‘It Ruined Everything’: Buy Now, Pay Later Drives Gen Z into Debt(bloomberg.com)
bloomberg.com
‘It Ruined Everything’: Buy Now, Pay Later Drives Gen Z into Debt
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-28/buy-now-pay-later-loans-drive-gen-z-into-debt-hurting-credit-scores
3 comments
> it does seem easy to be surrounded by "everybody seems to have everything" imagery
> But if you can't afford something, you can't afford it.
Man this just strikes so hard at the heart of why America is broken. I think it gets seeded in elementary school and is enflamed by high school. Parents leave their kids in front of TVs so that the parents can get some prolonged free time, the TV which corrupts the kid into a tiny consumer, and by high school haven’t-ism is associated with failure. Everybody wants the advertised trappings and distractions of success with none of the education, experience, and journey. The irony is that the real value that the “successful” have is stoicism, optimism, and work ethic. The only time I ever found any of those lessons on TV as a kid was fucking Veggie Tales.
> But if you can't afford something, you can't afford it.
Man this just strikes so hard at the heart of why America is broken. I think it gets seeded in elementary school and is enflamed by high school. Parents leave their kids in front of TVs so that the parents can get some prolonged free time, the TV which corrupts the kid into a tiny consumer, and by high school haven’t-ism is associated with failure. Everybody wants the advertised trappings and distractions of success with none of the education, experience, and journey. The irony is that the real value that the “successful” have is stoicism, optimism, and work ethic. The only time I ever found any of those lessons on TV as a kid was fucking Veggie Tales.
Bloomberg wants to blame Gen Z, but at least where I'm standing the minimum wage hasn't changed since the last time I got this high on a Saturday.
You'd be surprised how many people absolutely lose their pearl clutching minds if someone makes a show of offering to set you up with one of those Good Will Hunting style interviews at yet another Cyberdyne lookin' FFRDC, and instead you go to down city council for the first time in your life and make a show of clapping very loudly every time someone makes a good point.
I think maybe Gen Z should take advantage of this... "stacked" supreme court and see if we can use religion for something other than oppressing the folks who didn't want to date us in high school (and continue to not give a damn if you... live) and make some Novel legal arguments like "voting in a fascist then charging me this much interest is usury, I didn't choose to be born."
(But hey, I'm just a stupid millenial who doesn't even have a PhD.)
You'd be surprised how many people absolutely lose their pearl clutching minds if someone makes a show of offering to set you up with one of those Good Will Hunting style interviews at yet another Cyberdyne lookin' FFRDC, and instead you go to down city council for the first time in your life and make a show of clapping very loudly every time someone makes a good point.
I think maybe Gen Z should take advantage of this... "stacked" supreme court and see if we can use religion for something other than oppressing the folks who didn't want to date us in high school (and continue to not give a damn if you... live) and make some Novel legal arguments like "voting in a fascist then charging me this much interest is usury, I didn't choose to be born."
(But hey, I'm just a stupid millenial who doesn't even have a PhD.)
I don't have any idea what you're talking about, but I nevertheless found this very entertaining.
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There's something amiss in the way the subjects of the story use arithmetic and time. I sort of doubt people are more credulous or innocent now vs past times. Wish we had insight as to what the popular perception of affluence was in generations past, because it does seem easy to be surrounded by "everybody seems to have everything" imagery in the current world. But if you can't afford something, you can't afford it. Borrowing makes it sorta worse, because creditors can screw you in ways that lacking some items won't.