Young Adults, Burdened With Debt, Are Now Facing an Economic Crisis

The New York Times ^ | April 6, 2020 | Nathaniel Popper

[al baby]

Wow and its a story about heteros

[Artemis Webb]

boo hoo.

[Paladin2]

Welcome to the Carter gas lines times.

[HonorInPa]

What was his major in college? He’s now working in a carpet shop and Starbucks. Not to sound elitist, but I don’t think either require a 6-figure college degree.

[Steely Tom]

Too bad for them China lied about the danger until it was too late to do anything about it. They’ll probably blame Trump for it though, whatever.

[cuban leaf]

Maybe this will help (It’s a video animated graph):
https://twitter.com/i/status/1246548366454149120

This generation is screwed. Great Depression style screwed.

And I have six kids and five grandcids. I feel for them.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Every story an excuse to promote student loan forgiveness.

[dp0622]

Well i’m not a young adult but I’m doing better than usual during this thing.

I do online work and there’s been SO MUCH MORE of it the past few weeks

[The Pack Knight]

The youngest American adults are facing what is, for most of them, the first serious economic crisis of their working lives. By most measures, they are woefully unprepared.

I think people in their 30s are still young adults, any they're facing their second serious economic crisis.

Not only that, but they'll be stuck with the tab for this $2.2 trillion "stimulus."

[4yearlurker]

Part of the problem is these kids never learned how to budget,juggle bills and prioritize. I have grown daughters who still don't know how to grocery shop and stretch a meal for two days. Sometimes they just wont listen to old Pop. Why are the kids in the article paying student loans when they work in a coffee shop and a carpet store?

[Susquehanna Patriot]

My first thought as well. Teeing it up for the next 2.2 trillion Wuhan Flu virus bill.

[GuavaCheesePuff]

Why boo hoo......not every American has it good right now.

[puppypusher]

That’s all right.The government can continue wrecking our dollar with these stupid multi-trillion dollar spending bills.Not that this one is’nt really needed especially after the public was pretty much ordered to stay home.

Hopefully this economy has a quick positive turnaround.

[Destroyer Sailor]

Folks this is a real pandemic. You survive until it runs its course and then you have to hustle. You have the state unemployment plus the federal programs to tide you over. They will live, but that’s life.

[shadeaud]

I have some sympathy for the yute of America. However there are still employment opportunities in America. One has to face the reality of their situation and find a legal way of finding employment. The government is giving a bit of stimulus money which will help cover the must pay bills, the rest will be put on the refrigerator door till this situation is resolved. I know first hand how the lack of security affects ones ego, motivation and finally the guts to use what positive assets one has. Sounds corny, but make lemonade out of lemons really works.

[MplsSteve]

“Every story an excuse to promote student loan forgiveness.”

Agreed.

Some Freepers might not agree with this idea - but I’d like to give some of these kids the opportunity to work part of their loans off.

Straight public service - working at food shelves or soup kitchens, picking up trash in parks and repairing playground equipment, mowing lawns and doing yardwork for senior citizens and the handicapped, etc.

There’s no way in hell I’d ever agree to straight loan forgiveness though.

[CatOwner]

I agree. How much of that credit card debt was for the latest and greatest toy and/or overspending on non-essential items?

Sorry to hear about your daughters. Our only kid learned how to cook for herself, and she was doing this in college, making food stretch for a couple of meals. She still does that now, not because it is cheaper, but because she likes the food and she's been busy with work and it saves time. She even learned from our days in the Bay Area from being prepared for an earthquake, and she had a good amount of food and supplies when the SHTF. She says "she learned from the best". She really is a great kid.

[ctdonath2]

Society has to learn, at the level of individuals, that debt is a bad thing and to avoid it.

This will requires many people learning the hard way and teaching their offspring the lesson.

[ClearCase_guy]

What was his major in college? He’s now working in a carpet shop and Starbucks. Not to sound elitist, but I don’t think either require a 6-figure college degree.

The best thing that could come out of this, I think, is an understanding that large education debts without a real solid prospect of a high-paying job just leaves a person very fragile.

Avoid the debt. Just get a job. Society needs to stop acting like a college degree is important. For most people, it just isn't anything special.