Showing posts with label grandparents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grandparents. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Overwhelmed By Debt, Nearly 1 In 5 Young Adults Live With Their Parents Or Grandparents - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Young Man - Public Domain

Posted: 16 Aug 2016   Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

In America today, more than 60 million people live in multi-generational households.  That number is so large that it may seem difficult to believe, but the truth is that vast numbers of young adults have had to move back in with their parents and grandparents in recent years due to the deteriorating economy.  

Millions of our young people cannot find decent jobs once they leave school, and millions of them are absolutely overwhelmed by debt.  Of course some of them are just lazy, but whatever the reason it is undeniable that multi-generational households are on the rise.  

According to the Pew Research Center, 12 percent of the U.S. population was living in multi-generational households back in 1980.  Today, that number is up to 19 percent.  That means nearly one out of every five U.S. adults now live with their parents or their grandparents.

One of the big culprits, of course, is student loan debt.

According to CNN, approximately 70 percent of all college graduates will have student loan debt to pay off once they leave school, and the average loan balance for those graduates is about $28,950.

But there are many that run up $50,000 or $100,000 in debt at high end schools.  We encourage our young people to apply to the “best schools” that they possibly can, and we tell them that they shouldn’t worry about how much it will cost.  We assure them that they will be able to easily pay back any debts once they leave college because of the “good jobs” that they will get upon graduation.

Unfortunately, millions upon millions of our young people have discovered that the good jobs that they were promised simply do not exist.

We are also seeing other forms of debt rise to frightening levels in this nation.  The following comes from the New York Times
Over all, Americans’ use of credit cards has recently been creeping up again: Household debt in the United States increased by $35 billion, to $12.29 trillion, during the second quarter of 2016, a 0.3 percent rise from the previous quarter that was driven by credit cards and auto loans, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
We often criticize the federal government for being 19.4 trillion dollars in debt, and rightly so, but let us not forget that U.S. households are 12.2 trillion dollars in debt.

We are a society that feels entitled to everything, and we are not afraid to go into debt to get it.  And unfortunately we have passed on this “entitlement mentality” to the next generation.

In a recent blog post, Jenna Abrams did an amazing job of describing the crisis that we are facing with our young adults today.  Here is an excerpt…
Today I asked my followers how would they describe Millennials and this is what I got: “lazy”, “thin-skinned”, “spoiled”, “selfish”, “undisciplined”, “self-absorbed”, ”fragile”, “oblivious”, etc. and I can agree on this. This generation is really what you call it. But there was one description that is the most accurate.  “Raised by neglectful, over-compensating for inadequacy, self-serving parents.”
You’re in charge. You insisted your children and grandchildren have to get higher education instead of taking a blue-collar job or just entering the workforce after school like your generation did. Most of you pay for that (often unnecessary) higher education. You are overprotective and prevent your children from playing outside and making mistakes you had a chance to make to gain that thick skin. You don’t let your 12-year-old kid stay at home alone because they are too young. And who is wrong when your child has a conflict at school? I bet you always blame the other side, not your “special snowflake”. And how you get surprised that the whole generation gets offended by facing the truth: they are not special. It must hurt, right?
This generation of young adults is the most “educated” in our history, and yet they also appear to be one of the least competent.  Just check out these numbers from CBS News
Half of American Millennials score below the minimum standard of literacy proficiency. Only two countries scored worse by that measure: Italy (60 percent) and Spain (59 percent). The results were even worse for numeracy, with almost two-thirds of American Millennials failing to meet the minimum standard for understanding and working with numbers. That placed U.S. Millennials dead last for numeracy among the study’s 22 developed countries.
In the old days, our institutions of higher learning had exceedingly high standards and they demanded the best from students.  Today, our system of higher education is a joke, and many of our best colleges are more focused on political correctness and “safe spaces” than they are on preparing our young people for the harsh realities of the real world…
At Brown University – like Harvard, one of the eight elite Ivy League universities – the New York Times reported students set up a “safe space” that offered calming music, cookies, Play-Doh and a video of frolicking puppies to help students cope with a discussion on how colleges should handle sexual assault.
A Harvard student described in the university newspaper attending a “safe space” complete with “massage circles” that was designed to help students have open conversations.
We have raised a generation of overly-coddled, self-absorbed boys and girls that have never learned how to become men and women.  They don’t understand how things really work, and they are completely and utterly unprepared for the exceedingly difficult times that are coming.

And since our education system is completely and totally dominated by progressives, our young people have had decades of liberal propaganda pumped into their skulls, and the results are absolutely frightening.

For example, one survey discovered that 62 percent of Millennials say that they are “liberal”, and 42 percent of them say that they are “socialists”.

A different survey discovered that more than half of all U.S. adults under the age of 30 say that they reject capitalism.

If the coming election were to be determined by the Millennials, Hillary Clinton would win by one of the biggest landslides in U.S. history.  But of course she wouldn’t have even been the nominee for the Democrats, because Bernie Sanders would have crushed Clinton.
If something is not done, this is what the future of America is going to look like.

I don’t know about you, but to me that is a rather distressing thought.


Monday, December 9, 2013

The Perfect Christmas Tree? The Cross


(weewillyd/rgbstock.com)
The perfect tree: Every Christmas season begins with a search for it. Why? Because a fragrant tree trimmed with lights, ornaments and shiny garlands is the focal point of so many holiday celebrations. How often during the years, in countless homes throughout the world, have friends and families come together, gathering in unity around a lighted tree and finding a moment of peace and goodwill.
The Christmas tree has become a tradition, taking such a place of significance during the holiday season that most of us spend precious time and effort creatively decorating at least one.
I can remember the first tree my husband, Terry, and I beautified, now affectionately referred to as the “newlywed tree.” This sparse timber was finely decorated with the tinfoil I took off the TV dinners I made for him the first year we were married. Admittedly, the tree wasn’t much to look at, but we did get great TV reception that first inaugural season!
As time progressed, we advanced to the homespun “preschool tree.” You know the one, adorned with all the choice artwork of a 4-year-old and topped off with those tedious but fun-to-make popcorn strings. During this season, our short, fluffy pine was decorated only at the bottom (4-year-olds can’t reach very high). The top remained empty ... except for the candy canes.
We soon graduated to the “garage sale tree.” How can I ever forget those money-saving years when we adorned our lackluster artificial tree, the entire backside of which was missing its branches, with treasures found at someone’s yard sale?
Then there was the country-charm tree, so pungent because of the countless cinnamon sticks on it that we lived with the windows open all season; the Victorian tree (country-charm tree gets a makeover); and the “risky partisan” tree, which leaned to the right the whole holiday. This year we will have a “grandparents tree,” with all the yummy candy canes on the bottom for little ones!
    (Note: Photo taken/added by Steve Martin. 
    Not in original article.)
As I recall these different decorations, I realize that my life’s most significant events are associated with memories of a tree. For in truth, it was the presence of a simple tree that led to the greatest celebration of my life. The intrigue of this tree did not come from its elaborate beauty, shining lights or sparkling garland; indeed it had none of these things.
Yet mysteriously it drew me. So powerful was its attraction that I found myself wanting to possess it for myself. This tree, although adorned with the boughs of brokenness and the scent of suffering, became the source of life and joy for me. Embracing it, I found wholeness.
Life flowed from the branches of this tree—the salvation tree—in spite of its rugged form. For hanging from its limbs was the finest and most exquisite ornament there has ever been, the body of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.
There He gave his life for mine, as His tears and blood stained the tree with the colors of Christmas, filling the air with the fragrance of the season, the eternal aroma of life.
At last I had found the perfect tree, the flawless symbol of Christmas. Shouldn’t this tree be the centerpiece of all our holiday celebrations? For where else can all the people of the earth be drawn together in unity? It’s only the cross of Jesus—the life-giving tree—that can bring every age, gender, social class, race and nationality together as one, with one purpose: to reach a dying world for Jesus.
If you are as convinced as I am that others are still searching for the perfect tree, then help me point the way. For when others find it, they will find Jesus, arms open wide, ready to give them the ultimate gift of Christmas … Himself. 
PRAYER POWER FOR THE WEEK OF 12/09/2013
Remember the “salvation tree” during your prayers this Christmas season and thank God for His “unspeakable gift.” Ask Him to use you to point others to this special tree. Thank Him for opportunities to share His love and message of redemption during this season. Ask Him to show you how you can bless those who are suffering from the effects of bad weather and economic conditions. Pray that God will use this time to draw all men to Himself. Remember Israel and the persecuted church when you pray for the nations of the world. Continue to pray for our president, those working with him, and those sacrificing themselves to preserve our freedoms. Pray that righteousness will exalt the nation. Phil. 4:6, John 3:14, 15; John 12:32.
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(Artwork added by Steve Martin.)