Gotta Let it Go!

People have unbelievable resolve. We humans are able to take quite a beating and keep on going. To adapt to our environment or condition, we’re able to dig deep like Rocky – closed eye and all. Unfortunately, the same trait that helps to sustain us also prevents us from elevating ourselves out of the predicament.

This is exactly what’s going on in the economy right now. And people are aware of the pressure. As very strong economic forces gather against us, people still attempt to navigate through this unknown territory with the same game plan. The problem with that approach is what used to work for our parents and other generations doesn’t provide the same results anymore.

In the past, going to school and getting a safe, secure job was a viable path to a relatively comfortable lifestyle. Today, college or a job may – or may not – provide the standard of living we’ve always envisioned.

The hard truth is that today’s cost of living is simply too high, a direct symptom of the extreme amount of debt in the current monetary system. Combine that with the chunk of tax taken out of our paychecks and low wages.

A CHOICE TO MAKE

We are at an epochal shift. What worked very well for our parents and grandparents is quickly becoming a gamble for current and future generations. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 48% of recent college graduates work in a job that doesn’t require a four-year degree. According to another report, in 2011, 53.6% of college grads under age 25 were out of work or underemployed. (Click here.) At a minimum, today’s high school graduate considering college must weigh the real possibility of being underemployed – or unemployed – after debt accumulation. (College is supposed to be a given, right?)

The chart below shows the civilian labor force participation rate for those with a Bachelor’s degree and higher, 25 years and over.

The following chart shows the rise in student loan delinquencies.

The difficulty for many students (and current workers) is the fact that the idea of creating their own “job” or income is a foreign concept. Most people have been groomed for employment in the traditional sense their entire life. As the economy progresses towards a condition where the fruits (and reduced opportunities) will go to those able to pave their own way, financial education will prove to be more necessary than ever before.

Skills such as building a business, formulating a team, tax and legal knowledge, and leveraging will prove more critical than being able to specialize in one thing at a job.