The unemployment rate continues to rise, but there is a sound of silence on the streets. Democracy has been stunned and students have been neutered. How bad does it have to get before people go from hitting the pavement looking for work to hitting the streets in protest?

The latest unemployment numbers came out and they are not pretty. Here in Alberta the unemployment rate increased to 7.2% in July. Though this is high, it is lower than the Canadian average of 8.6% and way lower than the 17.1% unemployment in Newfoundland.

Recessions are always difficult for families. Less so nowadays though. The previous recession in the late 1980s and early 1990s was painful. More families then had just one income earner. In 1980, 57% of households had two income earners whereas now 75% do.

In the late 1980s my father lost his job. He was unemployed and underemployed for almost five years. Thankfully my mother was a teacher so there was a steady source of income coming in, otherwise I don’t know what would have happened.

Other families weren’t so lucky. I remember many of the houses on our street were for sale. Most had no equity either. In most of these households the man, the sole income earner, lost his job. These families moved away, never to be seen or heard from again. Many families and communities were broken up.

Even with the recent credit spending spree and having two income earners, times today must be fairly tight and stressful for families. Or perhaps families are hoping the good times come back again real soon? Or maybe the hurt has not hit here yet? Or maybe it has not yet sunk in?

When adults start raising families they tend to lead pretty insulated lives, focusing on family and close friends. This demographic is traditionally silent. They are disgruntled, but don’t go much further than being arm chair critics. At most they vote. They don't protest. There is too much to lose – the house, the car, the minivan, the family – so silence remains.

Students are in a different situation. They are usually the most idealistic, are the most willing to fight for what they believe in, and have the least to lose. Most protest movements are started and driven by students.

Students have been co-opted though. In China this can be seen to the extreme. Students in 1989 were fighting for democracy. Twenty years later it seems like they were fighting not for democracy, but for more money and more financial opportunities.

Here something similar has occurred, albeit on a lesser scale. The economic boom created students who chased the dream – money, mansions, luxury cars, luxury vacations etc. It all seemed so easy. Money was flowing. Jobs were everywhere. Heck you just needed to flip a couple of houses and you were set for life.

Even though the job scene has drastically changed, the dream for students has not. They continue to chase the dream, hitting the pavement looking for work rather than hitting the streets in protest.

Students are being hit hard, but is the dream is fading? The unemployment rate for students this summer has reached 20.9%. Though I am older I can relate. My first year of university was 1993, the tail end of the recession. Finding summer work was difficult. The only summer job I could find was working at Wal-Mart on the overnight shift.

I had seen how a recession had devastated graduates. It scared me. Many teaching, nursing, and business graduates that I knew couldn’t find work in their field. Many were forced to continue waitressing and landscaping, often working several part time jobs. Many were unable to flee the nest and continued to live with their parents.

Seeing how demoralized these graduates were had a huge impact on my decision to change my major to accounting. I quickly chose accounting as a major to increase my chances of employment upon graduation. I got the job, but it was mind numbing and unfulfilling.

Students now have a double whammy. No work and high debt levels. The average student in Canada is now graduating with a debt of $24,000. Despite booming government revenues, tuition has increased 4.4% a year over the last ten years, which was almost double the rate of inflation. Not finding a job is hard enough, but to have a load of debt to go with it is even worse.

The shackles of debt and dreamy expectations seem to have muted even thoughts of political protest. Activism is all but a whimper here. When there are protests they are small and often just occupy the sidewalk.

Ten years ago that would have been unthinkable. Young people hit the streets. I remember being at a Reclaim the Streets event that shut down 17 Ave SW for the night. People danced in the middle of the street all night with no permit. Unfortunately most of these people have moved away, dropped out, or became what they were protesting against – leasing a minivan, having an oil job, and living in the suburbs.
 

             

Can this change? Can students and unemployed graduates become a political force to be reckoned with? Can they be the spark to get those older out of their cocoons to create a mass movement for change? Or will we have to wait for the next generation of youth, who grew up in families out of work and on the edge of poverty, to carry the torch for political, social, and environmental change?