A little perspective, please

[Horse with no Name]

I am 47 years old.
When I was 25, I didn't have a college degree. I made $8 an hour at a secretarial job that I got after one interview. I had full medical and dental insurance. It was an 80/20 plan with $100 out of pocket before it kicked in(much better and much cheaper than I have now). I always worked 40 hours a week--getting sent home wasn't even heard of. I paid $45 per week in daycare per child.
I had a nice 2-bedroom apartment that I paid $375 a month for. My utilities were reasonable. I don't recall ever paying over $125 a month for electricity.
Fast forward to today.
My 25-year old daughter has a college degree. She currently works at a fast food restaurant for $5 an hour because there aren't any jobs. There are no guaranteed hours and sometimes if they are slow, she gets sent home. The last 2-week paycheck she brought home was $287. She has put over 100 resumes out. She has had one job in her life--and she worked there for 6 years and advanced into management.
A week or so ago, she applied for a CLERK position--no benefits. There were 50 applicants for that one position. She didn't get the job.
Daycare is $100 per child. The CHEAPEST rent is around $500 a month. Electricity in Texas is unbelievably high. Most bills run around $200 or more a month. Other utilities are similarly high.
I get tired of the bashing of young adults out there who still live at home.
I get tired of the bashing of young mothers who need assistance to raise their children.
Wake up folks.
Things are NOT what they were when we were their age. They simply are not. They have it MUCH harder and most likely will not attain nearly the same things we did.
It is a sad outlook on this country.

[Lost4words]

1. I have to agree, and its sad indeed.

we are no longer human beings, we are potiential profit centers, nothing else.

[Horse with no Name]

2. If I had the credentials that my daughter has now back then

I would have had my choice of MANY high paying GOOD jobs.
It's really sad that QUALIFICATIONS aren't worth anything these days.

[pitohui]

10. well everybody's got a college degree now

it stands to reason that when everybody has a degree, it is no longer anything special that makes a young woman stand out in the crowd

plus, in the old days, people were in college on grants, scholarships, etc. -- these days (thanks to ronald reagan) people go to college on loans -- if you're paying for your education, you get this entitlement attitude and it leads to grade inflation because everyone expects an a or a b because THEY"RE PURCHASING A SERVICE instead of pursuing an education

when people were in college on a grant, they knew damn well they weren't "entitled" to anything, they weren't "buying" anything, they had to work for it -- completely different outlook

not to say your daughter has this attitude, but enough brats do -- kids are even allowed to put teacher evaluations now, where the person who is giving them the grade gets graded back...so yeah, grades will be inflated, and college degrees (except from a few ivies) are going to be worthless because what does it really take to just borrow money and show up?

education has become a scam, buy something expensive that has become worthless precisely BECAUSE it's expensive-- when you're paying thousands a semester for a course, that prof had better be able to fucking document very goddamn well why you're not getting the "a"

[jdlh8894]

15. What can I say?

Your summation was great. My wife( of 23 yrs) started classes Monday. Has 2 Degrees now ,but looking to make herself better. She's 46 and there has never been a student loan-grant for tuition.

[dkf]

3. And they are the workers who will be saddled with our deficit and huge social security obligations

I don't see how they can do it.

[mdmc]

4. I grew up middle class and live life now as part of the working poor

can't afford both housing and medical treatment.

[jdlh8894]

5. Perspective?

Wait until you have your 28 yr old message you asking you to wire money for gas and diapers. Then go to her facebook page and she used the money to go to Zombie party!

[readmoreoften]

7. What a great anecdote! All people under 30 must be as irresponsible as your kid.

[jdlh8894]

9. Never said that.

Just don't like being lied to!

[pitohui]

12. no just 28 yr olds who have kids yet are still living in mom's basement

roe vs. wade was decided some decades ago, and birth control became widely available some decades ago, so i have to make some snap judgments about young single mothers who have children they can't afford

one of those judgments is that those young women are very poor at math and very poor about making reasonable judgments about the future

they can't do basic things like balance a checkbook or figure out a budget, which is 5th grade addition and subtraction

it just doesn't take an einstein to figure out that you can't afford to raise a baby on $5 an hour part-time or even $8 an hour full-time, it just doesn't

while i feel for the young woman, i also know human nature, and the young woman who can't get do math and can't make reasonable projections in the future does tend to be someone who goes on "impulse" and feeling -- hence, yah, give them money and sometimes the money won't get to the kid

we've all seen it and i don't think there's any use pretending we don't know what the poster is talking about when we do

can you imagine thinking you've raised your family and suddenly the kid is back WITH A BABY???? it isn't just the young woman's life that gets fucked up, it's the older woman who will never, ever have a moment of freedom until she's too old to have mobility enough to enjoy it

a bad situation all around

[Hannah Bell]

14. yes, the 10% unemployment is all about the irresponsibility of kids. That caused it.

[Horse with no Name]

8. I'm sorry that happened to you

but I don't think that is the norm.

[truedelphi]

6. When I was twenty five, I was on AFDC, & food stamps, & the sad thing is,

I was never as prosperous as I was then.

No, not even in the nineties, when due to small inheritances, and a husband who had a "good" County job, and our combined income was over $ 50K, I was not as prosperous.

Like you point out, back in the day, gorgeous housing was available for a pittance. Food was cheap. Jobs were plentiful. A decent car could be had for under $ 1,200 bucks. (Today in California, the smog rules wouldn't allow most cheap cars to be registered to ever be on the roads.)

There was also the sense that once we baby boomers were in charge, the era of endless, for profit wars would be toast. As would the illegality of green plants that make you feel good when you smoke them.

Corruption among the Political Class would be ended. We would see no more Richard Nixons, or Kissingers.

Little did I know that in 2010, a President would be in office who would be MORE conservative than Nixon, and Kissinger would be one of his "got to" people.

[readmoreoften]

11. I have four degrees and work in a field where, in 1980, I could easily haved lived in a fine house

in a fine neighborhood and have a good middle class lifestyle.

Instead, I live in a gang-ridden neighborhood, can barely afford insurance premiums, can't afford to fix up my house to even "comfortably livable", can't afford to pay back student loans--can't even afford bookshelves (piled on the floor or in mismatched broken bookshelves taken from the trash.) I have twice the workload of my 1980 counterpart. I have no job security and can be let go without cause at any moment for any reason.

And I also know that in this economy, I am incredibly, incredibly fortunate. Many with the same qualifications as I do are not working in their fields, or not working at all, or working service jobs that keep them near minimum wage.

We are truly on the verge of disaster and 18-25 year olds just can't make it on their own today. The young people I know don't live with parents--they work at sandwich shops (if they're lucky) and pile up in substandard housing.

This is not some sort of "moral failing" of young people. This is an economic crisis.

[Barack2theFuture]

13. What are we and our 'leaders' doing about it?

[FiveGoodMen]

18. Making sure that the trend continues.

[Hello_Kitty]

16. It's wrong to generalize

I know many, many young adults since my current work is on a campaign. They're driven, motivated, and have a tremendous work ethic and level of enthusiasm.

OTOH, I know other young adults, mostly young men, who sit around the house doing nothing all day and not even attempting to look for work. And I understand the job market being rough but how about helping out around the house? I know one family where, I swear to God, they hire a housekeeper and landscaper to take care of the house while their 21 year old doesn't lift a finger. I asked them why they didn't make him do chores and his dad said it's just easier to hire someone than to struggle with him.

[happy_liberal]

17. Oh please! There are just too many houses- that is the problem!

"I think this economy is down because we built too many houses"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8968792

Our government apparently lives in a bubble so we should not be looking to them for solutions.