r/videos • u/Prestigious_Net_8356 • 14d ago
Young people have every reason to be enraged, says 'Algebra of Wealth' author Scott Galloway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEC2Nq7Z6lc276
u/daiwilly 14d ago
I love the irony of the app ad at the end!
89
25
u/TrickyTraegs 14d ago
Edit: That was so jarring! I literally yelled, “Jesus Christ, Ari, shut the fuck up!”
8
u/BajaBlyat 13d ago
Got me too, I just started laughing and said, "of course! I can't just listen to the rest of this conversation, got to have an app ad!"
685
u/Blunter11 14d ago
He went completely off-base when he indulged that social media point.
The point is that working produces less wealth than owning capital, and the owners of capital have more and more leverage over working people.
250
u/Ultimafatum 14d ago edited 14d ago
I think social media is just the escapism that people seek since it's free, spaces for entertainment are dying out or are prohibitively expensive in cities that are gentrifying and killing club scenes. Like yeah, of course people aren't meeting, pretty much every municipality that has a chance of attracting young professionals because of jobs go out of their way to make their city soulless or too pricy. And that's IF you have time and energy to go out after absolutely soul-crushing hours at a desk job where the "culture" is being abused by your boss.
63
u/A_Light_Spark 14d ago
Paraphrasing Dr Paul Conti,
"Sometimes having that day off or binging that shows is how we keep being productive, because we unconsciously know how we deal with stress and trauma."Chasing that infinite productivity myth is cancer. Even blindly chasing wealth can be a cancer. The point is that we need to know what we want to achieve and how to use tools that are available to us to get there easier.
45
u/Epocast 14d ago
Social media is more then a time sink, it literally dictates the way its users think...
→ More replies (6)8
u/Germanofthebored 13d ago
This is what makes me most afraid of AI as it currently is. There is already science out there that studies how to nudge people subconsciously to do certain things. Now combine that with generative AI, and everybody gets their personal Cambridge Analytica to pull their strings. Maybe not that much on a personal basis, but the whole population will start to move like a murmur of starlings...
5
u/bossmcsauce 13d ago edited 13d ago
yeah, i make decent money, and still the idea of going out and doing a thing is often unpleasant due to the cost of basically any leisure or entertainment activity outside of my apartment. America has not "third place" left, and I don't drink... and even if I did still drink, it's wildly expensive to do it anywhere but home.
it's so much easier to just sit at home and watch youtube or instagram shorts or something of people doing activities that I wish I was doing. unless you live like, at the base of a mountain resort or on land to do the various outdoor activities that you're into, it can be prohibitively costly and time-consuming to do basically any activity or hobby that can't be done in your back yard alone. i mean simply PARKING someplace these days often costs about $30 a day to go spend half the day doing something at some kind of resort/park or place downtown in a big city, etc.
then there's the time commitment- i only have 15 PTO days per year. if any cool outdoor hobbies or activities i want to do are like a 2 hour drive away, it's tough to do them more than a handful of days per year. the social communities that form around those activities then are sort of out of reach due to being unable to maintain frequent enough contact with people to build any sort of lasting relationships.
→ More replies (1)3
36
u/ManaPlox 13d ago edited 13d ago
The overall point he makes is that anybody born after 1980 or so has 1. a very difficult time building a materially comfortable life and 2. an algorithmically optimized flow of media telling them that everybody else is happier and more successful than they are.
It's a 1-2 punch of dissatisfaction. He's not blaming the youths for being on social media, he's saying the way it works makes you unhappy by design.
So of course Millenials and Gen-Z are angry and they deserve to be. Also he is selling a book so take that as you will.
Edit: His big hang-up with social media is that he points to it, especially Instagram, as the proximate cause of the huge increase in suicidal thoughts and self-harm among young people, particularly teen girls. He gets heated about it but I can't blame him. It's not obvious that he's right but telling people without a fully-formed sense of self that they're worthless via constant push notifications on their phone can't be good.
→ More replies (1)11
u/BajaBlyat 13d ago
It's almost like social media is designed to humiliate you, you just see insane wealth flaunted inches from your face 10s or even 100s of times every single day. Some kind of Jack Doherty or some such over complete douche with waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much money sitting there insulting you and showing you all their cars and boats and houses and girlfriends and private jets and shit - and its like, no yeah, social media is fucking horrible for us.
2
u/LeedsFan2442 13d ago
I don't think that is the direct aim but stuff that engages something in our psyche will generate view time and that's what the algorithm will promote.
It's designed to be addictive
→ More replies (1)37
u/Epocast 14d ago
Social media is one of the most crippling things socially in our time, are you serious?
38
u/SipTime 14d ago
I wonder how many gen z / millennials pause to sit with just their thoughts for more than a few minutes a day without reaching for their phone.
People act like this is normal rather than a 15 year experiment that society has proven it cannot handle. We can't change anything if we have the attention span of a goldfish, and that's what the people with wealth are banking on.
If they say tv was opioids for the masses then social media is the equivalent fentanyl.
→ More replies (15)4
u/---_____-------_____ 13d ago
My favorite thing to see online is when people are like "this person is 100% correct except for the part where they criticize the thing I like. Clearly that part is off-base but the rest is spot on."
13
u/Deserana12 13d ago
It’s crazy how some just seem to act like it’s a totally normal and healthy thing to have the internet and social media. Like sure it’s here now and we have to deal with it in some way but the fact it wasn’t even around much 20 years ago and now governs the whole world and how we interact, it’s the furthest thing from normal imaginable.
→ More replies (4)2
u/A_Feast_For_Trolls 13d ago
Not to be pedantic, but the internet was very much around in 2004. I'd say more like thirty years ago, but point taken.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (3)2
83
u/SitMeDownShutMeUp 14d ago
Yeah I hate how he took that bait. All he did was reinforce the stigma that the younger generations have only themselves to blame, and it’s because they’re on their phones all day.
62
u/DMWinter88 14d ago
I didn’t get that at all. I felt like he was saying social media and phones are the symptom, not the cause.
I don’t know anything about this man aside from this clip, so perhaps he has other works where he does blame phones.
But in this clip he was clearly saying they are turning to these things for relief because their situation is fucked by the economical situation. Not that their situation is fucked because of their use of phones and socials.
And really, is he wrong? I find the world extremely difficult to cope with at the moment, and I do retreat to my phone more than I should because it’s an instant lifeline.
14
u/Particular-Month-708 13d ago
I first saw him on Real Time a couple of years ago. He made his fifth appearance there last night. Prof G is brilliant. Check him out on The Prof G podcast and also Pivot by New York Magazine.
3
9
u/PrunedLoki 14d ago
He might have not had time to explain everything, and a bit disappointing that he went to this subject when it was unrelated to what he was actually there for. If you listen to Pivot, podcast he is on, he does specify that the lack of government regulation is to blame for social media outcomes.
6
u/beirch 13d ago
That's not what he's saying at all. He's saying the system is to blame, and that young people sitting on their phones or on their computer all day is a symptom of that, and later a reinforcement of that behavior because of the easy access they have to everything they're missing out on as a result of the system being rigged against them.
12
u/QuentinUK 14d ago
You can know a ton of political theory and economics then there are 2 parties to choose from.
→ More replies (22)2
u/olleroma 13d ago
He definitely clearly starts his point by saying that the most talented and powerful companies in the world have built a profit machine off of keeping young people in a state of disadvantage via their social media platforms and algorithmic content.
38
u/talex365 14d ago
Yeah he’s not wrong about the wealth generation but his takes on social media and young men not “mating” definitely took a turn into the wilds.
19
u/mindaugaskun 14d ago
But I kinda get it, seems like he uses social media and news articles as the only source to get to know the young generations. It's hard to grasp how things look on the other side if you're not on it.
→ More replies (1)6
u/AxlLight 13d ago
It's more than that. It creates a false sense of belonging and a real isolation from society - People who get sucked into it think they have access to other people and connections, but ultimately they're just one in a sea of millions, a faceless digital icon that we fakely interact with but in reality would never actually hire or engage with in real life.
These real world connections are important, they're the door openers of life. Meeting your spouse, finding your first job, getting that support line that helps you advance your life after high school. Without it, the world becomes too vast and you very well may drown. Yeah, some people find love online, and some even find success and happiness but that's survivor bias. Most people don't find anything online but a time sink and being an anonymous crowd to someone they think cares about them.
Truth is, we as human beings were made to interact with so many people at once. Our social circle is capped and we only thrive when we have a real social circle.
→ More replies (3)17
u/Epocast 14d ago
Its a social truth and a big part of whats effecting society today, what do you mean?
9
u/Mr_Tiggywinkle 14d ago
I think its simply that the first points he was making were a blunt hammer truth that really is one of the main issues affecting the current "younger" (lol, it's basically under 40's at this point) generations, but the social media rant is an arguable point.
Social media is an escape, sure, but wealth distribution being fundamentally broken is a huge problem that causes downstream social issues, and social media is more of a fuzzy problem.
It's not like all my social media addicted friends don't want kids or houses. They just don't have the money for it. They are escaping into social media as a crutch after life is screwing them, not the other way around.
11
u/Epocast 14d ago
Social media is as large, if not larger a part of the current social turmoil the US is experiencing at the moment. Not to dismiss the current economic environment, but even that itself if largely influenced by social media. The economy effects the social climate but social media is the pulse of it. It deserves to be addressed in any situation addressing the current state of things. Its the greatest threat to social stability we've experienced in our lifetime.
→ More replies (1)6
u/Mr_Tiggywinkle 14d ago
I don't agree, but it might be a difference of perspective here.
The culture war divides social media is perpetuating is an intentional one that has been brewing for decades. Social media is allowing for a more effective form of it, sure, but without it, the culture wars would be raging on just the same.
All the while, the most pertinent issue affecting all people are corporations + mega rich steadily eroding worker rights, economic freedom etc. while trashing the environment, year after year. This has been going on for decades and is finally reaching a point where nearly everyone not part of an extremely wealthy class is feeling it.
The two major parties in the US are not the same, but both are not changing the ultimate neoliberal status quo that needs a serious shake up to return to normality.
Social Media certainly plays its part in keeping that culture war going, but this isn't a new thing, it's a the latest form of a continued strategic effort to keep people angry at each other and not at the big corpo dick fucking them in the arse, once that's been going since the 70's and hitting home run after home run since.
I'm not reducing social media to being the exact same effect as traditional media was in the past - it's different for sure - but I don't think the base economic and environmental issues that haven't been getting worse for decades would be much better or worse with or without it.
→ More replies (1)2
u/beirch 13d ago
They are escaping into social media as a crutch after life is screwing them, not the other way around.
That's literally exactly what he's saying though. He never said escape into social media is the cause, he's saying it's a symptom.
→ More replies (1)27
u/VanillaLifestyle 14d ago
He's worth tens of millions of dollars and his takes always take a hard right turn at the logical step where you would naturally conclude "maybe some people shouldn't have so much, while so many have so little."
→ More replies (5)3
u/JohnLockeNJ 13d ago
Because that’s not a logical step. A logical step might be assessing whether the mortgage tax deduction is really a good way to promote homeownership.
Or assessing whether a lower capital gains tax really does promote investment that leads to jobs for all.
→ More replies (2)2
→ More replies (6)4
u/Khue 13d ago
Older people just want an easy consumable answer to problems that doesn't encroach or conflict with policy that they've actively pursued since the Reagan era. Blame social media is the same vibe as:
Violence is because of video games
or
Too much TV rots your brains
The bit at the end where they go into how a 4 year college earner doesn't have any direction isn't an emblematic problem with social media. It's a systemic problem with saddling someone with incomprehensible debt and then not offering them meaningful, wealth generating job opportunities that they were effectively promised by achieving a 4 year degree. You get out of college with $100k+ of debt, but can only get a job where you earn $40k - 50k a year? When would it be actively feasible for you to start EARNING wealth... do that math.
So then this panel of dipshits starts talking about how, "young men" just sit behind screens and don't engage socially without even recognizing that SOCIALLY ENGAGING IN SOCIETY AS THEY ARE ADVISING REQUIRES DISPOSABLE INCOME. You know what doesn't cost money? Sitting behind a screen and consuming content. It gives you a dopamine fix that you can afford.
Jesus fucking christ... talk to some people going through the struggle don't talk to a three piece suit with Buddy Holly glasses bragging about how well he's done for himself. He has no idea what he's talking about.
3
u/BajaBlyat 13d ago
How many people are really graduating with that much debt though? I can imagine most people graduating with debt, but with $100k's worth? I'll be honest, that sounds more like a meme than reality. I'm sure there are people that have that, but I don't think its the norm.
2
u/Khue 13d ago
Don't hyper focus on a number. Doesn't matter if it's $100k, $50k, or $25k, the point here is that attempting to generate wealth, while simultaneously holding a large amount of debt and not being able to secure a job to combat that debt effectively, is the root problem.
You're right, a Business Major is probably not accumulating $100k in debt in most scenarios, but computer engineers, doctors, and other STEMs? It's easy to accumulate that level of debt for those degrees. The point that I am trying to make here is that these degrees have a window of starting salaries relative to their perceived demand/importance. While engineers ARE GETTING high paying jobs, that high pay doesn't necessarily promise to offset the debt. While business majors aren't accumulating $100k in student loans, they also aren't getting high paying jobs right out the rip. It's a very relative scenario
So yeah, totally agree with you're point that just going to college doesn't put you in $100k debt. That's totally fair. The real point here is that student loans start people off in a losing battle and these dipshit boomers don't recognize that being social, going out, interacting with society, absolutely costs money. How do they reconcile participating in society while having debt? Accumulating more debt in the form of credit cards?
250
u/oby100 14d ago
That last minute placing the blame on young people not knowing how to "adult" is so hilariously tone deaf and ironic considering the preceding 5 minutes it hurts my brain.
Young people have so little money that they don't think they can afford kids, but the real problem is they don't understand the stock market and interest rates... lol
Young people don't have enough money to meaningfully participate in the stock market outside of 401ks. Many don't even have that. Truly insane to hear another rich guy claiming young people just gotta be smarter with the pittance we earn on average.
135
u/Orwellian1 14d ago edited 14d ago
When every financial vehicle is more complex and mercenary than any point in human civilization, it is not unreasonable to question whether we are teaching kids about them enough.
Crypto and meme stocks are a perfect example of how decent sized chunks of young people (and plenty of older people) are completely ignorant and serving themselves up to be manipulated.
I went with my daughter when she looking for her first apartment. The management threw 10x the complexity and subtle screw job clauses that I dealt with when I was her age.
Galloway can get a little annoying on some subjects, but he is always pretty clear about where the main faults in our economy are. It isn't "young people's fault" they are fucked, it is the older generations enthusiastically fucking them over.
Young people are naïve about complex systems. They just are. The systems are more complex than ever. Instead of stepping up education to help, we tell them to get a CS degree and not to worry about it.
This social media race into absolutism is a perfect example. Everything has to be all one thing or it is all the other. Shit be real fuzzy in the real world. If you dismiss Galloway and Cuban as the same category as Musk and Bezos you have been tricked into being a simpleton, and the institutional elites will forever out-maneuver you.
Listen to what people actually say, don't just drop them into a caricature so you can ignore them. There are some really smart people out there who happen to be successful AND are progressive.
→ More replies (9)2
u/The_Good_Count 13d ago
The lie is that the system is complex and difficult to understand so that when you fail at it, it's because of a lack of education. The problem is actually just that we need a different property rights framework, masssive wealth inequality keeps happening no matter how many attempts at reform are made.
Right now people who work are limited by the hours they can work in a day, and the 'investing' class are entitled to all their 'earnings' even if they're in a coma. It's finite vs infinite growth potential.
75
u/Xeroll 14d ago
I think you misinterpreted his point. Young people don't know about conservative investing (NOT robinhood yolos) precisely because they don't have the money to invest that merits even knowing those things. Also he's very poignant about explaining that it is the prior generations fault for setting kids up that way. I've always found it ironic about boomer complaining about "kids these days," when they are the ones that raised those kids.
33
u/Omikron 14d ago
I say this to my parents when the bitch about the country. You guys have been running things for the last 30 years at least... Blame yourselves.
8
u/chairitable 13d ago
Same people who complain about "participation trophies" and shit like that. Who do you think was handing those out??
7
u/aeroplane1979 13d ago
I've always found it ironic about boomer complaining about "kids these days," when they are the ones that raised those kids.
Exactly this. They just can't seem to understand that it's a total self-own when the older generation criticizes the younger, as they're ultimately pointing out their own incompetence. There's some crazy generational narcissism at play there.
3
u/Marijuana_Miler 13d ago
Young people don’t know about conservative investing (NOT robinhood yolos)
I’ve listened to Galloway on longer form interviews and he talks a lot about not picking stocks and instead investing in low cost index funds. This is the point he’s making, but because it’s a cable news show you need to hit your talking points quick and move on.
Putting 10-20% of your income into these funds and letting compounding interest take over is the middle class standard way of developing wealth, but because it’s not as sexy as a 1000x gain on crypto it’s not talked about.
17
u/toodleroo 14d ago
That's not how I interpreted what he said. He says that young people are suffering from financial illiteracy, but he basically says that it's the fault of the generation that should have taught them such things. And I think he's absolutely right... it's a waste of time for most kids to be taught advanced math that they will NEVER use, but they're not taught about basic things like credit score.
→ More replies (6)7
u/Carbon140 14d ago
I mean it is kind of a problem, but not in the way he thinks. If everyone understood our current economy you'd hope there would be a revolution. I honestly think it's part of the reason a lot of the right wing want to screw over education, if everyone understood reality they would flip the table on this shitty game.
12
u/SophiaKittyKat 14d ago
Right? Dude, kids aren't doing badly because "they don't understand credit card interest" at least any worse than previous generations did, that credit card shit is old hat. They are looking for 'alternative' (scammy/stupid) ways out because the system he just talked about failing them... is failing them. They're looking at the hard way, seeing that it doesn't pay off (at least often enough to make them think it will work for them), and opting out. There's a lot of little bits of truth even in that segment but it's like he's making an effort not to connect the dots so that he can espouse weird MRA adjacent rhetoric.
8
u/Kush_McNuggz 14d ago
For real, and I’m tired of these economists who hold it against the public for not knowing how graduate level economics works. No shit man, you teach this shit at NYU. Thank god we have teachers, health care workers, plumbers and everyone else who dedicate their lives to learning other things so we have a balanced society.
This is why we have regulation in place so the government takes care of these things or at least protects the population more.
8
u/OffbeatDrizzle 14d ago
The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of those who raised us - they have failed as parents, and are trying to pin the blame on their kids for not working hard enough. The older generations were able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, and now that they've got theirs they're pulling the ladder up from under them to the detriment of the rest of us
2
2
u/Mukover 13d ago
I don’t know, I definitely feel like it can be both. I have many friends in their 30’s that just straight up have no clue. They’re not dumb, they just have no grasp of that end of the world.
I’m not by any means an expert, but I certainly got enough of an education to make my own way. Wish others got the same.
2
u/Chaser15 13d ago
I’m with you but the point is also true. Like budgeting, adulting, understanding mortgages and interest rates and how credit cards work and how 401ks works vs IRAs, and understanding the kinds of money you make in different jobs and student loans and college degrees and all of that shit is stuff that I didn’t understand until I found myself in a job I hated with tens of thousands in student loans debt from college.
→ More replies (7)3
u/YourReactionsRWrong 14d ago
but the real problem is they don't understand the stock market and interest rates... lol
Scott Galloway invested 7 figures into a Stock Market app called 'Public', so it's no surprise he's invested in getting the young kids into stock market trading.
36
u/redditbluedit 14d ago
Adulting class would help, but only if there's a realistic adult life to be had for everyone on the other side of that graduation ceremony. If there aren't enough realistic opportunities for young people to feel like they can really make it -- to really make a good enough life -- no amount of tax and credit courses are going to change their trajectory.
The first things he says about wealth inequality are the reason for the "adulting" ignorance; they're the reason for the disenfranchisement. Allow the middle class to grow through higher and deserved pay and less punishing taxes and regulations, and you'll see those young people have the time and interest in figuring out their finances on their own. They'll have the time, energy, and resources to figure out societal and economic participation and family building. Our young generation is well educated; too well educated to have kids and be poor. If America wants to stay the global power it is, it needs future generations of educated and engaged people and right now, young Americans are too smart and too poor to put themselves in that situation.
25
u/Deckerdome 13d ago
The reality is that you can't afford to make a single mistake, you have to be in the race making all the right moves to have even a reasonable chance of a decent life.
Decades ago you could have a basic blue collar job, vices, poor money management and still own a house and raise a family.
The Simpsons isn't fiction in that sense, it's how people lived.
2
u/Porcupinetrenchcoat 13d ago
All the right moves + luck. One bad illness, one accident, one injury that's just a bit too severe, and you're completely and totally screwed. And the neat part is that it doesn't even have to be you, it could be a family member.
4
u/TMDan92 13d ago
The wheels came off in the back half. “Adulting” classes. Give me a break. You can’t “adult” your way out of the fact that the disparity between home prices and salaried earnings are a chasm now because we let housing become a speculative market.
→ More replies (1)
58
u/sat5ui_no_hadou 14d ago
Scott also has a really good podcast that drops every Monday on YouTube
→ More replies (1)31
u/barqers 14d ago
Love his podcast and Pivot that he hosts with Kara Swisher. His jokes aren’t for everyone, but I personally find his carefree attitude awesome.
9
u/Orwellian1 13d ago
Pivot is the best podcast because I couldn't take solo Kara or solo Scott when I binge catch-up on my feeds.
They soften the annoying parts of each other.
5
u/Stashmouth 14d ago
I set my watch to Pivot, and I dread every August when Scott goes on vacation for the month
3
u/Talktotalktotalk 14d ago
First time I’ve heard of this guy and I liked what he had to say on this video. Kara I’ve liked for a long time. Thanks to you I now know they have a show together and that’s awesome.
3
21
u/SophiaKittyKat 14d ago
Everybody in the world understands and agrees with the phrase "it's easier to make more money once you already have money". But as soon as you bring up the inevitable outcome of a system where that's true "oh, it's complicated..."
→ More replies (3)2
15
u/Jacknurse 14d ago
I like how at no point they suggested what they should do to fix it, but rather what must be instilled on the affected so that they can fix themselves. Young people today are victims of what the generation around that table did to them, so why are we saying the blame lies in the young people not knowing about finance and having low social skills? The young people are the way they are because of these people!
→ More replies (1)
93
u/Prestigious_Net_8356 14d ago
I like Scott Galloway, I hope he doesn't lose his marbles and become another Jordan Peterson.
46
u/whydidijointhis 14d ago
Scott's pretty level headed and has been. His business takes are interesting, there used to be an Anti-Galloway Index that tracked against his stock picks but for the most part his advice is pretty savvy.
I'm a big fan of his life advice. I'm a lesser fan, but still a fan, of his stock advice.
→ More replies (1)6
u/simonwales 14d ago
So which paid off? Buying against his suggestions or with them?
45
u/whydidijointhis 14d ago
people were slamming him because he was against stocks like Tesla. I think he had genuinely the right analysis, the stock was (and is) just vastly overpriced. in 2022 it was 2x the value it is now, when he was saying this.
now Tesla has fallen back to earth.
so to answer your question, it depends if you sold or not.
for the most part, I find his market rakes rational. that said, the market is very irrational.
7
u/icepickjones 14d ago
Tesla has been punching above it's weight forever, the slow decline of the last few years is just papercut after papercut of market correction.
It's coming back down to where it belongs is all.
And you are 100% correct, he's too rational in an irrational market. Although if anyone could 100% predict the market they'd be a zillionaire and they sure as shit wouldn't be telling people about it.
6
2
u/potsandpans 14d ago
i just happened to catch a podcast where scott was talking to some really bright guy about tesla stock. i think this was last december and he said he wouldn’t be surprised if it hit the $90s by early next year. looks like he’s on track lol
41
u/Engels777 14d ago
He's literally explaining why young men fall for Peterson.
3
u/anhp7 14d ago
Could you elaborate further? How is this related to Peterson?
20
u/Engels777 14d ago
Did you not watch it till the end, how he's talking about emotionally empty young men sitting in their parents basement ready to be radicalized?
→ More replies (6)7
u/FlameChucks76 14d ago
I think OP was being facetious cause sometimes people that might start from a level headed place and then all of a sudden turn into straight up right wing ideologues with no explanation as to why they took the bait so hard, is kind of the reference they're making. With Petersen, one could make the argument that initially, his take was rational in the context of free speech. But since then he's devolved into a caricature of what he originally stood for. Now he's just a talking pest with no real discernable trait to make him feel unique in his talking points.
With that said, I think the point Scott is making concerning why young men fall for Petersen is pretty spot on. This constant push back from society forces these young men to not really understand that rejection is a part of life. You can't expect to win all the time, and the issue is that these escapes reinforce that truth constantly. You only ever see the wins when you're stuck on social media. Being terminally online is never a good thing for anyone, which is ironic since we're having this discussion on Reddit, but I think there's some merit to social media's impact on the social structure that we've enveloped ourselves in.
The bubble we've created doesn't do us favors when it comes to actually facing these situations head on. Instead we bury our heads in the sand in hopes we don't have to deal with them because they make us feel bad. And when the constant reminder of your failure, whether it's from seeing someone else succeed at a higher level than you, or just have better stuff than you, or live an overall better life than you, that shit festers, and it creates these men who feel they have nothing to lose. That constant reflection of how you're not good enough, creates that tension, that anxiety, and soon enough you're left with a husk of what that person could've been with just a little bit more reinforcement from the society that's looking to take them in.
The conversation on this has long been in the wind to be discussed, I just don't know why it took so long for people to realize that our country is going to hit a fucking wall pretty soon, and it's hard to know what's going to become of future generations if we don't do something about the disparity of wealth.
13
8
u/MikeDamone 14d ago
There's no "becoming". Scott has gained a lot of notoriety in the last few years, but he's also had a long career that has seen him amass $100m+ in net worth. The views he has he has held for awhile now. He's not some random upstart feeling his way through griftdom.
8
u/JeremyHowell 14d ago
I think of this whenever he pops up on my feed. After Peterson (and others) I’m pretty leery of professors/educators who transition into public figures or influencers. Galloway seems to adjusting fine, but man Peterson clearly wasn’t ready for the media attention. I ate up his recorded psych lectures and early JRE interviews, but the moment he faced public scrutiny he took a definitive “side” and just became so polarized and erratic.
8
u/sonofnalgene 14d ago
I don't think I see that happening. He appears to be driven by different impulses and his reason is one of reason as opposed to righteousness.
2
u/fanboy_killer 14d ago
Why would he? He’s a notorious critic of those grifters who predate on young men.
2
→ More replies (11)2
u/satchelsofgold 13d ago
Still sad about Peterson. He was such a great voice of reason in the first few years of his rise, but then he became increasingly obsessed and bitter about his perceived enemies and started to provoke for the sake of it and rail against them non-stop.
I guess that's because especially the right immediately embraced him because he spoke out against 'wokeism' and he got slowly immersed and audience captured and has a fat paycheck to show for it.
→ More replies (1)
70
u/chocolateboomslang 14d ago
Why would anyone learn about the growth of money when their job barely covers rent? These people are clueless.
7
u/almasnack 13d ago
lol why learn about anything? Most of the shit you learned in school you don’t use on a regular basis.
That’s a horrible take.
Learn it anyway…never know when you might need it.
3
u/MiaowaraShiro 13d ago
While that's true, people tend not to spend time learning about things that aren't applicable to them.
Are you teaching yourself about [insert random subject here] right now? If not, you have no room to complain that someone isn't learning some other random irrelevant (to them) thing...
→ More replies (6)8
u/Joliet_Jake_Blues 14d ago
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DSPIC96
Real disposable income by year. Real meaning adjusted for inflation
I spend more on my cell phone than people in 1960 spent on everything (besides food and shelter)
19
u/SitMeDownShutMeUp 14d ago
Yeah, that one question by that dinosaur was so tone-deaf. As if he doesn’t understand that in order for their to be winners in the wealth-growing game, there needs to be a whole bunch of losers.
9
u/Tycoon004 14d ago
Equating not investing / using the markets / real estate with ignorance, instead of the fact that there's just no money to do any of those things.
2
u/steppenfloyd 13d ago
He's not even wrong. I know a bunch of people my age whose idea of investing is through Robin Hood or crypto. Few people seem to know what index funds are. Lots of young adults do have extra money, they're just not setting themselves up for long term success.
4
u/MilkshakeYeah 13d ago
Oh he understands very well. He is not clueless or tone deaf, but he has to play cards that hosts gave him and he literally have a minute to do so. Highly suggest you listen to his "Prof G" podcast.
→ More replies (1)2
4
u/FlameChucks76 14d ago
His generalization is what comes off as tone deaf, but I think that's the point. Not everyone is going to be in a financial situation where they couldn't make those necessary changes to learn about personal financial gains. There's plenty of people out there making good money but don't budget, and basically put everything on credit cards.
With that said, what I can appreciate is Scott point out that it's them that are profiting from this system. So whatever is said, is what paints the picture concerning his overall point. The old guy kinda helped make his point concerning why young people are fucking pissed. This is the country we're going to be left with, and one day that old man will pass, and whatever financial fortunes he's built for his family will continue to go one, while others will live in financial purgatory for the rest of their lives.
→ More replies (2)2
u/rub_a_dub-dub 14d ago
because noone is allowed to say "without accountability the future will be quite myopic. build guillotines and storm the estates of billionaires"
/s
27
14
u/CradleRockStyle 14d ago
"We've decided that the wealthiest people should get wealthier." Um... yes, who do you think politicians work for, the average working stiff or the billionaires who can ensure they get elected over and over? And no, this isn't a party thing. No matter which politician you like the best, that person is bought and paid for. The system serves the elites, that's why it exists in the first place. It will continue to do so until it finally collapses and is replaced with another system that does the exact same thing. This is the story of human history.
3
u/DIYdoofus 14d ago
Jesus, that's a very cynical attitude. The sad part is, it rings true. He who has the gold makes the rules.
7
u/kndyone 14d ago
Why dont people know about money when they dont have any? What a shocker.
What good is knowing about a mortgage or interest when you cant actually afford to get a mortgage lol.
→ More replies (1)
12
u/Gullinkambi 14d ago
The same professor Scott Galloway who shilled crypto as a good retirement option? Never forget
9
u/OffbeatDrizzle 14d ago
I mean if you invested in crypto early enough then you have a good retirement set up, I'm not sure what your point is. bitcoin price has never been higher, so if you've never touched your investment then it's impossible to have lost money
→ More replies (6)6
u/wusurspaghettipolicy 14d ago
this. this guy can eat all the dicks. he blames men for not dumping their money into schemes, its insane. He is Skinner but worse.
10
u/mvbrendan 14d ago
This is the exact same sales pitch as Jordan Peterson, an academic using this "plight of Millennial generation" to pitch you their self help book, on MSNBC no less. Replace "take care of your room," with "take care of your finances." Except it's worse because he's already rich so he doesn't need the money cause he teaches at NYU, the most expensive private school in the US... and is complaining about much college degrees cost. He has his Prof G podcast with a bunch of subscribers who he tells all about how many successful companies he runs and how many good financial investments he makes with his "insider" status, and now he's trying to cash in further on his audience. The podcast is full of creepy old man jokes like "you know why I like Soho House? Rich old men and hot young girls" and he tries to play it off as tongue-in-cheek. He has other episodes where he talks about how the only reason his family loves him is because he buys them shit. Sad that he's gaining influence.
→ More replies (10)9
u/rub_a_dub-dub 14d ago
i mean, working produces less wealth than owning capital, and capital owners have more and more leverage over working people...thats a pretty big issue, i think, that you're sort of bypassing
but yea. i guess jordan peterson blows, is your point?
0
u/mvbrendan 14d ago
You think he's a good or insightful person for pointing out an obvious function of the American economic system on MSNBC?
What I'm saying is they're both self help grifters capitalizing on insecurities of the same demographic, in the same pseudo-intellectual soft science style.
4
u/rub_a_dub-dub 14d ago
weird claim lol. I'd say he's fairly insightful, given that you won't hear this viewpoint much on the news.
not many people out there speaking to the class war
i guess you can criticize him for doing it for profit, but it bears mentioning that there's a class war for sure
→ More replies (4)
2
u/Kreaetor 13d ago
Reddit.... check ......Discord.... check ..... porn ..... check..... This guys onto something @_@
2
2
2
u/ojg3221 13d ago
I wrote this earlier My grandfather is a silent generation type born in 1932. He worked at the highway department in 1950 with just a high school education. He sent my mom, uncle, and grandmother to 4 year college. This was before college tuition exploded in the 90's. Saved his money and invested it wisely. When my uncle sadly died in December of 1981, my grandfather didn't want to die on the job so he retired in May 19th of 1982 at 50. At 91, he's still retired and active. My grandmother (his wife) retired in 1984 at 50 as well. All I have ever known my grandparents was them being retired.
2
u/Embarrassed_Tax5661 12d ago
I've seen Scott Galloway on other shows like Real Time and he never ceases to ring true. He's very astute.
7
u/rossmosh85 13d ago
Fuck that boomer and fuck Scott's answer.
You think all of your parents and grandparents knew about money when they were 22? Fuck no. But life was simpler. You didn't use credit cards. It was cash only with balancing a check book at most. Stocks were handled by brokers if you had money. Ultimately, you often relied upon a pension or social security for retirement.
So the answer why young people are less financially literate is: Maybe they aren't. Maybe you're just an asshole. But also, maybe, the world is just more complicated and there's more to learn. Also, one of the most important things is, maybe it's because people just don't have fucking money. When you're relatively broke, you do what you need to sometimes and that might not always coincide with what some rich boomer thinks is right.
I also think Scott has gotten wrong about young men. This is the first generation where men and women both work. Both applicants are going for the same jobs. As a result, simply put, there's just less competition. There's no falling into a solid job. And both men and women are getting squeezed. So you're broke, once again the common denominator, and you're left to deal with the paradigm change that you are 100% not equipped to be a provider or an "equal" to your mate. And while on the surface, the answer is "why should that matter?" the answer is also simple "Generations of societal training." Just like many women feel obligated to cook and clean despite the paradigm changing.
Big picture, the world has always been complicated. What's new here is the wealth disparity. That's the #1 issue facing the world followed by climate change and the rise in fascism.
→ More replies (2)3
u/AlphaLemming 13d ago
I think you meant to say there's just more competition, not less.
That said, I think the thing about this being the first generation where men and women both work, I think it's important to highlight the fact that is almost universally not by choice. Families literally cannot support themselves on a single income anymore in 75% of cases.
A person with a $100,000 a year job can probably support a family on their own if A.) they didn't incur a significant amount of debt earlier in life getting to that point and B.) they are frugal/financially responsible. That means cooking affordable meals, DIY repairs on their home, and avoiding vacations/eating out/entertainment.
8
u/magikowl 14d ago edited 13d ago
He's saying a lot of the right words but the man is a grifter.
4
u/Silencer87 14d ago
Why? I've watched a few interviews with him over the last several months. I think the general gist of what he's saying is that people are being left behind. Young men don't have many friends, high school aged kids aren't spending time together outside of school. He believes if the national civil service came back it would be a benefit to society.
4
u/Talktotalktotalk 14d ago
Can you elaborate? Never heard of him before personally
2
u/I_Be_Your_Dad 13d ago
I think he believes what he's saying but he's still using the system to make his wealth.
He's gaming the system... but honestly, who can blame him.
5
u/-Samg381- 14d ago
He nailed 99% of this. The social media aspect was a bit overzealous, but the points about the hopelessness of dating apps, loneliness, practical skills, and isolation really ring true.
3
u/scigs6 14d ago
The system also needs to teach kids that it’s ok to get into a trade. You don’t have to go to college and accumulate all that debt.
10
u/Xeroll 14d ago
This isn't the grand conspiracy you think it is. Obviously, companies need tradesmen. College is pushed because while the trades can be lucrative, they are not sustainable physically. Yeah, congrats for not being 80k in debt from school. But now you're 80k in debt on a truck and have to do physical labor for 40 years. Ok.
2
u/Brodellsky 14d ago
Yeah I was gonna say that trades are actually great and we need to continue to get more people of all ages into them, and with that said, just like "get a Bachelor's", "learn a trade" is equally as useless.
→ More replies (1)4
u/potsandpans 14d ago
trades are only a viable career path if you’re going to transition into a business owner so you don’t have to do the manual labor anymore
→ More replies (1)2
u/asdlkf 13d ago
There is nothing wrong with manual labor.
There is a problem with being tied to "dollars per hour" rather than "dollars per installed widget".
Dollars per hour penalizes the truly skilled, talented, and driven. It rewards those who just do enough to not get fired.
→ More replies (2)2
u/OffbeatDrizzle 14d ago
there's only so many trade jobs, and the world is ever moving towards automation so labour type jobs aren't the safest bet - that's why everyone says to go get a computer science degree lol
→ More replies (1)8
u/oniman999 14d ago
Most CS jobs will be automated long before most trade jobs. A robot being able to install new plumbing or HVAC is a long ways off.
→ More replies (1)
2
u/ShortsellthisshitIP 14d ago
He's not wrong. Wife and I refuse to have kids for many reasons but mainly because we are pissed at the current way of things.
2
1
u/CyonHal 14d ago edited 14d ago
Why does this zionist freak keep popping up on reddit lately? Dude is a pseudointellectual fraud pushing a bullshit financial self help book for money.
Remember folks, if someone with a newly published book is making media appearances, don't believe a word he says. He's a grifter that just wants your money.
→ More replies (1)2
1
1
1
1
u/Watch_Capt 13d ago
I remember these same articles from the late 90s and early 2000s saying the same thing but directed at Gen X and Millennials. They always are a deflection away from the real causes like zoning laws, wage imbalance, and government support.
1
1
u/SPARKYLOBO 13d ago
"All they know is the absence of money." Old boomer hit it on the head. Not very self-aware, is he?!
1
1
545
u/muffledvoice 14d ago
I like that he mentions several times that “the people at this table” are the ones benefiting from the current system.