I have a business marketing degree but ended up with two retail jobs: one that pays $10 an hour and the other with fewer shifts at $25 an hour. I'm not making enough to get by. I'm not going to have experienced this that most young adults do or did in the past because everything is just too expensive. There's so much unknown. I sometimes struggle to afford food despite working full-time and living with a roommate. Making ends meet means pulling money from savings, skipping a meal, or drinking water so that I can try and see full. These individuals are from Generation Z, a generation who are coming of age right now. A common reaction to the previous statements are as follows: every generation has their own issues to deal with during their time, and this new generation just simply needs to work harder. While some could say that that's partially true, it's clear that the numbers are not in favor of Gen Z. When I first started living on my own, I was paying $280 a week in rent. My landlord

wanted to increase my rent now to $450 a week. I make over three times the federal minimum wage, and I cannot afford to live. Where does this go in 5 years when 100 million Americans cannot buy a home and get a fixed rate, and their rents being raised $200 every year? Six in 10 Gen Z feel unable to save for the future. Only 15% of Gen Z expect to be able to afford a home in the next 5 years, and 80% of those who rent worry that rental costs will keep rising beyond their capacity to afford them. 47% of Gen Z report that they or a household member lost a job or took a pay cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this makes them the most affected generation. Around 40% of Gen Z are struggling with mental health, with financial stress being a major factor. So how did a generation that was poised for success end up in such financial distress? Is Gen Z really as lazy as many people claim, or can we really blame this?

generation just think about it. They had to live through multiple economic crises, geopolitical tensions, a global pandemic, and a new constant fear of AI threatening to replace them. And how do Millennials and Boomers play a part in all of this? In this special episode, we go through a journey of generations, and we look at the real reasons why Gen Z is facing the brunt of it all. We'll tackle this topic in three broad categories: housing, the economy, and education. A quick note: although this episode is focused on Gen Z, a lot of this applies to younger Millennials too, and a lot of these numbers are America-focused but will definitely be including other countries around the world too. So join us as we try to answer perhaps the most important question facing this generation: Is Gen Z truly the poorest generation in modern times? You are watching Cold Fusion TV. Before we dive in, let's paint a vivid picture of who we're talking about when we say Gen Z. At the time of writing, the oldest of them would be around 27 years

of age in America and Britain. This group is 1/5 of the population, a similar proportion to current Baby Boomers. The developing world has more of them. In Nigeria, Gen Z makes up 32% of the population, and 27% for India. In the West, compared to Millennials, Gen Z are more environmentally conscious, drink and smoke less, and are in fewer relationships. They care more about social issues, although they socialize less, 38 minutes per day versus an hour for the eth of the year 2000. You can watch my loneliness epidemic video for more on that side of things. Celebrities in this generation include the likes of Billy Ish Zanda, Greta Thunberg, Mbappe, Mr. Beast, and Naomi Osaka. While these Gen Z celebrities are obviously doing fine, everyday people in their cohort are coming of age into tough times. What is really screwed up is the world is massively in debt, the workforce is shrinking, population growth is slowing down, it's slowing down GDP growth, so there's not enough GDP

growth to pay or service the amount of debt out there. What we found since 2008 is that the answer to this debt issue has been the printing of more money, debasement of currency. People think of it in terms of, at first, they think it's going to be inflation as in the price of CPI goes up, but it's actually not. It's actually something much worse. Wages don't rise, but assets go up because optically you're debasing the currency. But what's happening is you can't afford as much of that now, and so your future self is in fact poorer. So a classic example is a 35-year-old now in the United States getting married, having kids. A house is very expensive now compared to when Peter and I were young. It was relatively cheap, three times incomes. Now it's like ten times incomes. So there's no real way of getting up the ladder. So the advantages that your parents had are not available to you. For Gen Z above all, there's probably one thing that feels more out of reach than

anything else [Music] housing. If you've scrolled through any social media feed, you've likely come across memes like these. This humor hits close to home for 34% of Gen Z, who see home ownership as an impossible feat in their lifetime—not in the next 10 to 20 years, but an entire lifetime. Think about that for a second. Additionally, in 2022, the typical age for a first home buyer hit a record high: 36. Gen Zers are staying at home longer to save on rent. For example, in the US, young adults living at home have increased 87% over the last two decades, and in Australia, it's risen 177% just since 2016. In Sydney, only 0.1% of the properties there are affordable for the average household. For one student in Canada, he found it cheaper to just fly to his classes to avoid higher rent. I need to pay like 2500 for the rent. I don't feel that is like, you know, viable. The problem really becomes clear when you see the disparity.

visually in the US home prices are now rising twice as fast as income. Now it takes about 6 years of income to buy the average house. For Boomers, this was 2 to 3 years. Generation X, 3 to 4 years. Millennials, 4 to 5 years. And as just shown, Gen Z, 6 to 7 years. But Australia is on another level. The average house price in Sydney, $1.6 million. If you're on a single wage, it takes 14 years of income on average to buy a house. Remember, that's 14 years of work if you save 100% of everything you earn. In other words, you'd have to be homeless and eating out of garbage bins to do that. Just astonishing. And then there's stories like this. This three-bedroom Paddington home in Native renovation selling at auction for an eye-watering $9 million. That's a whole million and a half above the reserve, boasting off-street parking and a converted St. The Terrace last sold in 1981 for

$300,000. The new buyers are planning to spend anywhere from a million to 5 million to bring it up to scratch. And this split-level one-bedroom apartment in Bondi Junction, which is listed for $900. To say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. Among the applicants were two young maids, both male, and wished to say anonymous. They were prepared to c-li in this one better. These are the kind of sacrifices people are having to make. There's a myriad of reasons why this is happening in Australia, and I'm going to do an entirely separate video on this topic alone. But the bottom line is prices have surged more than 22% in just one year. In the UK, things are bad too. The average house costs nine times as much as average earnings in the UK. The last time house prices were this high compared to earnings was almost 150 years ago, back in 1876. But this is where things get a little more complicated. There's actually a twist here with Generation Z, despite a

global shortage in affordable housing and rising property prices. Gen Z seems to be navigating the housing market adequately. Data from Redfin over in the US shows that 30% of 25-year-olds owned homes in 2022, 3% more than their Gen X counterparts at the same age. Well, how is this? Here's what different experts say. Those in Gen Z took advantage of record low mortgage rates in 2020 and 2021. This made servicing a mortgage less of a burden. Gen Z has more remote work opportunities, so they're able to live somewhere remote and more affordable. And lastly, this cohort has more access to technology, information, and platforms, which all help in their home purchases. According to Ben Miller, the CEO of Fundrise, quote, Every generation is getting more economically screwed in some ways, but they, Gen Z, have way more knowledge and information than previous generations, way, way, way more. That's got to count for something, end quote. Interestingly, in comparison, Millennials aren't doing so great with housing. It seems like the '08 crisis hit that cohort.

hard when it came to buying a house. On a societal level, the problem of home ownership is making it harder for both younger Millennials and Gen Z to think about marriage and having kids. A solution that's equally as sad as it is dystopian is the tiny home trend. Gen Zers and Millennials are buying pre-fabricated tiny homes on Amazon for under $40,000, as the median price of American homes tops $400,000. Here in California, the median house is over $770,000. A silver lining here is that reports suggest that the job market is booming, or is it? If you're 15 to 24 years old in some places, you'd be lucky to have a job. In Spain, the unemployment rate of this age bracket is 28%, Sri Lanka 27%, Greece 25%, Italy and Sweden 23%. In China, things also aren't going great for the young. Thanks to economic uncertainty and a large population in higher education, over one-third of degree holders there may be unemployed. Let's go back to other parts

of the world in the west. The picture looks a lot better, but as you'll soon see, not all is as it seems. Youth unemployment across the richer countries of the world, on average, is around 13%. It hasn't been this low since 1991. But you might be thinking something doesn't feel right about this rosy picture. It's not like Gen Z and Millennials rejoicing about how good the job market is. So, what is going on? Why don't the figures line up with what everyone's feeling? Well, the fact is the figures we often hear aren't telling us the full story. For example, in 1994 in the US, the government changed the way they count unemployment. They stopped counting all of those who stopped looking for work or only have part-time employment. A lot of other countries have done this too, and when you factor that in, everything starts to make sense. Peter Schiff explains further, So if you really want to put today's unemployment in context, what you have to compare is

the current U6 number to the U3 number that existed prior to 1994. I happened to do that, and what I found. If you look at the 1950s and 1960s, there wasn't a single year during those two decades where unemployment was as high as it is right now. You got to go to the 1970s. That was 1975, oh, in 1976, so only 2 years. And that's supposed to be a horrible decade, stagflation, Jimmy Carter, all the bad stuff that happened. There were only 3 years during the 1980s when unemployment was higher than it is right now. We were in the worst recession since the Great Depression. The FED had interest rates up at 20%, right? We were really trying to fight inflation. So only during the latter 1970s and early 1980s did you have unemployment higher than it is right now. So how is Gen Z doing today? Overall, opinions are divided. On the one hand, Lawrence Kotlov, an economics

professor at Boston University agrees that quote this is a tougher climate for sure parents need to realize that their kids are in trouble end quote others like personal finance expert Ken Coleman believe that gen Z has an advantage due to technology which levels the playing field quote I think this next Generation this gen Z generation and the kids coming up behind them I think we're going to see an entrepreneurial boom like we've never seen in history because of the playing field being leveled by technology making it so much easier end quote while it's true that technology does indeed help even the playing field will it be enough and it could be a double-edged sword for example AI advancements however hyped and overblown today in some areas could provide a real challenge to working humans over the next decade we'll have to wait and see okay so that was the job market but once genas get a job how are they doing well again again there's some interesting stuff going on gen Z have figured out something pretty smart changing jobs more often.

allows them to earn more, almost 30% more, according to Business Insider. According to The Economist, the wages for Gen Z are rising much faster than other age groups in America. Hourly pay rates for those 16 to 24 were 7% higher year-on-year compared with workers aged 25 to 54 at 13%. In Britain, the pay of those aged 18 to 21 rose 15% last year, and this is far greater than the other age groups. In New Zealand, the average hourly pay of those aged 20 to 24 increased by 10% compared to the average of 6% in a few places, including Croatia and Slovenia. Gen Z are already earning as much as the average worker. It's all very interesting. The explanation for this could be simple. After the post-COVID inflation started exploding, a lot of people would ask for a raise, and they got it. But the difference is this: they're the youngest cohort, so they had the lowest base wage. Because their wage was lower

companies could afford to pay them more as it was still cheaper than retraining someone else, for example. So, when you look at the proportions, Gen Z seems to be doing better, but the truth is even if their pay is increasing at a faster rate, it may still not be enough gross income to live comfortably. So, the question must be asked: why is pursuing higher salaries not translating into financial security? One word: inflation. While most of us have felt the pinch of everyday essentials, inflation lies at the heart of Gen Z's financial struggles. They're mostly just starting their careers and probably earning less overall. To enter the workforce during a period of rapid inflation not seen since the 1970s would be a real shock for any young adult. In 2022, inflation soared to the highest point in 40 years. During the pandemic, supply chain disruption meant that goods cost more, and to prevent the economy from stalling, governments printed excess amounts of money to revitalize it. It sort of worked, but all of that extra money sloshing around in

the economy later showed up as inflation. Suddenly, a trip to the local grocery store was 8% more expensive. And this isn't to mention fuel, airfares, rent, and transportation, and most critical of all, education. But we'll come back to that. Gen Z has never seen prices rise so rapidly in their lifetime, and they're going through a wave of sticker shock. Some reports even go as far as to say that Gen Z is quote psychologically scarred by the effects of inflation. Okay, so inflation is high, but what does that really mean? Well, I quickly need to show you some lessons from history so we can understand the full effects. Barring World War II, in which life wasn't normal, the mid '70s till 1981 saw raging inflation, reaching a peak of 20%. With everything costing so much and wages being stagnant, most households decided that two people needed to work to keep the household afloat. There was no other choice. The natural result was that more women entered the workforce, a trend that remains till this day. But there's a

tragic thing about inflation. Even as the inflation rate subsides, prices usually stay elevated. For example, say the inflation figure drops from 8% to 3%. It doesn't mean that prices actually go down; it just means that prices are rising at a slower rate. In other words, they were rising at 8%, and now they're rising at 3%. I say this just to highlight that inflation is nothing to play with. But the good news is that for now, inflation rates across the world have slowed. While that's welcome news, Gen Z would have to accept that higher prices are here to stay. Higher wages do help, but the truth is for a young person just starting out in their professional career, inflation makes things very hard. How much did you pay for your first house? $118,000 with 17 acres. What year? 1989. When I was a kid, cars were thousands of dollars, a brand new car like, I don't know, $5,000. I remember seeing ads, houses were probably what, 10, 20,000 when I was a kid, a dollar.

used to actually be worth something, but there's another twist here, if you can believe it. Inflation may be worse than what we're being told. There's a reason why a dollar doesn't go as far anymore. According to economist John Williams, founder of Shadow government statistics, the US government may be fudging the inflation numbers, so real inflation is worse than what's published. Williams argues that the methods used to calculate the inflation have changed over time. This first occurred in the 1980s, and ever since, the inflation rates have been reported as lower than what they actually are. In blue, you'll find a more honest representation of inflation, whereas in red, these are the official statistics. The official statistics don't factor in house price growth directly, or they might substitute steak for more affordable meat when determining grocery expenses, and more tactics of that nature. Although it's not just the US government that manipulates inflation numbers, it's a common tactic used by many governments around the world, mainly to get reelected. So why say all of this? The bottom line

is that living standards are being slashed by even more than we realize. It's getting harder for everyone, especially those who are just starting out in their professional [Music] career. So, the part you've all been waiting for: are Gen Z lazy, entitled brats? Let's take a [Music] look to set the stage. When it comes to attitudes among workers, employee confidence, and morale is generally low across all generations, not just Gen Z. But that being said, out of all the age groups, Gen Z is the most disengaged at work. Only 44% of Gen Z report job satisfaction, and that's compared to 67% of older workers. Last year, Gen Z boasted about quiet quitting. This is where they put in just enough work to not get fired. Others talk about bare minimum Monday. This same type of behavior is occurring all across Asia. In China, they call it Tang ping or lying flat, and we've covered that on this channel before. A 2022 survey found that Americans aged between 15 and 24 spent

25% less time on quote working and work-rated activities than those in 2007. This next statistic is very telling: the share of American 12th graders age 17 or 18 who see work as a central part of life has dropped sharply. Why is this? Well, Gen Z wants a workplace that has mentorship, genuine connections, flexibility, and a work-life balance. For them, the world has changed, and the traditional office job with a commute just doesn't cut it anymore. The older generations look at Gen Z's attitude with scorn. To them, it appears like a pure lack of work ethic. In fact, three in four managers consider Gen Z the most difficult age group in the workplace. Are Gen Z workers lazy, or are they simply changing the work culture? Lazy? A new survey has found 60% of U.S. bosses have fired their Gen Z workers, complaining that the younger generation wanted to leave early, start late, and expected to be paid a fortune. Well, now bosses in Australia have the same problem. They're not bad, they're

different. That's all. Like, they're growing up in an, you know, a world where they're probably not going to buy a house, you know, ever going to be able to afford it. They've gone through Co. I think they've just got a bigger sense of YOLO that went, and that's not a bad thing, it's just different. So, I think older bosses are like, No, I worked a horrible job all my life, you should too. And the kids are saying, No. But I think the work ethic comes back to finding a passion, and that's no different for any other Gen Z worker. And I think that's why, you know, some of this trend may have happened, maybe this work wasn't their passion, and it's not something that they really wanted to do for the rest of their life. And I think that's where it comes back to, if someone finds a job they love, they'll put in their all. And if it's something that they don't really love, I think my generation nowadays are just more

inclined to be like, Look, this isn't for me. I'm not going to give my all, and I'll find something else that is. We have to take better care of young people's mental health, and also the older people in the workforce need to communicate maybe in newer ways and/or teach younger people how to communicate in older ways. Okay, but here's the truth of the whole thing: most of these companies would lay you off in a heartbeat if it affected their bottom line, and Gen Z knows that. They might even be the first generation to enter the workforce knowing that. I'm not telling you to be lazy on someone else's dime, but a lot of these companies don't give a damn about you, and it's perfectly acceptable to not give a damn back. But who's actually right? Well, we have to look at both sides of the argument first. According to surveys of managers and employers, Gen Z has a combination of perceived entitlement, short attention spans, and a tendency to critique beliefs held by other generations. And this next one's going to

be controversial, but there's a common trope that Gen Z is too soft. According to CNBC, 25% of Gen Z say that they need a therapist just to deal with the stress of filing taxes. So, who do you think is right? Who has the valid points? I do think it's interesting to see how age plays a role in one's thinking, but one thing is true: Gen Z actually works harder than most people think. Almost four in 10 Gen Z have a side hustle in addition to their regular job. So, it seems that Gen Z will do the work, but it's just on their own terms. And now we can move on to education. Let's start with South Korea. The youth of South Korea are the most educated in the world. Nearly 70% of those aged 25 to 34 have a tertiary degree. That's the highest among OECD countries. Just imagine the stress and fierce competition. Despite their educational prowess, over half of South Korea's youth face asset poverty. That means they lack enough liquid assets to cover their basic needs.

for three months. Moreover, in a country where working 18-hour days isn't uncommon, skyrocketing house costs are pushing many South Korean gen Zers into small apartments just 50 ft. That's almost 1/10th of a standard studio apartment. So, the United States, of course, is an interesting case. Education there is extremely expensive. Tuition costs have risen faster than the cost of medical services, child care, and housing. Student debt is no joke. With these higher interest rates, it's so bad that 39% of recent graduates said that they would choose to spend a week in jail if that meant that they could erase their debt. So, since about 2018, some Gen Zers are simply turning their backs on traditional higher education paths and looking towards a career in trades. Community colleges are also being looked at more. It is so weird to me that everyone wants to go to a highly ranked college. Usually, the professors there, their number one focus is not teaching. They're incredibly smart, but what they really care about is their own research. As you guys know, smarts does not equate

to skill when it comes to teaching also does not necessarily translate to motivating young people. That's why the most impactful teachers are usually at community colleges - way cheaper, way easier to get into, you can likely live at home if you go to Community College. Overall, I think that's pretty much the move. But in most Western countries, those who are going to University are being smarter about it. The economy isn't as secure as it once was, so there's been a drift to more easily employable degrees. Science, engineering, and medical degrees are rising, and the humanities are falling out of favor. And all of this isn't to mention jz's debt levels in the US. For example, with inflation and interest rates rising, gen Z has the fastest rising debt levels of any generation. Between 2022 and 2023, so just in one year, Boomer's debt went down by 1.3%, Millennials up by 8%, and gen Z up by 15.4%. In addition, gen ZZ is also making $7,000 less than their same age group.

was a decade ago adjusted for inflation. They really haven't got it easy; we can all agree on that. So, in conclusion, I personally think that Gen Z is in a very interesting situation. There's multiple stories going on here. On the one hand, there's financial headwinds, inflation, and rising rents. But on the other hand, their wages are rising faster than any other age group, and homeownership rates are higher than Millennials during the same age. But at the same time, when compared to Generation X and Boomers, there's still a lot, and I haven't even touched on those from Gen Z now living in war-torn countries, countries that were peaceful 10 years ago. But in terms of work, their attitudes towards work are changing. Perhaps in 10 years, instead of going to college, learning a trade will be close to the norm. Who knows? But all of that is the reason why this topic is so important. Gen Z are the near future. Historically, in times of economic downturns, the young become disenfranchised, and they vote against

the leadership that put them in their current position. Governments and politicians have to pay attention to them, or they'll be out of a job in no time. Considering that Gen Z is the most politically active age group, the potential outcomes may carry even more weight. Given all we've looked at, Gen Z is treading water right now, but they definitely aren't swimming. But let's think outside the box a little bit here, and let's put this all into perspective. Over the past 100 odd years, which generation do you think had it the worst? Well, here's a clue: they're so old you probably haven't heard of them. They're called The Lost Generation. They were born between 1883 to 1900, three whole generations before the baby booms. Many had to go to the First World War. The soldiers came back traumatized. The world hadn't seen such violence before. They were left to wander the streets, no support, and lost through life. And this is where the generation got their name from: The Lost Generation. Not long after

the scars of war. They would then lose all of their money in the Great Depression, but life wasn't done dealing with them yet. During the depths of poverty, they watched helplessly as they had to send their own kids off to the Second World War. And by the time they got to relax in life, they were already in their 50s. This added perspective isn't to say that Gen Z has it easy. They don't, and there's no arguing against that. And my heart does go out to all of those who are suffering financially. But the world isn't in shambles yet, and there's still opportunities. Hopefully, with better policies and innovation, our economies and employment situations can turn around. On the bright side, Gen Z does have something priceless on their side: time. Wise investments with the little money that they do have could be life-changing in the long run. Their willingness to work side hustles and their access to the best technological tools the world has ever seen could see them becoming the most entrepreneurial generation yet. Society as a whole should

support them however they can to help them reach their full potential. After all, they are the future, but that's just my opinion. Given all of the information that we presented in this video, what do you guys think? And with that, we've covered as many aspects of the lives of Generation Z as we possibly could. I hope you did enjoy that coverage and learned something from it. Feel free to share this episode with anyone who'd be interested. If you want to see more on society and why exactly everyone is so lonely these days, check out my episode on the loneliness epidemic. Or if you want to know why the economy is the way it is today, you can check out the episode on the 2008 crisis and why it still affects all of us. Anyway, that's about it from me. My name is Toogo, and you've been watching Cold Fusion, and I'll catch you again soon for the next episode. Cheers, guys. Have a good [Music] one. Cold Fusion. It's new thinking [Music] you [Music]

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