Are Young People Getting A Bad Deal?
Young people are getting a poor deal as a result of the choices made by previous generations. But worse is to come as jobs, housing and affordable pensions move out of reach.
The need to vote
Young people need to start voting in greater numbers to counter balance the influence of older generations on the decisions made by politicians.
The political system counts every vote and when it comes to choosing between the young and the old, the old vote at election time and therefore garner more clout.
Thus older people enjoy good jobs, comfortable homes and generous pensions; none of which today’s young people can look forward to in future years.
Even access to education comes with substantial cost as young people are burdened beyond reason by debt before being in a position to look for rewarding work, which many will not find.
But such unfairness cannot last forever as the next generation realise how much the system is stacked against them and understand that hard work alone will not address their difficulties.
Too many jobs are now too poorly paid, too many houses unaffordable and too many cannot afford to pay into traditional pensions.
Raising questions
Young people are beginning to raise questions and worry, as they feel powerless in a system that works against rather than for them.
Many already fear they won’t be as wealthy as their parents or in a position to enjoy the benefits of lucrative careers or able to buy homes.
Such facts go against the grain of previous generations whose aspiration and expectation was to do better than those who preceded them.
The situation is made worse as house prices are locked into a pattern of increase at a greater rate than wages and therefore exclude many from home ownership.
The image of young people stuck in low paying insecure jobs with little hope of owning a home while making scant provision for a pension is frightening but, unfortunately, increasingly true.
Instead of offering the next generation hope and the means to realise their dreams we have given them doubt and debt in copious amounts.
We can, of course, address the problem by making different choices and young people can improve their situation by voting to make sure they attract the attention of politicians.
These are simple things but they will change the direction of decision-making in favour of the next generation and ensure they have the opportunity to experience the good life too.
So, the idea that each generation will do better than the last is in danger of extinction but the time to act is now and the people to act are those most affected: the young.
