Young, Greek and Unemployed – Is this our future here in America?

An economy is labeled as being in recession when there’s an overall economic slowdown. It also has the classical definition of two successive quarters of declining Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If the recession is so severe that it lasts for two years, then it is then labeled a depression. Although I am not an economist, I am wondering if we are not in the middle of either a recession or depression but actually a reset. Generally after a recession and especially after a depression, the economy recovers and companies begin to rehire the huge numbers of unemployed and the GDP grows again. What if the huge numbers of unemployed people permanently remain unemployed and companies never rehire in large numbers as in pre-2008. This is what I see as the current situation in Greece and potentially what can happen here in America. Greece is an European country with a population of 11 million. Greece has a GDP of 323 Billion and is the 30th largest economy in the world. This isn’t bad because the World Bank tracks the GDP of more than 225 economies. The average household income is $28,000. So what’s the problem? If you’re 35 years of age or younger, you probably do not have a job. Unemployment between those ages 15 and 24 is 35.6%. This means that 1 out of 3 young persons do not have a job. The unemployment rate for those ages 25 and 34 is 18%. The high unemployment is equally distributed across the highly educated young people. Those young people with undergraduate and graduate degrees are unemployed at the same rate. The message to young people in Greece is that if you want to find a good job, then you have to leave the country. The Education minister of Greece Anna Diamontopoulos actually states that there are too many educated people in Greece. She states that there are 30,000 too many doctors. She publicly states that rather than pursue education, she wants the people to pursue trade vocations. The message is to either accept a lower standard of living and have a menial job or leave the country. With the high costs of college tuition and the tremendous amount of high paying jobs that have either left the USA or are being filled by less expensive foreign immigrants, I feel that what is occurring in Greece may just beginning here in America.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/02/news/international/greece-youth-unemployment-global.fortune/index.htm