There are nearly 80 million people who fall into the category of being a “Millennial”. The overall consensus is if you were born from the early eighties to the early two thousands, you are considered a Millennial. Some of the words associated when talking about this generation are, “entitled”, “narcissistic”, “lazy” and “snowflakes”. Sadly, these are terms which have been earned. The question then bares asking, how did an entire generation lose a strong work ethic which had been passed down from generation to generation? Afterall, our country was raised and built on the old adage, “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” To a vast majority of this generation, this adage simply doesn’t apply any longer.

In my own business endeavors over the past ten plus years, and right up to today, I have had hundreds of small business owners share their horror stories with me. Tale upon tale of how difficult it is today to find good, quality, hardworking people to fill their employment needs. Young people applying for jobs and expecting to be paid top dollar with no experience, has become the norm. Working your way up the ladder is a misnomer for them. Their persona is, “if I’m showing up for work, I’m doing you a favor”. This is the entitlement factor. There’s a severe lack of team spirit and doing what’s best for the company, it’s about what’s best for them. I’m told many of them have little commonsense and need their hands held around doing the simplest of tasks. And then there are the ones who when they make mistakes, need to be talked to as though they’re in a therapy session. They’re offended easily and often, almost as if they’re looking for a reason to quit.

When you still live at home with your Mommy and Daddy, who needs to keep a job? For the first time in more than 130 years, Americans ages 18-34 are more likely to live with their parents than in any other situation.

Sounds like kids who were not well prepared for the real world doesn’t it? I had to deal with this on the campaign trail in 2016. Some of them I sent home as we traveled the country. One in particular I deemed a “professional slacker”. He would turn it on when he had to, and slack off at every opportunity. We must ask, why is this the case? What has caused an entire generation to become such slackers?

Let’s begin with the sixties and seventies, the hippie generation. The generation of peace, love and anything goes. Anything traditional was considered “square”. Letting your feelings run amuck and doing what you felt like doing, was the way of the hippie culture. If you were a business owner, you were part of the establishment. And none of the establishment was to be trusted, change must occur. Out of this came the “PC” culture, along with the recognition that the ACLU (American Civil Liberty Union) could be used as a weapon judiciously, to make what would become, more and more, liberal agenda changes. What’s good for me and the hell with the majority, became the common theme through those generations. This era began the demise of Christianity and the non belief in God almighty. God was a man-made myth, not the other way around.

In a strange way, Millennials are very much like a modern-day hippie culture, just without the long hair and flowers. Detached from reality, and finding a way not to conform to the standards of the past, including a strong work ethic. Millennials have grown up in an era of vile video games which have desensitized kids to the value of human life. This has contributed to the feeling that life is more a game then a reality. Most people have heard of the kid who threatens to call 911 on their parents for being punished, right?

Where did many of the hippie culture end up? In our education system as teachers. Hence, today we constantly read stories about teachers at all levels, expressing their liberal agenda and beliefs on our children. And as I’ve written in a previous column, every kid gets a trophy today, win or lose. Thus, taking away the incentive to strive to be better. After all, we’re all the same, at least according to todays Socialist Democrats. It’s no wonder these kids haven’t the drive or fortitude to be more than they can be. I have a friend who owns a franchised sub shop in Florida. He owned two of them and sold one a few months ago. Now he’s selling the other. The reason he’s selling them is the employee issues of today. He just doesn’t want to deal with it anymore, it’s that frustrating, that it would cause a business owner to sell out. He said to me, “the only thing they care about, is they better have their birthdays off.” They just don’t care. Another business owner of an Italian pizza restaurant in New Hampshire told me of one of her employees sitting on the floor curled up in a ball, crying. She couldn’t handle the pressure.

My friend who owned the sub shops told me of a friend who’s a teacher. She was telling him that the next generation coming along, is even worse. This is a Bernie Sanders dream come true. Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream in Vermont recently named an ice cream after Crazy Bernie. I can only picture him sitting and eating a gallon of it, licking his chops at how easily this generation of Millennials can be controlled.

So, not only are we raising a generation of social misfits due to smart phones and texting, we’re also raising a generation of slackers. What will the impact be on America? Can you imagine these young adults in the military being told what to do?

Then again, why would they even join the military? God help us!