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Redback Quarterly #9
Generation Less: How Australia is Cheating the Young
A country that makes no room for the young is a country that will forfeit a fair future. This must not become Australia.
Today's young Australians are the first generation since the Great Depression to be worse off than their parents. And so, just as we have seen the gap between rich and poor widen over recent decades, we're beginning to see young and old pull apart in ways that will wear at our common bonds.
It's time to decide what kind of future we want for this country. Will it be one where young Australians enjoy the same opportunities to build stable, secure lives as their parents and grandparents had? And can we do right by the elderly without making second-class citizens of the young.
Urgent and convincing, Generation Less investigates the life prospects of young Australians. It looks at their emotional life, their access to credit, education and fulfilling jobs, and considers whether they will ever be able to buy a house. A wake-up call for young and old alike, Generation Less is a smart, funny and ground-breaking blueprint for a fairer future.
'A bold and original work. Jennifer Rayner is one of the most important new voices in Australia today.' -George Megalogenis
Jennifer Rayner was born into the aspirational suburbia of the Hawke years, and came of age in the long boom of the Howard era. Her lifetime has tracked alongside the yawning inequalities that have opened up across the Australian community in the past 30 years. She has worked as a federal political adviser, an international youth ambassador in Indonesia and a private sector consultant, and holds a PhD from the Australian National University.
Today's young Australians are the first generation since the Great Depression to be worse off than their parents. And so, just as we have seen the gap between rich and poor widen over recent decades, we're beginning to see young and old pull apart in ways that will wear at our common bonds.
It's time to decide what kind of future we want for this country. Will it be one where young Australians enjoy the same opportunities to build stable, secure lives as their parents and grandparents had? And can we do right by the elderly without making second-class citizens of the young.
Urgent and convincing, Generation Less investigates the life prospects of young Australians. It looks at their emotional life, their access to credit, education and fulfilling jobs, and considers whether they will ever be able to buy a house. A wake-up call for young and old alike, Generation Less is a smart, funny and ground-breaking blueprint for a fairer future.
'A bold and original work. Jennifer Rayner is one of the most important new voices in Australia today.' -George Megalogenis
Jennifer Rayner was born into the aspirational suburbia of the Hawke years, and came of age in the long boom of the Howard era. Her lifetime has tracked alongside the yawning inequalities that have opened up across the Australian community in the past 30 years. She has worked as a federal political adviser, an international youth ambassador in Indonesia and a private sector consultant, and holds a PhD from the Australian National University.
192 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2016
7 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Rayner
4Ìýbooks5ÌýfollowersJennifer Rayner was born into the aspirational suburbia of the Hawke years, and came of age in the long boom of the Howard era. Her lifetime has tracked alongside the yawning inequalities that have opened up across the Australian community in the past 30 years. She has worked as a federal political adviser, an international youth ambassador in Indonesia and a private sector consultant, and holds a PhD from the Australian National University.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 20, 2017
A white spoiled child has a good life. An fairy tale life compared with most of the world around. But the rich white spoiled child has discovered that the whole generation might not be able to be even richer than the previous generation of rich white spoiled children. This is not a book about reason, it is practically a tantrum throwing numbers and quotes. And the solution? Vote Jennifer Rayner! Now with your wallet. But given the rise in populism, who knows, a political career is quite natural given Jennifer seems to have specialized in state paid jobs.
January 2, 2018
I can't help but compare Generation Less to Adult Fantasy because they both tread similar ground in charting how screwed we as millennials are due to a combination of increasingly unaffordable housing prices, escalating job insecurity and casualisation of labour, and a political process that actively excludes us. Generation Less is more heavily researched than Adult Fantasy and reads less like memoir, but while Briohny Doyle was able to capture the shifting goalposts of adulthood with anecdotal narratives that I greatly resonated with (being a childless, unmarried 20-something myself), a conservative streak runs through Rayner's book that's hard to move past, evidenced by lines such as this on having children: "But there's no surer way to feel part of something beyond yourself than taking care of a small being who turns to you as if to sunlight...To put off having kids is to hold at a distance the deep satisfactions and webbed bonds of connection they bring with them." Such lazy justifications play into the reductionist view that women can't attain fulfillment without having children of their own, and blames the malaise engulfing our generation on the fact that we're waiting until later in life (or not at all) to have babies. There is no space within this critique for a feminist interrogation on why divorce rates are rising and why women are increasingly choosing to be childless, neither of which I necessarily see as a bad thing. Rayner's arguments are also rife with contradictions. After dedicating several pages to the precarious material conditions that greet many young Australians, Rayner goes on to say this about the lack of entrepreneurial culture in Australia: "It's more than a little embarrassing that so many Australians would rather push paper at a big bank than be their own bosses because they're scared of the risk involved." After reading Rayner's dissection into how we will be the first generation to be worse off than the generation before us, it's no wonder we're less willing to sacrifice whatever little life savings we have on setting up our own businesses. The book is a fast enough read and arms you with useful statistics that you can wield whenever the next smashed avocado debacle takes place, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me.
January 9, 2018
Anyone who talks to young Australians knows that they're incandescent with barely contained rage about woes like climate change and housing unaffordability � issues largely exacerbated by previous generations.
Here, Rayner compiles the data that supports the case for that sense of injustice. And yes, I've no doubt there are people queuing up to pooh-pooh the facts.
But surely a normal human being in possession of a shred of empathy can remember how difficult it was to be a broke student or a nervous first-home buyer staring down the barrel of a large mortgage, regardless of their own experiences?
The lack of empathy in the current debate is what always astounds me, and to be honest I feel Rayner is too fair on the politicians and pundits who've blithely shrugged off the misery of the young. I only hope this book acts as another brick in the dam that can turn the tide for the better.
Here, Rayner compiles the data that supports the case for that sense of injustice. And yes, I've no doubt there are people queuing up to pooh-pooh the facts.
But surely a normal human being in possession of a shred of empathy can remember how difficult it was to be a broke student or a nervous first-home buyer staring down the barrel of a large mortgage, regardless of their own experiences?
The lack of empathy in the current debate is what always astounds me, and to be honest I feel Rayner is too fair on the politicians and pundits who've blithely shrugged off the misery of the young. I only hope this book acts as another brick in the dam that can turn the tide for the better.
February 21, 2018
Some elements could be more fleshed out, and while I appreciated the accessibility, I think better judgment could be used for the choice of colloquial tone in some parts. Nonetheless, this is an important book, and a great overview and starting point for taking seriously the concerns of young Australians.
April 9, 2016
Jennifer Rayner is an Australian woman under 30 who is angry about how the older generations (of which I am a part) have cheated and are cheating her age group and those younger and presents a cavalcade of evidence to back up her contention from various statistical and research sources, to personal experience, as well as the situations of friends and colleagues. Her intellectual background is economics, in which she has a PhD and she writes incisively and intelligently with sharp wit and cynicism thrown in.
There are lots of comparisons between the situation of her parents' generation and her cohort, regarding employment issues like wages, job security and career to the ability to save, price and availability of housing, mortgages and renting, to differing political perspectives, political power and interest in democracy. She unpacks stereotypes applied to her generation, and discusses their well-being, an important topic that seems not to get the prominence it deserves. Some suggestions are presented towards the end of the book regarding how to address these issues.
Rayner's depiction of older people doesn't fit me as an individual, but then I'm a kind of outlier, as others would be. But her material presents the current situation extremely accurately. There are a number of overlapping issues for the whole of society that need serious attention; they impact on the old as well as the young, and so both cohorts' issues need to be addressed. However, the issue of younger generations is crucial for the future of the country and deserves much more than variants of discipline and punish, whether it be in the job market, housing, education or anywhere else. There doesn't seem to be a social strategy from anyone.
The solutions put forward by Rayner are mostly economics-based, which is not a favoured field as I think the person can be left out all too easily in economic modelling, as well as some social realities missed; nonetheless the ideas are mostly with merit, even for me.
She also suggests lowering the voting age to 16, partly on the basis that they can be registered to vote more easily because they're likely to be at school and at home. It's an interesting notion. Civics classes get a mention as well, which seem to have disappeared since the 1960s when I learned about how parliament etc worked and my sister as well in a different format. Rayner also advocates raising the fines for not voting. Australia has compulsory voting, which I support, seeing it as a minimiser of corruption and a way of expressing your responsibility as a citizen.
This is another train travel book, which makes me think about locating the other texts Redback Publishing has put out. If you're not an Australian, or haven't visited, this book should still be of interest as it references other countries and is dealing with general problems in western societies.
You might like the writing style, too; I wish I could have written that well at 29. It's only a 4 because I don't give out 5 stars if I can help it.
There are lots of comparisons between the situation of her parents' generation and her cohort, regarding employment issues like wages, job security and career to the ability to save, price and availability of housing, mortgages and renting, to differing political perspectives, political power and interest in democracy. She unpacks stereotypes applied to her generation, and discusses their well-being, an important topic that seems not to get the prominence it deserves. Some suggestions are presented towards the end of the book regarding how to address these issues.
Rayner's depiction of older people doesn't fit me as an individual, but then I'm a kind of outlier, as others would be. But her material presents the current situation extremely accurately. There are a number of overlapping issues for the whole of society that need serious attention; they impact on the old as well as the young, and so both cohorts' issues need to be addressed. However, the issue of younger generations is crucial for the future of the country and deserves much more than variants of discipline and punish, whether it be in the job market, housing, education or anywhere else. There doesn't seem to be a social strategy from anyone.
The solutions put forward by Rayner are mostly economics-based, which is not a favoured field as I think the person can be left out all too easily in economic modelling, as well as some social realities missed; nonetheless the ideas are mostly with merit, even for me.
She also suggests lowering the voting age to 16, partly on the basis that they can be registered to vote more easily because they're likely to be at school and at home. It's an interesting notion. Civics classes get a mention as well, which seem to have disappeared since the 1960s when I learned about how parliament etc worked and my sister as well in a different format. Rayner also advocates raising the fines for not voting. Australia has compulsory voting, which I support, seeing it as a minimiser of corruption and a way of expressing your responsibility as a citizen.
This is another train travel book, which makes me think about locating the other texts Redback Publishing has put out. If you're not an Australian, or haven't visited, this book should still be of interest as it references other countries and is dealing with general problems in western societies.
You might like the writing style, too; I wish I could have written that well at 29. It's only a 4 because I don't give out 5 stars if I can help it.
November 27, 2021
The author is 30. She is of the generation that hasn't been able to afford to buy a home and probably never will be able to. Mainly because of insecurity of employment. Casualisation of the workforce means insecurity and getting ripped off. In the past the unions were good at protecting employees' working conditions but the gains they made have been frittered away as governments have gradually empowered employers to gain more and more power over their employees.
The over 50s run the country for their own benefit. Under 30s have little say. The housing market is a good example. Cashed up homeowners over 50 buying investment properties are crowding out first home buyers under 30. Tax policies make investment properties a nobrainer for over 50s homeowners especially negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts. The author is right to advocate abolishing or restricting these policies to give under 30s a fair go. Housing for all is more important than great investment opportunities for a privileged minority.
The book is not just a rant from a young person aimed at old people. She admits that young people tend to whine and do nothing when they do have the opportunity to get involved in politics and have their say for example by at least enrolling to vote and turning up to vote at elections.
I am 59.
The over 50s run the country for their own benefit. Under 30s have little say. The housing market is a good example. Cashed up homeowners over 50 buying investment properties are crowding out first home buyers under 30. Tax policies make investment properties a nobrainer for over 50s homeowners especially negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts. The author is right to advocate abolishing or restricting these policies to give under 30s a fair go. Housing for all is more important than great investment opportunities for a privileged minority.
The book is not just a rant from a young person aimed at old people. She admits that young people tend to whine and do nothing when they do have the opportunity to get involved in politics and have their say for example by at least enrolling to vote and turning up to vote at elections.
I am 59.
November 19, 2017
Oh what a bitter young woman the author is. The language used towards our elderly is quite horrid. It assumes the premise that all older people are loaded with money, own multiple houses and have stacks of super with well paying stable and secure jobs. It assumes all young people have casual low paying jobs with huge university fees and no chance of ever getting their own homes. This is not what I see in my circle of people. I would only agree with her on one point being the high cost of properties.
July 18, 2016
Fascinating book. I liked the writing style, and the premise seemed fair and supported by evidence.
June 14, 2018
Pretty bog standard book about inter generational income inequality written with young people in mind. Not that exciting or nuanced.
Read
March 23, 2017It's a short book, and very self deprecating. I don't think there were any revelations but it was researched to explain things.
I came away more interested in how she's (personally) financially struggling after being married with a mortgage and now being separated with a child, and how her income has changed in that period and impacted her choices or decisions in housing.
I came away more interested in how she's (personally) financially struggling after being married with a mortgage and now being separated with a child, and how her income has changed in that period and impacted her choices or decisions in housing.
November 30, 2017
3.5 stars. It's not just happening in Australia, sadly, but all over the world too.
January 1, 2018
3.8 stars
May 18, 2016
A thoroughly enraging read, Jennifer Rayner's "Generation Less" picks apart the lazy rhetoric criticising 'kidults' to examine the very real structural and demographic changes that make it so very much harder for anyone in Australia born after about 1965 to obtain the house, the family, the job, and so on - all those markers of adulthood that they are so roundly criticised for not having. It ends with some ideas about fixing the issues it raises, but notes that even these fixes will likely be too little, too late for a generation largely sunk in economic disadvantage.
March 14, 2016
An excellent analysis of the current state of wealth, work and wellbeing of young Australians. Written in a very approachable style with facts and figures utilised to drive home the author's arguments clearly and without any wonkish waffling on. Actually very entertaining! And the author is obviously highly intelligent - she really gets policy and politics and explains them in a way that any layperson can understand. More from Jennifer Rayner please!
June 23, 2016
Relevant, insightful and at time humorous.
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