We’re all witnessing a historical moment in the Middle East, as Libya prepares for the end of Moammar Gadhafi’s rule. And while the revolution that has taken six months to occur is in many ways remarkable, Americans may also be in the midst of our own, quieter moment in history: a lost decade. The recession has made it so that young people in particular are having a very difficult time beginning their careers, starting families and buying homes – so they’re delaying doing those things. The unemployment rate is hovering at 9.1 percent, and for people between the ages of 16 and 19, it was 25 percent in July. For those ages 20-24, it was 14.6 percent. Economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz parses out the toll that the 2008 recession took on our youngest workers and how long it will take them to recover from the loss of a false start in our economy.
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