---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 21:35:31 -0500
From: Caper <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: cb-politics <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Generational Disparity
The Sat. Dec 6 Toronto Star has front page articles and a twelve page
section without a single advertisement on how poorly 18 to 30 year olds are
doing in Toronto. Cape Bretoners in this age group who might be considering
heading for the big smoke may want to consider the plight of others already
there. You can probably get the paper at you local library in a few days,
depending on the postal backlog.
Toronto usually gets better press than Cape Breton so it's easy to get the
impression that moving to Toronto is a solution to all kinds problems. These
articles in the Star are unusual. They detail the problems of a large
segment of Toronto's society. Generational disparity seems to be a worldwide
problem, not just a Cape Breton problem. I won't tell anyone to not come to
Ontario, well maybe I would, but, folks should know when they are jumping
out of the frying pan and into the toilet.
Headlines, captions, & quotes from Lives on Hold:
- Lives on Hold
- Why aren't they working?
- Many are jobless or just getting by but they are willing & well educated.
They all need a break.
- A 27 year old student with a $57,000 debt
- Almost half of those who were out of school were either unemployed or
earning $1,000 a month or less
-This isn't where I expected to be
- Who feels underemployed? 63%...
- Youth left 'struggling for basics' as companies enjoy boom times
- Hardworking, Educated, Underemployed, Debt-ridden, Determined, Eager,
Angry, Confused, Confident, Disconnected, ...
- We can cut it, if given a chance
- Education is seen as the gateway to success but, once out of school, the
best jobs are often entry-level retail & clerical.
- Why didn't somebody set me straight? Unemployed & living on her nearly
maxed-out credit cards
- There is no stability. People are losing track of their goals. I'd kill to
have a house by the time I'm 35, but, there is not a chance.
- Contacts are the curse of today's society
- I never thought I be sharing an apartment with my mother-in-law after I
was married
And so it goes. There's lots more. I stopped halfway through the Lives on
Hold section. Not great news but information that might be considered when
comparing life in Cheticamp vs. Islington and highway 401. At least give me
that problems don't disappear at the causeway and that generational
pressures are not exclusive too the Island.
David
