Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. IFRAME: [1]https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-N8MP7P [2]Skip to main content (Submit) Open main navigation Live TV Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... [3]Full Schedule [4]All Programs Live Radio Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... [5]Full Schedule [6]All Programs * [7]United States [8]US Politics + [9]Immigration + [10]All About America + [11]Science & Health + [12]Silicon Valley & Technology * World [13]Africa + [14]The Americas + [15]East Asia + [16]Europe + [17]Extremism Watch + [18]Middle East + [19]South & Central Asia + [20]VOA News on Iran * Sections [21]Arts & Culture + [22]Day in Photos + [23]Economy & Business + [24]Press Freedom + [25]Plugged in with Greta Van Susteren + [26]VOA StudentU + [27]VOA Connect * [28]US News * [29]Press Freedom * [30]Silicon Valley & Technology * [31]VOA StudentU [32]Voice of America Logo (Submit) Search Search VOA News ____________________ (Submit) Search (Submit) Eng [33]Live TV Live TV Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... [34]Full Schedule [35]All Programs [36]Live Radio Live Radio Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... Please wait, loading... [37]Full Schedule [38]All Programs English [39]English [40]voanews.com [41]Learning English [42]learningenglish.voanews.com Eastern & Central Europe [43]Shqip [44]zeriamerikes.com [45]Bosanski [46]ba.voanews.com [47]Îλληνικά [48]gr.voanews.com [49]ÐакедонÑки [50]mk.voanews.com [51]Srpski [52]glasamerike.net [53]УкÑаÑнÑÑка [54]ukrainian.voanews.com Eurasia [55]ÕÕ¡ÕµÕ¥ÖÕ¥Õ¶ [56]amerikayidzayn.com [57]Azerbaijani [58]amerikaninsesi.org [59]á¥áá áá£áá [60]amerikiskhma.com [61]Ð ÑÑÑкий [62]golos-ameriki.ru Central Asia [63]O'zbek' [64]amerikaovozi.com South Asia [65]বাà¦à¦²à¦¾ [66]voabangla.com [67]Ø¯Ø±Û [68]darivoa.com [69]Ù¾Úت٠[70]pashtovoa.com [71]ÙÛ Ø§Ù Ø§Û ÚÙÙ٠رÙÚÛÙ [72]voadeewanews.com [73]ارد [74]urduvoa.com East & Southeast Asia [75]á»ááá¹áᬠ[76]burmese.voanews.com [77]ç²¤è¯ [78]voacantonese.com [79]ä¸æ [80]voachinese.com [81]Bahasa Indonesia [82]voaindonesia.com [83]ááááá [84]khmer.voanews.com [85]Khmer [86]voacambodia.com [87]íêµì´ [88]voakorea.com [89]ລາວ [90]lao.voanews.com [91]à¹à¸à¸¢ [92]voathai.com [93]à½à½¼à½à¼à½¡à½²à½ [94]voatibetan.com [95]Tiếng Viá»t [96]voatiengviet.com Africa [97]Afaan Oromoo [98]voaafaanoromoo.com [99]á ááá [100]amharic.voanews.com [101]Bambara [102]voabambara.com [103]Français [104]voaafrique.com [105]Hausa [106]voahausa.com [107]Kinyarwanda / Kirundi [108]radiyoyacuvoa.com [109]Ndebele [110]voandebele.com [111]Português [112]voaportugues.com [113]Shona [114]voashona.com [115]Soomaaliga [116]voasomali.com [117]Kiswahili [118]voaswahili.com [119]áµááá [120]tigrigna.voanews.com [121]Zimbabwe [122]voazimbabwe.com Middle East/North Africa [123]ÙØ§Ø±Ø³Û [124]ir.voanews.com [125]ÙÙØ±Ø¯Û [126]dengiamerika.com [127]Kurdi [128]dengeamerika.com [129]Türkçe [130]amerikaninsesi.com Latin America [131]Creole [132]voanouvel.com [133]Español [134]voanoticias.com [135]All About America Lazy and Entitled? Why the Struggle is Real for US Millennials By Dora Mekouar August 1, 2019 12:22 PM Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Print this page Comments Millennials often get a bad rap from older generations who think young adults had it too easy growing up, which prompted them to become lazy and entitled. However, experts say the struggle is real for U.S. millennials because they are the first generation to feel the full impact of decades of rising inequality in America. These young Americans in their 20s and 30s earn less money without a college degree, and are more likely to die young from suicide or drug overdoses than the generations that came before them, according to a new [136]report. Millennials are first generation to really feel the social economic problems of our time, according to David Grusky, of Stanford University's Center on Poverty and Inequality. Millennials are first generation to really feel the social economic problems of our time, according to David Grusky of Stanford University's Center on Poverty and Inequality. The problems plaguing millennials are the result of economic decisions made in the late '70s and early '80s, according to sociologist David Grusky, director of the [137]Center on Poverty and Inequality at Stanford University, and one of the report's authors. "This is when income inequality starts to take off. This is when we lost a lot of the middle income, typically manufacturing jobs, but without thinking once about trying to take care of those people who lost out by virtue of globalization and trade and outsourcing and the like," Grusky says. "That period, late '70s, early '80s, when we decided to fashion our economy in a new way ... was the starting of this set of forces that, in the end, hurt millennials so much." The millennial disadvantage began as soon as they entered the job market which, for many of them, was during the Great Recession. Lasting from 2007 until 2009, the downturn was the most severe U.S. economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. That meant a delayed entry into the job market for some, and those who did get work often accepted positions for which they were overqualified. "We know that has been a long-run scarring effect, not just an immediate shock, but a long-run deterioration in their prospects, because that point of entry was so traumatic," Grusky says. Millennials earn 20% less than baby boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated, according to a 2017 analysis of Federal Reserve data. Millennials earn 20% less than baby boomers did at the same stage of life, despite being better educated, according to a 2017 analysis of Federal Reserve data. To make matters worse, public schools were receiving less funding because states had less money during the recession. Public colleges often responded by increasing tuition, which meant more students graduated with both a diploma and high student debt. "They couldn't get employed in a way that past generations could, so they couldn't pay off their loans," Grusky says. "They get hammered on both. Then, they had to take out more loans, and then they didn't have the resources to pay them back." Among the hardest-hit millennials are those who didn't go to college. A 25-year-old millennial man with a high school degree or less makes an [138]average of $29,000 per year. That's about $2,600 less than the generation before them, the Gen Xers, people aged 38 to 53, and almost $10,000 less than baby boomers, those aged 54 to 72, earned at the same age. African American millennials are also struggling more. The racial gap in young adult homeownership is now larger than it was before the civil rights period of the 1960s, according to Grusky. "We know that the Great Recession hit African Americans who were homeowners harder than other homeowners because they had bought later and under less favorable terms and in less desirable neighborhoods," he says. Eddie Davis stands beside the gravestone of his son Jeremy, furthest left, who died from the abuse of opioids at the age of 35, July 17, 2019, in Coalton, Ohio. Eddie Davis stands beside the gravestone of his son Jeremy, furthest left, who died from the abuse of opioids at the age of 35, July 17, 2019, in Coalton, Ohio. All of these obstacles may be the cause of more premature deaths. Death rates of people aged 25 to 34 shot up 20% between 2008 and 2016. Most of that increase was the result of rising suicides and drug overdoses. The mortality rate was highest--27%--among non-Hispanic whites. "I find it troubling that so much of the journalistic commentary on millennials adopts a bit of a blaming tone," Grusky says. "I like to think of millennials as canaries in the coal mine that tell us how toxic this new economy is. The canaries aren't faring well, and we don't typically blame canaries when they die in a coal mine full of toxic fumes. We blame the coal mine and the fumes." Default Author Profile Written By [139]Dora Mekouar (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) (Submit) [140]Twitter [141]Instagram [142]Facebook [143]YouTube [144]RSS Search VOA News ____________________ (Submit) Search * [145]United States [146]US Politics + [147]Immigration + [148]All About America + [149]Silicon Valley and Technology * World News [150]Africa + [151]The Americas + [152]East Asia + [153]Europe + [154]Middle East + [155]South & Central Asia * Sections [156]Arts & Culture + [157]Day in Photos + [158]Economy & Business + [159]Extremism Watch + [160]Press Freedom + [161]Science & Health + [162]VOA StudentU + [163]VOA Connect * Voice of America [164]About VOA + [165]Contact VOA + [166]Terms of Use and Privacy Notice + [167]Get Our Mobile App + [168]Usage Requests + [169]VOA Around the World + [170]VOA Pronunciation Guide + [171]Media Relations + [172]Listen on the radio + [173]Satellite Schedule + [174]Subscribe to Our Newsletters References Visible links 1. https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-N8MP7P 2. file://localhost/tmp/lynxXXXX--aeaa/L16056384-3669TMP.html#main-content 3. file://localhost/watch/schedule 4. file://localhost/watch/programs 5. file://localhost/listen/schedule 6. file://localhost/listen/programs 7. file://localhost/usa 8. file://localhost/usa/us-politics 9. file://localhost/usa/immigration 10. file://localhost/usa/all-about-america 11. file://localhost/science-health 12. file://localhost/silicon-valley-technology 13. file://localhost/africa 14. file://localhost/americas 15. file://localhost/east-asia 16. file://localhost/europe 17. file://localhost/extremism-watch 18. file://localhost/middle-east 19. file://localhost/south-central-asia 20. file://localhost/middle-east/voa-news-iran 21. file://localhost/arts-culture 22. file://localhost/day-photos 23. file://localhost/economy-business 24. file://localhost/press-freedom 25. file://localhost/plugged-greta-van-susteren 26. file://localhost/student-union 27. file://localhost/voa-connect 28. file://localhost/usa 29. file://localhost/press-freedom 30. file://localhost/silicon-valley-technology 31. file://localhost/student-union 32. file://localhost/ 33. file://localhost/watch 34. file://localhost/watch/schedule 35. file://localhost/watch/programs 36. file://localhost/listen 37. file://localhost/listen/schedule 38. file://localhost/listen/programs 39. https://voanews.com/ 40. https://voanews.com/ 41. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ 42. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ 43. https://zeriamerikes.com/ 44. https://zeriamerikes.com/ 45. https://ba.voanews.com/ 46. https://ba.voanews.com/ 47. https://gr.voanews.com/ 48. https://gr.voanews.com/ 49. https://mk.voanews.com/ 50. https://mk.voanews.com/ 51. https://glasamerike.net/ 52. https://glasamerike.net/ 53. https://ukrainian.voanews.com/ 54. https://ukrainian.voanews.com/ 55. https://amerikayidzayn.com/ 56. https://amerikayidzayn.com/ 57. https://amerikaninsesi.org/ 58. https://amerikaninsesi.org/ 59. https://amerikiskhma.com/ 60. https://amerikiskhma.com/ 61. https://golos-ameriki.ru/ 62. https://golos-ameriki.ru/ 63. https://amerikaovozi.com/ 64. https://amerikaovozi.com/ 65. https://voabangla.com/ 66. https://voabangla.com/ 67. https://darivoa.com/ 68. https://darivoa.com/ 69. https://pashtovoa.com/ 70. https://pashtovoa.com/ 71. https://voadeewanews.com/ 72. https://voadeewanews.com/ 73. https://urduvoa.com/ 74. https://urduvoa.com/ 75. https://burmese.voanews.com/ 76. https://burmese.voanews.com/ 77. https://voacantonese.com/ 78. https://voacantonese.com/ 79. https://voachinese.com/ 80. https://voachinese.com/ 81. https://voaindonesia.com/ 82. https://voaindonesia.com/ 83. https://khmer.voanews.com/ 84. https://khmer.voanews.com/ 85. https://voacambodia.com/ 86. https://voacambodia.com/ 87. https://voakorea.com/ 88. https://voakorea.com/ 89. https://lao.voanews.com/ 90. https://lao.voanews.com/ 91. https://voathai.com/ 92. https://voathai.com/ 93. https://voatibetan.com/ 94. https://voatibetan.com/ 95. https://voatiengviet.com/ 96. https://voatiengviet.com/ 97. https://voaafaanoromoo.com/ 98. https://voaafaanoromoo.com/ 99. https://amharic.voanews.com/ 100. https://amharic.voanews.com/ 101. https://voabambara.com/ 102. https://voabambara.com/ 103. https://voaafrique.com/ 104. https://voaafrique.com/ 105. https://voahausa.com/ 106. https://voahausa.com/ 107. https://radiyoyacuvoa.com/ 108. https://radiyoyacuvoa.com/ 109. https://voandebele.com/ 110. https://voandebele.com/ 111. https://voaportugues.com/ 112. https://voaportugues.com/ 113. https://voashona.com/ 114. https://voashona.com/ 115. https://voasomali.com/ 116. https://voasomali.com/ 117. https://voaswahili.com/ 118. https://voaswahili.com/ 119. https://tigrigna.voanews.com/ 120. https://tigrigna.voanews.com/ 121. https://voazimbabwe.com/ 122. https://voazimbabwe.com/ 123. https://ir.voanews.com/ 124. https://ir.voanews.com/ 125. https://dengiamerika.com/ 126. https://dengiamerika.com/ 127. https://dengeamerika.com/ 128. https://dengeamerika.com/ 129. https://amerikaninsesi.com/ 130. https://amerikaninsesi.com/ 131. https://voanouvel.com/ 132. https://voanouvel.com/ 133. https://voanoticias.com/ 134. https://voanoticias.com/ 135. file://localhost/usa/all-about-america 136. https://inequality.stanford.edu/publications/pathway/state-union-2019 137. https://inequality.stanford.edu/ 138. https://news.stanford.edu/2019/06/06/toxic-economic-trends-impacted-millennials/ 139. file://localhost/author/dora-mekouar 140. https://twitter.com/voanews 141. https://www.instagram.com/voanews/ 142. https://www.facebook.com/voiceofamerica 143. https://www.youtube.com/user/VOAvideo 144. file://localhost/rssfeeds 145. file://localhost/usa 146. file://localhost/usa/us-politics 147. file://localhost/usa/immigration 148. file://localhost/usa/all-about-america 149. file://localhost/silicon-valley-technology 150. file://localhost/africa 151. file://localhost/americas 152. file://localhost/east-asia 153. file://localhost/europe 154. file://localhost/middle-east 155. file://localhost/south-central-asia 156. file://localhost/arts-culture 157. file://localhost/day-photos 158. file://localhost/economy-business 159. file://localhost/extremism-watch 160. file://localhost/press-freedom 161. file://localhost/science-health 162. file://localhost/student-union 163. file://localhost/voa-connect 164. https://www.insidevoa.com/p/5831.html 165. https://www.insidevoa.com/p/5621.html 166. https://www.voanews.com/terms-use-and-privacy-notice 167. file://localhost/voas-free-app-mobile-and-tablet-devices 168. http://www.insidevoa.com/p/5719.html 169. https://www.voanews.com/voa-around-world 170. http://pronounce.voanews.com/ 171. http://www.insidevoa.com/ 172. file://localhost/voa-broadcast-frequency-schedules 173. http://direct.voa24.news/english/portal/broadcast-schedule 174. file://localhost/subscribe Hidden links: 175. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-08/AP_110429072488.jpg?itok=n8yTk1Nw 176. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-08/AP_17012684558595.jpg?itok=b3wjvRjk 177. https://media.voltron.voanews.com/Drupal/01live-166/styles/sourced/s3/2019-08/AP_19199166764166.jpg?itok=M7BGBhZI .