A Gazette columnist after hearing young Canadians want to make money
Courtesy the Montreal Gazette, which should have published the article with a giant frowny face on the side and an embedded recording of your old auntie clucking her tongue.
“Younger Canadians are more concerned about themselves and money,” blares the subheading. The column refers to a Parisian study of 16-29 year-olds in 25 different countries.
The poll suggests that Canada’s up-and-coming generation could be more individualistic and materialistic than the preceding one. Retirees, take note: This generation could be less committed to Canada’s social safety net.
The Montreal Gazette apparently finds this surprising (or believes its older readers are idiots.) It would be surprising to me if the average 16 to 29 year-old wasn’t the tiniest bit resentful at the thought of having to support two, three, or four senior citizens from the baby boomer glut with his or her tax dollars.
The poll finds that 47 per cent of young respondents in Canada feel that it is more important for society to reward individual performance than to share prosperity more equitably. That compares with 39 per cent of their elders.
Indeed, 54 per cent of young people in Canada (about the same as in the U.S.) say they want to “earn a lot of money” -only in China and India is the eagerness for wealth greater.
About half of young Canadians want to earn a lot of money and think individual effort and merit ought to be rewarded. Tragic. Has anyone checked the ice floes of Nunavut for Jean Chretien?
But Gazette columnist Henry Aubin buries the lede.
As well, 62 per cent of young Canadians say an ideal society should be characterized by the lowest possible taxes rather than by the optimal social benefits (exceeded only by the Americans, at 72 per cent).
Not bad! Couple this finding with results from other studies that show young people now are consistently more socially liberal than preceeding generations, and it’s beginning to look like Canada has raised a crop of libertarians.
They don’t exactly want to have kids, either.
H/T: Montreal Simon, who doesn’t like these results one bit.
UPDATE:
A good samaritan on Reddit managed to find the survey the Gazette piece is based on. Here’s a link to the English pdf.
From Montreal Simon:
“I must say I have trouble believing this poll. I haven’t the slightest interest in being piggy rich. Neither do most of my friends. And although some of them are really struggling to pay the bills, none of us would even THINK of not supporting seniors.”
I don’t see where in the poll it said that young people are unwilling to help seniors. All I see is a desire to lower taxes and have fewer gov-run safety nets. That tells us nothing — not one bit — about how charitable or helpful people are or are willing to be *if you ask them* (rather than tax them).
“But then I suppose nobody should be surprised if some young Canadians are really that greedy.They are bathed in a culture where money means success. And live in a country where Stephen Harper’s Cons promote the cult of the individual. Where taxes are bad, and community is communism.”
Utter nonsense. The same government that has run deficits up like drunken sailors? I’d be curious to see proof, by way of concrete policy, of this “cult of the individual”. There is none.
Simon belongs to that special category of Canadian leftist bloggers — the category of those who believe Stephen Harper is one majority away from putting people in concentration camps.
Being a bit of a partisan knob, he’s also going to assume that I’m a wicked social conservative who loves the PM.
This is fantastic news
If Stephen Harper Cons “promote the cult of the individual” why are they running deficits like drunken sailors?
Terrence, I’m pretty ticked at you for linking to Montreal Simon. His blog was a pretty depressing read. I just wasted for more minutes than I should have scrolling through his posts.
Damn you! You selfish HarperCon partisan fascist!
Had to give credit where credit was due, Jonathan. My apologies
Besides, it’s kind of amusing seeing how many different ways he can put pig heads on people. I wouldn’t be surprised if he digs up a photo of me and drops a pig head on it.
See, and I thought you were a selfish libertarian who would be unwilling to share credit.
Be sure to let us know if a pig head picture of you pops up on his blog.
Hey, thanks for the article, very cool!
American here, very glad to see individualism taking a stand on this continent we share. I just hope we will be able to accomplish what we set out to do.
Steps toward good government:
1. Abolish the central banks.
2. Replace regulation with holding corporations accountable to their very demise.
3. Rescind all prohibition.
4. Total transparency with all that is left.
This brought a tear to my eye. It’s nice to see the youth is waking up to the fact that government is just some inept coercive institution and the more they get out of our affairs the better.
Kids that want to get somewhere in life, value individualism, believe work should be rewarded on merit… what’s not to like?
That’s great news.
“…the category of those who believe Stephen Harper is one majority away from putting people in concentration camps.”
That’s so bad! (but so funny)