It’s Not Money
Sometimes I get carried away on this blog. I fall into the trap of living in a narrowly defined world. I read lots of personal finance blogs and the Wall Street Journal. I think about money too much and other topics not enough. I sometimes fail to step away from things I’m comfortable with and look past alternative views and new areas of interest. Of this I am guilty.
All the information about writing blogs tells you to stay on topic and write great content. If you do that, people will read what you write.
Stay on topic.
The problem with that is you begin to focus too much on your topic. You think too much about personal finance, or politics, or cats, or your kids - whatever it is you write about.
So I read personal finance blogs too much and other topics not enough. And sometimes I come upon a post in a PF blog that really gets to me. And when I say “gets to me,” I mean “drives me nuts.” Today I read such a post. It was a post on All Financial Matters written by a semi-regular contributor who has her own PF blog. Almost invariably when I read something by this author, I disagree. Sometimes I disagree vehemently. This was such a time.
When writing elicits a strong emotional response, it is the definition of good writing. I have to concede her that - she gets an emotional response from me most all the time. Good for her.
The subject of this person’s post is how many people her age are “dumber” (her word, not mine) than previous generations. Her proximate concern is financial, but she extrapolates how these “uneducated” and “ignorant masses” (again, her words not mine) signal the end of American greatness.
This, in a single word, is crap.
Maybe, just maybe, “every single one of [her] friends and peers” that are so ignorant of how to calculate compound interest place a higher priority on things other than getting rich. Maybe, instead of teaching their kids the beauty of the all-important dollar, these people are more focused on teaching their kids to be good people. Maybe, just maybe, these poor, stupid fools not maxing out their Roth IRAs are living presently.
In this blog, and in my conversations with friends and family, I have been guilty of being preachy. There’s a fine line between educating and being a jerk and I’ve crossed it numerous times. I apologize. If you read the comments on the AFM post, Jeremy of Gen X Finance seems to get it right better than me. He didn’t cross that line when he spoke to someone he came in contact with on the subject.
So here’s the news.
America’s kids aren’t all going to turn out to be indulged dullards. The US economy won’t turn into a flaming wreck. Gold isn’t going to $10,000 per troy ounce. Old people aren’t all geniuses who are brilliant with their money. Lots of kids know how to read and can do advanced math, and some of them are even American kids. And video games, iPods, and cell phones won’t bring down the Republic.
It’s not “The End of the World as We Know It.” Get a grip.
May 30th, 2008 at 2:02 am
May 30th, 2008 at 7:41 am
I thin that some lessons are only learned from our own mistakes. If there is a new generation who do not know much about money management, I am sure that they will rectify their mistakes before the world ends due to increasing debt!
May 30th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Great post.
I just subscribed.
This is coming from someone who’s peers may be grouped in the “Ignorant Masses” by her definition.
I just turned 20 and I resent that entire article.
Thanks for ranting for us, I could add another three pages to your post, addressing and debating each of her own ignorant statements. But I will refrain.
….Thanks. (Wow, that almost sounded Halmark ‘ish’ )
May 31st, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Well said.
I’m also concerned about the younger generation’s lack of ambition and financial accountability. I especially, worry about my teenage kids.
But, people were also concerned about us ’80s new-wavers, the ’70s surf rats and the ’60s hippies that preceeded us.
We eventually grew up and did pretty well.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:48 am
The Millenia generation is living in a far more complicated environment than previous generations. They’ve got alot more toys and technology, and credit and debt than previous generations.
I cringe when I think of all of the things they have to learn. Computers, credit contracts (from every vendor), video games, the internet etc.
I didn’t have to know these things when I was 20 years old.
Everybody wanted more toys and an easier lifestyle with all of the luxuries. These are brought with a whole new learning curve. The new generation just hasn’t had time to learn all of it.
In that sense the new generation is not as smart as the older generation. As my kids grow up, hopefully they’ll be smarter and more educated than the people who first had to grow up with all of this new technology and complexity.
June 1st, 2008 at 8:51 am
I agree that the intelligence of an entire age group is unlikely to be much different than any other. And the generalizations about age groups I also find to be mainly useless (provides no actual valuable information - either not true or the truth is so limited as to provide little value). I do think many in the USA today seem to think that it is there right to be rich. This can lead to behavior that is detrimental in the long term - since they are entitled no need to work hard, since they are entitled no need to worry about spending more than they have…
I don’t think this is very defined by age (though to some extent I feel this has grown over the decades). Those that lived through the depression, World War II, without air conditioning, without central heating… are not as likely to think that they just have a natural right to be rich.
I would guess a majority of people that read this blog are in the top 2% of earnings in the world. Many might not think they expect to live with more economic wealth than 98% of the world but…
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:24 am
@ T.O.P.I.O.M. - You’re correct. The most useful knowledge is usually gained through experience.
@ Cameron - Thanks for the encouragement. Much appreciated.
@ Bret - My sentiment exactly.
@ Curious Cat - There is certainly evidence to support what you say about Americans. But that’s also tempered by some pretty great traits, I think.
June 8th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
June 10th, 2008 at 4:49 am
I think American kids are far better handling money that maybe we older people are.
The ‘The End of the World as We Know’ comment is really silly.
June 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I agree with you. Not everyone is obsessed in getting rich, and America wasn’t great because everyone was rich.
Nowadays people (specially the youth) has more distractions than ever before (Internet, Computers, Video Games, MP3, MP4, Cellular Phones, etc.), life is not what it used to be, now people relax more and try to have fun and enjoy life. In the old times, life was work.
Is this better? worse? I don’t know, but this is our time.