ARE WE INFANITLIZING TODAY'S YOUTH?

A few weeks back, I got into a discussion about the current state of the economy with a third-year college student who has been earning extra income in the office, and he asked for my opinion on the outcome of this fiscal mess based on my experience (read: advancing years). I answered that I thought that for quite a few folk, the money crisis would not get better but, eventually, the economy would experience a slow recovery. Not being an economist, it wasn't a very enlightening discussion on my part, but it picked up a bit when I remarked, "the question is, who will be left standing?". This struck a chord in him because he remarked how many people in his age group he knew were totally unprepared for the tough times that lay ahead because they have never held down a job.

Now, at the risk of sounding like the grandparent everyone has had ("when I was your age"...), I think the young man is correct. I look around and see what seems to be an entire generation of young people who have never known anything but prosperity, whose parents strive to give them material possessions and spending money, without making any attempt toward educating them on the simple economic theory of quid pro quo.

For example, let's take the children of the partners in the business where I'm currently employed. All of the children go to private schools (tuition ranging from $6,000-12,000 annually), and don't understand public transportation because they are chauffeured to and from school and extra-curricular activities (of which there are many) by parents, grandparents and parents-of-friends. Need supplies for a school project? Not to worry; text your father at the office and tell him he needs to pick them up from the store on his way home. None of the children have come within smelling-distance of any type of work (including something as basic as baby-sitting, the staple of young-girl-employment in my day...), but they all have more video devices, computers, cell phones and pocket money than me and both my two jobs can afford. As easy as it would be for me to blame the parents, that wouldn't be entirely fair because they also came of age in a time of relative prosperity and financial stability, and I suppose they're only carrying on with a lifestyle of which they themselves are accustomed.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that our generation was raised a bit differently than that. While we were never denied any of the basics, we were taught to be productive, self-sufficient individuals capable of sustaining our own lifestyles. Practically everyone in my peer group had a part-time job while in school; even the more affluent kids worked in their family's businesses. With the exception of one or two "rebels" pregnancy was out-of-the question for any high school girl because it was taken as read that the baby would not be taken home and given to our mothers to raise. Material possessions were given as gifts, not as an expected part of adolescence, and anything we wanted other than that was something to be worked for and earned. With that kind of upbringing, it was easy to transition into the economic realities of adulthood, because we became accustomed to dealing with economic uncertainty while in our youth, and still in the bosom of our parents.

So, who will be left standing at the end of this economic mess? As in all previous economic messes the answer is the same. The strong, resilient, adaptable and those prepared to make the necessary sacrifices will emerge relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, that leaves much of today's youth out of the equation because, sadly, no one has told them it's time to grow up.