Why should the grandson believe in the US system? The US is in decline, this isn’t the 1950s anymore. Income inequality keeps growing, jobs don’t keep up with population growth, expenses grow while wages stagnate, etc.
I don’t know why the grandfather thinks Europe is the ‘wave of the future’. Young people in Europe have it even harder than young people in the US do, in part due to more stringent labor laws. I admire the grandfather both for being self made and also for having the wherewithall to admit that the US’s future isn’t going to be like its past. But I’m not sure why he thinks the kid would have it better in Europe. He should read up on how kids in France and Spain are doing in the job market.
The future probably belongs to India, China, Brazil, Russia, Vietnam, etc. It used to be people came from those countries, got educated in the US, then stayed here and worked. Now they come, get educated and go back home. Now they are starting to not even come in the first place and just do their education and careers at home. Soon people in the US will be leaving to go there instead.
Taiwan isn’t a third world country, but I remember a doper who I think had an MBA saying he could either stay in the US and keep banging his head against a wall and finding dead ends, or he could move to Taiwan and have a job in a week. He moved to Taiwan.
I can’t speak about 20 years ago, but I graduated my with my undergrad in 2000 and a Poli.Sci. degree wouldn’t have gotten you on the fast track then either. I think it’s been a long, long time since the average BA was a ticket to lifelong employment. It sucks, royally, but unfortunately it’s a fact of life now.