Question to Millennials: Why Are You Not Mad as Hell Yet?

Millennials, why are you not angry about ...

1. Having to pay Social Security when it won't be there for you.
2. Paying exorbitant taxes for public pension handouts and boomer retirements at age 50 for which you receive negative benefits.
3. Obamacare for which you overpay to support the obese and the nicotine addicts.
4. Enormous student debt burdens for which you received little benefit.

I ask this in response to an email I received from Rich Renza who writes ...

Hello Mish

I'd like to introduce myself as a school teacher and an avid reader of your blog since 2006. I have never left a comment, but I have been reading Global Economic Analysis on a daily basis since I stumbled upon it shortly after selling a condo here in South Florida. Your analysis of the real estate bubble was spot on and aside from your astute analysis, I appreciated how you took complex economic topics and made them much easier to comprehend. Your blog was quickly added to my favorites on my home and school computer and even though I do not have a strong background in economics, it became a daily read.

As a history and mathematics teacher, I took an interest in your coverage of many topics that potentially affected my students. When you wrote about trends that I felt that I could discuss with my (8th grade) students I did. My class has enjoyed spirited discussions on the cost of college tuition, oil prices, the negative impact of the Federal Reserve and the advent of self-driving cars, thanks to your blog.

I took special notice of your blogs regarding issues that Millennials were facing, such as stagnant wages, student loan debt and delayed family formation. Since I began teaching in 2001, I've worked with several thousand students and have witnessed my high school graduates attempt to deal with these challenges. Through the classroom, my impact is limited only to the students that I personally come in contact with.

This motivated me to write an e-book that focuses on Social Security from the perspective of younger Americans. During my research, I often cited your posts on employment, Millennial trends, housing statistics and autonomous vehicles to support my key arguments.

As you know, most Millennials do not believe that they will receive any benefits from Social Security when they retire. Many are confused and disgusted that they are being taxed into a program that will not serve them. My belief is that all Americans deserve the right to choose to opt-out of participation in the Social Security program by discontinuing their payroll tax contributions, if they so desire.

I have created a site and blog, Take Back Your Six Percent to organize young Americans to pressure politicians to allow them the right to opt-out. My e-book, "How Are You Not Angry Yet" is about How Social Security is Destroying the Futures, Finances and Hopes of Generations X, Y and Z and How We Can Put an End To it. It breaks down the complex topic of Social Security in a slightly humorous way that most readers can easily understand.

The bottom line is that your blog, in part, inspired my e-book. Your work motivated me to write even when I worked a second job at night to supplement my teaching income. The amount of effort and detail that you put into each post raised the expectations that I had for my own work. I can honestly say that you inspired me to do better in my life. Thank you for that.

Thank you for your time,

R.J. Renza, Jr.

Renza was recently on a debt Dialogues podcast at the Ayn Rand Institute.

The podcast can be played at Social Security Debt Dialogues.

Mad As Hell

I have not yet read Renza's e-book, so I cannot endorse it. But I can say the notion that millennials overpay and under receive is a valid one.

For years I have been wondering when millennials as a generation will reach this "Not Going to Take It" point.



We will not see change until millennials get mad enough to change conditions.

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Mike "Mish" Shedlock