Do you think the lack of jobs and declining wages have anything to do with it?
*********
Yes, it’s undoubtedly a big factor. The job market has not been robust and many young people have no choice other than to remain at home. That’s a sad reality in today’s economy.
However, in my neighborhood there are lots of young adults who choose to live at home even though they have jobs, all the latest electronical and recreational toys, and in several cases drive late model luxury cars.
By enabling long term avoidance of financial responsibility some parents may be effectively weakening their “kids” in terms of being able to meet future obligations of adulthood.
On the other hand, I would rather not have my kids paying rent to some outsider. If living at home for a few years allows them to save money, then that is good thing. It makes a huge difference between beginning to save money in your 20s than beginning to save in your thirties....It can literally double the amount of money you have for retirement.
Can they really afford to set up a separate residence or have the money for a down payment on a home? You see lots of electronic toys and late model luxury cars in many our poorest urban neighborhoods. Do they really represent wealth or just to create the appearance of wealth?
The reality is that we have huge numbers of unemployed young people. The supply of potential workers is enormous: 8.7 million native college graduates are not working, as are 17 million with some college, and 25.3 million with no more than a high school education. If you want to read an excellent article on youth unemployment, read this interview from PBS of all places. For me, the signs are very disturbing. We are creating a permanent underclass and our cities and suburbs are just time bombs waiting to explode.