The leaning of democrats to democratic socialism is in part due to the plight of Millennials and young people generally. Capitalism was once designed to work for all people and to benefit every social class. In 2019, that’s no longer the case for many Millennials and Gen Z demographics and working professionals.
It’s not just that the exponential level of rising wealth inequality, set to grow still further, now imperils the very future of capitalism. It’s the inflation on our student loans, cost of housing, rise of part-time work and global economic uncertainty that clouds the prospects of the workforce under 40.
Surviving not Saving
Working Americans are still struggling when it comes to saving money for both their short-term and long-term goals: More than one in five (21 percent) don’t save any of their annual income. That’s according to a new survey from Bankrate.com. Granted the sample size was just 1,000.
- 20 percent save only 5 percent or less of what they make
- 28 percent save 6 to 10 percent
- Just 16 percent are saving more than 15 percent of their income.
That’s not a lot of saving going on. Capitalism benefits those who reaped wealth or inherited wealth well before the 2008 economic crisis. We haven’t had a recession in more than 10 years, but a shroud of uncertainty characterizes the careers of many young citizens and professionals.
- The rise of automation and AI will disrupt several industries
- An increase in burn-out due to digital and mobile addiction
- A decrease in mental health due to economic and technological pressure
Student Loan Debt has become a barrier to Economic stability
More young Millennials and Gen Z than ever before in history will remain single permanently and this is thought to be due primarily to economic concerns.
We should note that also for the first time in US history, total student-loan debt exceeds $1.5 trillion — surpassing both auto-loan and credit-card debt. Student loan debt is responsible for young Millennials buying homes later (or not at all), marrying later (or not at all) and shifting lifestyle habits and behavioral patterns where even things like climate change are makingthem think twice about having kids.
Capitalism isn’t working for most Millennials who have experienced a decrease in economic mobility, the very opposite of the spirit of opportunity that generations past used to characterize with the American Dream and a lifestyle of opportunity where social mobility was possible. This is then a generation that is markedly poorer than their parents or grandparents were relative to the middle class. Relative to the very sense of hope in a better future.
When one in five working Americans isn’t even saving, you have to wonder how inflation and automation are impacting young Millennials and Gen Z. You have to question how they are going to fare in a capitalism where the top 1% increasingly is getting the lion’s share of the profits, prosperity and compound wealth.
Generation Student Debt is the unenviable hashtag for 45 million borrowers with student-loan debt exceeding $1.5 trillion for the first time. So what happens when you don’t have economic opportunity? You begin to lose hope in yourself. You begin to lose hope in the system.
Think of it this way, as loan defaults skyrocket, many are exposed to long-term financial harm while rising student-loan debt affects mental healthand worsens gender and racial injustice. As corporate Big Tech rise in influence and profits, it’s possibly also endangering the mental health of their users and customers in ways that are difficult to link.
Researchers at the Stanford Center on Longevity project that, if you want to retire at age 65 and maintain your standard of living, you need to put 10 to 17 percent of your current income into a retirement account. That’s only if you start saving at 25! Clearly the economic prospects of our generation is grim, to say the least.
Capitalism is not working for Millennials and Gen Z and the backbite is going to be considerable. Financial health and mental health are linked, and we could be looking at civil unrest if elements of capitalism aren’t fixed to be just for everyone.
