Chapter 97 Strivers and Slackers

Calmly observing the scene before him, four words suddenly emerged in Carter's mind:

Winter is coming!

Today's Atlanta was almost indistinguishable from the King's Landing in the future "Game of Thrones". The surface was still adorned with flower beds, and the glamorous people continued to revel and dance.

In the northern corner, unnoticed by many, darkness was quietly approaching. The economic winter brought by monetary contraction was gradually encroaching upon this still lively city.

The increasing number of homeless people made Carter feel somewhat stifled. It wasn't because he pitied or sympathized with the homeless in America, but rather, he felt an indescribable pressure.

As Julian had previously informed him, the monetary contraction had just begun, barely lifting its head. It was like a flurry of snowflakes falling, yet the news of the impending return of the wights had already caused the current situation.

Carter couldn't help but wonder what this place would be like when the true winter arrived.

"Carter? Carter?! What are you thinking? You've been so absent-minded, I've called you several times and you didn't respond."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

As Lily tugged at his sleeve, Carter returned to his senses. The slight furrow in his brow dissipated, and his face quickly returned to its previous indifference.

"We wanted to ask you, what advice do you have for us regarding our jobs after graduation? Do you think we should come to Atlanta? Or go further away, like New York or Los Angeles?"

Although Carter was feeling a bit annoyed by the fact that he hadn't been paying attention to their conversation, Lily still maintained her sweet smile, seemingly unaware of this, and asked somewhat seriously.

"It's all the same."

Thinking about the possible wave of unemployment next year, Carter instinctively replied.

The economic trend of monetary contraction wouldn't just affect Atlanta or Georgia; it was a widespread phenomenon. In such an environment, running to New York or Los Angeles wouldn't make a difference.

If job opportunities were decreasing in Atlanta, did they think New York or Los Angeles would be any different? Besides, it's not that Carter looked down on them, but with just a high school diploma, it would be difficult to get by in Atlanta, let alone New York.

The issue of education wasn't just a problem in future China; it was the same in America. In this day and age, everyone talks about how great New York is, and everyone rushes there. But in New York, when the number of people increases, they'll surely open the books. Even Julian, who was already considered successful with a high income, was now busy, working during the holidays. What about you guys?

Could you work harder than those bookworms? Be more diligent? Or have a more substantial knowledge reserve?

"Um, what do you mean? Are you suggesting that we should stay in Douglas?"

Lily asked in confusion. Normally, wouldn't it be that the more economically developed and larger the metropolitan area, the more job opportunities there would be, and the better it would be for one's future development? What did he mean by "it's all the same"?

"I never said that. Where you go in the future is your own choice. Your life should be decided by yourselves. I just want to say... You're not very lucky. It will be difficult to find a job next year. If you have the conditions, I personally suggest you consider going to college. Even if it means taking out loans, it's better than not going!"

Carter shrugged, revealing some information to these young people about to leave school.

It was a chance encounter, and Carter had no ill intentions. Moreover, they really were quite unlucky.

Even a year earlier, graduating like Anna in the summer of '79 wouldn't have run into the beginning of the wave of unemployment.

"Going to college... Even for a relatively cheap good college, the tuition alone is over five thousand dollars a year. That's too much!"

As soon as Carter's suggestion was heard, one of the boys immediately shook his head, waving his hands continuously.

"In addition to tuition, there are also some miscellaneous fees, plus living expenses. It would cost at least over eight thousand dollars a year. That's even higher than my dad's annual income. My family can't afford it, and I still have younger siblings. If I take out a loan, after graduation, with a monthly income of just over six hundred dollars, at most less than two hundred dollars can be used to repay the loan. I don't even know if that's enough to pay the interest. It's terrifying!"

"Yeah, going to college is too much of a loss. Spending so much money on learning, but the rewards you can reap are no different from not going. So why waste the money? Jobs are hard to find, but we can wait for a few months."

The boy's words immediately elicited a chorus of agreement, which Carter could understand. Not to mention America, didn't some young people in China also have the so-called "uselessness of college" argument?

In China, at least there was government subsidy, and most families could afford to go to college. But in America, going to college was truly a luxury, or perhaps a gamble. A gamble on the future!

Apart from some who could get full scholarships or financial aid, most families couldn't afford the cost of sending their children to college. Take Harvard University, for example. In 1840, the annual tuition at Harvard was $75, which didn't sound like much, did it? But at the time, the average annual income was only $90! Supporting a child's education meant that 83% of a father's annual income would be used to pay tuition fees. And this proportion continued to rise year by year. Today, the proportion of tuition to income has already exceeded 90%, even 95%.

Notice, this is annual income, not average disposable income. Plus, most importantly, this had to be middle-class families, on average. When all is said and done, people are afraid of being average!

In addition to this more data-driven example, take a look at someone like Brother Guanhai. Brother Guanhai's student loan lasted from graduating at 22 until he was 43 before it was finally paid off. He paid off the loan for a full twenty-one years, which was comparable to paying off a mortgage.

With such high tuition fees, almost ninety percent of Elmond's people didn't even consider college as an option in their life plans. As for the remaining ten percent, either they were exceptional bookworms who went for the scholarships and financial aid offered by universities, or they came from wealthy backgrounds and couldn't afford the annual tuition fees of over five to six thousand dollars at prestigious universities. They could bite the bullet and afford the cheaper state universities, with annual tuition fees of over two thousand dollars.

Apart from these two categories of people, the rest, after finishing high school, could just go out and work to earn money. Then talk about falling in love, getting married, and having babies recklessly.

"It's up to you guys. I'll say it again, your life should be decided by yourselves."

Carter nodded understandingly, without any intention of delivering an American version of the "pursue education" speech. Untried by others' suffering, don't advise them to be good. Carter wasn't someone who said "why not eat meat."

If he hadn't experienced the setback of a failed business, perhaps Carter would have tried to persuade them a bit more. Such as saying that even though the starting salary after college might seem no different from not going, the future development after college would be much stronger than not going. Promotions and raises weren't just dreams and so on.

But now, there was no need! Not everyone's life had to be splendid. While the success of striving might be enviable and desirable, hearing about their past experiences could be admirable and aspirational, but being a slacker, there was nothing wrong with that, right?

Moreover, striving doesn't necessarily guarantee success, but as long as you lie down flat enough, it's definitely much easier.