youth

10 things baby boomers won’t tell you: The aging Me generation is still putting itself first

"Boomers are expected to live longer than any previous generation. At the same time, many haven’t saved nearly enough for retirement. More than 44% of early boomers (defined as those born between 1948 and 1954) and 43% of late boomers (born between 1955 and 1964) may not be able to afford basic living expenses in retirement. [..] Nearly one in six people ages 45 to 64 say that paying for their kid’s college tuition got in the way of saving for their own retirement. That’s not surprising, given that the typical middle-income family will spend more than $230,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, up 23% (in today’s dollars) since 1960." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 things baby boomers won’t tell you: The aging Me generation is still putting itself first

Jeffrey Tucker: Is There A Viable Alternative To College?

"We are going to see the emergence of more credible one- and two-year alternatives to college. These programs will combine real work experience with rigorous learning and cost a small fraction of college. It can’t work for some professions like law and medicine, mainly because of government controls and guild-like admissions certifications. But in fields like technology, design, and business, this seems like a great idea. Sound good? I know of two such programs now. These programs smash the paradigm that’s been around since after the Second World War. They are the grass growing up in the sidewalk cracks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Is There A Viable Alternative To College?

Bill Bonner: The war on the young

"Rules, regulations, restrictions - he doesn't recall voting for a single one. Instead, they were imposed upon him. So were the costs of today's omni-eternal state with claims - in the US alone -- on (according to Niall Ferguson) some $238 trillion of future output. Dear reader, between the time when we grew up and today the world has changed. It has been taken over by zombies, desperate to drain the future so they can enjoy it now. Old people get their benefits. Their laws. Their privileges. They get to have things more or less as they want them. And the young? Take it or leave it. No wonder so many are trying to leave." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: The war on the young

Unemployment crisis in Italy hits immigrants the worst

"Immigrants are being hit harder than Italians by the country’s unemployment crisis, a new report showed Monday, saying the figures were 'extremely worrying' and could lead to 'major social destabilisation'. The report said the number of unemployed foreigners in the country was currently 385,000 — up from 220,000 at the beginning of the economic crisis in 2008. The report also outlined the importance of immigrants in Italian society and said those who did work were often stuck in low-skill and low-pay jobs. Without migrants, Italian demographic growth would be zero and the population would be ageing at a faster rate, according to the report.." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnemployment crisis in Italy hits immigrants the worst

Germany fears revolution if Europe scraps welfare model

"German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned on Tuesday that failure to win the battle against youth unemployment could tear Europe apart, and dropping the continent's welfare model in favor of tougher U.S. standards would spark a revolution. Germany, along with France, Spain and Italy, backed urgent action to rescue a generation of young Europeans who fear they will not find jobs, with youth unemployment in the EU standing at nearly one in four, more than twice the adult rate. If U.S. welfare standards were introduced in Europe, 'we would have revolution, not tomorrow, but on the very same day,' Schaeuble told a conference in Paris." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany fears revolution if Europe scraps welfare model

Europe’s ‘new deal’ for jobless dismissed as rhetoric

"The Prado in Madrid has become the unlikely symbol of Europe’s unemployment curse. The museum recently advertised for 11 low-level jobs, mostly guarding paintings by Velasquez, El Greco and Picasso from enthusiastic tourists. The starting salaries were just €13,000 (£11,100) a year yet, to the astonishment of the curators, 18,524 people applied. The print-out list of applicants runs for 357 pages. This is the 'white heat' of a youth jobs crisis that has crept up on EU leaders and now threatens to set off a volcanic political eruption. Francois Hollande, the French president, warned on Tuesday that failure to offer these people hope risks destroying the EU altogether." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEurope’s ‘new deal’ for jobless dismissed as rhetoric

Nigel Farage: There is a Gathering Electoral Storm

"With 62% youth unemployment in Greece, and with Spain not far behind, it is perhaps about time we were honest and admitted we are causing it ourselves. And yet your recipe is more bureaucracy. A youth guarantee scheme, another six billion for the Youth Employment Initiative, the setting up of the European Alliance for Apprenticeships backed up by the Quality Framework for Traineeships, and the list goes on and on and on of yet more highly paid civil servants setting up organisations that will achieve nothing. Until the euro is broken up, until you reverse the social market model you will not help youth unemployment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage: There is a Gathering Electoral Storm

Egyptian nightmare for Erdogan

"True, the danger of a military coup in Turkey at the moment is close to zero, if only because Erdogan has locked up an entire army college (some 330 officers) on charges of plotting against him. But the parallels between the two countries run far beyond the superficial. For the record, so too did Egyptian still-President Mohammed Morsi try to purge the army last year, although he only removed a few top generals. The Turkish and the Egyptian governments - both democratically elected - have cracked down on the press, rolled back some civil liberties and planned to change the constitutions in ways many citizens found unacceptable." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgyptian nightmare for Erdogan