Pretty awesome to have to move a cross the country to find opportunities because the ones that used to exist locally are now being filled by Mexicans or shipped to China.

Not awesome at all. My point is that this is mostly an issue found in blue states like MN, and NOT in red states like MS. Your people likely wouldn't need to move across country, I am sure they could find work in neighboring SD, ND, or IA. The solution is changing your state government.... or moving. Not hiding in Mom's basement playing X-Box, fcol.






Is this a dig at me?? If so... I entered the workforce at 16 and worked all my life. I am currently increasing the money in my IRA exponentially through active management of my accounts. And yes, I went back to school in my 40s because I was getting too old for the physically demanding jobs I have worked for the past 20 years and am looking for a less demanding career for the next 20.

You should have entered the workforce in the rust belt during the late seventies early eighties. Had to move to Texas to find a job. Americans don't see hard times anymore due to QE and Government endless borrowing to kill recessions. BTW I believe most of the country is still experiencing a labor shortage?

You are right Dirt. The jobs report from yesterday included numbers from April's JOLTS survey. It showed that in April there were 731,000 NEW job openings unfilled. Most of those in professional and service related work

Maybe I live in a bubble, but most Gen Z guys that I know, primarily 17-20 year olds, are doing great imo, most of them have savings of $20-30K, and many have stocks and crypto. Maybe that isn't so great, but even factoring for inflation, it seems like a lot more than I and the peers of my era had.

Then who is renting and buying? If it were that tough to do prices would come down.

I don't know the particular situation in Donner's area, but logic would suggest the "not so young" folk. The 30+ crowd that have completed their degrees and got a job, or found a good paying job that did not require a degree.

And I don't see where that is really anything new. When I was 22 there was no way in hades I could afford rent in an apartment anywhere near to where I was going to college. So I did what college-aged kids do... and had 3 roommates to share the cost.

I think the issue is mentality... "I should have this because...."

No, you should work until you are able to.

Some states obviously are more expensive than others to live in. So, IMO, young folks cursed to be born in those states have 3 choices....

1) Move to a more hospitable locale which is likely the quickest way to advance.

2) Stay, make concessions, wait, earn, save... and eventually be able to afford a life in your awful state.

3) Retreat to the X-box in Mama's basement and spend you life as a leech.

Not aimed at you or anyone else bettering themselves later in life.
I was referring to those who never stop going to school on the govt dime taking useless course after course and making their living going to school permanently.
See lots of people doing that.

Lots of young folks today want all the toys and nice things their parents have, but they just dont think about the fact it took their parents 30-40 years of work to get there. Instant gratification causes a lot of folks to go into debt for silly things... jmo

I graduated 2008, it was not a picnic. I had to travel to work, ND, SD, Iowa, Montana, Etc, been there, climbed windtowers in all of em.

About that labor shortage... Yes everyone needs workers but lets use local dairy's for an example. Myself and my friends all worked on dairy farms as teens, many of us wanted to farm, there was no way to work to ownership because the dairy's have grown to 5,000-20,000 cows using Mexican labor, we were all forced to go find different careers and a few of us made enough to buy our way back into farming. Now I see those large Dairy farms complaining about immigration crackdowns scaring their workforce off and how "no one wants to work anymore" milking someone else's cows for $18 a hour. When you take away the path to ownership suddenly you need slav... "immigrant" labor again.

I've done fine for myself, I don't have a playstation and I don't live in my moms basement. That said I can see why some are struggling and I think its naive to dismiss it all as laziness or "avocado toast".