Are young people deprived? – A wealth of common sense

I don’t make a lot of predictions but here are two I have for the next 10 years or so:

(1) Wealth inequality will worsen.

(2) There will be a large productive gap opened up because of this.

Baby boomers are the biggest generation we’ve ever seen.

If you include the silent generation, older Americans hold nearly two-thirds of the country’s wealth. Gen X has one half of the wealth index while Millennials have one tenth of the pie.

Because of the wealth they dream of, the older generations have the power to spend more money:

There was an article in the Wall Street Journal that looked at the bifurcation in the macroeconomy for elderly parents but not so much for their elderly children:

Here is one anecdote in the story:

When Milan Jevtitch completed his PH.D in Chemical Engineering in 1986, he immediately got a job at Proster & Gamble. He climbed the corporate ladder, bought a spacious one-bedroom home for his family and was saved for a while.

The search for her daughter has been intense. Anais Jevtitch, 24, Cum Laede at Ohio University in December 2023 and lost count of the number of applications she sent for positions in marketing, social media and film and television production. Nearly two years later he is still living in his parents’ colonial house on the outskirts of Philadelphia, working odd jobs as he continues his endless search.

Jevtitch, 68, said: “‘Ghost’ is the term he uses,” Jevtitch, 68, said of his daughter. “I’m very frustrated, I’m almost angry … It’s really hard for him to get interviews.”

They are young and interested in the prospect of artificial intelligence instead of their entry-level jobs. The youth unemployment rate has gone from 5.7% to 10.7%.

The housing market is not helping matters.

Data from John Burns shows the first homesteaders are older than ever:

This is possibly the worst prime time prime time slot ever from a cost perspective.

So is that right? Are young people organized?

It’s not easy being a young person right now. But look at the history of youth unemployment:

That 5.7% figure was the lowest since the 1950s! The current rate is still below long-term estimates.

Check out how historically high youth unemployment has been:

1950 – 14.0%

1958 – 16.9%

1961 – 17.2%

1971 – 16.0%

1975 – 16.3%

1983 – 19.9%

1992 – 14.5%

2003 – 14.8%

2009 – 19.9%

Young people have gone through challenging times in the past and come out the other side well.

I graduated in 2004.

The only jobs available to me at the time were as a mortgage broker or as a subprime mortgage analyst at a bank (bullet inserted there). When the financial crisis of 2008 hit, everyone told us:

Just be happy you have a job.

Looking for a raise or a raise? In this economy?!

It took me years to find my way. There were many jobs I applied for that I did not get. I felt sorry for myself. I felt lost. I felt like a failure at times.

But not getting those jobs is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It made me stand out from the crowd.

I read a million books. I have learned. I got my CFA. I went to night school to get my MBA. I asked my manager for help. I started writing.

Living through a tough job market forced me to try harder. You can focus on aggregated economic data and become a statistic, or you can try to improve your station in life by focusing on that control.

The good news is that young people are more prepared for this moment than I was.

They are smarter, more educated and have a better understanding of their career opportunities. Every time I talk to a group of college students I am impressed.

This week I spoke to the finance department at the University of Colorado. Instead of preparing a speech, I asked them to pass the questions. I was blown away by the topics they wanted to talk about – Dollar costs, automation in commercial crops and your way of working, thinking about investing in the Market, major investment mistakes, investor psychology and more.

These children are further along in their learning journey than ever before. I had to play catch for years after leaving school. The young people I talk to are already following the markets, reading about them, studying history, understanding market psychology, listening to podcasts and more.

I didn’t do any ageist stuff.

Young people know the types of firms they want to work for. They know what kind of work they want to do.

I was flying blind right out of college.

Therefore, the youth today face many challenges. Some are new but every new generation in history has experienced something.

I am confident that today’s youth are more prepared than any generation that came before them.

I’m always in Burving for today’s young people. They will find it.

Michael and I discussed discord, manufactured war, teenage grief and more in this week’s spiritual paper:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6zwj5mffo8

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Further reading:
All the jobs I can’t find

Now here’s what I’ve been reading lately:

Books: