Opinion

The Cost of Living is Stifling Gen Z

Sydney Adams-Smith | Staff Writer

As of lately, Boomers and Gen Xers have been coming down hard on Millennials and Gen Zers, expressing that the younger generations are not “doing enough.” They argue that young adults don’t have anything to their name because of their overconsumption of trivial things. An example of this is in 2017, when millionaire Tim Gurner struck controversy by saying younger generations would be able to afford housing if they would "stop buying avocado toast.” Thousands of people from older generations agreed with him.

Those Boomers and Gen Xers attack millennials and Gen Zers for failing to reach the same financial accomplishments that the older generations achieved in their 20s and 30s: owning property, owning a car, and paying off college debt. However, comparing the cost of things back in the day versus the cost of things now, it is unsurprising that today’s young people are having a hard time supporting themselves.

Rent annually rises, but the problem for young working people is that wages are not rising along with it. According to PropertyManangement.com, the average rent price in Los Angeles has risen 8.86% since 1980 and has consistently outpaced wage inflation. In 1980, the historical median monthly rent rate was $243. The monthly median rate alone for 2020 raised to $1,104.

“I think it’s getting way too expensive,” Santa Monica College (SMC) sophomore Daniella Josephy said. “The goal was to move out on my own soon, but now I’m worried I won’t be able to do that because of the increase in price. Rent prices are hardly manageable with the minimum wage.”

Rent isn’t the only expense that is getting unmanageable for young people. According to researchers at University of Detroit Mercy, 2020’s average cost of living for a household in Los Angeles was $64,048 a year. According to gobankingrates.com the average minimum wage worker salary is $31,200 a year. With most good paying jobs requiring higher education and experience, that leaves younger people and those without college degrees with working for minimum wage part-time positions.

Even the people who are fortunate enough to have work experience and degrees are finding it hard to land jobs that will allow them to support themselves. Many people are voicing that living paycheck to paycheck is infeasible no matter how many credentials one has.

Dr. Titi Afolabi shared her experience with job hunting in a post on her Twitter account. “I have a Bachelor’s from Yale and a medical degree from Harvard and I still live paycheck to paycheck,” she tweeted on May 2.

Raising the minimum wage without raising the price of other living costs should be a start at fixing this problem. “As for job requirements and pay, I don’t think they line up anymore. We’re expected to do so much for our jobs and still don’t get paid decently,” Josephy said.

America needs to do more to ensure young people do not have to overwork themselves just to have a chance at living a comfortable life. Some great ways to make life more affordable for everybody are raising the minimum wage without raising the cost of living, making jobs more accepting towards people with little experience, and providing more higher paying jobs for people who don't have degrees in higher education. It shouldn't be the norm for young people to struggle to live while doing everything they possibly can.

The Toll of War Hits Home

Leo Gilad | Staff Writer

On April 13, right outside of a pedestrian border crossing point in San Ysidro, Calif., a relief camp sat waiting to assist Ukrainian refugees crossing the Mexican-American border. According to a sign, press was prohibited from entering the camp – though ‘camp’ may be a generous word to describe the motley of seating and canvas. Ukrainian arrivals received food and places to sit as they waited for their hosts to pick them up or for their buses to bring them to a nearby hotel. Interviewing the refugees was a challenge, as language proved to be another barrier they had to overcome since most spoke not a word of English.

It was this relief spot in San Ysidro that finally conveyed to me the true cost of war. Despite having interviewed Ukrainian-Americans with their tears and anguish, it was only through the numbed silence of the refugees, through the realization that they would never see their homes again, that the cost of war truly resonated with me.

“Now we are safe, fortunately, but in Ukraine, it’s a very difficult situation. Our other relatives are not safe now. They are hiding in some underground place,” said Dasha Yashchyshyna. Her family stood around her, protective in their body language. They seemed hesitant to trust the American reporters.

In contrast, the young Yashchyshyna is more open to sharing her experiences escaping Ukraine. She has a cheery disposition in spite of everything she’s

been through.

Although many European countries, such as Poland and the United Kingdom, were accepting displaced Ukrainians, Yashchyshyna’s family chose to travel across the Atlantic to seek refuge in the United States. When asked why her family had decided to come to the U.S., she said, “Because it’s one of the best countries in the world, and I think

A young Ukrainian girl is embraced by her sister outside of the San Ysidro Border Port Crossing in San Ysidro, Calif., on April 12. (Sarah Nachimson | The Corsair) that here there’s a good future for children, for me, and my parents.” As someone who grew up in the United States, I witnessed many of its gaping flaws firsthand. When I lived in Europe, I’d see many people look down on the United States. The homelessness crisis. The lack of affordable education. The mass shooting epidemic. However, Yashchyshyna was convinced, like many other Ukrainians, that the U.S. was a place to one day call home.

Yashchyshyna’s journey was long and arduous. “We left Ukraine and drove to Bucharest. From the airport, we flew to Madrid. From there, we flew to Bogota. From Bogota we flew to Mexico, then they said our flight was canceled. We waited there for 12 hours. Then we flew to Tijuana, and in the airport, there were volunteers that helped us. We went to a camp for Ukrainian refugees at night we went to the border and crossed.” Reporters reacted to this story with open-mouthed horror. When asked if it was a stressful experience, she said, “We were tired. My sister had a bloody nose because she was so tired. But I think everything will be okay.”

The story of Yashchyshyna's family's journey is enough to completely change the way one views war. Rather than it being a distant conflict, it became real. It became something life-altering. Due to the onslaught of suffering in the news, people become desensitized to violence. Seeing the Ukrainian refugees in-person changed my perspective entirely. For the first time, I saw the true cost of war.