It’s no secret that jobs are hard to find these days. For our generation, graduation and making a living is no longer the given that it has been in the past. New data shows that it is particularly difficult for students holding debt from student loans.

Sixty-two percent of graduates from Kentucky universities have student loan debt, the 19th-highest count in the nation. The average load on a young graduate’s wallet is $24,584.

Student loan debt also has an enormous effect on the income of workers. Pew research found that, nationally, the median net worth was seven times higher for students without student loan debts when compared to those with debt.

Debt is not the only economic factor that causes recent graduates to struggle coming out of college. Income prospects in the post-recession economy have been bleak for young workers. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 260,000 college graduates are working at or below minimum wage. While that is down from the 2010 high of 327,000, it is still double the pre-recession number of 127,000.

The Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics released its 2014 Post Secondary Feedback Report just before the semester began. The report illustrated just how difficult it is for recent graduates to gain an economic foothold in Kentucky. Census data shows that the median income in Kentucky is $42,610. It took about 10 years for most Kentucky graduates to earn a $40,000 salary, with the exception of graduates in STEM and healthcare. Healthcare graduates had an average salary of over $43,000 after just three years, and STEM nearly $42,000 after five years.

However, income does not tell the whole picture. Across the board, workers from every school in every industry tracked had to leave the state to find work. While 80-90 percent of graduates were employed in Kentucky after one year, the percentage fell steadily. 10 years after graduation only 49-63 percent of graduates were employed in Kentucky.

The sluggish start for income has a ripple effect throughout the economy. Home ownership, one of the biggest drivers of the economy, is simply not an option for many young workers. Homeownership is declining for young workers. If workers have to move in with mom and dad to pay off loan debt, they do not have money to contribute to the economy by purchasing houses, cars, investments, etc.

The economy, combined with student loan debt has put a wet blanket on young workers’ livelihoods. This comes as the public view of higher education has shifted from an economic investment to an individual investment. 2014 marked the first year in history that the state of Kentucky funded less than 10 percent of the UK budget. UK also made the list of premier research institutions where executive pay has grown by more than double compared to scholarship funding. It was not long ago that one could pay for tuition by working a minimum wage job during the summer. Now minimum wage barely buys food.

You and I are getting the short end of every deal since the turn of the century, but we are too wrapped up in Call of Duty and Nicki Minaj to even notice. What does it matter if the fight for marriage equality is won when nobody can afford to get married?

The pattern of this country living large at our own expense has gone on too long. This nation once invested in the future of college students, and only our vote can make that happen again.

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