#economic-insecurity

#economic-insecurity

"It is a beautiful feeling that allows you to discover new things, but it also makes you feel very unhappy and lonely." This paradoxical description comes from a research participant in Türkiye in our multi-country investigation of social connection. In Türkiye-a culture synonymous with çay (tea) shared among friends and legendary hospitality- loneliness wears an unexpected face. Türkiye reports high loneliness rates despite cultural traditions emphasizing warmth and connection.

The authors of the report, now in its 25th year, warn that this massive upheaval is threatening the country's stability. "Instability is shaping nearly every part of young people's lives," said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Institute of Politics, in a Zoom with reporters and students involved in the survey. By the numbers: A majority of respondents (57%) say the country is headed in the wrong direction - a six-point rise from last year, and one point down from the record high notched in the spring of 2024.

After years of decline, we're seeing a drastic increase in the number of people living in poverty. The new numbers indicate that more people across the Bay Area are struggling to make ends meet. Even people who work full-time are having trouble. The biggest increases in poverty are in San Francisco County. But some say there are critical steps to keep people out of poverty.

It shows up in songs, films, ads, social-media posts-but it says more about Americans' idealization of youth than it does about what it actually feels like to be young today. The 2024 World Happiness Report found that when American adults were asked to rate the extent to which they were living their "best possible life," those over 60 answered the most positively, followed by 45-to-59-year-olds. People younger than 30 trailed behind.

My baby My baby, he don't have nothing My baby My baby he don't have nothing to give But he gives it to me Yeah, he gives it to me Quit dreaming Quit dreaming amount to something You're scheming Believing in old love that got away That there's still a way Find you someone who makes a living Sweet, sweet nothings aren't worth investing Sweet, sweet nothings just nothing after, oh

For me, it was seeing that what was offered (by rightwing parties) was not relevant to where I was at the time as a student. I had no money, no job, no connections and no clue about where I wanted to go with my life. But I did know I didn't want to work in London, wearing formal office attire and being a slave to the nine-to-five grind for the rest of my days. The leftwing parties seemed to offer more inclusion and be more welcoming to ordinary folk like me. So that's where I looked for my political home.

Just as Adam Maguire prepares to release his first book, The Bailout Babies, the very generation he is writing about appear to have been bestowed with their first major anthem. CMAT's Euro-Country reflects on the 2008 financial crash, from a child's perspective, and features the lyrics All the big boys/All the Berties/All the envelopes/Yeah, they hurt me/I was 12 when the das started killing themselves all around me.

The emergence of a right-wing populist party in Japan's upper house election running on a Trump-style Japanese First slogan raises concerns of a backlash against the growing foreign presence.