Homeless Millennials

Discussion in 'Economics & Trade' started by kazenatsu, May 20, 2019.

  1. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I'm going to just copy a large part of this article here because the site has a lot of ads and may be very slow or difficult to access on some interconnections.

    Millennial homelessness is on the rise

    While unemployment continues to sink in the Trump era, homelessness has soared, particularly among young people.

    According to research from the University of Chicago, about 1 in 10 young adults ages 18 to 25 experience some form of homelessness in a year. While those who haven’t completed high school face the greatest risk of becoming homeless, nearly 30 percent of young adults who experienced homelessness were enrolled in college or another educational program at the time that they experienced homelessness.

    The phenomenon transformed into a major political issue in major urban centers during the election in November, fueled by headlines of used needles and human feces littering the streets.

    This crisis has coincided with millennials’ coming of age. The surge in underemployed, overeducated millennials has contributed to a surge in rents and shed light on the housing shortage. Millennials took on tens of thousands of dollars in student debt only to find that the job market did not align with their credentials, leaving many underemployed and unemployed. Meanwhile, the shortage of trades among millennials has also inflated construction costs, limiting the construction of new housing. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports that the U.S. has a "shortage of 7.2 million rental homes affordable and available to extremely low income renters."

    In San Francisco, 18- to 24-year-olds now make up one of the fastest-growing homeless populations. That could be why San Francisco voters overwhelmingly approved a tax on large businesses to fund housing and homelessness services. Two years ago, Los Angeles tried to address its own homeless issue by passing a $1.2 billion bond to build thousands of homes for the homeless.​

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/millennial-homelessness-is-on-the-rise


    1 in 10 young adults have been homeless over the past year, survey finds

    Difficult Job Market for the Young

    http://nj1015.com/young-adults-today-no-school-no-job-living-at-home-with-mom-and-dad/

    article about how the economy has been affected by this:

    (note: some of these articles are a little old and two or three years out of date)


    I wonder if the older generations truly realize the extent of everything the younger Millennial generation has gone through over the last 12 years.

    Let's not forget, it's the younger generation starting families (or not starting families).
    Most of the country's fertility rates comes from this specific age demographic.
    I predict there are going to be big long-term generational reverberations.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
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  2. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I think the biggest thing that these articles do not mention is the soaring cost of housing in many areas. Older generations are likely to own their own homes, but the younger generation is just starting out. Not only do they have to save money for buying a house but they also have to pay rent.

    Both of those are a lot more expensive than in previous generations.

    Often student loan debt on top of that.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
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  3. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It's not just in the US, it's a phenomena that has appeared all across the developed world over the last decade, in the UK and Australia too.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
  4. jdog

    jdog Banned

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    The fact is that immigration has reaked havoc on the lower classes of American society. Every action has an oposite and often unintended reaction. You can see a direct correlation between the growth in immigration and the growth of homlessness. Those lower tier jobs that the immigrants have taken used to go to underskilled younger workers, and other less employable American workers. Without mean of support, they end up on the streets, but hey, the corporate fat cats are making bank, so I guess that is all that really matters, right?
     
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  5. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    The key points - and neither are dependent on a specific economic climate:

    FAMILY INSTABILITY (IOW, if you f### over your home, your kids will suffer)

    CHOOSING RIDICULOUS DEGREES (IOW, you won't get a job in the field, and you won't be able to repay your loans)


    These two are where the buck stops.
     
  6. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    As much as that's a cliche criticism coming from conservatives, I think you actually have a big point here.
    Much of the homeless is concentrated in liberal city areas where those conventional family structures don't exist or are nearly non-existent.
    What is a father needed for, other than meeting the romantic needs of the woman, after all?
    She doesn't need a man.

    One of the big problems is that at all the top tier schools the majors that are more likely to lead to a good career are very competitive.
    You can thank a huge rise in student population numbers for that.
    It's not always simply just a matter of the student not picking the right major; often times they can't get it and are stuck having to pick something else.
    Sometimes these students don't even find out they can't get their first choice major until after the first year.

    Student numbers have increased because all the young people are told they have to go to college these days, and then immigration has also brought a lot of students, because we all know they often have big families. (Could get into more detail about this but won't here)

    I know on the West Coast it's very very difficult to get accepted into a math/science or engineering major at all the higher tier universities. They don't have enough places.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2019
  7. crank

    crank Well-Known Member

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    It's reality. Even the article points to it as one of the primary causes of youth homelessness. And it has nothing to do with the economy, or politics, or any external factor. It's purely a result of individuals making bad (self-indulgent and irresponsible) choices.

    As regards the difficulty of accessing STEM in decent universities, I'm aware. I have kids who did it, and it was wasn't an easy ride. You basically have to aim to be in the top 1%, and work your behind off - all the way through high school. When I was at uni 30 years ago, the highest entry requirement was for Veterinary Science. Now, Vet science is quite a bit lower than Medicine (presumably because there is much less demand for it than there is for Medicine). Also, Law was a fairly achievable entry requirement back then. Now it's almost as high as Medicine, and definitely higher than for Vet Science. Dentistry has also gone up. So yeah, it's harder now. But kids are still getting in to those courses, so it's still achievable!
     
  8. MB74

    MB74 Member

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    The wealth gap is getting worse. This is why we need a wealth tax.
     
  9. DennisTate

    DennisTate Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Which is one pretty powerful case for at least seriously considering something along the line of:




    Five hundred dollars per Canadian per month, can this work?

    Canada's more severe winters are a major reason as to why we Canadians tend to favour such options.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2019
  10. kazenatsu

    kazenatsu Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The first step to solving a problem is even admitting that it exists. This thread is about being able to agree on the extent of that problem, not proposing potential solutions to it.
    Let's focus on the core issue here.

    I don't want this thread to get sidetracked or derailed by discussions about possible solutions, which will inevitably devolve into other arguments not about the topic.
     
    Last edited: May 30, 2019
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  11. Old Man Fred

    Old Man Fred Well-Known Member

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    I'm a Millennial on the cusp of turning 30.

    I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and due to a poor job market and skyrocketing rent, made the choice to move to Texas several years ago.

    Of most of my high school class, those struggling the most are those who have stuck close to home
     
  12. Eleuthera

    Eleuthera Well-Known Member Donor

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    This article by Paul Craig Roberts may help explain your observations.

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/51827.htm
     
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