Source: Axios
Young people's labor market pessimism is being misdiagnosed as tech panic when the real culprits are wage stagnation, credential inflation, and housing costs that have severed the historical link between college degrees and middle-class stability. Employers are simultaneously demanding entry-level workers with 3+ years of experience while offering salaries unchanged since 2015, creating a structural trap that makes AI just the most visible scapegoat for a broken intergenerational contract. Consumer behavior, political alignment, and entrepreneurship will increasingly be shaped by cohorts that see traditional employment as a losing game rather than a pathway—whether or not they're actually displaced by automation.