—Illustration: Katharina Bitzl
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When the crisis began, the state was quick to act. Loans, short-time work benefits, emergency aid – all of this was as good as a done deal in the spring, when the counter was barely more than 10,000 confirmed Covid 19 cases. The coalition of the Union and the SPD, which often seemed sedate enough during the years in government, was suddenly as agile as a 20-year-old who has just returned from work and travel in Australia. The 62-year-old finance minister Olaf Scholz now put words like “oomph” in his mouth, and the new flexibility seemed to have an effect: the existence of a number of companies and millions of employees was initially secured. This is probably one of the reasons why the German economy grew significantly again in the third quarter after a crash in the spring.
In spite of all the criticism, the assistance apparently helped. And especially for those who already have something. The companies, the employees, the foundation of German prosperity. For those who have not yet made a direct contribution, the 19-year-olds who still want to go to Australia, or at least to them Uni to the neighboring country, it didn’t help much.
Young people were particularly an issue when they themselves became a problem
It took until mid-June for the bridging aid portal for students to go online. There was no real talk about loans for students in need until April. Instead of debating their problems and including those affected, young people were mainly an issue when they themselves became a problem. For example because they were seen as the main spreaders of the virus because of their social behavior.
Of course, caring for the seriously ill was a more pressing issue than the concerns of young people. But the past few months have not passed by without consequences for the under 30s. Resumes didn’t automatically get longer and more impressive; they got gaps. Tens of thousands of mini-jobs that many students depend on were canceled from one day to the next. Internships took place – if at all – in the home office if they were not canceled immediately. And that had consequences: According to a long-term study by the University of Erfurt, younger people feel more stressed than older people from the Corona crisis. Almost every or every second 15 to 30 year old has the impression his worries would “Not“ or “rather not“ heard.
During the Corona crisis, those in power showed how creatively they can solve problems. It is all the more astonishing that ingenuity seems to end with the inventors of tomorrow. There are loans and emergency aid, yes. But where were the ideas that give long-term courage and even involve young people directly? Bonuses for the young emergency helpers in the crisis, state money for ailing companies that continue to offer internships, concepts for parties that are not illegal and yet Corona-safe: everything can be discarded. But such ideas weren’t even thought out loud.
The fact that the younger ones themselves appeared so quiet during this crisis is probably due to the fact that their voice is underrepresented in political institutions. Twice as many people of retirement age sit in the Bundestag as under 30-year-olds. The boys hardly have top positions in unions and associations. In addition, it is not exactly easy to feel sorry for this age group. They have less responsibility for other groups that are worth protecting. They usually do not yet feed families, they have to look after older relatives less often or bring cold children to bed. At the same time, they are already quite independent, you no longer have to look after them like you would a minor child. They live in their own shared apartments, work as a trainee and receive scholarships. When it comes to 20-year-olds who have to turn their lives around for a few months, the first feeling is not the same as pity, but rather something like: Growing up is never easy. And anyway: Doesn’t the state have more important things to do than finance a few freshmen pasta with the good pesto from Rewe?
Of all the younger ones, many would agree with this statement. You are doing quite well in Germany overall. Most under 30s can go through life with optimism. You are well trained (for example 50 percent have a high school diploma). The majority is in Education financially supported by parents (more than 86 percent). And the labor market gently catches them (only six percent youth unemployment).
In addition, some do not seem to expect much from the state. “It never occurs to young people to demand state intervention and redistribution, even though they would benefit most from it themselves,” said the sociologist Patrick Sachweh 2017. For today’s younger generation it was one of the certainties that unemployment will fall, tax revenues will rise and crises will more or less pass this country by without a trace. Until now.
So is the best way to help the younger ones by supporting the older ones?
Those in power should also be aware of how well a large proportion of the young are doing. Not just because they have good chances on the job market. Should they fall, many of them will fall softly. At least in West Germany, parents and grandparents have a lot to bequeath. So is the best way to help the younger ones by supporting the older ones, who are still looking after their children and grandchildren?
One should not rely on that: Not everyone can benefit from their good education and the wealth of their parents. And: this crisis could affect the younger generation in the long term. A generation is growing up here that will grow up in crisis mode. Studies carried out long before the pandemic prove itthat it is especially the younger ones who suffer financially in the long term from past crises. Even decades later, they will earn less than the generations before and after them. The gaps in the curriculum vitae that are now emerging may be justified in a comprehensible manner (“There was a pandemic!”). But that doesn’t change the fact that the generations after and before will not have these gaps. This is a competitive disadvantage on the labor market.
Even before the corona crisis – evidenced by a comprehensive study – Finds that today’s under 30s are not as wealthy as those under 30 were 40 years ago. The belief that has been passed on for generations that one will have things better than one’s own parents is no longer in keeping with the times, at least in Western societies.
In southern Europe, as a result of the euro crisis, one has seen where it leads to if one neglects the young and, above all, relies on the fact that help for the elderly will somehow also help the younger ones. Youth unemployment is still now, more than ten years later, in Spain and Greece at around 40 percent. The youth in Germany are far from such devastating numbers. But nobody knows yet what long-term effects this crisis will have. It would therefore be all the more important to have a policy that promotes creativity and linguistic “oomph” for trainees, students and young professionals who cannot rely on the elderly to save them in the future.
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