What terrifies Republicans... or should.

I was sitting at work (back up a second here, I moved to New York and took a new job at a new company in anticipation of my significant other going to Columbia this spring) and bantering with some younger colleagues.

Then a couple of more senior people sat down. And we got to talking, generally about benign things such as sports and light gossip. Then it got political. Taxes. And of course the old guys are upset about how the government pilfers their hard earned income. And they turned to us younger folks and asked why we weren't more distressed about the big, bad, evil government trying to take our money away. And I responded. And they didn't like it.

In 2004 an American author named Joseph Pine delivered a Ted Talk that hit the nail on the head for me. Pine broke down the progression of our economy from a commodities based marketplace, to a goods based one (think farming to manufacturing). That led to the services based economy (think latter half of the twentieth century, baby boomer positions of prestige: lawyers, accountants, therapists, etc.).

Then he brings us right to the cusp of where we are now: the conversion to an experiential economy. People, slowly but surely, are becoming less obsessed with the idea of accumulating goods and more interested in spending their capital on new experiences. That is to say, periods of time that will be remembered fondly and do not leave you with any tangible evidence you undertook such activity, simply your memory. Or some heinous gut-rot after an ocean cruise.

A great example of this is Angry Birds. The Finnish software maker Rovio truly doesn't have any physical product.  They sell an experience for 99 cents on the mobile device marketplace. They literally sell you the experience of playing a game, nothing more. It's not a good because it has no physical form. It's not a service because functionally it does nothing other than distract you and silence bored children. And all you're left with is the memory of three-starring a level you've been hammering on for two days.

This trend in the economy isn't isolated to games and vacations either. Young people, especially hardened Generation Y and Z (arbitrarily pinning that on those born after 1985 or so but earlier as well), are becoming less interested in the pursuit of massive wealth.

Soon, gone may be the days of owning a cabin, jet skis, motorcycles, etc. Why buy the headache of all that when all you really want is the experience. Rent a motorcycle. The best part is, if you don't like it, return it to its owner. If you're still in one piece.

If you hear that hissing sound in the background, you're not alone. It's the Baby Boomers trying to impart a sense of wisdom... owning is better! The concept of ownership bringing forth equity and therefore a higher net wealth has been the underpinning of the Baby Boomer economy for years. Look at all the stuff they have accumulated. Massive suburban houses, massive suburban vehicles, furniture that goes unused in rooms rarely occupied in these houses, televisions, boats, oh god I'm having a panic attack writing this.

Young people today can survive on a set of clothes, a laptop, and a modicum of dishes and furniture. That's about it. Why? We're more interested in spending our time having good experiences. Travel, food and wine, having friends over, going to art galleries, seeing new films, concerts, all of this doesn't actually have substance (well the wine and food perhaps, but they consumed anyway).

If you're still reading, my sincerest thanks. I get to my point right about now.

This experiential economy is transferring to the workplace for young people now. Salary is not about who dies with the most wins, salary is about being able to experience new things and live in relative comfort (and comfort, by the way, doesn't mean a 3,000 square foot home, it means a shorter commute to save more time for experience).

And your experience at work matters now too. Companies that seem to get it are going to extraordinary lengths (by Boomer definition) to accommodate. Bring your dog to work, cereal and ping pong in the break room, jeans on Friday, hell jeans everyday, incrementally increasing PTO, etc. It all adds up.

Okay, says the Boomer. I can deal with smelly dogs in the office. Maybe, but I know what you can't deal with and it's driving you insane to watch your children recklessly disregard it: giving your life over to work. We won't do it. The experience we feel entitled to in this life is worth too much to live at the office. And if we don't get ahead because of it, well so be it. We'll find other ways to get our experience. Boomers hate this. They have been disarmed of their one motivational tool: money. Or as I like to call it, greed.

Call me crazy but I just don't see the younger generation as a greedy one. Our needs are largely met by the agency we have on facebook, where everyone is equal, whether you're a kid in India, Zambia, or Germany, we all have the same tools to represent ourselves and be heard. We don't need a Chevy Suburban and a perfectly manicured lawn to fill the deep hole in our soul left by materialistic society and prove to someone else we're awesome.

And that's why employers are paying billions of dollars to the Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act. ACA represents the first step away from employer-based healthcare. It's once again stripping the old white guys of one of their most treasured instruments to keep unhappy people in their seat at work.

My only message to Republicans is this: let it go, your relevance is waning anyway. And take comfort, so is the Democrats'. This isn't about partisanship anymore, it's about a painful generational transition that's taking place where the very language of one generation isn't shared by the other.

More to come.