Lost Generation

After reading a Los Angeles Times article in an ongoing series about the unemployed in California, I felt depressed and also slightly relieved.

According to the LA Times, for people ages 18-24 the jobless rate in California is 18.01%, roughly double that of average unemployment rate for all job seekers in the country. Note that the unemployment rate only counts those who are receiving unemployment checks and actively seeking work; the rate skews more hopeful than realistic because it doesn't count those not receiving unemployment checks (as I was when I was laid off in Oregon more than a year and half ago; my company didn't have unemployment benefits and Oregon doesn't force employers to utilize the tax benefit) those who are underemployed, meaning they are capable of much more demanding, challenging, and/ or higher paid work, and those who are employed but only working part time and making ends meet with credit cards, mom and dad or roommates.

18.01% is a bad number for unemployment, but I also remind myself that during the Great Depression the numbers were worse. I still have a roof over my head and I'm not living in a shanty just yet. Like a monk, I try to humble myself, keeping in mind all the gifts and benefits I have in my life. Some aren't so lucky. Many are not as lucky as I. Still, I can't shake the feeling that I have a few more excruciating years to go before I start making any good money, before I can work in a capacity that makes me happy. I can't shake the feeling that I am part of a millions-strong Lost Generation; a generation that will make less money and have less stability than their parents and grand parents. I can't shake the feeling that I am part of a generation that has already been stripped of its voice and power, defenseless to Wall Street executives and the wealthy 1% that control everything, if only to create more war to make themselves more money.

This, I try not to think about. I just try to be humble and to feel blessed that I have a roof over my head and a cat curled up on my bed.