Have you heard of this?
According to a recent Pew Research Center study, one in 10 adults between the ages of 18 and 34 said the poor economy has forced them to move back in with mom and dad.
Tribune has a story about it here. It’s pretty straightforward, kids leave home trying to make it on their own and can’t. So they return to the nest and live in their parents’ basements with all their stuff taking up a spot for the car in the garage. I’m not trying to be harsh or curt here, just stating what it is. Besides, I admire their perseverance.
What struck me about this story is that people will relocate — even to less than desirable conditions — to improve their lives. Maybe I’m reaching here but in my neighborhood in Chicago there are a lot of young couples who are just kinda holding it together. And every time there’s a crime in the neighborhood, or the parking meters go up again, or the CTA raises its rates, or any one of the dozens of things that annoy city residents happens they ask themselves, “Why do we live here?”
Our politicians better stand-up and take notes. People will leave Chicago and make a new life somewhere else. Somewhere where city stickers don’t cost an arm and a leg. Where taxes are reasonable. Where you can park on the street. Where potholes get fixed. Where the schools are safe. Where the leadership doesn’t sell of revenue and damn our children to paying for today expenses.
If the politicians don’t move on this, the people will.