| People used to believe that you became an adult on | | | | And being an adult isn't easy, and this economy |
| your eighteenth birthday. It was like some sort of | | | | doesn't help. "Job stability" seems like an oxymoron |
| wonderful - or terrible - magic trick. One day you are | | | | for most of us, and the promises of Democratic tax |
| a teenager, with mom doing your laundry and dad | | | | cuts and health care options are disappearing before |
| paying the bills, and the next day - poof! Suddenly | | | | our very eyes. And when your full time job doesn't |
| you can vote for the President, go to war, buy a | | | | seem to be cutting it, but no one else is hiring, the |
| rifle and cigarettes, and sign your own property or | | | | obvious place to turn is Google - home income |
| car lease. | | | | searches are higher than they've ever been. |
| I think the reality of becoming an adult is much | | | | We are a society that can no longer function without |
| different in the new millennium. Eighteen still seems | | | | the Internet. The Federal government has made |
| pretty childish to me. Actually, I turned around the | | | | "being unable to own a home computer" one of the |
| other day and realized that twenty-three seems | | | | markers of poverty in this country, so it's no surprise |
| childish, and I actually happen to still be in my | | | | that the hunt for inbox dollars is on the rise. And it |
| twenties myself. But I don't think age has much to | | | | used to be that people wanted a Google home |
| do with adulthood any more. I think now adulthood is | | | | income in place of a job they went to every day. |
| defined conceptually - when is the moment when | | | | But now they're just hoping for inbox dollars to |
| you not only realize that you are responsible for | | | | supplement their corporate dollars. |
| yourself, but you start to plan accordingly? | | | | Unfortunately this is all a part of being an adult. If |
| I think a good measure of adulthood is when you | | | | you and your wife are having a second child and |
| have a thousand dollars in your bank account and | | | | need a bigger place, your corporate job does not |
| you realize that means you cannot take that trip with | | | | just suddenly offer you more money, though it's |
| your buddies that "only" costs $500. Last year you | | | | likely you will need more. I won't say that life isn't fair |
| would have thought, "Cool, and there's money left | | | | - working hard for a living isn't unfair - it's reality. |
| over for beer!" But this year, for the first time, you | | | | In truth, we should all be very grateful for having the |
| know that spending 50% of your savings on a week | | | | option of a Google home income. When our parents |
| in Panama during "Spring Break" - though you're no | | | | were growing up, if the family needed extra money, |
| longer in college - is pretty stupid. Now you're an | | | | mom or dad got a second job - outside of the |
| adult. | | | | house. Think about that. |