April 13, 2006

Book Review
I Owe, I Know

Generation Debt: Why Now Is A Terrible Time to Be Young
By Anya Kamentz
Riverhead Books, 2006

By AUSTIN WALTERS
Contributing Writer

Twenty-four year old Anya Kamenetz opens her first book, Generation Debt: Why Now is a Terrible Time to Be Young with an extremely interesting question; “What would you do if you grew up and realized that everything America has always promised its children no longer holds true for you?” Kamenetz, as one of today’s young adults aged 18 through 34, feels that her generation has been wrongly labeled as slackers when they are actually victims of an increasingly hostile economic environment who have been cheated out of their inheritance. Hoping to stir things up, Generation Debt strives to be part edgy advice book and part socio-political manifesto.

The motivation for the book came from a series in The Village Voice, for which Kamenetz was one of the youngest contributing writers, looking at the effect of “New Economics” on “Generation Debt.” While not really presenting any new data, each chapter contains real-life accounts from the trenches of Gen Debt, as Kamenetz showcases a wide range of stories from the people she met during her research. To add validity, the book is full of interesting statistics and extensive research from the country’s trusted financial experts.

Kamenetz argues that “the United States’ greatest resource for future prosperity and growth is its human capital, also known as educated young people.” Notably, according to a 2002 study, of 68 million young people aged 18 to 34, only a quarter have bachelor’s degrees and the nationwide high school graduation rate has dropped at an alarming rate from its peak in the 1970s. Add that to the fact that two thirds of four-year college students are graduating with an average of $23,000 of tuition and credit card debt, and the alarm bells begin to ring true.

How can young people be expected to grow up, get good high paying jobs, raise families, and save for retirement when they start off so drastically far behind? The answer, unfortunately, remains to be seen. Some critics suggest that today’s youth are obsessed with a lavish consumer lifestyle and content to drag their heels to avoid reaching adulthood.

Kamenetz also suggests that the issues are not just economic but political — even “spiritual.” Gen Debt is restless about its future, feeling far more impermanence than past generations, in a world wracked by global warming and seemingly endless global war. Why not do whatever makes us happy now, since the future seems cloudy and grim anyway?

Kamenetz makes some compelling arguments and presents some thought-provoking theories, but it’s unlikely that she will be sparking an economic revolution with her debut book. In the end, she offers commonsensical yet boring solutions to her fellow Gen Debt-ers, along the lines of having “adult conversations with parents about money, security and success”, and “lobbying state governments for a one-cent sales tax for education and a cap on tuition hikes.” While not bad suggestions, her advice lacks an inspirational quality; it is missing the pizazz, or sexiness, or novelty that motivates individuals to spend precious time and money not only on this book, but also on this conversation about debt.