How bad is the Economy in the U.S.? Look to the struggling youth.

So, as far as I can tell, most people who graduated from college around the same time as me (2010) are struggling and seem to be near homeless in most cases.

The Astrophysicist Farmer
One of my friends graduated with a degree in astrophysics, and then continued on to get a masters in teaching. At this point, he started subbing a bit but his parents are having him take care of his grandmother, who has Alzheimers, and help on their farm without pay - he doesn't have time to make much, although he does get a place to stay.

The Backyard Camper
Someone else I met graduated from my college and is currently living in a tent, I think he pays a bit of rent. There are other people in this genre - we have rented out our couch, for example, and another friend of mine (all college graduates) lived in her car for 2 years, but has since gotten a place to rent with government assistance.

Living with Relatives
Sure, this is still going on with people my age. Back in Washington, I lived in a small town with very little work. For example, although someone might get minimum wage (let me tell you, getting minimum wage is a miracle) they might only get 4-8 hours a week.

So I have one friend back home who is living with his grandmother, but does not have enough money to fix his car, which is constantly breaking down, therefore he can't move forward in life. Most people, if not everyone I know, are getting financial assistance from their parents even as they are nearing 30. And it isn't like there is another option.

Not Getting Minimum Wage
That's right, getting paid minimum wage is hard. You might have to drive places to get to work, not get many hours to begin with, and barely break even once gas money is taken into account. One of my friends works as a bouncer at a strip club (also a college graduate) and he does not get paid minimum wage to begin with - in addition, he has to give rides to the strippers, who themselves are not paid minimum wage - a lot of waitresses are not paid minimum wage, because they are supposed to be getting tips - door-to-door sales (which I have done) is paid on commission, so it is not guaranteed to make minimum wage, either.

The Scavengers
Some people, including my room-mates and I, don't have enough money to buy things new - or in some cases, at all. There are options out there - CraigsList, e-bay, yard sales, etc. - there are also opportunities (in my opinion) to do some entrepreneurship (tutoring, gardening, painting, freelance writing, performing) - but there is also scavenging.

For example, we made the garage door holder for our garage door opener out of old television parts and one of my friends just made an end table out of a board and the bottom of a broken chair. Yes, college graduates :-)

I suppose it would be possible to scavenge for old televisions and / or computer towers in order to make media centers, or buy used game systems like Super Nintendo - there are, in fact, at least two stores near Boise that specialize in selling SNES, NES, Sega, etc.

I'm not sure if any of you want to know this, but the last time I saw anachronistic SNES popularity was when I was in Tijuana, Mexico on a mission - the population there had to make their houses out of scrap metal.

The Unstable Economy
Even the owner of my house, who is a teacher and was able to buy his house, who seems to be doing well, is not - he has school loan debt, house debt, and to make matters worse, the school he works for may or may not be open next year - and they are not going to give him any notice. So he has to prepare by taking out a bank loan to survive in case he doesn't get his job -

In addition to this, he was not allowed to look for another teaching job all summer because all of the teachers had to sign agreements that they would not - but have not been handed their contracts yet.

Some Economic Facts

When the last reports came out showing that youth unemployment had reached 16.2 % in the United States, alarm bells began to be heard in some quarters. This is more than double the rate of unemployment of the adult population. The rate is fast approaching the average youth unemployment rate in Europe which stands at appromately 24%.

Source

Youth unemployment is the place to look in this case, because there were some major disasters (like the financial crisis) that took out their wrath almost completely on the younger generation and basically forced people graduating post-2009 from college to live in a completely different world than their parents ever did.

In addition - do not forget the future crisis - such as social security running out, for example, or the U.S. debt, all probably going to be piled on the backs of an already broken 20-30 year old crowd. Did you think this was over? It is only beginning!

Unemployment rates lie all the time as well - do these rates include those who have given up looking for work, or the spouse who cannot find work, or those that are not able to find adequate work to survive? I don't think so!

Definition of 'Unemployment Rate' The percentage of the total labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work.

Source

So here are some youth that would not fall into that unemployment category:

*Those that are on disability or such
*Those seeking employment but married
*Those that have been seeking employment without success for over a year or so
*Those that are employed but don't earn enough to even cover basics

In addition, those that are employed, like my friend who is working on his family farm, or myself, who makes ends meet by working for myself - are "employed" in jobs that are not going to be able to give references easily when looking for another job.

Some more links

One Third of Millenials Regret Going to College

Are Millenials the Screwed Generation?

Do Millenials Stand a Chance in the Real World?

The Millenial Squeeze

Why is this a Problem?
The millennials are working harder than their parents ever did at this point to survive. The millennials represent the future. They are the ones that are going to be supporting the next generation - and without resources, how is that generation going to survive?

In addition, as the population of poor people (which is basically based on an age cut off) grows year after year, the chances of revolution and taking money from those currently over 30 grows year after year.

And that is what I have to say. But who else is saying it? No one. The news hardly touches on this.

Sorry, not all links are working at the moment.

reply to post by darkbake


What happens when you let the progressive mindset into the government and your family.........



What you get is 30 year old children who have little to no real life experience. You also get a government who will control more and more of your so called free economy........... It will always fail and sadly both political parties are controlled by these fascist scum.



I wonder how long it will take for the glee loving everybody wins a trophy generation to finally wake up. It usually happens when people start to have a family and figure out being liberal is for the young and stupid. But it seems this generation is never going to reach that point.

reply to post by SubTruth


I think that generation woke up as soon as they graduated college. I'm not sure if they are going to be able to raise families. And I don't think it all has to do with bad parenting, but I think there was some of that? Also... I think the generation has some issues like those you were alluding to, including side-effects from advances in human networking technology.

I believe in liberalism in the sense that everyone, including the poor, should be able to live decent lives - but I don't believe in it when it becomes extremist and actually has the opposite effect on society. I look at the behavior of political philosophies more than their "agendas".

There is corruption on both sides of the political isle that was not handled in time - and probably will not be handled in time - to prevent revolution at the cost of those people's lives and others. We are talking about an increasing chance of revolution every year that the richer folk die and the younger folk are born, since there is a very clear time cut-off.

It will not be handled in time if excuses keep on being made - and if the blame is shifted around instead of the problems being solved - and if the older generation continues to deny what is happening with the younger generation - these are all terrible policies.

As a side note, sir, I would like to point out that unrealistic liberal policies can result in economic collapse. Although corporate extremism results in slavery. Look at what we have here in America right now - two extremist political parties. So that means economic collapse and slavery, which is basically what I was getting at in the O.P.

The details in the opening post
seem both real to me and tragic.


I anticipate that Author of this thread
will react badly to what I'm going to say,
but you can either cling to the values
you were raised with and perish or
you can reexamine the one thing that
they told you and your generation not to do.










You can become a Catholic.


Mike











ehow.com / how to become a Catholic

the youth in america is just like the youth in a lot of european countries LOST i would hate to be young now.

in japan there are a generation that does not go out and it is the young males the world is broken not just the states .

best of luck bud but keep your chin up

reply to post by mikegrouchy


What you say is actually something that I think a lot of people would be angry about - let me stress that - for it is true. Speak of this in any academic setting and prepare for assault.

But it is also something that holds true. According to a Chinese study, Christianity was responsible for much of the success of the West. Even in China and the East there are philosophies to follow -

The liberals make a huge mistake when they discount the value of having religion based on there being no God. God is, at the very least, a symbol as well as role-model for a specific way of lie - and religion is a uniting, altruistic force.

Science is not ready to dictate morals. Unless we want another Nazi incident - this time with the "Master Race" being intelligence / utility - another thread subject for another time.

reply to post by darkbake


Everyone is entitled to live a good life.......... Pie in the sky rainbows pooping chocolate.


I hate to tell you guys this but life is what you make out of it. And history has shown over and over again when the government helps out the poor people will turn to fascism. How the heck do you think a guy like Hitler got into power? It was the people begging for help and change that let him really give them some change.




How many people died after Mao took control? What about Stalin helping out how did that work out? These were all men of the people promising that the government could help them out.




If you really want a good life demand that we return to what our founding fathers wanted in the first place a republic ruled by law not some pathetic oligarchy.

reply to post by darkbake


it is during difficult economic times when people turn to illegal means to make a living. sometimes the only employer offering jobs that pay enough so a person can provide a roof over their head and food on their table is a drug dealer.

reply to post by darkbake

First off, I'm sorry to hear about the dire situation for your youth in the US.
The US rate indeed seems to be approaching the average youth unemployment rate as in (e.g.) Spain.

Next, I want to say (and I know this doesn't help your personal situation in any way right now...), the US. could have had it all.
You could have adopted the German apprenticehip model... just like you could have had our healthcare model (which is much better designed than Obamacare) or our unemployment program (IF you really wanted a social state system that actually works).

So next time you send your patsy Geithner over here, maybe tell him to save his breath instead of telling us how "the American Way" is so superior to ours... just saying.

Originally posted by subfab
reply to post by darkbake

 

it is during difficult economic times when people turn to illegal means to make a living. sometimes the only employer offering jobs that pay enough so a person can provide a roof over their head and food on their table is a drug dealer.

If you go down that road, you risk your life. When you're dead, who then will feed your family? If anyone is that poor, better to get on welfare for a while than to ruin your life and the lives of those you're selling to.

Originally posted by subfab
reply to post by darkbake

 

it is during difficult economic times when people turn to illegal means to make a living. sometimes the only employer offering jobs that pay enough so a person can provide a roof over their head and food on their table is a drug dealer.

or you can use the old addage where theirs muck their's money people hate cleaning or painting etc car valeting even ironing clothes and it will not land you in a 8x6 with bubba

Originally posted by SubTruth
reply to post by darkbake

 

Everyone is entitled to live a good life.........

. Pie in the sky rainbows pooping chocolate.


I hate to tell you guys this but life is what you make out of it. And history has shown over and over again when the government helps out the poor people will turn to fascism. How the heck do you think a guy like Hitler got into power?

OK this is an example of an absolutely asinine belief. If you think the "government" is causing all of this then you obviously skipped your economics classes.

Damn man, have you even looked at what the IBS, IMF and central banks have been doing? Do you really think the government is in control? If you do then rock on as you have no clue.

Originally posted by Bassago
[...] have you even looked at what the IBS, IMF and central banks have been doing? Do you really think the government is in control?

This is a different level of economic powerplay and responsibility IMO... but anyways:

Who met at the Bretton Woods Conference?
Who built the legislative framework that enabled their doings?
Who set up the BIS (and for what reason...)?

And last, who do you think is even capable (and thus obligated) to "decapitate" those monster-institutions again and end their influence?

reply to post by Night Star


##snipped##

Other "illegal" ways of making money might not be drug based at all, but involve setting up legitimate businesses under the table offering legitimate goods and services without a license, using cash transactions. For example, one of my friends fixes cars for friends, some do artwork, basically a culture of ignoring irrelevant and overbearing legal oversight of small businesses.

Although a lot of those are healthy, like mowing lawns, etc. - some can be sketchy, when it comes to hiring desperate people for less than minimum wage.

Originally posted by Bassago

Originally posted by SubTruth
reply to post by darkbake

 

Everyone is entitled to live a good life.........

. Pie in the sky rainbows pooping chocolate.


I hate to tell you guys this but life is what you make out of it. And history has shown over and over again when the government helps out the poor people will turn to fascism. How the heck do you think a guy like Hitler got into power?

OK this is an example of an absolutely asinine belief. If you think the "government" is causing all of this then you obviously skipped your economics classes.

Damn man, have you even looked at what the IBS, IMF and central banks have been doing? Do you really think the government is in control? If you do then rock on as you have no clue.

Wait a minute here, I think that those Jewish people that Hitler sent to concentration camps deserved better. There are some cases where people just get the short end of the stick and that's not okay, in my opinion -

Meanwhile, I prefer productive programs to help the poor - I will tell you in a liberal state, the poor are paid, and treated like criminals.

In a conservative state, the people on disability are given psycho-rehabilitation workers as well as counseling that total around 8 hours a week and are trained to go into the work force - not to mention that these rehabilitation centers are privately owned - and they are very kind and efficient and caring towards their clients - and end up placing them in the work force.

Meanwhile, ask for any help in a liberal state, and they get all paranoid and want to know why.

Originally posted by geobro

Originally posted by subfab
reply to post by darkbake

 

it is during difficult economic times when people turn to illegal means to make a living. sometimes the only employer offering jobs that pay enough so a person can provide a roof over their head and food on their table is a drug dealer.

or you can use the old addage where theirs muck their's money people hate cleaning or painting etc car valeting even ironing clothes and it will not land you in a 8x6 with bubba

Well, there are a lot of opportunities out there to work for yourself! Like you are saying! :-) This is one of those time periods where if you want work, you can find it, maybe different jobs every week, but it is there. For example, selling blood

I love it when the older generation, take shots at the younger generation for going to college and getting an education. In my country. This wagging finger generation, enjoyed the benefits of free University education, a job for life, cheap housing and cheap energy and food prices. Now they all need caring for in one form or another in their cushy retirement.
Pretty much leaving one type career option for young people as a low paid care workers. Wiping the butts and cleaning up the mess of the older generation. In more ways than one.

Originally posted by SubTruth

If you really want a good life demand that we return to what our founding fathers wanted in the first place a republic ruled by law not some pathetic oligarchy.

edit on 22-7-2013 by SubTruth because: (no reason given)

Yes, that is a great idea. Because if we really want to get into this discussion the generational theory (that there are 20 year cycles of different time periods that repeat every 80 years) seems chillingly accurate.

Right now we have the educated elite. The year: 1933. The stock markets crashed around 2 years ago, and the Great Depression is starting. The decade before was known as the roaring 20's due to its economic prominence!

Over in Europe, some scientists are starting to use Darwin's theory of evolution to justify creating a "Master Race" of white, blonde, blue-eyed Aryans. The economy sinks in Germany, the capitol of academics, a once great nation, and a lot of these academics are put out of work, more than likely, and the economy is bad!

Meanwhile, Hitler comes in, and he says look, Darwin is the way to go. The Jewish bankers (note: religious and banker overtones) are the problem with society and they need to be eliminated! Ra ra ra! Banners! Flair! A dual promise of a better world ran by science and a better economy, confiscation of Jewish assets, war bringing economic power.

There are striking similarities here, although I'm not sure which ones are relevant.

reply to post by SubTruth

What happens when you let the progressive mindset into the government and your family.........

A little narrow minded maybe to blame a single political movement for a worldwide event. The economic crisis spans the globe maybe your statement would have been more correct had you said..

What happens when you let the banking cartel mindset into the government and your family.........

kind regards

purp..