June 5, 2011 by International Students for Social Equality
This summer, as schools go on break, and millions of students graduate from high school and college, young people throughout the United States are confronted with a basic problem: there are no jobs.
The unemployment rate for young people is disastrous: 18.4 percent. Hundreds of people apply for any available position. College graduates send out applications every day to no avail, then end up settling for low-wage jobs at fast-food restaurants and stores, if they get jobs at all.
Meanwhile, schools are being closed, and colleges are restricting admissions. Every day, the opportunity for a decent education is being taken way from more young people. Hundreds of thousands of teachers and educational staff have been laid off—with hundreds of thousands more to come—swelling class sizes and forcing students out of school.
A measure of the historical viability of a social system is the future it holds for the younger generation. From this standpoint, the conditions facing youth at the beginning of the new academic year are an indictment of the capitalist system.
More than two years after the supposed onset of the economic “recovery," mass unemployment continues unabated, particularly among youth. On an international scale, falling growth rates and rising joblessness make clear there is no real recovery. Austerity measures being imposed in the US, Europe and Japan are compounding the social disaster. Students have no reason to believe they will have a chance of finding a decent job after graduation.
Tandis que l'humanité entre dans la deuxième décennie du 21e siècle, la situation mondiale a anéanti tout espoir que le nouveau millénaire mette fin aux guerres, à la violence et à la pauvreté du 20e siècle.
Malgré l'intégration mondiale de l'économie et de grandes avancées en technologie et dans les communications, des milliards de personnes sont affamées et l'humanité est en proie à des guerres sans fin. La crise financière mondiale a jeté des millions de gens dans la pauvreté, et plus d'emplois ont été perdus mondialement qu'à n'importe quel moment depuis la Grande Dépression. Après avoir offert des trillions aux banques, les gouvernements mettent en œuvre des coupures sans précédent en éducation, en santé et dans d'autres programmes sociaux.
