Francis Emelogu/The Daily Cougar
It might be time to redefine our standards of the American Dream.
Right now, things aren’t going too well for the land of opportunity. For starters, our bureaucracy is still reeling from a nearly three-week shutdown.
Standard & Poor estimates it’ll cost our economy $24 billion, Forbes estimated no loss and the American people don’t have to do much guessing of their own to realize that things are pretty bleak — especially for our nation’s up-and-comers.
Careers that pay too little demand experience in internships that don’t pay at all. Adequate federal aid for students is starting to become the stuff of fairytales and folklore.
To those who were lucky enough to nab some cash and get that degree, just wait — The Huffington Post reports half of the United States’ college graduates as working jobs that don’t even require a degree.
Basically, things are pretty terrible for people like you and I — those who, more often than not, have a significant chunk of change invested in a degree that’s starting to guarantee us less and less post-gradudation.
To some, dedicating half a decade and a couple hundred thousand just isn’t worth the poor returns a degree promises nowadays, and while that certainly puts a strain on our economy, it’s an increasingly common opinion held by our youth that’s tough to argue against.
Forgoing both education and employment as a result of such hardship, however, isn’t something as easily dismissed.
As reported by The Associated Press, nearly six million Americans between ages 16 and 24 are both unemployed and foregoing higher education.
Making up nearly 15 percent of citizens within the age bracket, those who participated in the survey conducted by The Opportunity Nation Coalition seem to be sowing the seeds of future economic dependency on their educated and employed counterparts.
It’s something of a reverse-baby boomer generation — if the 1940s generation provided our nation a boisterous work force, that generation’s antithesis is alive and well right now, setting up our economy for dramatically less activity, stimulation and prosperity.
The study also noted that Houston holds roughly 100,000 unemployed and uneducated youths.
This kind of news, being so complex and multifaceted, can be a little tough to swallow and even more difficult to digest. First and foremost, this trend is rooted in failed political policies and doubt in a shoddy economy.
It’s a trend that both sides of the aisle could — and likely will — twist and ream into a consummate tool used to further their agendas.
There’ll be the discussions of who’s right, who’s wrong, a couple statements released about our immigration policy and a whole lot of politicizing of an issue that can potentially be made into more than that.
Fifteen percent of people having a complete lack of faith in education, employment, devoting their lives to something for the greater good, the worth of work and societal contribution — that isn’t something to be reduced to a percentage and a solemn shake of our proverbial head at the dinner table.
It’s nothing shy of a shame when such a significant portion of the U.S. population views a life of federal dependency and pauperism as the safest bet out there.
Fifteen percent is an insanely large number of any population, especially when considering the massive fiscal toll and liability that these 15-percenters are gearing themselves up to be.
Obviously, these people aren’t all neglecting education and employment voluntarily — a significant proportion of that 15 percent would probably love a 401K and some go-to alma mater sweatpants.
Much of this is because of poor socioeconomic circumstances and a glaring lack of resources in these youth’s communities.
“Their destiny is too often determined by their ZIP code,” said Year Up employee Charlie Mangiardi. “We have the supply. We don’t have a lack of young people who need this opportunity.”
In a pre-emptive strike against factors inhibiting this 15 percent, President and Chancellor Renu Khator expressed the need to provide more attention to the overlooked at this year’s Fall Address.
“We are on the top list of global universities … But our challenge is not about the graduates,” Khator said. “It’s about the one who is left behind, who drops out and who quits.”
Students at UH are recognizably diverse; both ethnically and economically, our population is made up of those who assume roles far past that of the average student.
Taking into account the trend of this 15 percent, it only seems fitting to wonder what differentiates these youths from the average UH student — ones who face similar trials and tribulations, yet come out the other side with the desire to remain in school.
“I’ve spent so much money in loans so far while I’ve been in school. It would be a waste for me to drop out now and not get a degree,” said civil engineering sophomore Daniella Linas. “There’d be no point — now that I’m here, I need to stay in school so I’ll be able to get a job that pays off those loans.”
Other students echoed similar sentiments — education itself wasn’t the driving force. Rather, education was seen as a means to an end, whether that end is paying off student loans or keeping yourself in the good graces of your parents.
“In the Indian culture, your parents have a huge say on what you go to school for,” said biology sophomore Christa George. “Dropping out isn’t an option. It’s just not something that’s discussed.”
As a whole, America seems to have become second-rate in business, technology, education and more. China seems to be outsmarting us at every economic and innovative turn. Our workplace morale is at an all-time low — a Gallup poll reported 70 percent of Americans having an overall negative opinion on their jobs.
And now, 15 percent of 16- to 24-year-olds are without an education, a job and a foreseeable future.
Efforts like Khator’s, The Opportunity Nation and Year Up’s are being made around the nation in an effort to counteract some of the many hardships that we face today.
It’ll be a test of these resources — and the willpower of those facing these hardships — to see whether they’ll be enough to combat the adversity that’s plaguing youth today.
We’ll know whether they worked within the decade; if they don’t, the ramifications will last far beyond that.
Senior staff columnist Cara Smith is a communications junior and may be reached at [email protected]
