{"id":80170,"date":"2019-04-10T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T12:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=80170"},"modified":"2019-04-10T05:59:41","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T09:59:41","slug":"quillette-joel-kotkin-the-end-of-aspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=80170","title":{"rendered":"(Quillette) Joel Kotkin–The End of Aspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the end of the Second World War, <\/span>middle- and working-class people across the Western world have sought out\u2014and, more often than not, achieved\u2014their aspirations. These usually included a stable income, a home, a family, and the prospect of a comfortable retirement. <\/span>However, from Sydney to San Francisco, this aspiration is rapidly fading as a result of a changing economy, soaring land costs, and a regulatory regime, all of which combine to make it increasingly difficult for the new generation to achieve a lifestyle like that enjoyed by their parents. This generational gap between aspiration and disappointment could define our demographic, political, and social future.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the United States, about 90 percent of children born in 1940 grew up to experience higher incomes than their parents, according to researchers at the <\/span><\/a>Equality of Opportunity Project<\/span><\/a>. That figure dropped to only 50 percent<\/span><\/a> of those born in the 1980s. The US Census bureau<\/span><\/a> estimates that, even when working full-time, people in their late twenties and early thirties earn $2000 less in real dollars than the same age cohort in 1980.<\/span> More than 20 percent of people aged 18 to 34 live in poverty<\/span><\/a>, up from 14 percent in 1980. Three-quarters of American adults today predict their child will not grow up to be better-off than they are, according to Pew<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

These sentiments are <\/span>even more pronounced in France, <\/span>Britain, Spain, Italy, and Germany.<\/span> In Japan<\/span><\/a>, a remarkable three-quarters of those polled said they believe things will be worse for the next generation. Even in China, many <\/span>young <\/span>people <\/span>face a troubling future<\/span><\/a>; in <\/span>2017, eight million graduates<\/span><\/a> entered the job market, but most ended up with salaries that could have been attained by going to work in a factory straight out of high school. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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On the Return of Feudalism may become one of 2020’s most important books https:\/\/t.co\/NauJDZnZ8m<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Harry Lehmann (@harrymlehmann) April 10, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n