Generation Debt

Generation Debt: Why Now Is A Terrible Time To Be Young
By Anya Kamenetz
HQ 799.7 .K36 2006

Kamenetz, a twenty-four-year-old free lance journalist confronts and rejects the negative economic stigma she believes the 18-34 generation has been branded with. Through her interviews with young people across the country she finds the same economic problems being faced- the rising cost of higher education, narrowing job opportunities, and growing material debt. She believes that "our debt precludes us from taking the kinds of entrepreneurial risks on which American success depends" (p.xv), and that the problem is the gulf which has "grown between ideal and reality" (p.xiv).

Each chapter of Kamenetz's book addresses important issues such as: credit cards, college debt, low wage jobs, government policies and social security, and impact on family and independence. In the last chapter of the book, she suggests some solutions for young people who are dealing with the stress and frustration from these problems. Although the book at times has a pretty ominous tone, anyone who is college age, has children who are 18-34, or who knows someone this age would benefit from reading it. While her book at times requires a very open minded perspective, it rings a wake up call for the next generation.