Fewer high schoolers are working to set aside money for college, and more Democratic presidential candidates are working to give these teens free college tuition.
Seems like it’s a good time to be a teenager and a bad time to be a taxpayer.
It’s not that there aren’t plenty of jobs available for high schoolers. Unemployment is at a historic low. In fact, we’re starting to see some small businesses either close or adjust their hours in order to maintain services.
The food services industry has been hit especially hard. There have been a few recent closings of small-town, but well-established, restaurants in Northeast Iowa due to the acute labor shortage.
Historically, it wasn’t always this way—even during times of low unemployment.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 60% of teens aged 16 – 19 participated in the labor force in 1979. That number has gradually declined, and it’s projected to be just 26% by 2024.
The numbers align with a slightly different age group, studied by the Pew Research Center. It found that one in five 15 – 17 year-olds worked at all in 2018. About 30% of 15 – 17 year-olds worked in 2002. Close to 50% of 15 – 17 year-olds worked in 1968.
At the same time, more and more restaurants are opening to serve an increasing population and greater demand. In Iowa, the Restaurant Association predicts that the number of restaurant and food service jobs will grow by 10% in the next 10 years.
But how many of these restaurants can survive and thrive without a sufficient labor pool?
It’s not that anyone wants or expects our youth to work long labor hours. But picking up one or two shifts a week at a local restaurant or other small business could provide teaching moments that can’t be learned in the classroom, as well as provide an income that could be set aside for college. And it could be just enough for these businesses to fill some important labor gaps.
To be fair, high schoolers aren’t idle. Students, today, are taking tougher and more advanced classes designed for college preparation and credit. Lots of those classes happen during the summer months, making employment more difficult.
Many colleges accept the successful completion of Advanced Placement classes taken during the high school years as college credit. In 1985, only about 10% of high school students enrolled in these classes. Today, that number has easily quadrupled. It’s not uncommon to hear of students beginning college years with one or even two years of college already completed—thanks to AP credits earned during high school.
That’s more than big savings. It’s basically one or two years of free college.
Which brings us back to our Democratic presidential candidates. Most of them say they want to provide some type of free college tuition.
We have the privilege of seeing many of these candidates on the campaign trail in Iowa. The next time one of them talks about using tax dollars to provide free college tuition, ask about the teenager who is choosing not to work. Ask about the teenager who is entering college with one or two years already paid for through AP classes.
College graduates are trying to do the responsible thing and pay off student loan debt, but some are struggling with high interest loans. Ask candidates why it wouldn’t be better to reward personal responsibility by reducing interest rates on loans, instead of providing another entitlement program called free college.
The reality is that today’s teens are less likely to work than any other generation before them. On top of that, free college would give them more entitlements than any other generation before them.
That’s progressive thought, but doesn’t sound much like societal progress.
Moving the Conversation Along 