Millions upon millions of young Americans have completely lost faith in the U.S. economy and are mad as hell that their economic futures have been destroyed. The recent economic downturn has hit those under the age of 30 the hardest. Today, there are hordes of young people that should be entering their most productive years that are sitting home with nothing to do. Many of them have worked incredibly hard throughout high school and college. Many of them have stayed out of trouble and have done everything that "the system" asked them to do. But once they got finished with school, the promised "rewards" simply were not there. Instead, millions of young Americans are faced with crushing student loan debt loads in an economy where they can't find good jobs. When you are in your twenties, it can be absolutely soul-crushing to send out hundreds (or even thousands) of resumes and not get a single interview. Most of us grew up believing that we would "be something" when we got older, and millions of young Americans are having those dreams brutally crushed right now. Americans under the age of 30 voted for Barack Obama in droves back in 2008 because they believed that he would make things better. Instead, Barack Obama has made things even worse. Significant numbers of young Americans are starting to wake up and realize that neither political party is providing any real answers, and they are starting to get mad as hell about it.
Americans under the age of 30 don't want to hear that they are not going to be able to do better than their parents. They don't want to hear that they are going to have to "pay the price" because of the mistakes of previous generations. They don't want to hear that the "good jobs" that have been held out as a "carrot" for them all these years have disappeared and are not coming back.
Millions of young Americans want what was promised to them. They want good jobs that will enable them to enjoy the "American Dream". They want things to go back to the way that things used to work in America.
If you spend much time around those in their twenties, you know that many of them have a look of hopelessness in their eyes. Large numbers of them have moved back in with their parents. Large numbers of them are flipping burgers or working retail jobs part-time because that is all they can find. There are even a growing number of them that have given up entirely and have completely checked out.
So are we in the process of creating a "lost generation"?
The following are 20 reasons why millions of Americans under the age of 30 are giving up on the U.S. economy....
#1 Only 55.3% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 were employed last year. That was the lowest level that we have seen since World War II.
#2 Today, there are 5.9 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 that are living with their parents.
#3 The economic downturn has been particularly tough on men. According to Census data, men are twice as likely to live with their parents as women are.
#4 Amazingly, less than 30 percent of all U.S. teens had a job this summer.
#5 Approximately one out of every five Americans under the age of 30 is currently living in poverty.
#6 According to one recent survey, only 14 percent of all Americans that are 28 or 29 years old are optimistic about their financial futures.
#7 Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you adjust for inflation.
#8 The cost of "getting an education" has become increasingly burdensome in recent years. Average yearly tuition at U.S. private universities is now up to $27,293. That figure has increased by 29% in just the past five years.
#9 In America today, approximately two-thirds of all college students graduate with student loans.
#10 Millions of young Americans are absolutely being financially strangled by horrific student loan debt loads. Sadly, the total amount of student loan debt in the United States now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt in the United States.
#11 In 2010, the average college graduate had accumulated approximately $25,000 in student loan debt by graduation day.
#12 One-third of all college graduates end up taking jobs that don't even require college degrees.
#13 In the United States today, there are more than 100,000 janitors that have college degrees.
#14 In the United States today, 317,000 waiters and waitresses have college degrees.
#15 In the United States today, approximately 365,000 cashiers have college degrees.
#16 In the United States today, 24.5 percent of all retail salespersons have a college degree.
#17 As the economy has crumbled, fewer young Americans have been getting married. Today, an all-time low 44.2% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are married.
#18 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated as our politicians stand by and do nothing while our economy is being hollowed out. The sad truth is that United States has lost an average of 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and top politicians in both major political parties keep pushing for even more job-killing "free trade" agreements.
#19 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated that pretty much the only jobs that seem to be available are low paying jobs. Back in 1980, less than 30% of all jobs in the United States were low income jobs. Today, more than 40% of all jobs in the United States are low income jobs.
#20 Young Americans are becoming increasingly frustrated that previous generations have saddled them with a 14 trillion dollar national debt that they are expected to make payments on for the rest of their lives.
A lot of young Americans swing back and forth between anger and despair. Many of them worked like crazy for years because of the promise of a better life, and now they are being bitterly disappointed. Just consider the following testimonial that was recently posted on The Atlantic....
I am in my mid-20s. I have a university education. I started working when I was 14. I have chemical burns and scars over my hands from dealing with caustic cleaning chemicals. I did not want that to be my life like my uncles. I had to get out. I worked very hard in high school and volunteered and was the member of clubs and all of that great stuff. I got into a good university and worked hard. I took a language course, took things that I loved. I worked through my degree - I was even a janitor in a building that I lived in, because I needed the cut in rent. I did that for no pay.
After these months of unemployment I have fallen into a pretty major depression. I live at home, I do chores, I look for work. As much as I want to get my life together, I have some great mental health issues to deal with - but have neither the money to purchase medication that may help me, nor the ability to pay for psychological or psychiatric help.
So what can be done?
Well, someone could wave a magic wand and fix the U.S. economy, but we all know that is not going to happen.
In fact, there is all kinds of evidence that the U.S. economy is about to get even worse.
So should we just tell our young people that they might as well just give up and start making rap videos about using food stamp cards like this one? (*Warning* The video contains some very strong language.)
The number of Americans on food stamps has increased by 74 percent since 2007. Millions of young people are learning that the only way to survive is to be dependent on the government.
It certainly does not help that our entire education system is deeply broken. For example, did you know that the verbal scores on the SAT for the class of 2011 were the lowest ever recorded?
Our students have become so "dumbed down" that large numbers of them can barely even function in society once they graduate.
That is not their fault.
That is our fault.
We have failed young Americans in so many ways that it would take a series of books to detail them all.
We can say that we are sorry, but that just isn't going to cut it.
Millions of young Americans want what was promised to them, but we no longer have it to give to them.
Anger in this nation is already starting to boil over in strange and unpredictable ways. If the economy gets even worse, we are going to have tens of millions of young Americans that are mad as hell and that are ready to riot in the streets.
What are we going to do then?
According to a recent Gallup poll, 81 percent of Americans are "dissatisfied with the way the nation is being governed".
That is not a sign of a healthy nation.
The sad truth is that the foundations of America are crumbling and we have millions upon millions of young people that are incredibly angry and incredibly frustrated.
It does not take a genius to figure out that is a recipe for disaster.
So please pray for America.
We are going to need it.
I am a 28 year old Husband and Father. My wife and I moved into our house last year, a mortgage was actually cheaper than paying Rent in the “hood.” I was working as a server at a restaurant, worked the same hours, and at a higher hourly wage than the year before, and actually made about 3,000 less than the year previous.
When we moved it was to a different state, and I thought that moving to Philadelphia, I would at least be able to find another serving job, or something to pick up some of the cost for my wife having to go part time after the baby was born (we wanted to raise our own child, and wouldn’t have the finances for child care anyway.) After filling out every application I could find, I didn’t get my first interviews until after 5 months (and mind you, I have worked since I was 16, sometimes 2-3 jobs at once, and never had problems getting hired before.) I didn’t find a job until 8 month after and it was a minimum wage job.
Things looked up when I quickly advanced through the ranks, and became a GM. We struggled a great deal, had to forgo paying plenty of bills, almost got electric shut off etc. our child had to go on state health insurance, and we were on food stamps, even as a GM of a restaurant. I barely make enough to pay our bills, and have 200 dollars left over after bills to buy grocery, toiletries, diapers, and gas for a month.
It’s frustrating, when I was younger, I thought “at least if I get stuck in the food industry and become a manager, I’ll be miserable, but can pay my bills.” Well even those jobs don’t pay that well anymore. I make half of what other GM’s in the company make, and have asked for pay increase, but am told to wait until our store numbers go up, and who knows when that will be. I want to leave, but it took 8 months to find this job, who knows what will happen next.
This is what we face as a generation, even the good jobs from 10 years ago, aren’t good anymore. Even if you try and be responsible and follow the right way (my wife waited til we got married, got the house, had the kid etc.) it doesn’t matter. Francis Schaeffer compared our day and the laws we pass and way we live to the fall of the Roman Empire, and we are step by step doing exactly what they did. I struggle to have faith and hope that things are going to get better, if it weren’t for Christ, who knows where my faith and hope would be.
If we look at the global economy, the only solution that will “fix” everything is a “new world economic system,” and I’m afraid that my generation, and all the boomers that squandered or relied on the SS system that have nothing, will happily take the Mark of the Beast, for a loaf of bread, or loot and pillage out of anger.
Cheers to the future, can’t wait for Christ to come back, but in the meantime, struggling to hold on.
Keep hanging in there TheeGerimiah.
It may not look like it right now, but things can always get better.
Michael
Everyone needs to KB. The next economic boom is on the horizon. Its called robotics
for depression…1 tsp cod liver oil a day
highest source of vitamin D you can get without
down side of sun light…really
Almost this exact same thing came out twenty years ago, and yes, some people do come out of college with debts and end up in jobs that are not the field they studied. There are more people in America these days and unfortunately less jobs in the traditional fields. My brother lived at home until he was 30, then found a great job and bought a house. It is harder at the moment for people then it was when our parents were young (although not that much harder if your parents are under 50), and we haven’t figured a way to fix our economy. That said, this has happened several times in the past (great depression anyone?) and it will happen again. We are automating ourselves or removing ourselves completely from manufacturing, we are creating more efficient products that eliminate repair jobs and there is very little out there to replace it that isn’t in the computer field. Also, with technology being as invasive as it is today there is no second chance loans if you don’t keep perfect credit. Screw up once because you lose your job and you are ineligible for good rates on cars or houses or even to start your own business. When my parents were young and starting out there were a lot more opportunities to start a business. Today, it takes millions and the competition is well funded and can undercut prices. There are big issues at work here, and it is not the government that is doing it all. Nor can it fix it all.
Still just more talk! I know of brave Americans that have stood up to the government and now they and their families are in prison. Not because. Of what they did but because they took the lead and all they had to back them up was a bunch of scared “I have to be somewhere else”. Talkers.
I can sympathize. I grew up in the 80′s, worried about nuclear war, and the inability of contemporary philosophers to delineate any larger purpose in life than personal fulfillment through hedonism and radical politics.
The website linked on my name was created in large measure to provide a resource for the Pink Floyd listening young kids flirting with Existentialism or Nietzche, wondering if there is a God, and if so how that would all work, and who can see no way out of our economic morass.
The economic fix is here: http://www.goodnessmovement.com/Page14.html
The bigger picture, though, is the problems it is designed to solve. What an attentive reader will figure out quickly is that we should have ZERO percent unemployment, and most of us should be able to live comfortably on a few hours work a week. You have to understand the nature of money, which I explain.
Solutions are possible. Never listen to pessimists: they are cowards.
Hows that hope and change working out for you guys? Or did it just change your hope? You want real change then go change something for yourself and stop looking for a hand out! I have been self employed since I was 16! You will never get enough people together to change the way the US government treats you. Don’t you think the government knows this! You wanna see real change? Stop paying Federal taxes!
The solution to this dilemma is confiscatory taxes on the wealthy to fund a massive jobs and welfare program for the dispossessed Middle Class.
This says it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpZtX32sKVE
I’m not going to lie to you teenagers and twentysomethings.
Forget about college, it’s a waste of time.
Forget about getting a good job that’ll support a family, they’ve gone forever.
Boys, forget about marriage, you’ll earn so little that no sensible young woman will ever see you as the father of her children.
Move back in with your parents.
Resign yourselves to a burger-flipping future for the rest of your lives.
Serve your time, don’t aspire to a better life this side of death, get to know Jesus and wait for Him to call you home.
So true.
Screw that. I’m 22, I’m a father, I’ve served in the army, worked almost any job you can name and am currently in college while working almost full time and am able to provide for my son and myself. True most of my meals are powerbars and pb&js but I live reasonably comfortable for where I am in life and so does my son. Anybody who advises you to lay down and wait to die is weak and a coward. Better to struggle with little hope of success then give up before its over.
i just turned 30 2 weeks ago. when i was younger i realized that i didnt want to depend on anyone for my income and started my own business. more people my age and younger should do this.(a lot of the time i get well i cant get a loan to start a business, this is what you do, 1. get a job. 2. save money. 3. start business while still working job.) this day and age everyone should be working towards being self sufficient. unfortunately not many people realize this and still trust our government. poor poor sheeple.
This article did not mention the fact that many low income jobs are now just hiring illegals too.
Many low income jobs are not just hiring illegals…some are of course. The who outsourcing thing is a WAY bigger problem than people working under the table. And one that we can actually grip rather than trying to lasso people one by one. GO FOR THE BUSINESS and the people won’t have a chance to “steal your jerbs”
I will never forget a photo from the war in Bosnia. It was of two young teen girls entering a refugee camp with their families. The destroyed and horrified look on their faces said it all. Their world had collapsed in the blink of an eye. The devastation was more than they could comprehend. God only knows what those girls had been through by the time they reached “safety”.
My prayer is that this does not happen to America. Those of you who think we need a wake up call don’t understand what that would really look like; they don’t remember that photograph like I do. Work hard to keep it from happening, don’t blame other generations or those who don’t or can’t work as hard.
We have an unseen enemy. May the changes, if they are coming, be in increments so we may adjust. We must work together and help each other, that is our only hope.
Don’t EVER give up! FIGHT BACK – like the Founding Fathers did, just over 200 years ago!!!
Americans simply need to take their power back, become more self-reliant, and change their behavior, so they aren’t FUNDING the globalists.
And, STOP VOTING DEMO-PUBLICAN. America has only ONE PARTY. THAT’S THE SAD REALITY.
What can Americans do to fight the New World Order?
1. Turn off your T.V. (Better yet,throw it away)
2. Think for yourself.
3. Question all so-called ‘Authority’(Especially big banks,big oil,big weapons manufacturers,big government,multinational corporate interests,big media,and anything you were taught in school)!
4. Get out,and/or stay out,of debt! (Try to not charge for things that you can just as easily pay for,with cash)
5. Use cash as much as possible,rather than debit cards and/or credit cards,which allow companies to track what you are buying,and where you are buying.
6. Get rid of grocery store ‘discount’cards –grocery stores provide this information to insurance companies.
7. Bank at a Credit Union,or any alternative to the ‘Too-Big-To-Fail’Banks,that participated in the 2008 Banker Bailout. Don’t do business with ‘the Beast’.
8. Invest as much as you reasonably can in precious metals –especially silver,and gold.
9. You have the right to own a firearm,to protect yourself,and your family. Read the 2nd Amendment.
10. Buy products that indicate “Made in America”–whenever possible. You’d be surprised to find out how many necessary,practical,every day products are still “Made in America”!
11. Buy food at a local Farmer’s Market
12. Start your own garden
13. Meditate –reduce your stress!
14. Get exercise!
15. Read a book (here is an excellent book to read:Psychological Warfare and the New World Order:The Secret War Against the American People
http://www.amazon.com/Psychological-Warfare-New-World-Order/dp/0932367232/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310394551&sr=8-1 )
16. Listen to soothing classical, jazz, ambient, or alternative music
17. Watch ‘Freedom to Fascism’–a film by Aaron Russo (can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUpZhhbKUBo)
18. Watch ‘Why We Fight’–a film by Eugene Jarecki(can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…r_embedded)
19. Watch ‘Endgame’–a film by Alex Jones (can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-CrNlilZho)
20. Below is advice from John Perkins’ book, entitled THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE (The Truth About Economic Hit Men, Jackals, And How To Change The World), pp. 322-329.
“AVOID SHOPPING AS ‘RETAIL THERAPY’(Instead, jog, meditate, read, or find some other solution).
SHOP CONSCIOUSLY – if there is something you must have, purchase items whose packaging, ingredients, and methods of production are sustainable and support life.
MAKE EVERYTHING YOU OWN LAST AS LONG AS POSSIBLE PURCHASE AT CONSIGNMENT AND THRIFT STORES – where everything is recycled.
Write letters telling Monsanto,De Beers, ExxonMobil, Adidas, Ford, GE, Coca-Cola, WALMART, and other labor exploiters and environment destroyers why you REFUSE to purchase from them.
CUT BACK ON OIL AND GAS CONSUMPTION!
DOWNSIZE (your car, home, wardrobe) – everything in your life (and don’t buy what you don’t need) SUPPORT/SEND MONEY only to non-profits, radio stations,and other organizations that promote JUST causes.
VOLUNTEER your time and energy to such organizations.
SUPPORT LOCAL MERCHANTS
ENCOURAGE stores to buy from local growers, producers, and suppliers.
Shop at your LOCAL FARMERS’ MARKET
AVOID DRINKING WATER THAT IS FLUORIDATED (only your toothpaste should have non-industrial fluoride)
INSIST that those who use your money – banks, pensions, mutual funds, companies –make socially and environmentally responsible investments.” (end quote)
21. Better still – invest in precious metals (silver/gold).
22. Research every company whose products or services you buy (who do THEY support financially – globalist Presidential candidates?)
23. Research every organization to which you donate your hard-earned money
24. Vote with your dollars!
25. Watch ‘The Secret of Oz’– a film by William T. Still (can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swkq2E8mswI)
26. Get prepared for when the U.S. dollar TOTALLY COLLAPSES, and loses it’s place, as the world’s sole reserve currency. The ‘globalists’(European Central Bankers, like the Rothschilds, and the Rockefellers, as well) are planning to reduce the American Middle Class to the status of the Third World poor. That is, they are going to wipe out the American ‘Middle Class’. That is why they shipped our jobs overseas. That is why they engineered the current economic ‘downturn’. That is why no bankers have gone to jail, over their financial crimes – they are immune. There is no ‘justice’ in this system. It is owned, and operated by European Central Bankers, and their Allies in London, in Frankfurt, and on Wall St.
27. Did I mention invest in silver (and gold)?
28. Global, non-violent, NON-COMPLIANCE is the answer, of We the Plebs, to the ‘elite’ New World Order Bullshit!
29. Find alternatives to EVERYTHING that they’ve set up, to entrap you in THEIR system. (Become a serious ‘prepper’)
30. What would happen if 200 MILLION AMERICANS refused to pay their taxes, in 2012? (Just a hypothetical question)
31. Familiarize yourself with the concept of BOYCOTT
32. Corporate Membership in the CFR (Council on Foreign Relations):
http://www.cfr.org/about/corporate/roster.html
33. Don’t ever join a ‘secret’ society. Expand the above list, and share it with everyone you know!
34. End the ‘Fed’. End the endless wars. End the completely fraudulent ‘war’ on drugs. End the completely fraudulent ‘war’ on ‘terror’. Bring the troops home. Defend American borders. Bring American jobs back to Americans. Ron Paul (Independent Party?) in 2012(?) Restore America NOW.
Sorry I am European and don’t speak English very well.
So, I will go to essential.
The actual situation of the World and of the United States is chiefly the result of the Free Trade and of the Global Economy and of the banking system created in USA in 1913 which generate the national debt by paying rates on money rent to the bankers
If you compare the protectionist system of Otto von Bismarck which made Germany so strong and prosper between 1870 and 1914, you realize that it was exactly the contrary of the actual Global System and that his effects are exactly contrary too.