Battle of the Generations

Apparently, we're locked in a generational battle again in this country.  I didn't know this, but I'm usually the last to find out about these things.

The question of who suffered greatest in the recession, and who's getting the most help from the government, communities, families, and others, is being debated with two major positions materializing: Baby-boomers vs. Millennials.

This is ironic to me because I am a Millennial in my late-20s, and my parents are Baby-boomers who are getting awfully close to retirement age.  We've never really felt any sort of tension in our family, I think in part because we are unusually dedicated to taking care of each other and willing to make significant sacrifices to do so.

I went through 8 years of college and grad school, mostly on the assistance of merit-based scholarships and need-based loans (though my family was a constant support in many ways during that time), and I have a Master of Divinity degree that doesn't turn over a lot of income.  I wait for a first call because I am in a perfect storm of "this isn't quite working out like we hoped it would," between living in a rural area- bound geographically by my husband's job and my commitment to my family, and seeking a call in a denomination that is not dominant in my area.  Many congregations here cannot pay the minimum salary to have a pastor at all.  I work a small job, and I am paid now.  I am blessed that I work in a field where I can work an unpaid internship for a year and a half until the church has a chance to put a small salary together for me.  How many companies would start paying you if you had worked that long for them for free, with no expectation of compensation in the future?

Regardless, that final step of ordination hangs in front of me, so easily falling into the laps of my colleagues but not for me.  It took so much time, money, energy, emotion, spiritual development, education, patience, ambition, a counseling for me to get here.  And yet it's also not yet here.  Like the eschaton.  It feels like the story of my life sometimes.

On the other hand, my parents have their own issues, among them serious health problems and a real estate market, local economy, etc. that threatens to take away financial stability, retirement, etc.  I may not own a house, and I may never be able to own a house, but theirs might do serious damage to their quality and quantity of years ahead of them.  They have far more assets than I do, but they could easily take a hard fall off their modest precipice.

We are each other's softer landing.  It might take us all under financial duress, but we're pretty committed to each other's well being.

So it surprises me to see the conflicting stories arising over "who has it worst."  The Boomers say it's them.  The Millenials say it's them.  If you've been following the controversy with the PCUSA's Board of Pensions, you'll hear similar statements, from young pastors with families saying that there will be fewer churches able to afford to call them (especially pastors who are just getting started in smaller, poorer, rural and inner city congregations) to older pastors who feel this is ageism and pressure to make them retire early.

These are not small issues.  They worry me.  My family is growing, and if we need to be dependent on my salary and health insurance one day, I may not have the job I need to take care of my family (my generation, my children's generation, OR my parents' generation).  I know so many people who are in vulnerable situations.

But despite the hostility and fear and finger-pointing, I wonder if the best way to uphold the communitarian nature of our systems will involve mutual self-sacrifice and mutual giving, beginning with mutual forbearance in our dialogues and decisions in these matters.

Like many recent national discussions (47% of this country being "takers"?), I think the same thing is being said over and over: "I cannot sustain my current financial situation the way it is, and a combination of responsible planning and mutual accountability/assistance is needed."  Just what is that balance though?  We will have to figure that out as we go.