One in Three Young Workers Lives at Home With Their Parents
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The AFL-CIO and our community affiliate Working America released a major study, “Young Workers: A Lost Decade,” in recent days that shows the extent to which the economic situation for young workers has deteriorated in the past 10 years.
One of the most striking findings comes as no surprise to millions of baby boomer parents: Young workers are so financially strapped they have to come back home and live with mom and dad. In fact, one in three workers under age 35 currently live at home with their parents.
The combination of college loan debt, stagnant or low wages and a lack of jobs and health care is making the American Dream of making it on your own a thing of the past for many young workers.
One in three young workers are living at home because they can’t afford to live on their own. What do you think about this? What should be done to fix the nation’s economy?
Post your comments and let’s have a dialogue.
Wal-Mart: Recession Profiteer
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Bank and insurance CEOs aren’t the only ones getting rewarded for horrendous behavior in this recession. There’s Wal-Mart, whom Newsweek now has anointed as “Our Corporate Savior.” (Hat tip to dakine01.)
“Wal-Mart recently announced that its same store sales in January were up 2.1 percent, which was more than forecast. With the company’s huge network of stores and ability to strong-arm suppliers, Wal-Mart offers shoppers good merchandise at prices which becomes more and more attractive as the downturn continues.”
The brutal truth is that Wal-Mart is profiting in the midst of misery because of policies that, like those of the financial services industry, fueled the nation’s economic disaster. While banks rolled up and peddled collateralized debt packages like cheap tuna wraps, Wal-Mart’s assault on America’s economy came from another angle–everyday low wages. By paying the vast majority of its workers little more than the minimum wage and offering health care plans most can’t afford, Wal-Mart shifted its corporate expenses to taxpayers.
