Young people (and not so young) condemned to live with their parents
Not being able to lead a truly independent life until the age of 35 is what happens to eight out of ten Catalans. It is a clear-cut social anomaly. Dependence on parents—that is, being forced to share a home with their parents—and, in turn, partly depend on their income—prevents a large number of young people from having the independence in life that previous generations enjoyed at the same age. A lack of independence like this entails sacrifices and tolls. The most well-known and obvious is the delay in finding a stable relationship and, therefore, in deciding to form a family unit. And, as a consequence, the renunciation or postponement, often forced by the situation, of having children. The low birth rate in Catalonia, which continues to worsen, has much to do with this social dysfunction.
We don't have to go back too far in time to see how, a few years ago, society considered a 35-year-old person to be an adult perfectly integrated into the workforce and society. In fact, less than a century ago, at that age, most people were already mothers and fathers and had been living on their own for some time. Not surprisingly, life expectancy was much lower. In just a few decades, then, life expectancy has increased significantly, but it has also become much more precarious for young people.
The essential factor preventing young people from emancipating is well known: the price of housing, as stated by the Emancipation Observatory of the Spanish Youth Council, the institution from which the data we are discussing comes, data that place the emancipation rate at around 1%. For Spain as a whole, it is even somewhat lower: 15.2%, the worst since this report was written, which dates back to 2006. It is worrying that, instead of improving, it is getting worse. Things are not being done well. In fact, the report's own authors, regarding housing, describe the role of the public administration as "passive": "They are not up to the task; housing is a right that cannot be left to speculation." It is therefore necessary to demand a new push for housing construction and access for young people: with rental price caps, purchase assistance, and other formulas to be tested. Even if it's just a trial-and-error approach. But action is needed.
The report also denies the stereotype of young people nini: who neither work nor study. Here too, he provides data: he places only 3% of young people in this dynamic. In fact, he points out that four out of ten young people combine work and studies, a trend that is on the rise precisely due to the rising cost of living and the resulting difficulties in emancipating oneself. What's more, it's becoming increasingly clear that studying away from home, something so common in other European countries or the United States, has become a privilege. Just as in practice it is possible to have your own (or even shared) home before the age of 35. The conclusion is that, in addition to the social elevator being broken, the generational elevator isn't working well either.
