Earlier this week, The New York Times published an op-ed that detailed why the writer wants to be a millennial when he retires. And my response was, “Are you crazy?”
The author, Jim Sollisch, used his son Max as an example of the ideal 20-something life: a 25-year-old singer/songwriter who “gets up when he likes and does what he loves.” If Max, known in the music world as Dolfish, doesn’t make enough money touring or selling albums, he simply gets a job as a substitute teacher for a few months.
Sollisch explained that he and his pre-retirement friends are looking forward to going to back to that kind of relatively carefree lifestyle. And if all 20-somethings lived like Max, I’m sure there are very few of us who would say we don’t want to retire into that type of lifestyle someday.
But Max’s idyllic life isn’t the reality most millennials are facing.
After reading the article, I immediately wondered if Max had gone to college. Research revealed that he had graduated from Ohio State University. Max confirmed to Red Alert Politics that he pays $150 toward his student loans every month. Being that Max’s career is at least moderately successful — a girl in Indiana has Dolfish tattooed on her arm — he can afford to make his monthly payment. Yet while Max can pay his bills by doing what he loves, countless other millennials are working several (likely terrible) part-time jobs to make ends meet — or don’t have jobs at all.
In September, unemployment among young Americans was 11.2 percent, according to youth-oriented organization Generation Opportunity. The effective unemployment rate, which calculates for those who have given up trying to find a job, was at 15.9 percent. Over the summer, the total federal student loan debt in the U.S. topped $1 trillion. And according to a report released in October, young people might retire a full decade later, on average, than their parents — thanks to student debt.
Personally, I’m one of the lucky ones. I have a job and a place to live in Washington, D.C. I can afford to pay extra on my student loans every month, in addition to putting some money in a savings account. Even still, I wouldn’t say I’m living the type of life Max enjoys. I don’t get to wake up whenever I want, and I do participate in the “daily grind” as Sollisch calls it.
Being a millennial doesn’t automatically mean I’m living life like a retiree. Being a 20-something is a challenge, no matter if one is employed or still living in the basement of mom and dad’s house.
I wish Max all the best with his musical career, and admire him for living a life he loves. But for Sollisch to say he wants to be a millennial when he retires shows that he’s out of touch with the large number of young people who are struggling to even find a job — much less retire from that job someday.
