Buck up Gen Y, it's not over yet.

A while ago I commented on an article regarding the need for interview-ready clothing especially in the state of the economy. It seems that the outlook is even grimmer in this New York Times' blog entry about what to wear on the day you think you're going to get the axe.

I haven't really heard personally of anyone getting the axe at their job, but I've definitely heard a lot about layoffs and closures in the news. Macy's, Home Depot, Target...the list just keeps growing longer and longer. I am lucky to be employed, as is my bearded friend, in industries that are continuing to survive (even if on a day-to-day basis.) Politics and education do not rely on the fickle consumer to keep them afloat, but foundations/corporations and the taxpayers may not be able to maintain their support in the coming years. All the pundits and economists are saying if you think 2009 is bad, wait until 2010.

And yet this happens for my generation at a unique period in our adult lives. As we barrel towards thirty, we're saving up for down payments on starter houses, paying off student loans and embarking on our "real" careers. Where does this leave us? Our generation has already sent thousands to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight a war that started at the beginning of our 20s. We elected the first Black President at the end of our 20s. Now it seems that the course of history has a few more curveballs it wants to throw before we see 35. I've yet to lose my sense of optimism, but all the doom and gloom makes it difficult to have much faith in being able to achieve our personal version of the American Dream.