Americans under 40 are in persistent economic crisis

As a nation, we’re facing an onslaught of crises – a pandemic, a recession worse than the Great Recession of 2008, worsening climate change and civil unrest in a contentious struggle for racial justice.

All of these demand our urgent attention.

One group deeply affected by these concerns has been are our young adults, those Americans under 40.

There seems to be little concern about their struggle and their future. Yet they are America’s future.

Our future as a country depends on their competence, energies, imagination and leadership. They will have to wrestle with these current crises and with others to come. They have been hit the hardest by the economic destruction of the pandemic and two recessions, compounded by tuition debt, weak job prospects and falling wages.

Millennials and Generation Z came of age during a time of dramatic technological change, the proliferation of social media, globalization and economic disruption. A bachelor’s degree has become all but a prerequisite for an adequate wage. The Great Recession unloaded on millennials. They have lived through a slow 10-year economic recovery.

Even before the pandemic, the U.S. was facing a weakening economy. In February 2020, before the firstwave of the pandemic in the U.S., reliable growth projections were for, at best, a 2% economy. In March, when the destruction of the coronovirus struck and devastated the economy, virtually everyone suffered, but especially those under 40.

This group was already in trouble. Many are still living at home. The share of young adults living with parents has risen to levels not seen since the era of the Great Depression.

To be employed in this new and often stagnant economy, a college education and technical training are all but essential. Yet college costs have skyrocketed.

Two-thirds of students who earned a four-year degree in 2017 borrowed to pay for school. Growing numbers of these student loan debts are now in arrears or in default. Among the total 45 million Americans signed up for the federal student loan program, the debt is now $1.6 trillion, exceeded only by total mortgage debt.

To pay off the lasting burden of the $1.6 trillion student debt could take many borrowers a lifetime. These debts sap their life and career dreams.

In recent years, the federal government has actually encouraged borrowers to stretch out their payments. According to a Bloomberg analysis, 60 percent of the balances on student loans rose in the first year of their repayment period.

Those in Washington in charge of these programs — aging politicians and policymakers — favor the corporations, the wealthier and those over 65, their most reliable voters. In America’s rapidly aging society, every day about 10,000 individuals become eligible for Medicare and other governmentassistance for the elderly. Their children and grandchildren are on the hook for these obligations.

Young adults live in a world much less safe, predictable and prosperous than did their parents. Their work is much less secure and the pay is less certain. Neither the U.S. economy nor the government has delivered a better world for them than that of their parents, the post World War II generation.

That generation— the baby boomers, age 54-72 — grew up in a period of a dominant, thriving and prosperous America. Washington politicians have catered to their specific interests. Balanced budgets have been less of a concern than any cutting of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs. Americans over 50 hold 70% of the buying power in the U.S. according to the MIT Age Lab. This year’s election may see a generational shift to those under 40. More than half of all Americans are under 40. And in 2020 they comprise more than half of the electorate.

The voting bloc of young adults has enormous political potential if they assert themselves and vote. This was demonstrated in their enthusiastic support for Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. They largely support the ideas of an open and sharing economy. They support racial justice and gender equality.

If their vote reflects their numbers, their voice will be heard.