OP-ED: Why All The Political Hand-Wringing and Fuss Over Gen Y?

By P.D. Lesko

LOOKING FOR WHAT is called a reliable voter? Look for a white woman aged 70 and above (a Baby Boomer), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Looking for the least reliable voter on whom a candidate should think twice about wasting time, money and literature, the voter who goes to the polls with the least frequency? Look for a white woman aged 18-20, a so-called, Millennial (Gen Y) voter. Spending power? Gen Y’s spending power pales in comparison to that of the peak age group. According to data from U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the average Gen Y individual spends $25,000 per year, and has an annual household income barely above that, somewhere around $35,000 per year. The big earners and big spenders? Those are people in the 35-45 year-old age bracket, Gen Xers. They pull down salaries that average $70,000-$80,000 dollars per year and pump into the local economy, on average, double what Gen Y individuals part with in a year.

So why, here in Ann Arbor, have our elected politicos been fibbing, clawing and straining to convince us that we need urban density, light-rail, to all stand on one leg, and bow down to the god Loki to attract and create businesses that will hire and/or retain Gen Y workers? State-level politicos have handed over hundreds of millions in tax breaks to companies that promise to create so-called “knowledge-based” jobs, such as those 300 or so jobs created by Google here in Ann Arbor, and filled by those “coveted” Gen Y workers. Just to be clear, in 2008 Google promised to create 1,000 jobs by 2011, but no one talks about that now. They should be. In fact, state officials should use such failures as case-book studies on the waste of tax subsidies by the state and subsidies from our own local government.

Just to be clear, according to a blog entry posted by Concentrate Media in October of 2009 written by a Gen Y Google employee, Gen Y “demands” are few:

“Monthly rent between $600-$900

Close proximity to work and social scene (walking/biking distance)

Option to live alone affordably

No ‘cookie cutter’ condos – we want places with character

Flooring that has not seen the ravages of six years of lost beer pong tournaments.”

I was charmed by the last “demand.”

Gen Yers want to live alone affordably. To begin, that $600 monthly rent is very close to what is paid by those occupying what little low income housing Ann Arbor has to offer. If you’re a Gen Xer sitting in your house, you’re muttering something like, “$900 bucks is a house payment….” It is. Just one little problem, Gen Y writers have casts homeownership thusly: “I alternate between the dream of putting in new kitchen counter-tops and the nightmare of realizing that I could have spent six months wandering Buenos Aires for the price of them.”

So go wander South America. I did my wandering; you should do yours, as well. When you come back, be prepared to live in a cramped apartment or find a roomie, get a job that pays $35-$40K and work your way up the ladder. It’s what the Boomers did. It’s what Gen Xers are doing. It’s what that “coveted” Gen Y generation must be prepared to do. But they’re not, and politicos in Ann Arbor, not to mention in Lansing, are encouraging an entire demographic of young people (currently Gen Y is aged 20-32) in their tragic delusions that society needs to provide them low income housing (with character, and good flooring, no less), the ability to live alone affordably, a “social scene” and a job right out their front doors.

I’d like to “discover” a 1957 Thunderbird convertible, red with white interior, in a barn somewhere and get it for $1,000. Alas, some wishes are just that, wishes never to be fulfilled. When I have a spare $35,000-$45,000, that Thunderbird will be mine. Until then, I drive a more utilitarian vehicle.

I encourage my kids’ dreams and schemes up to a point and this, I think, is where local and state politicos have lost their hold of reality and are simply grasping at trendy straws. When my kids’ talk about starting at the top of the corporate ladder, I kindly but firmly point out that, as a rule, one climbs the corporate ladder unless one is prepared to launch one’s own business. Thus, when the mayor, Council members, and state-level politicos wring their hands about retaining and attracting Gen Y workers, I have to admit I am a total loss as to why we want to attract people to our state who vote infrequently, need low income housing, and who pump only half the amount yearly into the local and state economies than a worker ten years older does.

Since John Hieftje has pursued his visionless folly of urban density over the past decade, the population of Ann Arbor has dipped slightly. We’ve lost residents to the surrounding communities of Saline, Dexter and Chelsea. Truth be told, an influx of thousands of Gen Y workers would generate exponentially less overall local spending and tax revenues than, say, an influx of thousands of 40-55 year-old individuals with or without families. Gen Xers would also bring their established businesses with them as they own 26 percent of all businesses in the United States.

So why aren’t local politicos standing on their heads, staying up nights, devising policies, encouraging development, and city projects tailored to attract Gen Xers to Ann Arbor? Why don’t they disband the LDFA and stop skimming millions from our schools for Ann Arbor SPARK? Why don’t they budget to expand parks and recreational facilities and opportunities? Why don’t they spend money to create an excellent infrastructure? Why don’t they make it a priority to fund citizen services as opposed to building Necropoli for cars? Why not make Ann Arbor a Gen X magnet city?

Here’s a suggestion: Wish a hearty bon voyage to that minority of Michigan-born Gen Yers who go to the cities that already have jobs and “scenes” right out the front door—the big cities, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New York, L.A.

Would the local and state economies collapse? Would Ann Arbor cease to be a “cool” city (whatever the heck that means)? Of course not.

The truth is that the majority of Michigan’s current Gen Yers won’t just up and leave Michigan if their “demands” remain unmet. Why? According to migration research by the Pew Social Trend group, Michigan is the fifth most “stickiest” state in the union. Just behind Wisconsin by a single percentage point, 67.5 percent of people born in Michigan who are 18 years or older have stayed in Michigan. Conversely, only 22 percent of the people currently living in Michigan who are 18 years or older were born in another state. Sticky is where it’s at for demographers.

According to the study, “In the Midwest, nearly half of adult residents say they have spent their entire lives in their hometown.” That, my fellow native Michiganians, is a huge home court advantage that local, not to mention state-wide politicians overlook in favor of attracting new people to Michigan, particularly  Gen Yers. It’s a losing battle. That demographic is moving South and West, not into the heartland. Gen Xers will relocate to the Midwest for jobs, and do. Make Ann Arbor dual career couple heaven and the Gen Xers will come.

Focusing political policies, time, money and effort on attracting Gen Y is a waste of political capital for any community that hopes to grow its economy reliably and diversely. Having a large pool of workers who earn, on average, $25,000-$30,000 less than the median income in our city will not expand the tax base, but an influx of 5,000 Gen Xers who would buy houses would. Having a large pool of Gen Y workers serves employers, such as Google, who make pie-in-the-sky promises of job creation that give small town politicos like ours campaign bullet points.

Such a labor pool serves start-ups, such as those allegedly “incubated” by Ann Arbor SPARK. Tragically for local and state taxpayers, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation—and it’s offspring, such as Ann Arbor SPARK, have neglected to accurately track actual number of jobs created and actual returns on taxpayer investments. At MEDC and SPARK, the idea appears to be to spend tax dollars; not to spend the tax dollars wisely.

It’s the same principle at work in Ann Arbor and Michigan chasing Gen Yers. The point is to attract and retain “young people.” Where are the studies that show Gen Yers are the demographic that’s best for Ann Arbor to chase? Ironically, our Ann Arbor politicos are chasing a demographic group that, thanks to the recession, according to another study done by the Pew Social Trend group, is moving back home with their parents in record numbers. They’re not moving into “work force” housing proposed by developers such as Alex de Parry with his Heritage Row Apartments development built on south Fifth Avenue.

The fact that local elected officials and their political appointees have wasted almost a decade crafting public policy around the pipe dream of meeting the “demands” of Gen Y has cost our city dearly, and will continue to do so as long as they are allowed to remain in office and play out their own Boomer fantasies of shaping Ann Arbor into little Portland or baby Chicago.

It’s time for Ann Arbor to embrace its identity as a midwestern college town. There are almost exactly as many 15-24 year-olds in Ann Arbor as 25-45 year-olds. It’s the mid-range of that latter demographic, the Gen Xers, who will come, settle, buy houses, pay taxes and vote. We must educate, encourage, support and nurture our native-born Gen Yers so that they’ll want to return home once they’ve sown their wild oats in Buenos Aires, Portland or Chicago.

However, our Boomer politicos need to start focusing less on Gen Y and more on Gen X if they are serious about fostering economic viability in our city and helping with the economic rebirth of our state.

How could city government encourage Gen Xers and their families in Ann Arbor?

How about a coupon for a free rental at any canoe livery in town tucked in with the summer property tax bills?

How about subsidizing $10 bus passes for the city’s K-12 students instead of subsidizing downtown employers? Really, the possibilities are endless. Someone just needs to take the first step.