IBD:
Posted 02/09/2012 07:13 PM ET
Economy: President Obama surfed into office on a wave of support from the nation's youth. And what did those young voters get in return? Sky-high unemployment, lower wages, fewer prospects and a student debt crisis.
It's fair to say that just about everyone has suffered the ill effects of Obamanomics, which has produced growth rates during the 31-month "recovery" that are far below any in modern times.
But a new report out of the Pew Research Center shows that when it comes to economic pain, young workers trying to get a start in life have suffered the most. Among the grim statistics:
The unemployment rate among 18-to-24 year olds was 16.3% at the end of last year, compared with 8.8% for the rest of the working-age population. That gap in unemployment rates, the Pew study notes, is "the widest in recorded history."
Meanwhile, the share of this population that's managed to find work has fallen to 54.3% — the lowest level since 1948, the first year the government started collecting such data.
Young workers are also doing far worse than everyone else when it comes to income. Between 2007 and 2011, their real median weekly earnings fell 6%. By comparison, those between the ages of 35 and 64 saw earnings climb 1%, while everyone else saw earnings dip slightly by 0.1%.
The effects of this Great Youth Depression are rippling across the country.
The Pew study finds, for example, that more than a third of those between 18 and 34 have gone back to school because they can't find a job. A quarter have taken unpaid work, and an equal share say they've moved back with their parents.
And, while the Pew study doesn't mention this, the terrible job market has pushed more college graduates than ever to default on student loans. The Department of Education says default rates in 2010 had climbed 25% over the previous year.
As the Pew study gently puts it: "Today's young adults are clearly having a harder time than their parents did in reaching some of the most basic financial milestones."
More bluntly stated, Obama's lackluster recovery is severely punishing an entire generation of workers. They'll have a much harder time making ends meet today, and will find it much more difficult to save and invest for things they'll need down the road.
With Social Security careening toward bankruptcy, that's the last thing this generation needs.
These trends aren't lost on this age group.
In fact, just 12% of young adults say things are "headed in the right direction," with 52% saying they are "off on the wrong track," according to a separate Harvard University Institute of Politics survey taken late last year.
And they know who's to blame: Obama's job approval rate among this age group has fallen to 46%, down from 55% just 10 months earlier. Among college students, approval collapsed from 60% down to 48%.
Keep in mind that these are the kids who voted 2-1 in favor of Obama over John McCain in 2008.
Obama's massive ego and his own sense of entitlement may blind him to his crumbling support among this group.
But then again, he's managed to alienate lots of other previously reliable Democratic supporters.
Unions, for example, are peeved about his Keystone pipeline decision that cost them thousands of good jobs, Catholics are in open revolt over his contraception mandate, and Jews are increasingly upset with his treatment of Israel.
We can't say we mind any of this too much. Just so long as the nation's young people, along with these other traditionally Democratic groups, remember that they don't have a friend in Obama when they cast their votes in November.
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