Sometimes people make the choice to embrace the idea that less is more. But sometimes they have it thrust upon them. This is the case right now for both nannies and college students.
In recent years, nannies called the shots and could negotiate for extraordinary contracts, according to a recent article in the Washington Post. But as scores of people have lost their jobs and are looking for ways to cut costs, nannies, of all people, are bearing the brunt of it. Nannies No Longer Rule the Roost and are, in fact, scrambling to find jobs:
Lorna Spencer, co-owner of A Choice Nanny in Columbia, said that her business is down 50 percent in the past year and that the number of out-of-work nannies she is trying to place has doubled. Spencer used to have 10 qualified candidates to send to families; now she has 20 or more.
"We're finding a lot of parents getting laid off, and they have to let the nannies go," she said. "We have many nannies desperate for work . . . calling us every day."
Also feeling the impact are graduating high school seniors getting ready to head off to college. After their parents lost huge amounts in their investment portfolios and, in many cases, their jobs, many students are reassessing their college plans. In many cases, they have discovered that local and public universities will do just as well as the pricey private schools that run $50,000 a year for tuition, room and board. From High school grads are downsizing their college dreams in the Buffalo News:
Seventy-one percent of the 658 high schools surveyed by the National Association for College Admission Counseling reported an increase in the number of students forgoing their “dream schools” in favor of more affordable options.
A record 300,000 applications were submitted this year to State University of New York schools, where annual tuition and fees average about $6,000 at the four-year campuses. UB saw more than 21,100 applications, and Erie Community College more than 12,600, also records.
How long these kinds of changes will last is something no one can guess. For families that have been particularly rocked by financial setbacks, the impact could be long lasting. In many cases, people will discover that they can be just as happy with less. But this transition to the new economy is going to be a bumpy one for many people in one way or another.
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