Higher education is facing an "unprecedented" crisis, per a new report commissioned by Cornell University. In addition to skyrocketing costs and changes wrought by AI, the report found "jarring" employer skepticism about new grads' workforce readiness. On LinkedIn, UNLV professor Hans Rawhouser suggests universities look beyond grades for better ways students can demonstrate their accomplishments. Others aren't so sure the students are the problem. "The Kids Are Alright," writes finance prof Rick Nason. "It is the professors — yes, me included — I am really concerned about."
Cornell just produced a massive new report on higher education noting that companies have a “jarring” skepticism of higher ed thanks to a new generation of degree holders who lack key skills like handling uncertainty, compromising, and absorbing feedback.
Faculty also report that incoming students, despite four years of undergraduate education, are “underdeveloped” in these relational or interpersonal skills.
This is a serious crisis in higher education, and the report calls for a greater need for conflict-resolution training. We need to do a better job training our students to deal with these issues.
These are traditionally the skills students develop in higher education. I loved college because it challenged me, sparked debate, and required me to grapple with complexity. This should be an essential part of college--inside and outside the classroom.
The $600/Month "Secret" That Breaks the Standard Retirement Math**
Most retirement advice tells you to wait until 70 to maximize Social Security. But for a growing demographic—parents over 50—that advice might be leaving money on the table *right now*.
The "Surprise" Benefit:
Social Security offers a dependent benefit that is rarely advertised. If you claim benefits while you have a child under 18 (or 19 if in high school), that child can collect up to 50% of your full retirement benefit.
The Real-World Impact:
John Bonadeo, 72, adopted six children in his 50s. When he called Social Security, he discovered an extra ~$600/month for his kids. For him, this wasn't just a windfall; it was a cash-flow lifeline during the most expensive years of parenting.
The Data
- **410,000:** Households headed by someone 65+ with a child under 18 (tripled since 2000).
- 323,000: Children collecting on retired workers' records (as of Dec 2024).
The Strategic Dilemma:
This benefit creates a mathematical paradox:
1. **Claim Early:** You get smaller checks for life, but your child collects for more years.
2. **Claim Late:** You get bigger checks for life, but your child may age out before collecting a dime.
The "Killer" Analysis:
Financial planner Elaine Floyd modeled a couple, both 62, with an 8-year-old.
- **If they claim at 62:** The child collects for 10 years. Total lifetime benefits: ~$2.26M.
- **If they wait until 70:** The child collects for only 2 years. Total lifetime benefits: ~$2.78M.
The Verdict:** Waiting still wins by **$520,000**—*if* you live into your late 80s.
The Nuance (The "Stagger" Strategy):
Economist Laurence Kotlikoff suggests a hybrid approach:
- **Lower earner** files early to trigger the child's dependent benefit.
- **Higher earner** waits until 70 to maximize the survivor/longevity check.
- When the higher earner files, the child's benefit switches to their record and increases.
This isn't free money; it's a trade-off. If you are an older parent, you must calculate:
1. How long until the child ages out?
2. How long do you expect to live?
3. Do you need the cash *now* for tuition and groceries, or *later* for longevity insurance?
The Social Security Administration doesn't market this widely. If you don't ask, you don't get. If you are over 60 with a dependent, call them. The calculation isn't just about your retirement; it's about your family's immediate liquidity.
Why Gen Z Is "Going No-Contact" With Their Jobs Too
The same forces driving adult kids to cut off their parents are driving employees to cut off their employers — and if you're hiring, managing, or job-hunting right now, you need to understand why.
There's a quiet epidemic happening in American families: grown children are walking away from their parents entirely, no explanation required. Researchers estimate roughly 1 in 10 people is currently estranged from a parent or child, and family-estrangement conferences are now drawing hundreds of attendees comparing notes on how to survive being cut off.
It sounds like a family story. It's actually a workplace story too.
The same four forces are reshaping how people quit jobs, ghost recruiters, and walk out on managers:
1. "Toxic" now means almost anything.
Just as adult children are relabeling ordinary parental friction as abuse, employees are increasingly quick to brand a demanding manager, a blunt performance review, or a missed promotion as "toxic." One therapist who studies estrangement found that the vast majority of parents she surveyed pointed to this kind of label inflation as a driver of the cutoff — and the same inflation is showing up in exit interviews and Glassdoor reviews everywhere.
2. Loyalty is now conditional, not automatic.
Older generations treated a job — like a family — as something you stuck with through rough patches. Younger workers increasingly ask a different question: is this relationship actually good for me right now? If not, they leave, with none of the guilt their parents' generation would have felt.
3. Career choices are identity choices.
For a generation that defines itself by values, politics, and mental health as much as by résumé lines, a company whose culture clashes with their identity isn't just a bad fit — it can feel like a betrayal. Walking away becomes framed as self-respect, not flakiness.
4. Social media is the exit interview nobody asked for.
TikTok didn't just normalize cutting off parents — it built an entire genre of content around quitting jobs on camera, exposing "toxic" workplaces, and treating resignation as a personal-growth milestone. The algorithm rewards the dramatic exit, not the awkward conversation that might have fixed things.
What this means for job seekers:
- Employers increasingly interview you for whether they'll survive your scrutiny — vet culture as hard as they vet skills.
- "This didn't feel aligned with me" is now a legitimate, sayable reason to leave — you don't need a dramatic villain story to justify moving on.
- But watch the flip side: reflexively labeling every hard boss or hard conversation as "toxic" can rob you of learning moments that actually build resilience and career capital.
What this means for managers and companies:
- The old assumption — that employees will tough out friction because "that's just work" — no longer holds.
- Transparent, values-aligned culture isn't a nice-to-have anymore; it's retention infrastructure.
- Silence before a resignation is common. If someone leaves abruptly with no warning, it's rarely really abrupt — it's usually the last stop on a much longer road.
The bottom line: the workplace is going through its own version of family estrangement. The question isn't whether this trend is good or bad — it's whether you're building a career (or a company) that can withstand a generation that no longer sees loyalty as unconditional.