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Posted on 10/19/2026 9:09:56 AM PDT by Heartlander
From a young age, we ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. Firefighter, doctor, president, mechanic, astronaut, teacher, actor—the list goes on.
Dreams shift as children discover their gifts, what they enjoy, and where the two overlap. The kid who wanted to be a doctor might change his mind after finding out he can design spaceships and likes math better than anatomy.
Allowing people to follow their dreams has always been an American aspiration and part of what makes our country exceptional. Yet today, one group of Americans—young men—is at risk of being shut out from their dreams, largely through no fault of their own.
Mountains of evidence show that our education system and economy are increasingly leaving boys and men behind. This is a national crisis our political leaders must urgently acknowledge and address.
For Exhibit A, simply look at the last 50 years of wage trends. Although earnings for women have steadily increased, nearly doubling in the last half-century, men’s wages have remained largely stagnant. Indeed, while the inflation-adjusted median full-time wage for women has grown by $21,750 since 1976, it has increased for men by only $7,570.
But it gets worse. In August, 98% of U.S. job growth went to women according to government statistics. While female employment has grown by 870,000 since last year, male employment has contracted by 1.5 million. Roughly one-third of men are not participating in the labor force, including over half of young men ages 16-24.
The same trend is happening in college participation. In the mid-1990s, American men and women ages 25-34 were equally likely to have completed college, but the gap has ballooned since then. Today, about 47% of young women have a bachelor’s degree compared to 37% of young men. Women make up about 55% of U.S. undergraduate enrollment, while men account for 40% (with the remaining 5% being unknown or unreported).
Male education and workforce success directly impact family formation. Women are more likely to marry a man with a steady income, and men are more likely to want to work if they have something to work toward. But couples are told to wait until they have financial stability before having kids, a goal that is increasingly difficult to reach, leading them to have fewer children.
And while feminists may cheer the number of women in the 9-to-5 work world, it has not come without a cost. As many observers (including Elizabeth Warren before she entered politics) have pointed out, more mothers entering the workforce has made households increasingly reliant on both parents working to stay afloat, creating a “two-income trap.” It is financially unfeasible for many women to stay home with their children, even when they want to.
Many factors have led us to the current status quo. American industrial and trade policy over the last half-century has shipped many blue-collar jobs overseas while driving down wages for those who remain. Economic policy influenced by feminism has convinced many women to invest in careers rather than family. But we should not overlook another important driver of young men’s present disadvantage: the rapid proliferation of DEI across society.
Jacob Savage’s essay in Compact magazine last December highlighted the devastating impact of the DEI regime on young men. Fittingly titled “The Lost Generation,” Savage chronicled how Millennial and Gen Z men over the last 10-15 years have found themselves chained to the same job, or without one entirely, while less qualified but more “diverse” employees rise in the ranks. This practice has run rampant across numerous industries—entertainment, academia, the medical field—with untold casualties.
What film masterpieces did we miss by passing over a promising writer for a more diverse candidate? What medical breakthroughs did we forgo to reach a quota? What discoveries, studies, and breakthroughs are missing from academia simply because the men who would have made them were unfairly denied the opportunity?
Fortunately, DEI has been in retreat lately, thanks in large part to the Trump Administration’s crackdown. DEI has also declined in popularity in the workforce, though it still boasts majority support amid widespread ignorance about its true consequences. Even so, DEI remains a powerful force that could regain greater influence if political conditions become more favorable.
Meanwhile, young men continue to suffer. A recent Institute for Family Studies survey found that about half of men ages 18-29 now see the American Dream as out of reach. Many have retreated into destructive pastimes such as pornography and gambling, while suicide rates have risen to record highs. The statistics are grim in every direction.
So where does this leave us?
Our young men are still dreaming as they did when they were little boys, but they are being forced to acknowledge that hard work may not be enough to achieve those dreams. In America especially—the country founded on the ability to get ahead and create something spectacular—this is a reality we should not tolerate.
The situation young men face is an issue lawmakers can no longer afford to ignore. We need an economy where men’s skills and contributions are valued and appropriately compensated. We also need to make it possible for a family to raise children on one income. There is no easy fix for these problems. It will necessarily involve a myriad of approaches, from fully eliminating DEI to bringing back blue-collar work and stabilizing our broken dollar, whose debasement undergirds so much of Americans’ current struggles.
To save the American Dream from today’s threats, we must tackle this challenge. We owe it to the next generation of boys who still dare to dream.
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Feminism is the leading cause. We no longer celebrate men for being manly.
There is no easy fix for these problems. It will necessarily involve a myriad of approaches, from fully eliminating DEI to bringing back blue-collar work and stabilizing our broken dollar,
The uniqueness of the American Experiment is the ability to move up and down the social/economic ladder.
There is a little thing each and every one of us can do to help the situation with one young man. Find one.
Women in the work place has been a disaster for women and their children
After day care, many women barely break even and the reality is that the rise of two income families becoming the norm has progressively reduced the pay rate of jobs such that two incomes have the adjusted purchasing power not much greater than a traditional single working father supporting a family made back before two income families became the norm
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there is a huge shortage of people (young men?) going into the trades. Plumbers, electricians, mechanics, HVAC, welders, etc.
Many of these jobs will pay in the 6 figures once you are established.
Is it partly because nobody wants to actually ‘work for a living’? Or is it a combination of that and the fact that most young people don’t realize that you can make a good wage in these fields?
One of the big reasons my Cat business is exploding!
The academia industrial complex and their commie politicians convinced everyone college is mandatory and those that work trades are scum.
No. They are being specially targeted. The vast majority of ADHD cases are boys. Feminists want them to be weak and dominated.
Blue collar trade jobs have fallen out of fashion because offshoring has destroyed not just our industries but the jobs that went with them
For the last 35 years or so the goal of American companies has been to do their manufacturing abroad which has destroyed not just the manufacturing jobs but the entire ecosystem of job functions and businesses that support them
Our corporate ideal was companies run by managers, legal and financial professionals running remote offshore manufacturing operations in China, India Mexico and asia
The tide is slowly starting to turn, but for at least 30 years now high school students have been constantly bombarded with the twin messages of “do whatever you want, and the money will follow” and “the only way to get ahead in life is with a 4 year degree”.
The lack of people in the vocations has the same underlying reason as to why there are so many younger people in student debt: they were pushed toward getting a worthless degree literally at all costs. I’m not absolving anyone of personal responsibility, but it’s a simple fact that our school system puts immense pressure on graduating students to get 4 year degrees instead of learning a productive vocation.
One thing that I and all my Lefty friends agree upon is that we wish we could go back in time and muzzle every single high school “guidance counselor” we can get our hands on, because the advice we all got from them was the first two statements I quoted above.
I would say just the visibility of DEI declined. We still have quotas if not ban on white male hiring and promotions.
Another thread this morning suggests that the ongoing aggressive removal of illegal aliens is improving conditions for AMERICAN tradesmen. It mentions improvements in wages and in availability of jobs.
Spot on.
I paid for college as a certified structural welder way back in the 80s. The pay is the same in 2026 dollars. The trades pay garbage thanks to a flood of illegal alien workers depressing wages. The local grocery store pays more than an apprentice electrician or plumber. At least where I am.
You got that backwards.
Cost of living is and has been increasing at a rate that outpaces the wage increases.The beloved Republicans Cheap Labor Express and outsourcing of manufacturing to China and ditching the gold standard are some of the reasons for this wage suppression. So two incomes is a requirement to live.
In one way it may be better, as they will opt out of the system that hates them and only uses them for utility and money.
They already are. They’re saying no thanks, i’ll pass. And the same system tries to insult and same them back in after telling them they’re always the problem to everything wrong in everyone elses lives and punishing them for existing, and basically kicking them out in the first place due to historical perceived wrongs.
I’m somewhat sympathetic, but *only* to a point.
I don’t go in for generational “peeing races” (Everybody ignores the profanity rule, but I just respect it out of habit).
First of all, when I started dating my wife through our 2nd kid - my wife was working. She had a degree in finance. She even got a CPA license. We had plans and big dreams. We’re hardly ‘woke’. When she left full-time work, it was a decision we discussed and made together. We could afford it - and at the time, I was finally making more than her. Today, we’re both thinking retirement in a few years - but she’s gone back to ‘work’ somewhat (contract and consulting) because she’s good at her field and likes it.
Second, I’m not saying “life” doesn’t happen and it’s not ironclad, but same as it ever was. Make yourself useful, make yourself valuable - you won’t lack for work. Again, I don’t like to crap on younger folks - but far too often, I see young folks who expect to hop into high-paying jobs off the bat. I see young folks who think “But I worked hard for 3 months, where’s my raise!!!???”
Moreover? I see a rise in pornography, online gambling, and other crap that just makes a young man undesirable for a mate. Sure - I was 19/20/22/etc once. But “bro culture” is out of control. There’s “sowing your wild oats”, and then there’s making it a ‘lifestyle’ — and no kidding, you’ll struggle to find a partner.
Sure, I believe in data - but you have to zoom out. And what I see?
No more “participation trophies”. That’s a *GOOD* thing. You work for it - professionally and personally - you don’t just get it handed to you.
There is a good reason that the they don’t want men to be manly. Strong men make better soldiers and the they are afraid of strong men for that reason. I have a pet conspiracy theory that says that infant formula is formulated to make baby boys more feminine. The they drive women into the workforce to prevent them from reproducing and if they do reproduce then they will not be able to breastfeed. The substitute to breastfeeding is infant formula. We all know that infant formula is better than cows’ milk because science.
But what is infant formula made of? Mostly cows’ milk byproducts but also sugar and soy protein isolate and soybean oil. I think that the soy is a source of phytoestrogens which will help to feminize babies. You don’t need every boy child to be feminized to neutralize “toxic masculinity” but if you look at what passes for boys these days you will see that they are way more feminine than boys in the past. Not saying just saying.
Meanwhile, in China, the government is pushing the “996” idea, that workdays should be 9am to 9pm, six days a week.
The response to this by Chinese youth is “Bai Lan!” or “Let It Rot”. Non-compliance by unemployment. Protest by refusing to play along and work in a stupid wage slavery system.
Back in the US, many young women are of the mind that the only desirable males are “666”. Six feet+ tall, a six figure income, and with a 6”+ male member. Even worse, they think they can “ride the carousel” in their 20’s, with multiple Chads and Tyrones, maybe even have an illegitimate child or three, and still catch a “provider” male to subsidize her and her brood in her 30s.
However, she will instead run headlong into “The Wall”, with her desirability in the negative numbers.
Fortunately, these situations all seem to be self correcting.
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