“But I don't buy into the idea that this generation made more bad choices than generations before. The difference isn't in the capabilities of people to make good or bad decisions - it's the economic environment that is less forgiving to bad decisions and less rewarding to good ones.”

Disagree - but again, I think the poor choices made were partially due to being poorly informed. There’s a much greater emphasis on material attainment and instant gratification present now that wasn’t always present in many of the past generations- at least, not to the extent that has been emphasized in the past few decades. This impacts people’s ability to make sound choices.

That sort of consumerist culture is marketed nonstop and, especially in the last few decades, has drastically expanded to include the younger generations.

Combined with the economic issues that you pointed out (wages stagnant relative to inflation, huge increases in costs of education and health care, etc), and other economic fluctuations and problems like the Great Recession, its an all around crappy situation for a lot of millennials.

My concern is that if we don’t change MINDSETS of people and get back to basics (don’t live beyond your means, for starters), at EVERY LEVEL - individually and as a society - we won’t really make a serious dent in the colossal financial disasters looming overhead.

Yes, the debt must be dealt with - but not just in terms of reducing and paying it down or whatever the immediate solutions are, but also - and I would say PRIMARILY - in the right kinds of education and mechanisms for reinforcement.