No Mercy / No Malice: War on the Young

As read by George Hahn. https://www.profgmedia.com/p/war-on-the-young Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:31Speaker 00

  Hogging seats on a crowded train, not saying excuse me, watching videos on your phone with no headphones in. Sometimes it feels like we don't know how to act anymore.

• 0:42Speaker 01

  What we have been seeing increasingly is people breaking rules. Why should I play by the rules if nobody else is going to do that for me?

• 0:51Speaker 00

  This week on Explain It To Me, How To Mind Your Manners. New episodes Sundays, wherever you get your podcasts.

• 1:01George Hahn?

  Two months ago, I called bullshit on the AI jobs apocalypse narrative. More recently, Sam Altman, Dario Emodi, and other AI leaders pumped the brakes on their claims of a coming white collar bloodbath. The zombie narrative marches on, however, supporting the incorrect conclusion that AI is to blame for the bleak job market young people face. But according to new research from LSE, Oxford, and the New York Fed, the AI effect nearly disappears when you control for remote work. Translation: The reason your kid can't find a job isn't AI.

• 1:45George Hahn?

  It's your couch. See my recent deep dive on this topic. Work from home, like so many other choices our society embraces, is yet another front in our war on the young. That war was the subject of my 2024 TED Talk, which was the number one presentation last year, week flex. Sadly, the war continues. This week, we share a rerun. War on the Young, originally published April 19, 2024.

• 2:23Scott Galloway?

  I'm Scott Galloway, and this is No Mercy, No Malice. Do we love our children? We say we do, but as a society, our actions suggest otherwise. War on the Young, as read by George Hahn.

• 2:47George Hahn?

  This week, I spoke at TED 2024, the iconic program's 40th anniversary event. I joined RuPaul, Kesha, and two different astrophysicists on the stage in Vancouver. I was given 15 minutes and took 17 to rifle through 47 slides articulating what I believe is the greatest challenge facing the US. It's not inequality, climate change, or war in the Middle East, but an issue that threads these threats together: America's war on the young. A war of mutually assured destruction. A decent proxy for the success of a society is how it treats children.

• 3:32George Hahn?

  Not how individuals parent, but the success of the structures, incentives, and leadership charged with preventing a tragedy of the commons. In sum, can we answer a simple question? Do we love our children? In 2024 America, the rejoinder is disheartening. We've broken the social contract that binds America. Work hard, play by the rules, and you'll be better off than your parents were. For the first time in our nation's history, this is no longer true. Today's 25-year-olds make less than their parents and grandparents did at the same

• 4:14George Hahn?

  age, yet they carry student debt loads unimaginable to earlier generations. Neither the minimum nor median wage has kept pace with inflation or productivity gains, while housing costs have outpaced them. The statistics on children's and young adults' well-being are staggering. None of this is lost on young people, and the shattering of the social contract has left them feeling rage and shame. Half of Americans older than 55 say they are extremely proud to be American. That number drops to 18% among 18- to 34-year-olds.

• 4:59George Hahn?

  This weakens the immunity system of America, allowing minor cuts to US society to bring on deadly opportunistic infections. Just as when someone in your life blows up at you, it's about the issue at hand, and it isn't. American youth's warranted concern on social justice issues, despite remarkable progress on all these issues, turns seamlessly into rage. We don't lack the resources to level up young people and present the opportunities afforded my generation, but the cohorts who benefited most from the extraordinary post-war economic

• 5:40George Hahn?

  boom of the 20th century have pulled the ladder up behind them. In 1989, adults under 40 held 12% of household wealth, while those over 70 held 19%. Today, those under 40 command just 7% of household wealth, while those over 70 control 30%. Higher education is the most effective means of closing the generation gap. But the incumbents have artificially constrained access, sequestering opportunity largely to

• 6:21George Hahn?

  wealthy households, peppered with a few freakishly remarkable kids from the lower 90% to smear Vaseline over the casting of higher ed. Elite schools tout their financial aid, emphasizing that students with median household incomes pay little or no tuition. But it's a head fake. Being more generous with a select few low-income students only wallpapers over exclusivity, when the goal should be to eliminate it. We have simply reshuffled the elites. Harvard's undergraduate class size has been static at 1,600 for half a century, while

• 7:05George Hahn?

  its endowment has grown nearly 500%. When your top-line revenue is up sixfold, but you purposefully do not increase production, you are no longer a public servant but a Chanel bag. Single-digit admissions rates are the ultimate vanity metric, something deans and donors brag about at cocktail parties when they should be a mark of shame. As I've proposed before, we should offer higher ed a grand bargain. Redirect the money earmarked for bailing out the one-third of America that has attended

• 7:45George Hahn?

  college to increasing freshman seats and reducing costs. The Biden administration's proposed student bailouts shrink the tumor but don't address the underlying cancer: declining affordability and accessibility. We have elevated capital over sweat, i.e. labor. The public is numb to this mythology, benefiting the incumbents who've created it. Back in 2008, when the market crashed, young-ish people like me, coming into our prime income-earning years, were able to buy growth stocks at low valuations.

• 8:27George Hahn?

  The foundation of my economic security was buying Amazon at $7, $179 today, and Apple at $7, $167 today, and Netflix at $12, $611 today. Ever since, however, we've inflated asset prices by pumping them full of steroids and stimulus using low corporate tax rates and bailouts that are financed on the backs of young people. "Keep me rich on your credit card," said every American over the age of 50 to citizens younger than them.

• 9:07George Hahn?

  In sum, real median income from labor is up 40% since 1974, while the S&P 500 is up 4,000%. We've protected the wealth created by ownership at the expense of income earned by labor through the tax code, which favors gains from investments. Gains from stock sales are taxes at lower capital gains rates. Real estate holdings can appreciate tax-free, and once sold, the gains can be rolled into another investment. Again, a series of transfers of wealth from earners, youth, to owners, seniors.

• 9:52George Hahn?

  And what taxes are collected are increasingly redistributed to the generation who needs them least. In 1985, the federal government spent three times more per capita on seniors than it did on kids. By 2019, that ratio has risen to eight times. We've cut senior poverty from 17% in the 1970s to 9% today, which is admirable. But child poverty has risen over that same period, from 16% to 19%.

• 10:27George Hahn?

  El demo en "Democratic" está fallando en nosotros, mientras que los senadores votan a los senadores en el cargo que luego votan a sí mismos más dinero. Sin límites de edad ni límites de plazo, y las tasas de reelección incumbente más de 90%, los asientos en el Congreso se han convertido en apuntes de vida. Nancy Pelosi puede ser la más rápida 83 años en el Congreso, pero su tiempo ha pasado. Tiene una hija que nació durante la administración Johnson, cuando menos de un tercio de las casas tenía una TV de color. ¿Realmente se relaciona nuestra dirección con los desafíos que enfrenta una chica de 15 años recibiendo mensajes de dieta extrema por Meta?

• 11:12George Hahn?

  ¿O la crisis de adicción de jóvenes en aplicaciones de aportes de juego basadas en el teléfono? Necesitamos un impulso para recalibrar y transferir la riqueza, pero se ha reducido con represión que cuesta trillones. D.C. se ha convertido en una cruz entre los muertos caminantes y las chicas de oro. Sus denigrados ven a los vivos, jóvenes, como nutrición versus el futuro. Para apoyar al rey Minos de Crete, la antigua Atenas sacrificó a siete jóvenes hombres y siete jóvenes mujeres al ministro que guardó bajo su palacio. Entonces Théssia deshizo al ministro.

• 11:53George Hahn?

  Hoy en Estados Unidos, ofrecemos una generación entera a los ministradores de la Big Tech, y nuestro Théssia, el Congreso, puede solo estar por allí y hacer discursos. La depresión adolescente y el daño a la propia salud, la bullying, la soledad y la obesidad han subido desde que las redes sociales comenzaron a traerlos 24/7. Desde 2017, el Congreso ha tenido 40 audiencias sobre niños y redes sociales y no ha pasado nada para abordar el problema. Los demócratas y los republicanos han introducido legislación, incluyendo la "Age Gate Social"

• 12:34George Hahn?

  y la reforma de la sección 230, que inmuniza las plataformas de Internet de la mayoría de la litigación, pero nada se hace. En la última lectura dramática de "¿Qué nos da?" el senador Dick Durbin admitió a la falla: "La industria de la tecnología solo es culpable de la situación en la que estamos. Nosotros en el Congreso tenemos que mirar en el espejo." Necesitamos hacer que las plataformas de tecnología sean responsables de los daños que causan. Deberíamos eliminar la barrera de responsabilidad de la sección 230 para contenido algoritmicamente elevado.

• 13:15George Hahn?

  La libertad de expresión no es gratis. Estados Unidos es el décimo país más feliz del mundo para personas más de 60 años y el 62º más feliz para personas menos de 30. Los jóvenes están desfavorecidos económicamente, amenazados por el cambio climático y sin voz gracias a nuestra política disfuncional. Y han sido manipulados desde la infancia por un cóctel tóxico de instintos paleolíticos, instituciones medievales y tecnología godre. Hemos roto el contrato social, y las generaciones más jóvenes no van a cumplir con su fin.

• 13:59George Hahn?

  En 1993, el 60% de los niños de 30 a 34 años tenía al menos un hijo. Hoy, ese número es el 27%. Los jóvenes no están juntándose ni casándose, y las consecuencias serán duros. El trabajo de los jóvenes alimenta a la economía, y sus impuestos pagan los servicios consumidos por los ancianos. Sin un empleo robusto de la juventud, la Seguridad Social se desmoronará, el servicio de deuda consumirá el presupuesto federal y la Commonwealth colapsará. Hemos creado un futuro tan inapercibible que la juventud está optando por salir.

• 14:42George Hahn?

  Los incumbentes lanzarán sus brazos como un ocho a los que niega tomar responsabilidad. La plena de complejidad es una ilusión. Cada problema que hemos levantado sobre los jóvenes puede ser abordado. Tenemos la parte difícil resuelta: cómo crecer la economía a un ritmo sostenible para pagar por programas que podrían cambiar las cosas. Hay solo unos pocos programas y correcciones que podríamos probar en economía, tecnología, política social y salud mental. Tuve mi primer hijo a 42 años, y cambió mi vida. Me convertí más responsable, enfocado, preocupado por el futuro y empatía.

• 15:27George Hahn?

  En algunos, me convertí en un mejor estadounidense. Los niños nos hacen mejores. Nos preocupamos por nuestros hijos, pero ¿amamos a los niños? En algún lugar, perdimos el script como sociedad. Si tenemos los recursos para abordar estos problemas, y lo hacemos, Nvidia agregó un cuarto de un trillón a la economía en cinco minutos después de los ingresos. Pero continúe mirando el otro lado, entonces tenemos que preguntarnos: ¿Es América valiosa para invertir? ¿Realmente amamos a nuestros hijos? La vida es tan rica.