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"Jill Filipovic cuts through the noise with characteristic clarity and nuance. Behind the meme is a thoughtfully reported book that greatly contributes to our understanding of generational change." —Irin Carmon, coauthor of the New York Times bestseller Notorious RBG
Baby Boomers are the most prosperous generation in American history, but their kids are screwed. In this eye-opening book, journalist Jill Filipovic breaks down the massive problems facing Millennials including climate, money, housing, and healthcare.
In Ok Boomer, Let's Talk, journalist (and Millenial) Jill Filipovic tells the definitive story of her generation. Talking to gig workers, economists, policy makers, and dozens of struggling Millennials drowning in debt on a planet quite literally in flames, Filipovic paints a shocking and nuanced portrait of a generation being left behind:
-Millennials are the most educated generation in American history—and also the most broke.
-Millennials hold just 3 percent of American wealth. When they were the same age, Boomers held 21 percent.
-The average older Millennial has $15,000 in student loan debt. The average Boomer at the same age? Just $2,300 in today's dollars.
-Millennials are paying almost 40 percent more for their first homes than Boomers did.
-American families spend twice as much on healthcare now than they did when Boomers were young parents.
Filipovic shows that Millennials are not the avocado-toast-eating snowflakes of Boomer outrage fantasies. But they are the first American generation that will do worse than their parents. "OK, Boomer" isn't just a sarcastic dismissal—it's a recognition that Millennials are in crisis, and that Boomer voters, bankers, and policy makers are responsible. Filipovic goes beyond the meme, upending dated assumptions with revelatory data and revealing portraits of young people delaying adulthood to pay down debt, obsessed with "wellness" because they can't afford real healthcare, and struggling to #hustle in the precarious gig economy.
Ok Boomer, Let's Talk is at once an explainer and an extended olive branch that will finally allow these two generations to truly understand each other.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
August 11, 2020 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781982153779
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781982153779
- File size: 7281 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 1, 2020
A sharp retort to critics of millennials and the clich�s of laziness and narcissism that cling to them. In her second book, journalist and lawyer Filipovic speaks directly to those who feel stung by the insult "OK, Boomer," delivered by millennials and GenY-ers weary of smug elders' lectures about gumption and hard work. Younger generations do work hard, she explains; indeed, they've been forced to be always-on and take on multiple gigs in a time when the inequality gap has only widened in the past 50 years. They earn less than boomers did at their age, carry much more student-loan debt, are more likely to delay marriage and children longer for economic reasons, have a harder time buying a home, and feel more socially isolated ("our health is trending in the wrong direction"). The author places much of the blame for this predicament at the feet of boomers, particularly the Reagan-era privatization schemes that economically hamstrung many younger people. In a section on the problem of mass incarceration, the author explores how people of color have been disproportionately affected by the situation. As Filipovic notes, even progressive boomers shouldn't crow too much: Much of the hard work of the civil rights movement, she notes, was done by people born before the boomers. Ultimately, the book is less of a pile-on than a data dump: If there's a statistic showing the disparities in wealth and achievement between boomers and millennials, she's found it. That sometimes gives the prose a dutiful, white-paper feel, a problem alleviated by interviews with people who express their anxieties about work, parenting, climate change, and other topics. By the end, readers will understand that Filipovic seeks to strike a conciliatory tone, asking that boomers avoid tarring younger generations and advocate for the return of the kind of work and family policies that benefitted them. A worthy defense of a maligned generation, both passionate and policy-wonkish.COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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