The Book
End of The Good Life chronicles the impact of the financial crisis on Generation Y and promotes innovative reforms to build a better future. Far from a tomb of complaints, this book collects in-depth research and interviews from across the world.
It is a look back at what happened, why, and how to recover — all told by a member of Generation Y.
End of The Good Life gives voice to a generation – from the U.S. to Europe – caught in an economic policy trap, suffering from high levels of under-employment, debt and feelings of defeat. Our expectations have been crushed. These immediate consequences from the crisis will have a long-term impact on life expectancy, wages, job stability, happiness and national economic growth. It used to be that things got better with each generation – more money, more stability, more opportunities. Now, Generation Y will have to find new ways to succeed and forge a better future.
The book trumps entrepreneurship, social equality, reforms in education and immigration, investing in economic growth and jobs, avoiding the missteps of austerity, and support for social enterprise. It compares the outlooks between Millennials in the richest countries in the world and those in China and Brazil.
The book calls out politicians in Washington toeing the party line, evading the real job of policymaking and risking all for the sake of a short-term victory.
These problems aren’t new. The net worth of a typical household headed by an adult under the age of 35 has declined by 68% since 1984. But the crisis has pushed us to the edge. Now, we face the end of The Good Life, which means the end of a certain set of expectations – promised by our parents and governments for decades – for how we should live, what we should value, and what we can achieve. We could become a lost generation. Innovation and private companies with a social objective are important and can help, but for bigger picture changes, policies have to be in the right place too.
Riva proposes a new government office that focuses on this nation’s future, when all other offices are primarily focused on winning the next election.
