Camilla and Charles Attacked by London Youth: Can It Happen Here?

A stunned Camilla and Charles looked into the ugly face of frustrated ambition. Those particular London protesters were youth. Their tipping point has been the wildly increasing university tuition. Without education, those youth have no shot at ever getting a job. Even with education, though, as you know, there are no guarantees. Right now, according to the ILO Global Trends For Youth 2010 Report, around the world 81 million members of Generation Y are jobless, reports IB Times. Their unemployment numbers are expected to keep increasing in the near future.

Can this kind of violent protest happen by the disfranchised young here in America? Could there also be a tipping point? A recent survey by the New America Foundation found that here in the U.S. unemployment among members of Generation Y is at about 25 percent. Youth, because of its energy and since it has little to lose, can be the most volatile part of the population. And it was youth who lost the most economic ground during the downturn. For the overall workforce joblessness increased 4.7 percent, while for youth it surged 7.5 percent.

Can you help? You bet.

Find work to give to a young person. It could be as simple as removing the snow from your driveway or as complex as sizing up a neighborhood in which you're considering opening a deli.

Train a young person in a skill that's marketable, be it using power tools or how to calm down irate customers.

Help youth find education programs that are free or can be funded with grants which don't have to be paid back.

When they're discouraged, share your own setbacks as well as comebacks. That will do you both a world of good.