Young people in America are victims of a system that is denying them a future. What kind of education can a young person expect to get in a school system being slashed of funding, understaffed, and with inadequate resources? What kind of job can they expect to get when they reach adulthood and start looking for jobs? The politicians and their corporate masters have an answer! If they don’t have a place for you slaving away for their profit, there’s a jail cell waiting. Or you can ship off to fight and die in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is the future they are offering.
Failed By the School System
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Every year, 1.3 million students drop out of high school, 30 percent of the population.
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The number is even higher for minorities. Some 50 percent of all Black and Latino youth drop out of high school.
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Studies show that 7 percent of young people, and 23 percent of all young Black men ages 16 to 24 who have dropped out of high school are in the prison system,
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Some 40 percent of all young dropouts in the country were jobless for the entire year.
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The average income for a high school dropout is $8,358 per year.
No Jobs, No Future
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During the economic recession, seven million young workers have been laid off.
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Youth unemployment is at 26 percent on average, but this includes rates as high as 50 percent for Black youth.
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Many jobs are part time or temporary. According to National Public Radio, only 14 out of every 100 young Black men in America actually have steady jobs.
Stuffed into Prisons
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There are 2.3 million adults in prison.
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One in 28 children in the U.S. Has a parent in prisons.
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There are roughly 100,000 young people currently in prisons and youth detention centers.
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Studies show twelve percent of young people were sexually assaulted while locked up.
The Poverty Draft – Young People in the Army
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According to the Associated Press, 75 percent of army recruits come from low-income communities, half from cities where poverty is above the national average.
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The average age of recruits is 20 years to 22 years old.
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The average age of soldiers killed fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is 23 years old.
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The armed forces are allowed to enlist people as young as 17 years old, eligible for deployment when they are 18 years old.
No Future in Their System
Young people today have no future in a system run by the corporations and banks. These forces are saying loud and clear that young people don’t have a place in their world.
They are right. We have no future in their system, which is why we need throw it out and build a new world where education, housing, health care, and a future are a right for every young person.
