By Paul F. Clark & Frank Snyder



The evidence continues to mount that this generation of young Americans is likely to be the first generation in modern times to not do better than their parents.



Composed of Gen Xers, Yers and Millennials, this “Generation Less” is facing a future with fewer opportunities, less economic security and a lower standard of living than the baby boomers that raised them.

They are victims of an economic recession that was brought on by a culture of greed on Wall Street and an unprecedented redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the top 1 percent of American households.

Through the last few decades, the wealthiest in our society have become wealthier as poverty has grown. Statistics indicate that the top 1 percent of households own nearly twice as much of the corporate wealth in the United States as it did just 15 years ago.

During this same time, the percentage of Americans living at or below the poverty line increased from 11 percent to 15 percent. People under 30 today not only face a society where inequality and poverty are on the rise, they face the highest levels of unemployment since World War II. In 2010, 45 percent of young workers between the ages of 16 and 29 were unemployed.

For far too many young workers, the choice between no job or a job with minimum wages, no benefits and no hope of advancement is all they have known. Fully two in three young Americans cannot pay their bills and one in three are unable to support themselves and have returned home to live with their parents. For young workers who choose vocational training or apprenticeships, the high unemployment they face when they join the workforce is devastating.

During the last two decades we have seen hundreds of thousands of decent jobs in manufacturing and construction disappear. Some have been replaced by lower-paying jobs in the service sector, but many are gone for good. And for those who choose to pursue higher education, a college degree is not necessarily the ticket to a successful career that it once was.

In decades past, college led to a decent job upon graduation. And if you worked hard once you had that job, you could have a decent life. That was the deal. That was the social contract.

Today, a college education is a gamble. When young people graduate, they confront the one-two punch of unemployment and crushing debt. The bottom line is that today’s young workers are part of a generation whose real earnings will be less than the generation they follow. They will work longer and retire later than their parents.

For them, the American dream is a broken promise. How Generation Less chooses to face these converging pressures will define them. They can stand up and fight to change their circumstances. Or they can accept their lot as a casualty of the greed machine that has defined the last decade and reconcile themselves to less.

If this generation chooses the latter path, the future of America as we know it is in jeopardy. Fortunately, two recent events suggest that at least some members of this generation are fighting back and challenging the status quo. In late September, 800 young people from across the country came together in Minneapolis for a Young Workers Summit.

Organized by the AFL-CIO, young workers and students spent a weekend talking with one another about the most effective way to respond to the challenges their generation faces. They will return to their communities and work to inspire other young people to play a role in shaping the world they will inherit.

In lower Manhattan, a movement led by young workers and students is challenging the excesses of Wall Street and is gaining momentum every day. Started by a handful of activists, young people are flocking to join the Occupy Wall Street protest, and similar actions are being organized in other major cities.

Among the protesters' demands is that the leaders of banks and other financial institutions that played a role in creating the crisis facing this country be held accountable and that Wall Street start investing its wealth to create jobs. This could become a rallying cry for Generation Less to help shape the future they face.



Paul F. Clark is professor and head of the department of labor studies and employment relations at Penn State University. Frank Snyder is secretary-treasurer of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.

