美国年轻人沦为非理性乐观主义的受害者

    硅谷一位一位白手起家、如今已经坐拥亿万身家的企业家兼风险投资人认为，如今的美国年轻人拥有前所未有的大好机会。

    他说：“只要看看我的儿子就知道。”他20多岁的儿子目前正在创办一家新的公司，而且已从科技界的一些主要投资者那里获得了数百万美元的资金支持。他说，这个男孩通过努力工作把握住了成功的机会。

    从这位亿万富豪身居优越地位的角度来看，科技热潮促使投资者纷纷向拥有适宜项目的年轻人抛出一箱箱的大量资金。事实上，旧金山大部分地区给人的感觉就是，这个世界是一个奇妙而且快速增长的地方，社会企业正在彻底改变各行各业，人人都在攀登经济阶梯。前一天想到的东西在第二天早上慢跑时就变成了现实，而自上世纪30年代大萧条以来最为严重的这场金融危机已经成为被人遗忘了的一个历史瞬间。

    别忘了，硅谷去年在加州全部新增就业中占据了35％的份额。事实上，自2000年科技热潮以来，这个地区还从来没有创造这么多的就业机会。这也难怪，因为硅谷合资企业协会（Joint Venture Silicon Valley）和硅谷社区基金会（Silicon Valley Community Foundation）发布报告称，天使投资在2012年增长了90％。

    这位亿万富豪在餐会上声称，如今阻止一个人成功的唯一障碍就是缺乏激情，缺乏一个宏大的构想。

    然而，他和他的硅谷同行正活在一个泡沫之中。

    金融危机所造成的大量影响仍然重重地压在美国各地千禧世代的身上，而且对他们获得工作经验、拓展职业人脉网络以及积累足够资金去冒险创办自己的企业的能力造成了压力。

    2013年3月份，美国20至24岁年轻人的失业率为13.3％。一年前这个数字是13.1％。情况没有多大变化。对于美国25至29岁的年轻人而言，就业前景略有改善：他们目前的失业率为8.3％，相比之下，2012年3月份的这个数字为9％。今年3月份美国整个劳动年龄人口的失业率为7.6％。

    自去年以来，由于经济原因而从事兼职工作（这意味着他们希望做全职工作，但他们要么被迫缩减了工作时间，要么就是一直无法找到全职工作）的年轻劳动力人数一直呈现增长的趋势。而且，这甚至还没有体现应届高中和大学毕业生面临的整体就业情况。很多人完全放弃了找工作，他们因为求职没有结果而灰心失意。

    而这一切的发生正值大学学费债务飙升至历史高位，这意味着许多千禧世代的年轻人因攻读学位而欠下成千上万美元的债务，而学位并没有给他们带来任何回报，或者说回报很低。（这位亿万富豪的儿子很可能不必应对这种特定的压力）。

    这位勤奋工作的亿万富豪为这些统计数据寻找理由，说许多千禧世代的年轻人如今就是太懒了，因而完全是咎由自取。

    但数据显示，失业越久就越有可能遭受长期失业，因为潜在雇主对于失业的求职者不感兴趣。它导致这些失业者未来几年的工资将会下滑，对雇主的吸引力减弱，自己丧失信心，甚至寿命缩短。

    To a Silicon Valley billionaire, a self-made entrepreneur and venture capitalist, the state of opportunity for young people in America has never been better.

    "Just look at my son," he says. The twentysomething is launching a new company and has millions of dollars in backing from some of the leading investors in technology. The boy did it, he says, by working hard.

    From the billionaire's vantage point, a technology boom has investors throwing suitcases of money at young people with the right projects. Indeed, the feeling across much of San Francisco is that the world is a wondrous, fast-growing place where social enterprises are revolutionizing business and everyone is moving up the economic ladder. Ideas become reality by the next morning jog, and the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression is a forgotten moment in history.

    After all, Silicon Valley accounted for 35% of the entire state of California's job growth last year. In fact, so many jobs haven't been created in the region since the 2000 technology boom. It's little wonder, since the Joint Venture Silicon Valley and Silicon Valley Community Foundation reports that angel investments jumped 90% in 2012.

    The only things stopping someone from becoming a success today, this particular billionaire asserts over dinner, are passion and a big idea.

    However, he and his Silicon Valley peers are living in a bubble.

    The effects of the financial crisis are still weighing on millennials across the country and their ability to gain work experience, develop professional networks, and accumulate enough money to risk launching their own business.

    The March 2013 unemployment rate for 20 to 24-year-olds was 13.3%. The year before, it was 13.1%. Not much has changed. For 25- to 29-year-olds, the jobs picture has improved a bit more: 8.3% compared to 9% in March 2012. The unemployment rate for the entire working-age population last month was 7.6%.

    The number of young workers in part-time jobs for economic reasons -- meaning they would like to work full-time but either have had their hours reduced or have been unable to find full-time jobs -- has increased since last year. And that doesn't even capture the whole story for recent high school and college graduates. Many have dropped out of the job hunt altogether, frustrated with a lack of results.

    This is all happening as college debt soars to historical highs, which means a bunch of millennials owe thousands of dollars for a degree that is offering no or very low returns. (The billionaire's son probably does not have to deal with this particular stress.)

    The hard-working billionaire excuses the statistics, saying many millennials are just lazy and entitled today.

    But the data shows that the longer someone is out of a job, the more likely they will suffer from long-term joblessness, because potential employers are less interested in out-of-work candidates. This leads to lower wages years down the line, diminished appeal to employers, loss of confidence, and even a shorter life span.