Covering Former NPR Senior Editor Marilyn Geewax

The baby-boomer generation may be set for the future, but Gen X and Millennials aren’t feeling as secure.

Marilyn Geewax, senior business editor at National Public Radio, spoke to journalism students at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications today.

Geewax discussed future projections of the economy for Millennials and Gen X as compared to the baby-boomer generation.  Geewax spoke about how baby boomers’ financial decisions will affect the younger generations.

“The issue will be changing job skills,” said Geewax.

Geewax showed that over the last 10 years, all net job growth in the U.S. economy has been in contingent jobs that lack benefits.  According to Geewax, contract workers must find a way to make enough money to buy benefits because they are not provided within contingent jobs.

“Do you ever really get trained?” asked Geewax. “You always have new bosses and requirements.”

The topline unemployment looks healthy, but job security is rare.  According to Geewax, the younger generations will experience issues with debt and job training.

“There’s constantly a pace of change in the workplace,” said Geewax.

According to Geewax, the median jobs in America have to do with transportation, for example, truck drivers and cab drivers.  As new technologies emerge and as transportation evolves, many Americans will be out of jobs.  New jobs for Americans will mean re-training on top of looming student debt, according to Geewax.

“How will workers get re-trained? Who pays for life-long learning? How can you pay for re-training when you already have student debt?” asked Geewax.

Geewax discussed the importance of federal debt for younger generations in addition to student debt and job training.  Geewax reviewed the annual deficit and federal debt over the past few decades.

“[Throughout history], tax cuts have made the deficit go up,” said Geewax.  “So what is going to happen to the younger generation going into the future?”

Geewax advised journalism students to learn as much as possible about the national debt as it will be impending for Millennials.

“All of what we looked at are political choices,” said Geewax.  “This is about democracy and informing people well enough so they can understand and participate in democracy.”