What Happens When a Whole Generation Never Grows Up?

1srelluc

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Nov 21, 2021
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Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Americans in their 30s have never looked less like grown-ups.

Amid steep declines in homeownership, marriage and birth rates, economists have long been warning that young people are struggling to meet the milestones of adulthood. Although some 30-somethings are consciously choosing a less traditional path, many say these goals are simply out of reach.

"It feels like the instructions for how to live a good life don't apply anymore," says 38-year-old Cody Harding, who is single and lives with three roommates in Brooklyn. "And nobody has updated them."

Now, as a mix of social and economic factors holds back an entire generation, what researchers once called a lag is starting to look more like a permanent state of arrested development.

"We're moving from later to never," says Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. He notes that the longer people take to launch into a more conventional adulthood, the less likely they are to do it at all.

A third of today's young adults will never marry, projects conservative think tank the Institute for Family Studies, compared to less than a fifth of those born in previous decades. The share of childless adults under 50 who say they are unlikely to ever have kids, meanwhile, rose 10 percentage points between 2018 and 2023, from 37% to 47%, according to Pew Research Center.

Leftists destroyed the nuclear family.

Globalists offshored many good jobs.

Kids were railroaded into going to college for worthless degrees.

Unchecked illegal immigration and Corporate Oligarchy has combined to drive housing prices to insane levels.

That’s a start.

That said:

The current crop of them I blame on the parents half-raising them. You need to get your fucking kids out of the house so they can learn to function on their own. Yeah. you can give them a hand from time to time, but an uncomfortable life when starting out is good for them.

Your 20's should be kind of hard, that's when you learn how to function as an adult. I know that it was a damn steep learning curve for me with a young family to support and keep a roof over their heads.

The first thing I saved-up for was for a used chest freezer so I could fill it with meat, fish, and things you could freeze from the garden.
 
I think todays generation has gotten a bad deal

When I graduated HS 50 years ago, you could go from HS and get a job where you could afford an apartment (less than $200 ), buy a car and support yourself.
When I graduated college four years later, I was two years away from buying a house and getting married.

Todays generation has no options of self sufficiency after HS. Those who graduate college face crippling debt, low paying jobs and apartments above $1500 a month. A house starting at $500,000 plus is not in their plans.

Mom and Dad are their only options
 
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Americans in their 30s have never looked less like grown-ups.

Amid steep declines in homeownership, marriage and birth rates, economists have long been warning that young people are struggling to meet the milestones of adulthood. Although some 30-somethings are consciously choosing a less traditional path, many say these goals are simply out of reach.

"It feels like the instructions for how to live a good life don't apply anymore," says 38-year-old Cody Harding, who is single and lives with three roommates in Brooklyn. "And nobody has updated them."

Now, as a mix of social and economic factors holds back an entire generation, what researchers once called a lag is starting to look more like a permanent state of arrested development.

"We're moving from later to never," says Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. He notes that the longer people take to launch into a more conventional adulthood, the less likely they are to do it at all.

A third of today's young adults will never marry, projects conservative think tank the Institute for Family Studies, compared to less than a fifth of those born in previous decades. The share of childless adults under 50 who say they are unlikely to ever have kids, meanwhile, rose 10 percentage points between 2018 and 2023, from 37% to 47%, according to Pew Research Center.

Leftists destroyed the nuclear family.

Globalists offshored many good jobs.

Kids were railroaded into going to college for worthless degrees.

Unchecked illegal immigration and Corporate Oligarchy has combined to drive housing prices to insane levels.

That’s a start.

That said:

The current crop of them I blame on the parents half-raising them. You need to get your fucking kids out of the house so they can learn to function on their own. Yeah. you can give them a hand from time to time, but an uncomfortable life when starting out is good for them.

Your 20's should be kind of hard, that's when you learn how to function as an adult. I know that it was a damn steep learning curve for me with a young family to support and keep a roof over their heads.

The first thing I saved-up for was for a used chest freezer so I could fill it with meat, fish, and things you could freeze from the garden.
They become MAGA Trump voters, that still believe WWE is a real sporting event.
 
Kids have rejected the conventional way forward but haven't found a good alternative. Life was indeed simpler back then.
 
In america one is free to live ones life as they so wish. Trends have changed is all. The old get married at 26, have kids, wash rinse repeat wasn't working for a percentage of the population. That's not what every person wants. So no matter what the institute for family studies says, a growing number aren't ascribing to their vision. The nation will have to adapt.
 
In america one is free to live ones life as they so wish. Trends have changed is all. The old get married at 26, have kids, wash rinse repeat wasn't working for a percentage of the population. That's not what every person wants. So no matter what the institute for family studies says, a growing number aren't ascribing to their vision. The nation will have to adapt.
Thanks for proving my first point.

Leftists destroyed the nuclear family.

Leftist ideas make for leftist results.
 
Nothing has been destroyed. Trends change. Perhaps the percentage of young people that never wanted to be married but did, are now not feeling that pressure.

Some people are not suited for marriage or children
When society forced them into marriage, bad marriages were the result
 
Getting a worthwhile degree or tech training is absolutely paramount today. Starting off at $15 per hour isn't a path.
The key is getting a worthwhile degree instead of something useless and low paying
 
Getting a worthwhile degree or tech training is absolutely paramount today. Starting off at $15 per hour isn't a path.

Someone with just a HS Diploma can get a job

But they cannot get a career that will provide long term employment, benefits, retirement plan
 
The key is getting a worthwhile degree instead of something useless and low paying

The vast majority of college graduates get worthwhile degrees.
Most major in business, healthcare, education, STEM
 
Mom and Dad are their only options
Because most of them are shit lazy and unmotivated due to their parents education/upbringing.

In 1978 - my income was at around US$ 500 and a BMW 320 cost around US$ 20,000, a house around US $70,000
In 2025 - that income would be around US$ 1500, a BMW 320 cost around US$ 50,000, a house around US $ 250,000

Factually nothing has changed in view of the earning and cost ratio, however at the time consumer credits didn't exist, neither boundless online shopping and Mobil/Home PC's costs. And the vast majority of us couldn't wait to get 18/21 - move out of our parents place and get an on life done.
 

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