I think the unfortunate reality is that a lot of young people are not in touch with reality, Only being 30 myself I can still remember the late 80's and early 90's with a self employed plumber for a father and times were tough and it was difficult for mum and dad to get by but we made do with what we had, then came the building boom of the mid to late 90's and all of sudden we had a new house and new things and the hard times were forgotten but we still didn't waste money.
Today young kids have grown up in the parents nice houses and had all the toys to go with it without having to see the struggles that their parents went through and believe life is easy. They don't want to start at the bottom and work there way up or buy an old house and renovate until they can get something else.
Im a lending manager for a bank and everyday I will see a young couple walk in, want to borrow 500K for a big house with 5 bedrooms, 2 lounge rooms and all the gadgets to go with it, most of the time they cant afford it but aren't interested in getting something older or smaller, they just want everything now and then whinge when it isn't handed to them. Work is the same, they don't want to start at the bottom and learn the proper way, they expect to walk through the door and get paid 100K.
Im hoping the last few years have taught people my age a few things that we all have to work smarter not harder and make do with out all the latest gadgets, and focus on the important things like keeping a stable job and working towards bigger and better things. There is always work out there for younger people if they look for it, it might just be something to give them skills to get the next job but its still work and still pays the bills.
I have no sympathy for young people of today as they are putting themselves in the position they are in, its not the governments fault or their parents fault, they all need to just step up and take some responsibility for the choices they have made. I have friends that are a similar age that ask how I afford to have a nice house, cars, a boat and camper while raising my 11 year old, they all get the same answer, I got off my a%se and worked hard for every bit of it, no handouts and none of it came easy.