Opinion: American dream? For millennials, that’s a cruel joke.

In President Bill Clinton remarked America has invariably been a land of opportunity a land where if you work hard you can get ahead It was an inspirational claim and as a millennial someone born between - it was ingrained in my head Go to college get a job and everything will be okay as long as you work hard and with purpose I d love for that to be true but the numbers tell a different story According to the National Association of Realtors Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Overview of younger millennials carry a median attendee debt of with around of older millennials having a median debt of That s on top of the average millennial s credit card debt of per Experian Retirement Seventy-five is optimistic The American dream we were promised is behind us and millennials also known as Generation Y seem to be the transition generation to whatever comes next Related Articles The Southern California wildfires destroyed homes Less than have permits to rebuild Californians pay ninth-highest HOA fees in US California commissioner proposes insurance rule that critics call revenge Antioch to draft ordinance in effort to promotion affordable housing Huge housing costs are stressing out California There are a large number of nights I ve stared at the ceiling wondering what I did wrong I went to college earned a master s degree got jobs plural and still it feels like a relentless barrage of never enough The gig economic activity coined around has been advertised as flexible and independent work The reality It often correlates to temp jobs part-time positions app-based functions and contract work leading to unstable pay unreliable curative coverage and in multiple cases limited to zero benefits That k match Unlike those classified as employees independent contractors tend to be excluded from these benefits News headlines echo our as we say intrusive thoughts Can Millennials Even Afford a Home Gen Y Is Screwed Greater part Millennials Can t Cover an Unexpected Diagnostic Bill My mother often reminds me Your generation is living in unprecedented times It s not your fault And she s right It s not our fault but it is ours to confront Our generation has been shaped by the Great Recession the wars in the Middle East social media the COVID- pandemic and rapid technological innovation All of this has created an economic and political landscape that is messy divided and often agonizing to constantly hear about We re not buying homes the same way A BMO Index notes of Generation Z and of millennials say they would co-buy a home with friends or family to spread out the costs For plenty of having children is an uneasy question with a NerdWallet survey finding of millennials stating the costs of having a child are way too high We are also living through the greatest wealth transfer in history Cerulli Associates projects that by trillion is expected to move from the Silent Generation and baby boomers to their descendants Yet of that wealth of households control of household wealth according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis A great transfer for a limited limited The American dream feels more like the American scheme something a great number of of us didn t get the memo for but still have to tackle Working hard no longer guarantees a fair shot Doing all the right things doesn t ensure the success we were promised If anything it s ensured a delayed ability to even think about the prospects of making big financial decisions Particular may say that s life but I think there s a legacy here Generations teach the next something powerful Perhaps the millennial legacy is one of resilience We were informed we could do anything and despite demoralizing headlines economic uncertainty and a regime that feels like it only represents a certain class we persevere We are a hardheaded generation avocado toast in hand We endure adapt and find approaches to make it work The American dream may feel like a scheme but millennials are still here We re still building striving and surviving However if hard work doesn t define success and if following the right path doesn t lead to harmony it is our job to redefine what that means not by chasing what was defined by those before us but one that literally fits our reality Manuel M Grajeda III is an economics educator human rights researcher and publicist based out of Long Beach