Join Per Capita CEO Emma Dawson and Andrew Leigh MP as they discuss intergenerational inequality in the wake of COVID-19.
Young Australians have suffered disproportionately from coronavirus. Hospitality workers cannot telework. The last person hired is often the first who gets fired. Short-term casuals are excluded from the JobKeeper package. High school students have had their education disrupted and many apprentices have lost work. All university students have discovered that they’re enrolled in Zoom University. Young people who cash out of their superannuation could find that the lifetime cost is two or three times as much as the money they withdraw.
We know that past recessions have had a ‘scarring effect’ on the careers of young people – leaving them with lower employment rates and wages for years afterwards.
But it could get worse. If services are cut, then young people will suffer from worse quality education and health care. If nothing is done, then future generations will be left with the bill. If conservatives succeed in cutting the company tax rate, debt will only grow.
