Is now a bad time to be young? The burden on Britain’s youth.

The cause of tomorrow's concern?

This question is unfortunately becoming increasingly prevalent here in the U.K as a range of problems seem to be stacking up for the country’s young. For instance, consider the predicament facing half of all young people today at Britain’s universities; a student under new government policy can leave university with £40000 worth of debt having done a 3 year course. This debt is to be paid back from an average graduate salary of around £19000. Oh, and don’t forget to buy a house, get a mortgage, start a family, and invest in a pension.

It may seem like the laments of a lazy generation but according to the Intergenerational Foundation, Britain’s young really are under pressure. For instance, the state pension which everyone is entitled to is set to rack up almost £3 trillion worth of government debts. This is compared to current total official debt of only £1 trillion. The £3 trillion is unaccounted for as it is a future projection of costs and is therefore not currently impacting on government spending. But rest assured, or thoroughly un-assured as the case may be, these costs are real and almost completely unaccounted for.

The cost of pensions is merely one of a menagerie of problems facing today’s young. Buying a house is set to become a thing of the past. This truly frustrating quote from Angus Hanton of the Intergenerational Foundation illustrates the point;

"Let's take my own house [which] I bought 16 years ago for £160,000. It's in south-east London. It's now worth about £1.15m...So I've gained a million pound windfall to which I do not feel entitled, and that windfall, at the moment, is tax-free. Were I to sell [the house], there's no tax on that gain. It may appear very lucky for me, but the reality is when I sell, it will probably be to a younger person who'll be getting a mortgage and spending most of their working life paying off that windfall which went to me”

Unfortunately for today’s youth, not many baby boomers share Mr Hanton’s concern for their plight, if anything, those approaching retirement age are likely to be the main obstacle to reform. Intergenerational inequality and animosity is set to become an increasingly prevalent issue for the developed world, changing demographics make it inevitable.

The current economic issue is how to tackle today’s debts, those of you in your 20s will face the task of tomorrow’s gargantuan debt mountain. That is likely to dwarf today’s problems.

 Those of you looking to learn more should visit http://www.intergenerational.org.uk/