Why can't we be friends?
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Isn’t it a shame that the government is targeting young people – the future of the country – in a bid to save a few extra bucks?
In an attempt to shake up higher education (but really, to save money), the Australian Government will require university students to pay a higher tuition fee. And from July next year, graduates must pay back their student loans when they reach an income level of $42,000 a year – down from the current level of $55,000.
Cue the, “old people are screwing young people over” comments.
The government’s decision is adding more fuel to the fire that is the growing disparity between millennials and baby boomers. (A disparity that is amusingly highlighted here.) It’s time we extinguish it.
Yes, young person, I get it. Old people ruined the economy, the job market, and our opportunity to buy a house. They’ve ruined it for us.
And yes, o’ wise and experienced citizen, I also understand. Us youngins aren’t that great either. We can be lazy and feel entitled; we waste our days fiddling on our gadgets and gizmos; and yes, we spend way too much money on avocado on toast. ($19? Are you serious?)
But the reality is that millennials and baby boomers need one other. Instead of complaining about each other, I say it’s time we come together. If we combine the passion, energy and desire to make a difference found in young people, with the wisdom, experience and influence older people have, our society would look vastly different.
The government’s desire to save money is understandable, but it can’t come at the expense of young people. That’s ridiculous. Young people, particularly university students, are the next intake of lawyers, doctors, entrepreneurs, musicians, artists, athletes, leaders, and innovators. To have immediate debt haunting them while they’re still trying to figure out what to do with their life is only hurting them.
And if young people aren’t being set up to win, then who really wins in the long run?
If I could challenge you, young people, have the humility to ask for help. You don’t have all the answers, so stop pretending like you do and learn from those who’ve had decades of more life experience.
Older people, if you’d hear me out, seek to understand millennials – and I’m not talking about a surface-level, using hip lingo type of understanding. Just because they’re different to your generation, doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Don’t let your lack of understanding cloud your perspective on young people.
Ironically, society needs to look more like university – a place where students and professors interact, where young people and older people are in an environment where they sharpen each other’s perspectives and work together for the greater good.
Let’s not allow these fee increases to disrupt one of the few institutions left where millennials and baby boomers co-exist harmoniously and fruitfully. And whether you’re a young person or an older one, let’s be the one to initiate this partnership needed in making society a better place.