The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was said to be a "once in a lifetime" economic event. This collapse of the financial order sent the global economy into recession and, for the first time since the Great Depression, saw the bankruptcy of thousands of businesses big and small.
A student who graduated from high school during the GFC in 2008 entered a world where employment opportunities were decreasing, Governments spending reducing, and both TAFE and University course fees increasing.
Maybe this young graduate was an optimist and, having listened to economists say the GFC was a "once in a lifetime' event", believed once the crisis was over they would enjoy better days ahead.
But just 10 years after the mess of the GFC, we're now in a deeper, harsher economic environment. Global trade has been smashed, international tourism stopped and unemployment is expected to be more than 10 per cent by Christmas.
All Australians have been hurt during this pandemic, but young people have been hit especially hard. The Government asked them to dip into their superannuation to get them through this crisis, robbing them of savings and the resulting compound interest the rest of us have been diligently and happily watching grow.
Treasury estimates $42 billion has been taken out of superannuation with 600,000 people completely cleaning out their savings - the majority of them under 35.
The Atlantic magazine reported that Generation X's had twice the assets of millennials going into the 2008 financial crisis, they now have four times the assets and double the savings.
The circumstances young people find themselves in affects all of us because just at the moment when we need young people to take calculated risks, start businesses and be entrepreneurial - they are likely to be economically pessimistic. Their lived experience is that the economy collapses every decade wiping away savings, jobs and opportunities with it.
The economic health of young people is important for the country. We need them to prosper and grow to support an aging population and to keep Australia modern, relevant and dynamic. My great fear is that help for the young will be put at the end of the recovery list - at great cost to our country's future.
