the Precariat

The sun is out. Yesterday was heaven, and today almost so - the big yellow thing in the sky makes such a difference. Things look very green and growy today, and the cardinal couple are happy. As am I.

Just read this, and realize that most of the young people I know are in this category, the Precariat - and people my age too. Back to income inequality.

Thirty years ago, a vast majority of Americans identified as members of the middle class. But since 1988, the percentage of Americans who call themselves members of the “have-nots” has doubled. Today’s young people are more likely to believe success is a matter of luck, not effort, than earlier generations.

These pessimistic views bring to mind a concept that’s been floating around Europe: the Precariat. According to the British academic Guy Standing, the Precariat is the growing class of people living with short-term and part-time work with precarious living standards and “without a narrative of occupational development.” They live with multiple forms of insecurity and are liable to join protest movements across the political spectrum.

The American Precariat seems more hunkered down, insecure, risk averse, relying on friends and family but without faith in American possibilities.

Here's a beautiful poem by a truthful young man, who is definitely in the Precariat because he's a poet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LnMhy8kDiQ