Diana Furchtgott-Roth - Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying Americas Young

DISINHERITED

How Washington

Is Betraying Americas Young

2015 by Diana Furchtgott-Roth and Jared Meyer

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First American edition published in 2015 by Encounter Books, an activity of Encounter for Culture and Education, Inc., a nonprofit, tax exempt corporation.

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FIRST AMERICAN EDITION

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Furchtgott-Roth, Diana.

Disinherited : how Washington is betraying Americas young / Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Jared Meyer.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-59403-810-5 (ebook)

1. Generation YUnited States. 2. Age discriminationUnited States. 3. Intergenerational relationsUnited States. 4. United StatesEconomic conditions21st century. I. Meyer, Jared. II. Title.

HQ799.7.F87 2015

305.2dc23

2014037248

To my millennialsLeon, Deborah, Francesca, Jeremy,

Chani, Godfrey, Theodore, and Richard

D.F.R.

To my grandparentsBelva and Tom Kane,

and August and Barbara Meyer

J.M.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GLOSSARY

AARP American Association of Retired Persons

ACA Affordable Care Act

ACT American College Testing

AFT American Federation of Teachers

BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics

CBO Congressional Budget Office

CEO chief executive officer

EMT emergency medical technician

ESA education savings accounts

GDP gross domestic product

GPA grade point average

HI hospital insurance

MOOC massive open online course

NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association

NEA National Education Association

NOC Neighborhood Outreach Connection

OASDI Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance Program

OECD Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development

PISA Programme for International Student Assessment

P.S. public school

ROC Restaurant Opportunities Center United

SMI supplementary medical insurance

STEM science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

UFCW United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

In a speech to high school graduates in Topeka, Kansas, in May 2014, First Lady Michelle Obama told the assembled students: I am so proud of all that youve accomplished.... And I cannot wait to see everything you will achieve in the years ahead.

But these days many Americans born between the early 1980s and the beginning of the 21st century, often called millennials or Generation Y, have not seen success. For them, achieving success will be more difficult than it was for young people in the past.

This is the first generation of young Americans that our government systematically disfavors and the first generation of Americans whose prospects are lower than those of their parents. They have been disinherited from their birthright.

Many older Americans think that they are disadvantaged by todays culture or by old age in general. Claire Sommers, in her eighties and living in Brooklyn, finds it hard, for instance, to use modern technology such as computers and smartphones. Her husband, Sonny, finds it increasingly difficult to complete daily tasks around the house.

But in terms of government spending, Claire and Sonny are winnersunintended winners, because they never wanted to take advantage of their grandchildren, but winners nevertheless. Washington politicians increase the federal debt with unfunded promises to retirees, and, if Claire and Sonnys grandchildren get jobs and pay taxes, they are the ones who will end up funding that debt.

Over five years into the economic recovery, the unemployment rate for young people ages 20 to 24 is 11 percent overall and 20 percent for African Americans. The teenage unemployment rate is at 20 percent, and the African-American teen unemployment rate is at 33 percent.

Since the late 1990s, the labor-force participation rates of workers 65 and older have been rising steadily as well.

These trends of increased labor-force participation by older workers are commendableafter all, life expectancy continues to lengthen. What is troubling is that the biggest decline in labor-force participation is among workers ages 16 to 24, from a rate of 61 percent in 2004 to 55 percent in 2014. In other words, young people have been hit the hardest by the recession and slow economic recovery.

Male Employment Population Ratio, by Age

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

This is causing millennials to delay important milestones in their lives, such as getting a full-time job, moving out of the family home, and buying a house. More are working part time, because that is all the work that they can find.

The percentage of employed 20- to 24-year-olds who work part time was 21 percent in the mid-1980s. This percentage grew steadily to 30 percent by 2008 and then rose to 36 percent in 2014an increase of more

Those unable to find jobs find it difficult to pay rent or qualify for a mortgage. From 1968 to 2007, the percentage of 18- to 31-year-olds living with their parents held steady at around 32 percent. By 2012, that number had increased to 36 percent. Among young people 18 to 24 years old, 56 percent lived at home in 2012a historic high. Starting a family is much more difficult while struggling to find work.

Percent of 18- to 31-Year-Olds Living at Home

Source: Pew Research Center tabulations of March 2012 Current Population Survey data

Each section of this book is able to stand on its own. Readers may find some chapters more interesting than others and can follow their own progression while reading the book. We interviewed a number of people in the course of our research. Some were glad to speak on the record, and we have provided their full names. Others preferred to be anonymous, and when quoting them or discussing their experiences, we use only their first names or a pseudonym. The book is divided as follows:

In , we describe how politicians in Washington are taking from the future earnings of young people, many of them not old enough to vote, to pay for services for their parents and grandparents, who do vote. Burdened with an obligation to pay government debt they did not incur, young people begin life at least partially robbed of their birthright.

Their parents and grandparents, beneficiaries of the New Deal and Great Society programs that are now bankrupting America, never intended this. They are deeply concerned that their children and grandchildren cannot find jobs and are facing a future of decreased opportunity. They never anticipated that their comforts would come at the expense of their progeny. But, regardless of intentions, that is what has occurred. The question remains, What can be done to create a system that is more fair and sustainable?

Mary Parrilli, now in her twenties, living outside Chicago, told us: I am outraged. We have been scammed, end of story. I do not expect to get back any of the money I am paying into Social Securityto me, its just another tax. I think people should help the elderly, especially their own family, but it is immoral for the government to force this upon us. This is a perfect example of punishing the young and successful, and rewarding the irresponsible.