My Heart Bleeds .................

That caption pic on the story is HILARIOUS!

What do you do all day if you don't have a job at all and no kids? Oh wait, I won't know the answer to this until I'm in my 60s.

Poor trust-afarians...

I was subsidized during high school and all of college. The reasoning was that my education was an investment, on their part and mine. They paid for it, I worked my butt off to get good grades (whoo Dean's List!) and actually learn things. And my summers were spent doing internships, or volunteering, which my parents also saw as investments in my future.

My parents and I also had an agreement...after I got out of college, I was on my own for my finances. They wouldn't pay for anything anymore, and I was on the hook for my own credit card spending, insurance, etc. The only thing they kept paying for was my health insurance, and that was only until my plan at my first job started.

It's such a shame that parents didn't teach these well to do kids that they might actually have to pay for something at some point, and work in a place that might not actually see each of them as a wonderful, beautiful person worthy of praise and comfort.

/sarcasm.

@pecan 3.14159265: I split the cost of college with my parents which was one of the smartest things I ever did. Since had $1000s of my own money to put up, I actually, you know, gave a shit about getting good grades and graduating.

A good chunk of the people in my classes had their way paid through mommy and daddy and didn't really take it seriously at all, which completely frustrated me.

I really have little sympathy for these people, if you even if you've never worked a paid job, you should at least know people who do and thus understand what one entails. Most of my shifts end up LONGER than 8 hours.

L...O...L

Hey, I call BS on the cheap-shot with the dot-com boom. Yes, there were some who got by on expense accounts & company foosball, but a lot of us busted our asses, burning the midnight oil to create products. And hell, some of us actually succeeded. We also turned Williamsburg into the neighborhood that the trustafarians descended upon like the plague (RIP Coyote Studios, Sweetwater Tavern, Right Bank, Miss Williamsburg, Oznot's, L Cafe, et al).

What has this generation of Williamsburg leeches created other than a kickball league?

@dragonfire81: I wish I had money. I had maybe $300 to my name, cause I always spent my summers in some kind of class. I took art classes, music classes, summer camp stuff...I think I might have actually only had two summers in which I had absolutely no activities.

And I don't understand just what kinds of internships these trust fund kids are doing...all of my internships were at least 40 hours a week, and sometimes weekends! I never got coffee for anyone either. Sure, most of the time I was tethered to a desk, but I was doing real work and learning real skills.

I think we are correct to show disdain for these leaches, but the other side is that there are businesses that see less revenue when daddy's little darling doesn't have any money to spend.

I blame parents for giving kids everything they ask for, and not making them get a job to learn the value of a dollar. EVERY kid should have to work in a gas station, or fast food joint, or some other similar position, to teach them WHY they should be getting a higher education, and give them some values. Waiting until their late 20's for this, and people are surprised by how shell-shocked they are at an 8 hour shift? No wonder.

The trust-funders should ask their parents for money. Their parents, after all, are the ones responsible for not choosing trust fund investments that would hold up in bad economic times. Why should these poor kids, used to living in the lap of luxury, have to work because of their parent's mistakes?

Sarcasm intended.

@pecan 3.14159265: G.I. Bill & two jobs.

Crazy white people.

The post office is hiring......

Oh the irony!

Fortunately, these people are all art history majors who won't be competing against us in the real job markets.

@Fuzz: It took me one summer of back breaking construction work to realize that I needed to take my engineering courses seriously.

On the next season of "The Hills","Gossip Girl", "Laguna Beach", etc... ______ will be forced to get a real job, and their only marketable skill is pretending to NOT be reading a script, growing a creepy flesh colored beard, talking about feathers and how all this exciting stuff is happening while ______ is in ______. And of course, they use the most horrible references on their resumes:

Well, I guess the Williamsburg set will be even MORE gaunt looking (at least now it won't be a poseur look) and they'll be forced from their noonish wake up to actually getting on the subway with the rest of us. Maybe THIS will get them all to move back home to Ohio or Iowa or Kansas and stop pretending to be starving artists.

@HiPwr: The one internship I did in college was basically a paid job I didn't get paid for. I still had all the same duties.

I've been working since I was 15.

This is a bit off the topic, but something that has been eating me up a little bit, and I want some feedback to see if I'm just old and crotchety.

I have several unemployed friends who are having money problems but won't go get a part time job for various reasons (pride, rather spend the time looking for a job, it looks bad to employers if you are underemployed).

Are they crazy, or am I old fashion?

@silversilver: Usually, I hit the Gym in the morning, then I come back to the apartment and Play Xbox 360, Watch sports center, then get a case of beer and go lay out by the pool.

Granted I worked my butt off to pay to be able to do this (Going to college while having summers off), but at least I know and appreciate how good I have it right now. I will admit, though, I am fighting boredom something horrible. I literally went to the library and checked out all the books I have to read for my lit class in the fall, and started reading them in an effort to get ahead.

@idx: I think they are crazy, work is work and no on should look down on someone for doing what they need to do in order to provide for themselves.

@idx:

You're not old fashioned, but there's also practical considerations. IF these guys are collecting unemployment, they can't get as much if they're being paid from a part-time job.

that being said, when the IPO bubble burst, I went to mcDonalds and try to apply, and they wouldn't hire me, BIG freaking sign out front looking for employees, but they wouldn't hire me because apparently I was overqualified and would leave as soon as I found a better job.

Um, DUH, but I was willing to do the work if for no other reason than I WANTED to work.

@Fuzz: I agree with you, a good work ethic is important.

However, living in a very affluent area with a ton of workaholic men who are never home to see their families, I tend to see the other end of things as well. I guess my definition of a good work ethic is a bit different than some.

My wife and I work about fifty hours a week *combined* and have everything we want and need. We have no debt other than a mortgage and are paying that off ASAP. You can call us lazy (and I am), but I say it's sometimes about living within your means and valuing things other than work.

@idx:

re: Being "underemployed".

Nothing says you have to include ALL your work experience. If you are doing a job that isn't relevant or you just don't care you place on your resume, don't.

How is modeling an internship? Anyway, I've been working since I was 14, at bookstore and libraries. I've worked shifts longer than 8 hours, hell, sometimes all the way up to 12. I want to find these people and punch them in the face.

@idx:

@sanjsrik: Should have given them the American Beauty speech:

@sanjsrik: It depends on the state, probably. In WA state you can collect reduced unemployment if you work a job that doesn't pay as much. This actually extends your benefits longer. That plus the fact that it keeps you busy makes getting a part-time job a total no-brainer.

@idx: They aren't crazy, they are rationalizing about things they don't want to do which is pretty normal though not very smart strategy.

My thoughts on their issues

Pride - meh, get over yourself.

Job hunting - It does take time to look for a job, but most of the serious work is at the start of the job hunt when you may have to do serious updates the resume and cover letters. I seriously doubt the people who claim to do 40 hours of job hunting every week for months on end. How much of that is spent in really useful activity?

And things looking bad to employers is always relative to the industry and market conditions and what may look bad when unemployment is 4% doesn't look bad when unemployment is 9% headed for 10%. And you really don't have to put crappy part-time jobs on a professional resume - unless your resume is very thin, most employers only care about the relevant work experience.

@Fuzz: "EVERY kid should have to work in a gas station, or fast food joint, or some other similar position, to teach them WHY they should be getting a higher education"

I agree. My husband and I come from similar backgrounds, except that my parents made me get a job the INSTANT I turned 16 (legal age to work) or lose my car privileges, and his parents felt his extracurriculars were time-consuming enough and preparing for college was his job.

The upshot is that having worked shitty retail jobs, I am IMMENSELY GRATEFUL for any white-collar job that comes with a desk. He, OTOH, found the transition to full-time white-collar work (as a lawyer) something of an appalling shock to his system.

@GuinevereRucker: Sounds to me like you have a good work ethic. You've clearly put a fair amount of effort into figuring out what you wanted and the best way to get there. That what you want is to arrange your life so you don't have to work you ass off to maintain it makes no difference to the core idea of a good work ethic.

If you were working 50hours a week combined and racking up huge debit, or working that much and bitching all the time about how you can't afford the better car/house/whatever you wanted, *then* you'd have a bad work ethic.

@GuinevereRucker:

I totally agree with you on overworking. I don't understand why people work 80 hours a week, then hire a house cleaner, gardener, etc.

I think of work as something I do so I can enjoy the time I have off. Working overtime is rare for me. Congrats on being able to do it all for 50 hours a week, my wife and I still put in 80. One day . . .

@idx: They're kind of crazy...but I can understand why. When I was unemployed, the only thing I wanted to do was look for a job. And it was frustrating that I couldn't devote the time to it because I was still committed for two more weeks before my time to leave. Yeah, nice of them, right? So while I was at work, I was agonizing because I knew that my time there was limited. All I wanted to do was be home, looking for a job or retooling my resume. So I understand where that rationalizing comes into play...but your friends should get all that taken care of, and then focus on getting part-time work to bring in some money while they are looking. If unemployment will bring more money in, that's fine, but it might take weeks or months for unemployment to get processed. They could find something in the meantime.

@pecan 3.14159265: "You're 18, pack your things, there's the door, don't let it hit you in tail on the way out, call regularly and come back for a visit when you like."

That was my introduction to full adulthood. Then again I had been working since I was 13.

Crazy of me to think this way, but I actually enjoy working. I enjoy meeting new people, and doing different things, and having a sense of upward mobility. Then again, I also have responsibilities, and bills, and a sense of pride in hard work.

@pb5000:

The pride argument is the one that really pisses me off. Somehow there's pride in not being able to meet your financial obligations? There's pride in asking your parents for money?

Maybe 8 hours a day is more of their labor than they want to sell.

Seriously, talking about a "hard work ethic" and making employment not just an economic exchange but a moral responsibility only advantages employers. A job is just you selling your labor for a price. Negotiating for a better price, or balking when asked to sell more than you'd like to, aren't moral failings, they're perfectly legitimate negotiating actions in a free market economy.

The days when it was considered a man's moral duty to waste his life underpaid for his labor at a corporation that was prepared to fire him for any or no reason at all are over, and good riddance.

@pecan 3.14159265: I'm actually looking for a part-time job or temping while my regular job is on summer break. Not because I really need the money, but because I don't get to meet new people much working from home. Sometimes, this is a positive.

not to sound like a freak or anything but, isn't it weird we all have 8 hour jobs?
i mean, all of our different tasks that we need to do throughout the day takes exactly 8 hours to complete?
why not 6 hours or 12 hours?
something to mull over i suppose...

@Laura Northrup: I thought about going on unemployment, but we were okay on money, and I was going to go stir crazy sitting at home all day, so I got a paid internship. You do what you have to do to keep yourself well-rounded. I really like meeting new people, and learning how to do new things. And it helps me network, because it's extremely important in my field...especially since I'm relatively inexperienced compared to those who are older.

@HiPwr: two part time jobs during school, bumping one to full time in summer and adding a weekly third under the table gig. No GI Bill, as Uncle Sam didn't want me (it was between Gulf and 2001).

I lived w/ my Dad and the arrangement was that my "rent" was to pay all the household utilities and bills except the mortgage. About a year or two after college I was amazed to find that when I moved out and substituted my Dad for a craigslist roommate that I actually had more space and was spending less each month then when I lived at home... Dad liked his a/c and HBO I guess...

I was also amazed at how many of my friends who went to local colleges did not commute or have jobs, these weren't trust fund kids either, they all had jobs in high school, both parents working, just regular middle class folks--but based on our GPA's and the fact that some of them did not graduate, I think commuting and paying my way was worth it.

It's nice to know that whatever the economic climate, the tiny-violin manufacturing industry will always be booming.

@idx: An ex of mine refused to get a retail or fast-food job ("I don't want to work for kids!") when he couldn't find any work in consturction.

I dumped him.

I am sorry, but I'm not taking care of someone when they refuse to work. If the only work available is McDonald's, then you fucking work for McDonald's!

@Inglix_the_Mad:

A good friend of mine at my last job got a speech like that at 16.

He said it was a blessing and a curse because working full time hours per week on nights/weekends all while going to HS was really tough, but he was also the only senior with his own apartment.

articles like this just make me laugh.

welcome to the rest of the world, trust fund babies.

I prefer the parasite that refuses to get a job as long as mommy & daddy are footing the bills over the parasite that refuses to get a job and is living off of the public dole.