guarantee of instant financial stability. Jeffrey McDaniel graduated from Dartmouth and his wife, Meghan, from Smith. But in 2002, as they began paying her graduate school tuition and their wedding bills, they did considerable belt-tightening.
“We ate on $10 to $15 a week,” says Mr. McDaniel, a fundraiser. They lived in a $590-a-month unair-conditioned apartment on a trolley line in West Philadelphia, battling roaches and mice. After Mrs. McDaniel earned her master’s degree and began working full time, they moved to a better area and continued paying off debts.
Unfortunately, the article never tells us McDaniel’s major. Arguably, a degree from Dartmouth in something like American Studies is worth far less than a degree from DeVry Tech in engine repair.
In any case, I’m just ranting because I too am annoyed by the whinyness. So here’s my take on the matter, as a fellow 20-something with $0 debt and decent assets.
First, grow a spine. Go read “The Millionaire Next Door”. You’ll hear that the easiest way to increase your wealth is to live below your means. Falling for peer pressure and keeping up with the Joneses when it’s beyond your means is dumb.
Second, choose a useful major in college. If you really want to study history or sociology or whatever, great. I admire you for chasing your dreams. But don’t come whining to me that you have no money because there are no jobs in your useless major. I slaved away 5 years of my life in college as an engineer — even though I would have much preferred something like English Lit — because I knew the job market in engineering is just a leeetle better than English Lit. You’ve made your bed, so sleep in it.
Maybe everyone should just grow up with Jewish or Chinese parents.
ps, hard to believe that this is my 3rd year of blogging. I’m such a loser.