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very very good...she really hits it on the head with the baby boomers being the "greediest generation." they just keep messing everything up...ie, ... (show more)
Generation Debt
An emerging spokesperson for a new generation passionately and persuasively addresses the grim state of young people today-and tells us how we can, and must, save our future.
The nature of youth is to question. So when twenty-four-year-old Anya Kamenetz started out as a journalist, she began asking hard questions about her generation for which no one seemed to have good answers. Why were college students nationwide graduating with an average of more than $20,000 in student loans? Why wer... (show more)
An emerging spokesperson for a new generation passionately and persuasively addresses the grim state of young people today-and tells us how we can, and must, save our future.
The nature of youth is to question. So when twenty-four-year-old Anya Kamenetz started out as a journalist, she began asking hard questions about her generation for which no one seemed to have good answers. Why were college students nationwide graduating with an average of more than $20,000 in student loans? Why were her friends thousands of dollars in credit-card debt? Why did so many jobs for people under thirty-five involve a plastic name badge, last only for the short-term, and not include benefits? With record deficits and threats to Social Security, what kind of future was shaping up for the nation's kids?
Kamenetz became one of the youngest ever columnists for The Village Voice, where she earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her reporting on the new economics of being young. In Generation Debt, she talks to experts in economics, labor markets, the health-care industry, and education, and amasses a startling array of evidence that building a secure life, let alone surviving, is harder for young people today than it was thirty years ago.
Like Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, Generation Debt is a compelling day-to-day look at the life experiences behind a massive economic shift. Like Naomi Klein's No Logo, it is a deeply researched, rousing manifesto that will get you thinking in new ways about American values-and about America's future. (show less)
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Just at face value, it seems obvious that a Yale-educated (English/Journalism?) person is an ideal spokesperson for this topic. I mean, that is so... (show more)
Just at face value, it seems obvious that a Yale-educated (English/Journalism?) person is an ideal spokesperson for this topic. I mean, that is sort of the stereotype for the indebted young person, and she herself is not even one of them. This is not an ad-hominem attack, I'm just noting that fact.
Anyways, the amount of general complaining in this book is unreal. While I agree with her about some figures, it is not helpful to bemoan the loss of "good jobs". It is also not a moving call to action because she consistently betrayed her liberal ideology throughout the book, or maybe that is a call to action for some people.
Honestly, she really has some good points here, but this book just says things it shouldn't, like when she talks about young people having a new stage in life where they need to travel and be creative, or our need to have more things sooner than previous generations. And profiling numerous people who spent their windfalls on "partying all summer" is just irritating when the subject is debt. I blame the editor for not removing all these digressions that undermine the main point. (show less)
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OK, so from this book I learned the baby boomers have screwed Gen Y and will continue to eat up social security while voting for unfair economic conditions, resulting in further hardships, which basically means that we are SOL until all the boomers die off and apparently we can then make the world a better place. Yikes!
Kamenetz does a good job of bemoaning the unfair situation our generation finds itself, but offers fairly limited solutions and glosses over any notion of personal resp... (show more)
OK, so from this book I learned the baby boomers have screwed Gen Y and will continue to eat up social security while voting for unfair economic conditions, resulting in further hardships, which basically means that we are SOL until all the boomers die off and apparently we can then make the world a better place. Yikes!
Kamenetz does a good job of bemoaning the unfair situation our generation finds itself, but offers fairly limited solutions and glosses over any notion of personal responsibility of Gen Y-ers. Yeah, paying off student loans and that bill I racked up in college sucks, but it was MY investment in my education and MY choice to take a fab spring break on my Discover card. This would have been a more effective effort if, instead of whining about how bad we have it, she offered useful solutions such as financial planning or ways to use that liberal arts degree (or encouraging younger readers to pursue a degree that will be somewhat marketable).
I am wary of books that blame others, particularly other generations, for our current problems. Finger-pointing only will take us so far; it is up to us as the up-and-coming generation to play the cards we've been dealt and move on to make our own impact on the world. (show less)
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I think this book is really enlightening. I was very glad to pick this up and read it. I think anyone who is anywhere near college age should read this and take a serious look at their personal situations right now. I think this book is a must read.
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