Intergenerational justice and the family

The most obvious casualties of the second phase of the crisis (2010–12) have been members of the generation just reaching adulthood, and seeking to establish their place in the economies and societies of the affluent countries. As austerity measures have been imposed, it is this generation who have paid the highest price in terms of fees, charges, reduced rights and narrowing opportunities. In particular, as jobs became scarcer and some education grants and social benefit rates were cut, their prospects of establishing themselves in incremental careers, with promotion and pension entitlements, receded, and the age at which they could expect to get a foot on the property ladder rose. Instead, they faced official pressure to take low-paid, dead-end jobs, on pain of losing their minimal incomes.