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Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

bloomberg.com

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Re: Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

#3
post #2

If the goal is gender equality: what's wrong with this? The idea that every able bodied person has to work is not supposed to be the way our society functions; at least not in the last 100,000 years.

Idle hands are the devil's plaything... Agreed that the post-war version of work is dated and that maybe we don't all need to get a job. But people need something meaningful to do, at the risk of mental health and other problems. So if the people in the article are all becoming artists or volunteers then great, but if they're sitting around bored it could lead to societal problems.

Re: Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

#4
post #2

If the goal is gender equality: what's wrong with this? The idea that every able bodied person has to work is not supposed to be the way our society functions; at least not in the last 100,000 years.

I guess most of these men are not living in houses made for multigeneration living, i.e. with wings, separate entrence or separate houses or similar.

Re: Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

#6
post #2

If the goal is gender equality: what's wrong with this? The idea that every able bodied person has to work is not supposed to be the way our society functions; at least not in the last 100,000 years.

>The idea that every able bodied person has to work is not supposed to be the way our society functions; at least not in the last 100,000 years.

What? I was under the impression that particularly in agrarian societies, everyone who was able to work, worked. Are you saying that surpluses allowed for a large class of people to just not work at all?

Re: Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

#7
I see this on the fringes of those within my circle of friends. I know one man in this age cohort who doesn't seem to have a job, just plays video games all the time, and I don't get it. But one thing I think about is what he has been exposed to: this is what he knows. I don't think this individual I'm speaking of was raised with anything differently.

In this same light, as I believe the two concepts are directly related: another friend of mine basically refuses to date anymore because he thinks the sort of culture of Tinder dating is a waste of time that favors women disproportionately.

I suspect all of this is primarily cultural first, and not related specifically to work, the economy, pricing of good or services like buying a home and starting a family, which would come second.

That being said, if we were just talking about young single men, well, of course they're staying at home. It makes no economic sense to move out and get an apartment. The cost of living in major metros makes renting nearly equivalent to paying a mortgage. Except no one is building affordable homes.

Re: Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

#8
post #2

If the goal is gender equality: what's wrong with this? The idea that every able bodied person has to work is not supposed to be the way our society functions; at least not in the last 100,000 years.

Unless you were born into the ranks of a few kings or priests, this is the first time men have been allowed to opt out.

Re: Fewer young men are in the labor force, more are living at home

#9
post #2

If the goal is gender equality: what's wrong with this? The idea that every able bodied person has to work is not supposed to be the way our society functions; at least not in the last 100,000 years.

These men are not being supported by their wives, they just don't go and form a new family.

Women in that age range are generally more educated than their male counterparts and they earn more, so this statistic makes sense. They also have trouble finding a male partner, especially because one of their requirements is that they should earn more than them.

This sounds like an impending demographics / societal disaster.

I guess if this trends continue we'll get to a point where basic necessities will all raise in price because they can't find workers until some of these men go back to work.

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