60% of Young Adults Receive Help From Their Parents

And one in five live at home.

That sounds about right. What are we to takeaway from this? I'd argue a couple factors:

1. Employment structure. My general impression is that decades ago most folks could get an entry level job in their field pretty easily. I think it is more difficult today. More people, more competition, less confidence by companies to invest in the future.

2. Entitlement. Young people are now encouraged to follow their passions whereas in the past they were encouraged into practical fields where they could make a good living. Maybe in the long run, this'll prove beneficial - more happiness/satisfaction/excellence - but in the medium run - it seems more challenging financially.

3. Willingness. In the older days, I think parents had less and a lesser willingness to assist.

4. Real Estate. Real Estate prices have been juiced by government policy since at least the Clinton administration. This - in effect - puts money in the pockets of home owners (ie parents) and makes it more difficult for young adults to buy homes. I imagine much of the parental assistance comes in the form of helping to buy a first home or as the article directly mentions, in free/discount rent.

5. College loan scandal. I consider it a scandal, even though it is not publicly acknowledged.  College loans, collectively juiced by the colleges, government policy, and conventional wisdom, have put many more young adults in debt, and thus hurt their overall financial prospects.