This brings up a point I think some people on this list are missing. If the housing market drops 50% from todays values, they seem to think they can then buy a house and life will be good. The problem is that if housing and automotive go down at the same time, they and the people the care about may be in for a very rough ride. Unemployment can become a problem, and it would be ironic if tighter lending standards present a problem for some people here to get a loan. People should be careful what they wish for, everything is interconnected. This isn’t “winning the superbowl” as I saw someone post. This is only half-time. The final score may not turn out the way you expect.

looking ahead

i don’t know what majors your students are pursuing, but to me there is a pretty good future ahead of them. there are many people who are going to be retiring and there is virtually no one who is able to replace them, recession or not. In practically any skilled industry, there are shortages of skilled labor and the ones who are already there are ready to retire.

besides, i remember what it was like when i was their age – i thought i was going to be making $70k to $90k right out of college (not!). Anything less than that was considered a failure. Tell them to plan ahead, look towards what is going to happen, and educate themselves to take advantages of the numerous opportunities that are going to present themselves. Learn as many skills as possible, sign up for every difficult task imaginable, and for god’s sake, do not show up to a job interview with tattoos and piercings.

My profession itself needs an influx of about 50 land surveyors a year to replace those who are retiring and leaving (just a week ago, I attended the retiring of SIX land surveyors in San Diego alone). My industry is only putting out about 20. My wife is an electrical engineer. Her own profession is a difficult one, but she sees so many openings for electrical engineers, software designers, programmers, technicians. She and I are often the youngest workers in our field, with no one who can replace us.

You should try giving them some perspective. Our country experienced a golden age coming out of the depression, for example.

We are returning, slowly, as a nation to a place where education, diligence, integrity, hard work and thrift are respected values.

If they pick a profession, work hard at it and have realistic (and modest) expectations, they will do well.

So the days of free money are over. Good riddance. So it will be painful while this all shakes out, tell them to persevere, stay in school and study and work hard. Be frugal. They will be rewarded in the long run.

I don’t think its the current students that are going to be hit the hardest. I think its the Gen’X’ers who have drifted from bubble to bubble, living high on the hog that are going to get slammed the worst when the credit faucet is shut off. Those that have never known hard times.

Not that I feel sorry for them.

and we should realize that the Bush administration is to blame for selling out the future of this country.

We are returning, slowly, as a nation to a place where education, diligence, integrity, hard work and thrift are respected values.

That must explain why “American Idol” and “America’s Next Top Model” are so popular.

I think its the Gen’X’ers who have drifted from bubble to bubble, living high on the hog that are going to get slammed the worst when the credit faucet is shut off. Those that have never known hard times.

Oh, what a rich vein we have to mine here. This is just patently ridiculous. Xers saw their parents suffer through gas rationing, stagflation, the great market crash of 1987 and the housing bust of the early 90s; we graduated college just in time for the horrible employment market of the early 90s, saw our 401ks evaporate during the tech bubble crash and now many of us are priced out of homes due to this ridiculous housing bubble. Yeah, we’re to blame for “living high on the hog”.

“That must explain why “American Idol” and “America’s Next Top Model” are so popular.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaring_20%27s

“Xers saw their parents suffer through gas rationing, stagflation, the great market crash of 1987 and the housing bust of the early 90s; we graduated college just in time for the horrible employment market of the early 90s, saw our 401ks evaporate during the tech bubble crash and now many of us are priced out of homes due to this ridiculous housing bubble.”

I’m a Gen-X’er, so I can’t really argue with that. Matches my life pretty well.

I do know, however, a fair amount of folks in my age group that have indeed been riding the equity train from one bubble to the next and are in for a rude awakening when it runs out of steam.

Oh I don’t disagree with you, but I see people of all ages consuming too much, purchasing too much, and taking on too much debt. I don’t think you can pin it on one group in particular. Gen Xers used to try to blame all of their troubles on the boomers, which I always thought was stupid. We’re all to blame at some level. I’ll confess — I bought an overpriced home in San Diego and sold it when it was even MORE overpriced. So I did my part to run the bubble up…