http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/world/middleeast/young-saudis-see-cushy-jobs-vanish-along-with-nations-oil-wealth.htmlFor decades, the royal family has used the kingdom’s immense oil wealth to lavish benefits on its people,
including free education and medical care, generous energy subsidies and well-paid (and often undemanding) government jobs. No one paid taxes, and if political rights were not part of the equation, that was fine with most people.But the drop in oil prices to below $30 a barrel from more than $100 a barrel in June 2014 means that t
he old math no longer works. Low oil prices have knocked a chunk out of the government budget and now pose a threat to the unwritten social contract that has long underpinned life in the kingdom, the Arab world’s largest economy and a key American ally.
The proposal announced on Tuesday by the oil ministers of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela to freeze output levels is one attempt to stabilize world oil prices, but
it remained uncertain how effective it would be if other countries, like Iran and Iraq, declined to follow suit.For younger Saudis —
70 percent of the population is under 30 — the oil shock has meant a lowering of expectations as they face the likelihood that they will have to work harder than their parents, enjoy less job security and receive fewer perks.
“For the older generation, it was easier,” said Abdulrahman Alkhelaifi, 20, during a break from his job at McDonald’s. “They’d get out of university and get a government job. Now you need an advanced degree.”
Four Saudi workers gathered in a break room said they liked their jobs but worried that they would not be as successful as their fathers, all of whom worked for the government. They knew the government had less money to employ citizens, which meant their generation would have to work harder.
“The government is good, but our generation is spoiled,” said Ahmed Mohammed, 21. “Everyone wants a government job.”
His colleagues agreed. “Everyone wants to sit at home and get paid,” Mr. Alkhelaifi said.
