I have a few theories on this. On the idea that this generation is lazier- Capitalism has made things easier for us through advances in lifestyles. That is what capitalism does, it creates things to make life easier for us and sells those things, so naturally we have all gotten used to things being easier. So we're not really lazier, just a little more spoiled. Also, I think that the booming housing market since the 80's is indirectly contributing to the downfall of the family. In other countries, people aren't building new communities at the rate that we are here. In most of Europe, people stay with the parents, or families live in houses for generations and don't have to worry about a mortgage payment as much as we do here. So because every new family has a mortgage payment to worry about, most families have 2 working parents, which in turn makes it harder to raise a child properly. And I also think that capitalism has a natural lifespan, and we might be reaching near the end of it. It all starts out even stevens, and then as everybody says, you need money to make money in capitalism. The huge gap in the high class and the middle class isn't bush's fault, it isn't clinton's fault, it's nobody's fault. it's just the natural cycle of 2.25 centuries of free market and asset building working. the more money you have, the more money you can make by not having to take out loans to start new businesses, paying cash for everything and not having interest payments to worry about, and just controlling an ever growing portion of the nation's wealth. I'm not saying that nobody has a chance anymore, because anybody can make it. I just think it's a little tougher now for the little guys. I'm no economist, but that is what I believe.