I'm well aware of how hard it is to get to anything resembling a healthy independent living situation in the US these days. It's completely stacked against everyone not already in wealthy starting positions. We have other kids working to build more than a hardscrabble financial situation and we're more than happy to help as we can.

We'll help this kid too. What I'm not interested in doing is providing them a roof, food, clothes, doing their dishes, and paying for their hobbies for the rest of my life. This is an intelligent, capable, and healthy young man. The issue is the attitude we're seeing that he doesn't seem to see what it takes to be an independent adult, even if he's still relying on some help while he builds up the resources to get by in this incredibly shitty society we've allowed to accrete over generations.

Yes, the economy was way better when I was a young adult. I also had some fortunate happenings (bought a house in a stable local market going into the 2008 banks fraud crash) and unfortunate ones (graduated college right into the Dot Com Bubble burst. 3 months of work, then layoffs into years of dead job markets, yay!). I am extremely scared for my childrens' futures because of how anti-humanist the US has become. Letting this kid in question fuck around for a few years while I take care of everything for him and hope my next heart attack (that's one of the unfortunate issues) doesn't kill me before he figures out how to be an independent and self sufficient adult isn't something that I feel will serve either one of us in a positive way.