UK / Middle-class young ‘will fare worse than their parents’ finds Commission

David Cameron’s social mobility and child poverty inquiry to issue grim warning as debt and job fears create ‘perfect storm’

Today’s middle-class children are on track to be the first in more than a century to be materially less well off in adulthood than their parents, a government commission is expected to warn this week.

Leaked findings reveal the existence of a national trend not experienced since the early 20th century, with children from families with above-average incomes, as well as the most deprived, set to enjoy a worse standard of living when they grow up than their mothers and fathers.

The social mobility and child poverty commission, established by David Cameron, is expected to warn that government initiatives have all too often been aimed at the poorest 10%. Yet the inability to get on in life is a now a major and growing problem for middle-class children and this group is in dire need of attention, it is expected to report.

A Whitehall source said: “This will be controversial, but for the first time in over a century there is a real risk that the next generation of adults ends up worse off than today’s generation. This is a problem for the children of parents with above-average incomes, not just a problem for those at the bottom. Many, many children face the prospect of having lower living standards than their parents.”

The findings, to be laid before parliament on Thursday by education minister David Laws, will electrify the political debate over the so-called “squeezed middle”, who have done so badly in the economic downturn.

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via Middle-class young ‘will fare worse than their parents’ | Society | The Observer.