The Twiddling of Young Thumbs

Trey Smith

One of the mantras of conservatives is personal responsibility. One of the ways that young people learn about the utmost importance of personal responsibility is through work. Often, this key life lesson is instilled in young people by their first employers. Work hard in a responsible manner and you can get ahead!

With all the emphasis conservatives place on personal responsibility, hard work and good morals, you would think that helping young people land those first jobs would be damn important. Well, apparently not!

For the fourth consecutive summer, teen employment has stayed anchored around record lows, prompting experts to fear that a generation of youth is likely to be economically stunted with lower earnings and opportunities in years ahead.

...In 1999, slightly more than 52 percent of teens 16 to 19 worked a summer job. By this year, that number had plunged to about 32.25 percent over June and July. It means that slightly more than three in 10 teens actually worked a summer job, out of a universe of roughly 16.8 million U.S. teens.

And why are teens finding it so difficult to find gainful employment? Because, with good jobs harder and harder to find, adults are taking the jobs that teenagers used to get. So, it seems to be a bad picture all around.