Austin American-Statesman - Cornyn: Millennials Have Been Hurt Most by Sluggish Economy

Op-Ed

By Sen. John Cornyn

Six years ago, young Americans of all backgrounds were enthralled by a presidential candidate who promised to give us a new era of upward mobility and middle-class prosperity. Unfortunately, what President Barack Obama actually gave us was the slowest economic recovery since World War II -- a recovery in which median household income has declined by $1,700; a recovery in which millions have lost their preferred health insurance and millions have been forced to pay higher premiums; a recovery in which more than 7.5 million people are working part-time jobs because they can't find full-time jobs; a recovery in which the labor-force-participation rate has fallen to historic lows.
In short: The president's policies have given us a "recovery" that feels very much like a recession.

The people most affected by the slow growth and weak job creation of the Obama years have been the millennials, many of whom campaigned for the president in 2008 and truly believed his message of "hope and change." Little did they know what his actual agenda would mean for their future.

Consider these numbers:

According to a new study from Georgetown University, millennials account for 40 percent of America's unemployed. Nationwide, the official unemployment rate is 6.2 percent. But among those ages 20 to 24, it's 11.3 percent. And among teenagers, it's 20.2 percent. Not surprisingly, many millennials have become profoundly discouraged about their job prospects and have simply dropped out of the labor force altogether.

In the Obama economy, even young people with a college education are finding it difficult to secure good full-time jobs. As of 2012, some 44 percent of recent college graduates were doing jobs that did not require a college degree. (And remember: Many of these recent graduates are drowning in student loan debt.) None other than White House chief economist Jason Furman has acknowledged that "record numbers of 18- to 34-year-olds are currently living at home with their parents."

Indeed, there's a real danger that the slow growth of the Obama years is producing a Lost Generation of young Americans who won't have the same opportunities enjoyed by their elders.

And yet, the president seems completely uninterested in putting forward a serious growth agenda. He'd rather talk about poll-tested gimmicks like raising the minimum wage to $10.10, even though the Congressional Budget Office estimates that such a policy change would destroy hundreds of thousands of entry-level jobs.

Speaking of entry-level jobs: The economic and social importance of these jobs cannot be overstated. Entry-level jobs teach both professional skills and social skills. They help young people start their careers and build networks. They teach important life lessons and help cultivate a strong work ethic. They also function as a crucial gateway into the middle class and beyond.

But thanks to policies like Obamacare, an alarming percentage of full-time entry-level jobs are being either eliminated or reduced to part-time jobs. Between May and July, the number of people working part-time jobs for economic reasons increased by 242,000.

What younger Americans want -- what all Americans want -- is a comprehensive agenda for stronger growth and faster full-time-job creation. They want policies that will expand opportunity, boost personal incomes and deliver broad-based prosperity. They want a realistic plan for tackling the national debt, which has grown by $7 trillion since Obama took office. They also want to know how we can save and preserve programs like Medicare and Social Security for future generations.

Sadly, they don't hear any of that from the president. Instead, they hear tired old ideas and tired old rhetoric, none of which offers practical solutions to America's biggest challenges.

Meanwhile, the millennials continue to suffer through the New Normal of slow growth and stagnant or declining wages. They continue to suffer from policies that have made it harder for them to find good jobs, harder for them to pay off student-loan debt, harder for them to live on their own, and harder for them to start families.

That's President Obama's true legacy to America's younger generation. It's a legacy they'll be paying for well into the future.

Source