Betrayal of a Generation

1. The Plight of Young Americans and
the Need for Higher Wages

2. 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 Debt
Many 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. Student Debt Crisis
by the Numbers

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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

12. The Least We Can Do
Fair 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

13. Empowering the Future
Unshackling the Youth from Economic Shackles
Stop the Disempowerment of a Generation
An exemption for teen workers, will only
contribute to the degradation of our future
generations
Debt is Shackling Our Children
Young 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
Puzzle
While ensuring a fair wage is just one piece of
the puzzle, it is a necessary
The Time is Now
We must stop the shackling of our youth, we
need fair wages for all

14. Raise the Wage
without
Exemptions!
$15 by 2018
for Teens, For all!