Generation Debt
Reviews of Generation Debt
Generation Debt argues that student loans, credit card debt, the changing job market, and fiscal irresponsibility imperil the future economic prospects of the current generation, which is the first American generation not to do better financially than their parents.[2]
Some critics of Generation Debt have held that Kamenetz is not critical enough of her own perspective. A writer at Slate wrote, "it's not that the author misdiagnose[s] ills that affect our society. It's just that [she] lack[s] the perspective to add any great insight."[3]
Other critics praise the book. A reviewer at Index Credit Cards wrote, "It is well-researched, well-reasoned, and interesting enough that I didn't feel like putting the book down despite the battering ram of depressing news it offers. While one book won't change the underlying causes that threaten young people's prosperity, Generation Debt may help older generations understand the young, and help the young realize they're not alone."[4]
About This Book
Twenty-four-year-old Anya Kamenetz started out as a journalist asking hard questions about her generation for which no one seemed to have good answers. Why were college students nationwide graduating with an average of more than $20,000 in student loans? Why were her friends thousands of dollars in credit-card debt? Why did so many jobs for people under 35 involve a plastic name badge, last only for the short-term, and not include benefits? With record deficits and threats to Social Security, what kind of future are young people facing?
Kamenetz was one of the youngest columnists ever hired by The Village Voice, the New York City alternative newspaper where she earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her reporting on the new economics of being young. In Generation Debt, she talks to experts in economics, labor markets, the health-care industry, and education.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, Kamenetz says, the reason young people are moving back
Generation Debt argues that student loans, credit card debt, the changing job market, and fiscal irresponsibility imperil the future economic prospects of the current generation, which is the first American generation not to do better financially than their parents.[2]
Some critics of Generation Debt have held that Kamenetz is not critical enough of her own perspective. A writer at Slate wrote, "it's not that the author misdiagnose[s] ills that affect our society. It's just that [she] lack[s] the perspective to add any great insight."[3]
Other critics praise the book. A reviewer at Index Credit Cards wrote, "It is well-researched, well-reasoned, and interesting enough that I didn't feel like putting the book down despite the battering ram of depressing news it offers. While one book won't change the underlying causes that threaten young people's prosperity, Generation Debt may help older generations understand the young, and help the young realize they're not alone."[4]
About This Book
Twenty-four-year-old Anya Kamenetz started out as a journalist asking hard questions about her generation for which no one seemed to have good answers. Why were college students nationwide graduating with an average of more than $20,000 in student loans? Why were her friends thousands of dollars in credit-card debt? Why did so many jobs for people under 35 involve a plastic name badge, last only for the short-term, and not include benefits? With record deficits and threats to Social Security, what kind of future are young people facing?
Kamenetz was one of the youngest columnists ever hired by The Village Voice, the New York City alternative newspaper where she earned a Pulitzer Prize nomination for her reporting on the new economics of being young. In Generation Debt, she talks to experts in economics, labor markets, the health-care industry, and education.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, Kamenetz says, the reason young people are moving back