ideals and social attitudes will shape American politics and culture for decades.A recent paper by the economists Paola Giuliano and Antonio Spilimbergo shows that previous cadres of young adults who endured a recession emerged with different beliefs than they’d held before—and that those new beliefs then stayed with them for the rest of their lives. They became more concerned about inequality, more cognizant of the role luck plays in life, and more likely to support government redistribution of wealth, but also less confident in the efficacy of government institutions—changes, for the most part, that can be seen happening again today.
The optimism of the Millennial generation has not been completely dispelled. A Pew survey early in 2010 found that even among those who were struggling financially, 89 percent were confident that they’d have “enough” income in the future, a characterization that was basically unchanged from 2006. Fewer Millennials were dissatisfied with the country’s direction than were other adults. And overall, Millennials were as happy with their lives as other generations, or happier.
This period has not been without silver linings for some youngadults. Due to poor job prospects,college attendance has risen since 2007; as a result, some people who would not have gotten a college degree now will; whatever the economic climate today, they’ll almost certainly find better long-term prospects than they would have otherwise. Houses are cheaper throughout the country, allowing young adults who have good, secure jobs to buy sooner if they wish to do so. For some twenty- and thirtysomethings on the fast track, aggressive workplace restructuring has meant bigger responsibilities more quickly. And to the extent that young adults embrace thrift the way Depression-era twentysomethings did—still an open question for the generation as a whole—they will leave themselves less vulnerable to shocks that happen later in their lives.
Many factors throughout a lifetime affect generational character. No one can know what technological and scientific breakthroughs await us in the coming years, but it’s hard to believe that the nation’s material standards in 2030 and 2050 won’t be far higher than they are now. Nonetheless, for young adults, perhaps more than anyone else, the key question is: How much longer? How much longer will we remain mired in a weak economy with bad jobs or no jobs for people just beginning their careers? The Great Recession has indelibly changed the lives of many twentysomethings already. The longer this generation marinates in it, the more widely those changes will spread and the deeper they will be. Over the past year, as I’ve talked with young adults around the country, I’ve often had the sense of lives in abeyance—particularly among the jobless. Many hopes and many futures can still be realized—or at least nearly so—if the job market soon rebounds. But as the months and years tick by, more of those hopes and futures will become irretrievable. The urgency of recovery is highest for the young.
5
HOUSEBOUND: THE MIDDLE CLASS
AFTER THE BUST
I F YOU DRIVE NORTH FROM T AMPA ALONG I-75 FOR ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE miles, then take the off-ramp onto Wesley Chapel Boulevard and drive east a few miles more, you’ll eventually come upon Curley Road, up on the left. And if you take that left, you’ll see before you a clean divide between suburb and country. On the right side of the road lie vast acres of cow pastures, and beyond them an electrical power station. On the left lie subdivisions, neatly set, one after another.
The last and largest of them, before you hit the orange groves, is Bridgewater, a planned community of some 760 houses built mostly in 2005 and 2006, at the height of the housing boom. It’s a nice if generic-looking community of McMansions and somewhat smaller homes. Many of the houses back up onto one of the development’s several artificial lakes. All are
The optimism of the Millennial generation has not been completely dispelled. A Pew survey early in 2010 found that even among those who were struggling financially, 89 percent were confident that they’d have “enough” income in the future, a characterization that was basically unchanged from 2006. Fewer Millennials were dissatisfied with the country’s direction than were other adults. And overall, Millennials were as happy with their lives as other generations, or happier.
This period has not been without silver linings for some youngadults. Due to poor job prospects,college attendance has risen since 2007; as a result, some people who would not have gotten a college degree now will; whatever the economic climate today, they’ll almost certainly find better long-term prospects than they would have otherwise. Houses are cheaper throughout the country, allowing young adults who have good, secure jobs to buy sooner if they wish to do so. For some twenty- and thirtysomethings on the fast track, aggressive workplace restructuring has meant bigger responsibilities more quickly. And to the extent that young adults embrace thrift the way Depression-era twentysomethings did—still an open question for the generation as a whole—they will leave themselves less vulnerable to shocks that happen later in their lives.
Many factors throughout a lifetime affect generational character. No one can know what technological and scientific breakthroughs await us in the coming years, but it’s hard to believe that the nation’s material standards in 2030 and 2050 won’t be far higher than they are now. Nonetheless, for young adults, perhaps more than anyone else, the key question is: How much longer? How much longer will we remain mired in a weak economy with bad jobs or no jobs for people just beginning their careers? The Great Recession has indelibly changed the lives of many twentysomethings already. The longer this generation marinates in it, the more widely those changes will spread and the deeper they will be. Over the past year, as I’ve talked with young adults around the country, I’ve often had the sense of lives in abeyance—particularly among the jobless. Many hopes and many futures can still be realized—or at least nearly so—if the job market soon rebounds. But as the months and years tick by, more of those hopes and futures will become irretrievable. The urgency of recovery is highest for the young.
5
HOUSEBOUND: THE MIDDLE CLASS
AFTER THE BUST
I F YOU DRIVE NORTH FROM T AMPA ALONG I-75 FOR ABOUT TWENTY-FIVE miles, then take the off-ramp onto Wesley Chapel Boulevard and drive east a few miles more, you’ll eventually come upon Curley Road, up on the left. And if you take that left, you’ll see before you a clean divide between suburb and country. On the right side of the road lie vast acres of cow pastures, and beyond them an electrical power station. On the left lie subdivisions, neatly set, one after another.
The last and largest of them, before you hit the orange groves, is Bridgewater, a planned community of some 760 houses built mostly in 2005 and 2006, at the height of the housing boom. It’s a nice if generic-looking community of McMansions and somewhat smaller homes. Many of the houses back up onto one of the development’s several artificial lakes. All are
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