McDaniel, S.A., et al (2013). - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

McDaniel, S.A., et al (2013).

Generationing

relations in challenging times: Americans and Canadians in mid-life in the Great Recession,

Current Sociology,

61 (3) 301-321

.

Survey of a few individuals in

mid-

life who

are affected by the shock of the 2008 economic crisis

– comparing those in US and in Canada

US: greater impact and hardships due to:

home

foreclosures,

bank and personal bankruptcies

,

high unemployment

and

increasing # of people who fell into

poverty.

Canada: Is a contrast to the US due to a different financial system with safeguards:

Fewer home

foreclosures,

fewer

bankruptcies and

much less levels of unemployment

.

Slide2

Baby boomers born between 1946-1964 :

78mill

Gen X born early1960 to early 1980s: 48mill

Gen Y also called

Millennials

: born early 1980s to the early 2000 77mill

Gen

y characteristics -

diversity-

a mix of minorities (ethnicity, race etc.) By 2016 they will be 1 in 3

of the US

population

$325 billion in spending power

Gen Z born mid-2000 to now

Slide3

Generationing

: Generation as a notion is attributed to a process that begins during the formative years and continues through other stages of life

During one’s formative years, i.e., life’s crucial stages that define historical, social and biographical experiences, generation building occurs. These experiences

formed during

the youthful period

become

a specific common generational view. Thus these experiences are the basis of the process called

generationing

.

(

Alanen

, L. (2001). Childhood as generational condition: Children’s daily lives in central Finland town. In L.

Alanen

& B.

Mayal

(Eds.), Conceptualizing child-adult relations (pp. 129–143). London:

Routledge

.)

Slide4

Generationing

is used to study:

Multigenerations

’ experiences of the historical and social events and the techno-cultural milieu in which they live

They are expressed in the collective narrative of the generations’ memories and how they frame their interpretations of the times in which they have experienced these events

These influence the way they live and would continue to live in the future

One generation’s experiences also become shared experiences of the earlier and the following generations’ experiences

However, the shared narratives and memories are different for different generations.

The same decade of history may be narrated or remembered differently depending on one’s generational belonging.

Generationing

as a process produces a generational identity i.e., self definitions are integrated to form this identity. Identity with one’s own generation and differentiating from other generations.

Slide5

McDaniel et al (2013) compares: those

in mid-life in working and middle classes in

similar medium

-sized cities in the two

countries

during 2008 -2010

Economic crisis 2008 and it’s shock:

Powerfully shaped and changed the lives of the mid-generations and others connected to their lives

Also it affected the processes

of

generationing

in both Canada and, more significantly

in

US:

Strong impact on their families and the society’s cohesion

and

order

.

Slide6

How and why: In their midlife, how did the

demands of older and younger

generations affected them and why?

Interviews done in 2008 - the

housing bubble burst and financial markets in the US

slumped through

spring 2010.

It was not just a market crisis but an economic crisis that spread

beyond the housing and financial sectors in the US

It left millions without jobs and threatened entitlements: pensions,

Millions in US and elsewhere, lost their life savings and destroyed the international confidence in the soundness of the AIC’s economies

Slide7

US

and

Canada:

US:

Steep and unalterable rise in long term chronic unemployment

Long term persistence of record number of unemployed,

still plaguing the US

Rise of ghost towns and empty

neighbourhoods

due to housing market collapse and mortgage defaults and housing

foreclosures

Poverty and

inequality: Already high inequality in the US compared to other OECD countries, now became worse

Slide8

Canada relatively escaped the crisis, unscathed

Slide9

L

ife

course perspective and structures of social

inequality:

The

life course

perspective examines and explains people’s and their social experiences as processes from birth to death

Life

course

perspective narratives can be grouped under:

path dependency

gravity

shocks

We can see Path dependency

as one’s

early

transitions into adult statuses, e.g.

having family, children earlier, finding a job and entering workforce with less education

,

confront

life-long adverse

circumstances.

Others who delay these experiences of adulthood and enter it when they have

resources,

find themselves experience

less life course adversity

Path

dependency

has adverse impact on one’s early

life course transitions

and it is hard

to overcome

.

Slide10

Gravity: Powerful forces of social disadvantage, e.g., unequal

access to resources, living in poverty,

marginalization- these impede and arrest the development of individuals even if they have made sound life choices

There is a

gravity

pull of adverse situations they have experienced that clings to them and are extremely hard to overcome even with education. Inequality persists and intensifies while other enabling forces are weaker or become unavailable.

Shocks: Whether these are individual or socioeconomic may occur unexpectedly and their impacts are severe

.

Preparedness, savings, social supports can help to temper shocks.

Slide11

During the 1929-32 Great Depression – impacts were transformative and long lasting life course experiences.

The impact of the 2008 economic crisis as a life course shock on those in mid-life their perception of changes in

generationing

with those

that they are connected in their lives.

This articles studies the perception of those in midlife of their generational life changing impacts in a US-Can comparative context

It does not study or compare the effects of shocks on different generations

.

Slide12

Slide13

In US , among mid-lifers: unemployment seems lower than in Canada

In Canada: Higher

labour

market participation

US-Can: Contrasts in

mortgage arrears and in

home

foreclosure rates

.

39% of

American households

with somebody unemployed

,

debt (negative equity) on

their homes, or

defaulted or in arrears

on house payments.

US: low or no expectations on reliability of their economic performance or

stock

market, recovery in housing or job markets

Slide14

Slide15

Slide16

Uncertain

future: Insecure later years in the Great

Recession

US: Biggest concerns is uncertainty of employment: job loss, esp. those whose health insurance is linked to their job – will the job lost until retirement if one has a job?

US & Can: Classes – middle vs. working classes – distinctly different retirement concerns between the two classes - middle

-class

is more confident but

working-class

members are uncertain/fearful of jobs and of any prospects of retirement funds

Canadian

middle-class

– more optimistic in their concerns on retirement, but increasingly they fear that their prospects may decline with a declining economy.

Canadian mid-lifers feel concerned about that

Increasing

cost of living and declining returns from investments and RRSPs and know that this

will have

generationing

implications, i.e., their linked family next generation members will have to be supported.

Slide17

Comparison (cont’d)

US: Middle

-class

families face housing and real estate

price declines,

increasing cost of health

care

and

uncertain future of

Social

Security

Can:

Working-class

is not financially ready or preparing for retirement or planning for old age – in US and in Canada, working class wishes to continue working if there is a job for them and to take one day at a time as they live pay to pay left with nothing to save.

Slide18

US:

Working-class

say that they will will

be financially worse off than their

earlier generations. Their parents had good jobs had better and dependable govt. support

programmes

– had affordable housing pensions Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security.

Mid-life middle class US people say that they are more secure when compared to what the working class counterparts say.

They feel that they would be better off than their parent’s.

Middle-class

feel more confident

than

the working

-class

that

they will be in

a better

positions in their later years than the preceding generation

.

Canada

: Middle-class

Canadians

, in contrast,

doubt whether

their security would

continue under the

global financial

stress

– a mixed view compared to their parent’s generation

If it is an immigrant and their parents are from the III world, Canada feels like a security-ensuring country even under the fin crisis.

Slide19

Younger generation and their life course expectations:

Both mid

-life Canadian

and Americans seriously worry about their lack of financial security

of

their relatives of the younger generation.

While middle

-class

persons are concerned,

working-class

individuals fear how their children will be able to face their future in such a declining economy.

Working

-class

Americans are anxious and frustrated that the next generation - their younger

relatives would

encounter worsening economic

and political contexts

that would be

unfavourable

to

them. Likely economic

recession,

disappearing or diminishing

social

programmes

, absence of good

jobs and

retirement with pension.

Can: Immigrants from poorer countries find Canada as a heaven even under fin stress. Canadian

working-class

immigrants say that they

expect that their children’s later years will be better

off .

Slide20

1. US: Midlife middle and working class reaction:

Distrust or openly hostile to their government

High in anxiety

and

sense of insecurity

about health care and Social Security

Angry that the

govt

is worsening the prospects of the next generation- the youth

Fear of losing their health

insurance

2. Canadian middle class: are concerned about

Pension value and sustainability

Changing eligibility to qualify for old age security

Working

-class

Canadians fear government’s

plan to increase the minimum age of eligibility, and

reduction in benefits

.

3. All Canadians are worried about cutbacks in public

programme

.

4. In contrast to the Americans, Canadians do not see the govt. as the main problem but the 2008 crisis as the problem particularly for the increasing cost of living and housing

Slide21

Generationing

through difficult transitions

Canadian and

Americans in

mid-

life:

Support significantly with

financial

help

to younger generations but rarely

get financial support

from younger or older

generation of relatives

.

deeply

worried about their own

future years

.

working

-class American

expect that they would ask for help

from their own and their spouse’s siblings or same-generation

relatives if they are in dire straights.

In financial

difficulties,

both Can and American hope to

receive support from family, younger, older and same

generation. But few will ask friends

or

colleagues.

Slide22

(cont’d)

Generationing

might tie multiple generations and drag them all financially down as they turn to support each other.

Co-residency of adult children with their parents is a common pattern .

US: Co-residency of generations can provide temporary shelter at difficult life course transitions - working-class American, provides support for her son who is recovering from a serious car accident

Returning to the parental home during a life transition, such as work relocation, schooling, or union dissolution, helps adult children financially and emotionally

Slide23

Their views on the younger (Next) generation:

More and lengthy period of education and training before jobs

Cost of housing rising beyond their ability to get one

Joblessness or temp jobs

Little or diminishing access

to social

support or security, benefits

The youth will be less independent due to these circumstances

Live with parents

Mid

-life parents

as the only fin support to the transition of their young adults

Even

after they move out of the parental

home, parental support is necessary.

During the recession, household debt rose to a record high level in both

countries:

2009: American

household debt-to-income

ratio:

over 160%

Canadian household debt

over 140%

.

Grandparenting

regular childcare (anticipated and actual) for grandchildren

Both Can and American: Mid

-

lifers rarely move in with their parents – the older generation

Slide24

Canadians: When the parent’s generations

age,

Midlifers

expect that they would have to provide personal help and support for daily chores and care

This is

significantly

based on gender specific allocation of work – women frequently support physically and personally with instrumental

support to older generations. When

parents face difficulties with

physical mobility, their mid-life daughters or daughters-in-law

support them.

Men

M

idlifers

help with regular

phone calls, visits, or advice.

Mid-life

Canadians

worry

that social

and community support systems are disappearing due to austerity cutbacks to

programmes

.

Slide25

More middle-class

Canadian than

working-class

mid-lifers

feel that the older generation needs better services , more and better affordable seniors’ housing, transportation, homecare, meals on wheels, caregiver support and emotional/social support.

Americans: do not anticipate any improvement in social services other than what they have due to the crisis. They worry that the

existing

and limited

Medicare/Medicaid

and social security might decline or disappear. They rely on family support, have few expectations about support beyond basic health and social security

programme

.

Slide26

Conclusion:

US & Can: Generations are radically affected during and after the economic recession. Especially the middle

-class

youth are insulated

by the processes of

generationing

as they are being supported by their parental generation. In contrast, the working

-class youth are

not insulated

by

the

generationing

, and therefore they fall into further unequal opportunity trap as social

inequalities

widen in society.

In US: younger

middle-class

generations who gain from generational transfer of support of different kinds are at risk. Their

support other than

generational

is diminishing. Mid-

lifers work

hard to

compensate for the impact of economic

recession on younger generations, even

as they themselves do not feel that there is security in their own future.

Canadian mid-

lifers are mildly touched by the crisis relative to their American counterparts

–

Canadians are less

hard

hit,

but

are quite concerned about their own

future

as

they

age. They are worried that they may not be able to help their younger and older relatives in financial straights as they themselves may be depleted of resources. The

exception is Canadian immigrants,

Slide27

US: Deepening crisis in generations’ vulnerability as more reliance is occurring on the

midlifers

’ transfers

of

economic, financial

,

physical and emotional support,

i.e

,.

intra-generational transfers

It can be found that

Generationing

processes

occur on

two

levels

1. From mid

-lifers to younger

generations- it is more resourceful and generous

in Canada

compared to that

in the US.

Slide28

2.

Generationing

occurs in the form of greater family reliance as a kind of insurance against risk while the state support is shrinking (

esp.in

the US). In Canada, the basic levels of support, i.e., they could rely on as universal health care and social benefits help mid-life Canadians and their disadvantaged situation in times of recession. Americans do not have such basic needs filled and the public is unsure of the minimally existing

programmes

as a result of the crisis. This makes intergenerational reliance of Americans on their families and thus more interdependent.

For immigrants,

generationing

in both countries refer to their home country in feeling more secure in their adopted countries.