There was a period of time this past year when I had a roommate- to help me make ends meet. My daughter had moved out and eventually married, so my household cost effectively went up as my income went down after being laid off. I had too much space on my hands that I still had to pay for. All in all, it worked out well, and we became friends. We were both out of work. Prior to living in my apartment, he was staying at a nearby shelter until he could find decent living arrangements.
He had an interesting insight on the current state of the unemployed. He had seen it first hand close to the inside. Time spent desperately in the shelter surely showed him things that he may not have considered prior to living that experience. He says the new face of the homeless is becoming white, male middle-aged and professional. Point taken.
The expectation in the years after WWII was that everything would continue to expand and grow economically. So did the size of the families. The Baby Boom.
Now we need to make way for the young. There simply are not enough jobs- and that number is shrinking by the day. Our parents never saw this coming. I’d ask, but mine are long dead and buried. So this is their payback- passed down to their children. It just happened earlier than they would have ever expected. I hate to think what possible handed down paybacks will wind up being born by our children because we can’t see it coming. They won’t want it either.
greasy heart 