Carbon Tax and Generation Y - Assignment Example

Carbon Tax and Generation Y Name Institution Abstract This paper looks at the changing trends of the new generation Y and the and the introduction of the Australian carbon tax that has raised havoc all over the world. It looks at the philosophy at which the new generation lives by, over the normal order of things. At the end of the day it will justify to the reason why the carbon tax by the government has failed to meet the needs of generation Y in terms of economic growth, cost of living, environmental management and career development. With this in mind this paper will tend to reveal that the Australian High carbon tax will not work with the new generation Y trends. Introduction There has been a lot of discussion about the values, beliefs, attitudes and personality behavior of generation Y and the older generation. The Australian government recently imposed 23dollar per ton carbon tax that has been blamed for the falling of many institutional operation. Already the business trend in the country is affected and there has been a recorded loss in the manufacturing and the tourism industry. The families in the countries have also recorded increased electric bills among other health care costs. However, what comes out clear is that the so called carbon tax has totally failed to address the values and attitudes of young people popularly known as generation Y in all aspects such as environment, cost of living and career development. This is because, the values that people used to hold in the 1970s has highly changed as generation Y to give little or no value to the zest for work and development and have put more of their energy on things that are not economically viable (foster, 2013). However there are other research findings that show this group of generation is socially and environmentally conscious and community minded than the generation which was there before. Changing Trends of Generation Y When we look at news reports and most projects in the community nowadays one is easily convinced that there as so many projects on environmental conservation than this was in the 1980s. These people were not to be less interested in nature and ways of conservation of nature. But with the recent increase of carbon emissions, the action towards this has been realized by generation Y. Among other things that have been experience by the new generation include new technologies, inflation of post secondary degrees there is a lot of speculations about the changing economic times. When we look at the government carbon tax it can be said that they have failed to meet the needs of generation Y. for example the way commodities have been presented in the society most of them are said not to meet the needs of the Y generation. With this in mind, hard work indeed does not pay off as it used in the past. Young people want to work for a purpose and not just for the sake of working. As a survey of generation Y attitude towards work indicates that young people are less inclined to buying things for the sake of buying them. The shift is also seen in the consumer goods this could also be as a result of under employment that is experienced by the Y generation (foster, 2013). The environmental movement today does not also focus on recycling and carbon offsets, but more on making good use of what is available. This leads to buying less and wasting less habit. The environment is a very important factor in the life of generation Y as compared to the older generation. They are always working on projects that are geared towards shaping the contemporary society we live in; as a matter of fact the generation Y is very conscious about the environment more than the baby boomers were. They are very connected to the things around them more than the baby boomers. For example this generation is more interested about industrial pollution and the waste disposal crisis that is facing most parts of the country including the great pacific garbage patch. They are less interested in the bottled water due to the garbage it contributes from plastic waste, as a matter of fact when one takes a walk in the universities one is able to find most of this Y generation walking with refillable water cans than the one time bottle cans that were very popular with the order generation. They are seen wearing organic clothing and shop at places that sell whole fold. In fact the research shows that the generation Y is very interested about issues of environment and their level of concern is at all times high. By the introduction of the new internet learning technology, there is more impact on the environment in that, many of people from this generation learn more electronically that the use and re use of books which are now to cause carbon decay within a period of time. This also reduces the amount of deceases that are caused with dust. When it comes to consumer decision making, this is also very well seen in the way generation Y buy and use commodities (Bucszinsky, 2013). Their earth friendly behavior is also found in the way they work their things. Most of them have resulted in making use of energy friendly devices that use less amounts of energy and produces few of minimal carbon emissions. When it comes to cost benefit, it can also be seen that the generation Y has proven to introduce and make us of less use of energy than the older generation. For example, a young man who feels hungry will not have to use a vehicle to have meals delivered to his home; all he has to do is to make online order for a pizza which will be delivered by a person delivering the same commodity or more to other homes. By doing this, the use of technology enables the reduction of cost of consumption in families in terms of fuel, at the same time reducing the amounts of carbon emission released by many vehicles on the road. In addition the young generation is also making use of the cloud technology to send messages and communicate (Vrba, 2012). The use of the social media has assisted them in connecting with the family members more readily without having to travel to different locations of the world. In addition, the social media also helps in connecting to public transport schedules. There is also a growing trend in terms of the way this generation has decided in raising families. A recent survey in the American families has seen families moving to smaller houses that fit what they need, other are reducing the number of vehicles that are being owned by one family. In addition many families are deciding to have fewer children. According to a study by the center for work policy, 43% women and 32% men falling in the generation X and Y do not have children; most of them are career oriented and care less about raising a family (Urban, 2011). The reason for this is the high cost of living that is hitting the generation. There is little money left to care for children after most of them put more efforts in reading and learning. With this action, there is a positive impact in the earth which is already populated. With a manageable population it means that there will be little concern for treading the environment which is already exhausted. The increasing population calls for more land for building home and business enterprises, but with the control of population, then it means the mortality rate and the rate of birth will be able to balance across the board. Conclusion In conclusion it can be agreed that the government carbon tax has failed to meet the values and attitudes of the Y generation. For this reason, the government should appreciate the diversity of generation Y in all aspects. Their social and economic values should be incorporated instead of the old time characteristics that did not care what they think about technology, environment, the climate and the global economic shift. Unfortunately the new government carbon tax is so much invested in climate change that it ignores the other values that people hold close of which may address the very issue of saving the planet from the destruct due to climate change. References: Bucszinsky, B. (2013, April 22). Is Gen Y Just Pretending To Care About The Environment? Retrieved September 11, 2013, from www.care2.com: http://www.care2.com/causes/is-gen-y-just-pretending-to-care-about-the-environment.html foster, K. (2013, January 3). What’s Good about Generation Y? Retrieved September 11, 2013, from www.greatergood.berkeley.edu: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/whats_good_about_generation_y Urban, A. (2011, October 18). Overworked, Debt-Laden Gen X Opting For No Kids. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from www.care2.com: http://www.care2.com/causes/overworked-debt-laden-gen-x-opting-for-no-kids.html Vrba, S. (2012, July 3). Generation Y Driving Less and Sharing More. Retrieved September 11, 2013, from www.care2.com: http://www.care2.com/causes/generation-y-driving-less-and-sharing-more.html Read More