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February 3, 2005

Tougher times ahead

Sociologists have begun to recognize a change in the American maturation process. Instead of striking out on their own as soon as they have completed their education, young adults now tend to continue to live with their parents for much longer.

There was a time in the mid-20th century that youngsters could not wait to be done with school so that they could get a job and their own place. Back then there were unskilled and semi-skilled jobs available, even for high school dropouts. Unless the plan was to go to college, the idea was to be on your own by 18, the magical age of legal independence.

That has changed now. Children live at home with their parents, sometimes into their 30s. Marriage and permanent employment are postponed as the post adolescents try to adjust to their changing world. While some view this development as an indication of moral decay, others believe that economic realities are responsible.

Among the older generation there was a belief that future generations would do better than their parents. People thought that the bounty of America was infinite. In the 1980s there was a belief that greed was beneficial because it generated opportunities for others. Few anticipated the barriers to success that would ensue.

As the American economy became more technologically sophisticated, a high school education was necessary for any hope of significant employment. From 1959 to 2003, the percentage of blacks 25 years of age or older with a high school diploma rose from 20.7 to 80.0 percent. Once a high school education became so common, it was necessary to have a college degree to be competitive in the workforce.

The problem is that in recent decades the cost of a college education has skyrocketed, according to a Time magazine poll. College graduates now owe 85 percent more in student loans than was true for students a decade ago. In the Time poll, 66 percent of those interviewed owed more than $10,000 and 5 percent owed more than $100,000. In addition, 18- to 24-year-old Americans owed twice the credit card dept owed in 1992 by those in the same age group.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates a substantial increase in the cost of living. In 1970 the CPI stood at 38.8. By 2003 it had climbed to 184. Despite the growth in the CPI by a factor of 4.74, a study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that “annual earnings of men 25 to 34 with full-time jobs dropped 17 percent from 1971 to 2002.”

Male workers with only a high school diploma also suffered a setback. According to a study at the University of Michigan, the average wage for such workers ages 25 to 29 declined 11 percent from 1975 to 2002. Clearly, economic circumstances make it exceedingly difficult for young men, regardless of their level of education, to afford the financial burden of starting a family.

A significant response to the Time poll was that one-third stated they were not financially independent and could not, therefore, be thought of as adults. It is easy to see how a black male, who has encountered one barrier after another, could think of himself as less than a man.

Many African American families that have encountered decades of adversity might have no stable home to provide continuing shelter for their mature children. The changing economy makes it even more difficult for black young adults to get a start in life.

 

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