When I posted this, I didn’t expect thousands of people to respond. What I read in those comments was sobering:
• Young adults aren’t “giving up.” They’re strategic — choosing community college first, skipping degrees that won’t pay off, and avoiding debt they know could crush them for life.
• Parents are making heartbreaking choices, guiding their kids through a system that feels like it’s designed to trap, not empower.
• People across generations said the same thing: the ladder is broken. College costs are sky-high, wages stagnant, housing out of reach, and debt has become a business model.
This isn’t a “Gen Z problem.” It’s a flashing red light for an economy that no longer works for those starting out.
If a whole generation is opting out, it’s not because they’re lazy — it’s because they’re paying attention. And maybe the rest of us should too.
Gen Z “cashing out” their future isn’t recklessness — it’s a warning flare for all of us.
byu/Critical_Success8649 ineconomy
Posted by Critical_Success8649
13 Comments
Young people have no future on the oligarchy’s incorporated neoliberal plantation. More and more of them are figuring that out and opting for alternative paths that don’t involve a bleak existence as debt serfs for Wall Street & the private equity locusts.
Good for gen z. If you don’t look out for you…no one else will
Idk if this is cope or not. When i was young i thought everyone was mailing it in because of the horrible economy then i changed environments and realized thats just what the folks i was around at the time were doing.
Not disagreeing, but other than Boomers, what generation *did* have an economy that worked for those just starting out? Starting with Gen X, living with roommates well into your 20’s has been typical. Then if you found a mate odds are you were still renting for the first few years unless you made upper-middle class salaries.
Next time you copy and paste from ChatGPT, just use Ctrl C + Ctrl P
When you add shift it messes up the formatting
Embarrassing
Graduates of 2007-2009 have some thoughts on this.
I doubt gen z smart enough to figure all that out at the age of 25, but every point u made is true the ladder is not only broken it’s covered with barbed wire, unless u grow up with parents that have big money to set you up with ur completely fucked in this economy!
I told both my kids not to go to college unless they had a career in mind that required a degree. They both went into the workforce and are out performing their friends that went to college.
All of these people think this way up until their construction or factory job wages stagnate, and they can no longer prosper in an upward trajectory.
Maybe they end up going to college in their late twenties/early thirties to get a degree for career advancement without as much debt, but I guarantee you that they will still have to carry a ton of debt. College isnt getting cheaper.
As a millennial parent of a toddler, my view is simple: I will guarantee my child four years in college on my dime should she choose to do so. It is the only reasonable way to ensure she isn’t saddled with a lifetime of debt.
The problem was that we were told college was the key to prosperity, but we didnt know that costs compared to our parents had ballooned by a MASSIVE amount. They weren’t wrong about college per se, they just [stupidly] assumed that costs would remain relatively the same as they had been when they were kids. You know, the same way Boomers underestimate the costs of literally EVERYTHING.
I think one of the most empowering things we will eventually see is the first community college president- Someone who started out in community college, transferred to a major university, and eventually became the elected leader of the free world.
1. This would remove any stigma some may have of leaning into the community college system for a higher education.
2. It would pressure all universities and colleges to lower their tuitions to compete for entry level undergrads. They are currently somewhat cartel-minded, and all you need is that ultimate proof of concept that their models aren’t gospel (they aren’t).
I’ve watched my kids grow up, 29,35, 38. Them and their friends are all doing differently. Every single one of them that have worked hard and made good choices are doing great. The ones who started having kids without a real source of income are struggling. The ones who have made other bad choices are struggling. The ones who chose a certain career like nursing, teaching, welding, plumbing etc seem to be killing it. Several are Teachers who work side jobs and are doing ok. They start off with a low salary but they get there masters degree and get raises all the time. Nurses, plumbers really make good money. Good luck to all you young people i wish you well.
Choosing sensible options – like community college, trade schools, or military service – are not “opting out”. Generations should always have done this. Choosing expensive college degrees and sky-high debt were always stupid decisions encouraged by people trying to make a quick buck off others. It’s a great thing that young people are rethinking options. They’ll be so much better off in the long run.
To an extent It’s both.
Deciding to work as an electrician instead of an electrical engineer isn’t opting out. Companies tend to lower prices when people are not buying. The warning flare was people taking on an unreasonable level of debt. This is the aftermath of excessive leveraging.