Steven Kurutz, "The Gen X Career Meltdown" https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/28/style/gen-x-creative-work.html

Reading this piece and listening to his interview on Amanpour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i55CKDCm6dY I'm a bit baffled. What did you people expect?

«Typically, workers in their 40s and 50s are entering their peak earning years. But for many Gen-X creatives, compensation has remained flat or decreased, factoring in the rising cost of living. The usual rate for freelance journalists is 50 cents to $1 per word — the same as it was 25 years ago.»

Yes. And I work as a dishwasher getting € 13/hour pre-tax. I only get this by having joined the union. And by that I now get the same salary again that I got 24 years ago. So, what's the fuss? You knew what you were doing, what you signed up for.

«Aside from lost income, there is the emotional toll — feelings of grief and loss — experienced by those whose careers are short-circuited. Some may say that the Gen X-ers in publishing, music, advertising and entertainment were lucky to have such jobs at all, that they stayed too long at the party. But it’s hard to leave a vocation that provided fulfillment and a sense of identity. And it isn’t easy to reinvent yourself in your 50s, especially in industries that put a premium on youth culture.»

Yes, it's hard. Which is why everyone's grieving when pushed out on the dole or pushed into a field where all that is left are low-paying menial jobs for which such older folks then compete with younger ones. But, again, what did you expect? And do you expect pity now? Capitalism offered you a magnificent time, and now you complain about that very capitalism coming after you? Gee.