Where and when did it seem that everyone felt entitled? Entitled to an education, happiness, college, a home, every new tech toy, and a new car now and then, etc. I know the answer, as it was an evolution and change in attitude that began in the sixties, in my opinion. Some might say it began with Lyndon Johnson and his “Great Society” and that may also have been a starting point. But, the sad fact is that Americans have a higher quality of life than any generation, anywhere, any time, in world history.

Yet, I would assert that the happiness and satisfaction scales are not near as high as the quality of life now available to the vast majority of us, especially our children. Don’t we all know extremely spoiled children? Don’t many of us indulge our children far too much while reminiscing about our own struggles in life? This is not a good change.

Feeling entitled makes a person ungrateful for all that they may have in life. Feeling like the world owes you something only encourages laziness. Getting something for nothing instills nothing good in human beings. And, when it starts in childhood, it can become a very bad lifetime expectation and habit.

I tried to offer my kids the balance in life that I thought was appropriate. I got a rude awakening when my older son got accepted to an expensive college and simply expected that he could go and I would pay for it. His younger brother was appalled at the notion that there was even a question that he or his older brother would go to whatever college they wanted to go to!

That reaction from my boys was a harsh wake-up call to this general notion that I fear is quite prevalent among their generation and many older Americans as well. Again, I think this is a lousy development.

While I could not fully correct the apparent mistakes I made in spoiling my boys to the degree that they would think they were entitled to go to any college of their choosing, I did make quick amends and adjustments.

As described in an earlier column, My Boys Would Be Better Off If I Abandoned Them, I had learned that because of our relative economic well being, we did not qualify for any financial aid for college. Private loans carried exorbitant interest rates. I chose to give my older son a loan – at the prevailing rate and terms of financial aid – for one year of his college education.

We had a family dinner in which these ideas and expectations of college entitlement were frankly discussed. My younger son, at first, expressed outrage that he might have to carry one-year’s worth of college debt. My older son quickly got the reasoning behind his loan. He was now invested in his education and it wasn’t going to be just a fun lark for four years.

While I tend to avoid politics, there is no question that the evolution of entitlements, across the spectrum of society, has created an expectation that these gifts would go on forever. We can see the damage this thinking has wrought in Europe. We can see it at home, where so many cities and states are in fiscal crisis.