Twentysomethings vs. the "Recession"

Slate has put together a decent collection of anecdotal stories concerning how the "Recession" is affecting a variety of twentysomethings. From the article:

The fear isn't just about the present but about the long-term future. Octopuslike, it has many tentacles. But the most strangling aspect, I think, is the perception of my Gen Y e-mailers that they dutifully set up their lives based on assumptions that suddenly no longer apply. They're anxious because they can't tell what the new rules of the game will be—or because they think they can tell, and they don't like what they see coming at them.

Please note how many times the following themes are touched on:
1) The tremendous cost and resulting debt burden of higher education and health care, and how they can trap even very young people in a hopeless cycle of debt.
2) The idea that a young person/couple in their 20's expects the same quality of life right out of college as their parents (home ownership, etc.)

Full disclosure: I myself am in my mid-twenties, and to talk to other young professionals in my age group concerning their expectations... i.e. what they think they deserve or ought to have, I am always forced to wonder where exactly it was that we got convinced we could have everything we ever wanted, right away.

Perhaps growing up in a society fueled by a seemingly consequence-free stream of endless debt has something to do with it?