The song “What’s the Matter with Kids Today” from the 1963 hit movie “Bye Bye Birdie” with Ann Margaret and Dick Van Dyke inspired this column today because, over the years, I occasionally asked myself this question.
I am sure people over 50 sure wondered about what some of us baby boomers were doing and thinking from 1968 to 1978 at Woodstock and the Haight Ashbury. I think it’s a good thing kids today seem to be getting married and settling down in a career after the age of 30 more often than we did in the old days but yikes, is it just me, or are you surprised so many job openings cannot be filled today?
Is it just me or does it appear a lot of young people have a sense of entitlement?
I see a lot of awesome first-time homebuyers in their 20s and one thing they all have in common is they work hard at their career and are focused on financial security. I also see a lot of young people who loved the weekly checks from the Fed during the pandemic and many of these are employees who do the bare minimum for their employer when they do work and make just enough to get by.
Many men take paternity leave very seriously and help their spouse and truly bond with their child, but I would bet 50 bucks that 50% consider it a vacation, do almost no housework, rarely change a diaper and play golf and video games daily during the eight to 12 weeks.
My operations manager is now in her mid-40s and has had two babies in the past seven years. She worked up till the day before delivery on both and I couldn’t convince her to stay home on maternity leave for more than 30 days on each kid because she is ambitious and is focused on her financial security and her career. I have no issue or problem with people who take time off work for vacation and family but one thing for sure all kids today better figure out soon is there is no free lunch in America and almost every middle- and upper-middle-class person who is older than 65 and financially secure for life had to work their rear-ends off for 35 to 45 years to get there.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
