Do people understand that many of us have lived through high periods of unemployment?

[marymarkle]

There are major issues for young people today with zero hour contracts and high housing costs. But I do get a bit fed up with comments that state that life is much harder for young people now that ever before.

I left school during the Thatcher year. Unemployment was very high and outside London whole communities were decimated by this, I still remember a classmate just before we left coming into school excited because they had secured a job in a factory. Jobs were very hard to get, reaching a peak of 10.8% unemployed in the early 1980's, and that was with them fidding the unemployment figures. And there was no MW, wages were often very very low. Yes house prices were cheaper, but that only benefited those already doing well.

I remember it as a very grim time in our country. While the City was booming and people earned massive bonuses, street homelessness soared, use of illegal drugs soared, as did crime. And many adults in their 50s who lost jobs during this time, never worked again. It was a grim time economically to be young.

Personally I think life is better now. A lot better.

Imagine living in the 70s when sexual harassment was not just acceptable but almost encouraged.

Or homophobia or racism were acceptable.

Medical care is much better.

We have technology and opportunities to travel that most of our parents could only dream of at our age (I am mid 40s now).

The one thing that has changed is finding it more difficult to buy a house. But to be fair, even that wasn't that easy. FIL worked at two jobs and fiddled the mortgage application form to be able to buy a house in the 1950s.

I don't disagree with you, I'm just sick of spending years trying to explain to people why life is such a struggle and the only response I've had is "we had it so much worse"... that simply doesn't help. I suffered years of emotional abuse from my baby boomer grandparents though so I've probably heard the worst of it. Nasty people that wouldn't help me when I was starving (unfortunately I do mean literally).

Advice like yours is fine, I don't mind hearing "every generation has their struggles and it passes but here's something practical you can do to improve your situation." I do mind hearing "You're lazy and entitled, to get a job you just go to a company you want to work at and ask them for a job, applying online isn't how you do it" or "you're setting your expectations too high for a house, when we were young we settled for a hovel".... never mind that even hovels require a deposit. Or when explaining that the council can't be bothered to fix our boiler getting the response of "You're lucky to have a roof over your head". It's just not helpful.

I do realise that it's not the generation that are arseholes, it's them but it does sting a little when I see others repeating similar. I am fortunate now in that I've worked my butt off for years and managed to buy a house with my partner recently. I'm incredibly proud of that but it wasn't easy to pull myself out of poverty and I know full well that hard work contributed to much less of that than luck.

I don't like the divide and conquer mentality that the media seems so determined to impress on both of our generations as I actually think instead of comparing our situations, it would be nice to experience a bit more empathy and practical solutions instead of bitterness over what's improved. Surely we all want the world to keep getting better?

Btw sorry if my earlier point came across as rude, it wasn't directed at you specifically, it was more my complete fed up ness with asking for help from people and getting "You don't know how lucky you've got it... we had it worse etc." - If I could go back and help I would but I can't so please help me.

Anyway... the help never came. I did everything myself and I'm very proud of that, I hope that when I have children/grandchildren I remember that luck made a difference to my life too and I hope I have the patience to listen to their issues without competing over who's got it worse.

Sorry.... bit of a ramble!

My gran spent time in a mental hospital for post natal depression. It was not a good place.
My mother was treated like shit by everyone for being a single mother for a few years. Gingerbread was founded because single mums were treated like total scum and their kids were "bastards".

But people were kinder to the street homeless in the past. There was an old guy who slept rough near my gran and had for years. I suspect mental health problems, he refused any help to get somewhere to live. All the women took it in turns to make sure he had something to eat every day and gave him old blankets.

ShartGoblin There is terrible demonisation of the poor now. Right to buy mortgages have been a disaster for the poor who actually live in these houses. And sanctions should be made illegal.
I want us to all work together to tackle the real issues.

I’m in my 30s and wonder how my children and grandchildren are going to see my generation since the planet is now fucked.

My mother was treated like shit by everyone for being a single mother for a few years. Gingerbread was founded because single mums were treated like total scum and their kids were "bastards".

I know that feeling, I was raised in the 90s by my dad but even then I still remember him being accused of being a pedophile and being questioned about it by my school more than once. People just wouldn't believe that a man could raise a child because he's a decent person and he loved me.

Yes it is. We have been heading there for a long time, and most people have not cared.

I seriously wonder if the fucking of the planet will make the human race extinct in the not too distant future.

I’m in my 30s and wonder how my children and grandchildren are going to see my generation since the planet is now fucked

Well if that’s stance, your children will probably have a profoundly negative view!

I very much hope my children see our generation as one that experienced seismic shifts (as previous generations have done so) and struggled no doubt about that but also made huge trwmdemsoi advances in health advancements; science and wonderful books published, plays written, films made

Sorry to hear that shartgoblin I was young in the 60s, teenager in the 70s, and back then I didn't know any father who looked after their kids alone, even if their wife died. They either had a housekeeper, quickly remarried, or female relatives took care of them. I was working with kids in the 80s and 90s and did know some single fathers and their kids then. I never heard anyone saying anything like that, so sorry you experienced it.

And yes as a kid I knew I was a "bastard". I suspect most young adults don't even know what that means now., except as a general insult.

I was born in 1960, was married in '81when we bought our 1st flat, the mortgage rate at that time went from around 8.5% to 15% in the blink of an eye, but I always felt things would get better for me. I'm not in the 60k bracket I'm earning slightly more than 20k but at least I now own my home. Today's young people don't have nearly the same prospects. Most won't get the chance to own their property because the banks made a complete mess of providing mortgages and now want young people to put 10% of a deposit down before considering a mortgage. We just needed to be with a bank for a year and prove we had a decent wage coming in and were given 3 x husbands (normally) and 2x wifes salary for a mortgage. Which at the time was reasonable. The union's have been decimated because of the Thatcher years and her policies, and have never been the same since. Now we live in an age were the NHS is being threatened by Trump, we have 0 hr contracts, pension age is higher and employment is being threatened by new technologies. I dread to think what life holds for my children in their 60s. I believe we need to look again to the unions,if we never had them life for the working class would be so much harder, no health & safety, sickness provision, holiday pay etc but because these things are in place no-one sees the need to pay union dues anymore and employers don't want them so make it difficult for employees to join. Sorry haven't rtft so all this may have already been covered.

I don't think young people have it hard at all. They are much more upwardly mobile than even my generation (late 40's) who not only had less jobs and opportunities but also had the barriers of class, skin colour, religion and other things to overcome. Not saying it doesn't exist now but back then I had people telling me to my face in London that I had the wrong accent and was the wrong class.

Young people these days also get loads more help off parents than we did. My 2DC want for nothing as do most of their friends.

I am really not interested in comparisons.
Then what exactly ARE you interested in? Your whole post is comparing and moaning that you had it worse. You personally might have but by every independent study, this generation as a whole has it tougher economically whatever you want to believe.