The Plight of Young Americans and the Need for Higher Wages

The USA of the Past: Access to Affordable Education for All

The class of 2013: $35,200 Average Debt

An average debt of $35,200 Many were attending state school!

Now: Full-time Jobs All Year to Reduce DebtMany students need to find steady full-time jobs while studying, or face

graduating with massive debt.

1979/1980: Summer Jobs Pay for School! Would have had to work 254 hours to pay tuition to attend a four-year

public institution.

Working a summer job and helps to avoid debt!

Reference: the Center for Economic and Policy Research

Welcome to the 80s: The Impact of Neoliberal Reforms

Neoliberal Reforms Contributed to Skyrocketing College Costs

• Lowering of taxes on the rich

• Destruction of organized labor*

• Declining wages and worker productions

*The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated in January that union membership fell 400,000 last year, to a 97-year low. 

An Economy by Design:Jobs for Millennials Disappearing

Jobs opportunities are increasingly contract or part-time work

• Why? Illegal firings of union supporters exploded in the late 1980s, seeing one out of every 36 union supporters fired in contrast to one in 110 in the late '70s.

"A large portion of the jobs we're adding tend to be in low-skill

occupations.” -Senior economist at Wells Fargo

A Land of Debt: The Economic Burden of the Next Generation Skyrocketing tuition &

education costs

Lack of affordable housing or meal plans

Students become customers

Reliance on lending

Result: The young are amassing tremendous

debt

Student Debt Crisis by the Numbers

A Case Example: The University of Maryland: 

Rent:

• $6,000 for rent for only eight months in a dorm

Meal Plan:

• Near $4,000 for a meal plan.

Tuition: • almost $10,000 a year

Amassed Debt:

• Thus, a student receiving no grants or help could easily pile up almost $80,000 in debt.

Post-College Desert in the USA: Unemployment or Unpaid Internships

• We have a race to the bottom environment

• In the desert of job opportunities, post grads jump at the chance to work for free

• The young are often afraid to complain when such work impoverishes them.

• Debt continues to amass

Are there Alternatives to the Millennials Facing Crushing Debt? • Germany, Austria and Switzerland have a "dual

education" system

The Dual Education System

• Students who do not pass an entrance exam for university can attend technical schools, and work while studying.

• The government subsidizes wages that companies pay students.

• Practical experience and education are combined

• Despite rising youth unemployment, young workers are prepared for their careers.

Fair Wages for Youth: Freedom from the “Make-it-or-Break-it” Trap

Freeing the Youth• Young people today should not have

to fall into the trap of make-it-or-break-it

Breaking the Cycle• We must break the cycle of leaving

them with the option to either:• Accept unpaid internships, or• Low-wage jobs that do little to stop

the accumulation of massive debt

Myth Busting: Raising the Wage and Teen Job Loss

Teen employment is driven far more by larger labor market employment trends than by any effects of minimum wage changes.

Research has demonstrated that Overall, the results do not indicate heterogeneous impacts of minimum wages depending on the overall rate of unemployment.

Teen Minimum

Wage Research

• Economic consensus on the essential point:

• The impact of a minimum wage raise on jobs, whether positive or negative, is small.

Economic consensus

"The Warnings Of Massive Teen Job Loss Due To Minimum Wage Increases Simply Do Not Comport With The Evidence.” 2009,Economic Policy Institute

“Minimum Wage Has Nothing ‘But Very Small Disemployment Effects’ On Teen Employment.” University Of California Study

The Least We Can DoFair Wages for Teens and the Next Generation

Teens should not be exempt for laws that ensure fair wages

Teens are soon to be shackled with debt

Teens are far from exempt from economic need

Empowering the Future Unshackling the Youth from Economic Shackles

Stop the Disempowerment of a GenerationAn exemption for teen workers, will only contribute to the degradation of our future generations

Debt is Shackling Our ChildrenYoung people saving for and paying for college need jobs to help stave off accumulating massive debt that will shackle their future

A Fair Wage is an Important Piece of the PuzzleWhile ensuring a fair wage is just one piece of the puzzle, it is a necessary

The Time is NowWe must stop the shackling of our youth, we need fair wages for all

Raise the Wage without Exemptions!

$15 by 2018for Teens, For

all!