I actually agree with you.
My larger point (which in retrospect was not effectively communicated in any way!) is that we can't predict the future, so we need to be prepared for the worst and ready to take advantage of the best.
I do not believe our children will be worse off financially, although they will have challenges without a doubt. But for me, the jury is still out regarding how well off things will be in the "values" department.
Finally, I teach college and I can tell you that I am generally pretty impressed with the current crop of students. Personal responsibility seems to be a pretty big deal to them. That is a VERY good sign.
The article that started this thread concentrated on material well-being and ignored character -- IMHO the most important part. That's only natural because spiritual maturity is harder to quantify. My impression of the next generation is favorable too. For hard number comparisons that could point to long term trends I'll hang my hat on the falling divorce rate and plunging teenage pregnancy data.
I have to struggle to get business people to agree on the relative importance of different economic indexes. The idea of getting a consensus on character issues --well, maybe my wife would be better at that than me.