Far too many Conservatives have given up on younger voters. The sad part is, it is people under 40 (myself included) who will really be screwed by the Obama’s regime’s policies. The Right has an opening with younger voters with the fact. Yet too many are dismissive of going for younger voters. They seem to forget Ronald Reagan in 80 and 84 won the under 40 crowd.
I worry about the future — not mine but that of my three children, all in their 20s. It is an axiom of American folklore that every generation should live better than its predecessors. But this is not a constitutional right or even an entitlement, and I am skeptical that today’s young will do so. Nor am I alone. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll finds that nearly 60 percentof Americans are also doubters. I meet many parents who fear the future that awaits their children.
The young (and I draw the line at 40 and under) face two threats to their living standards. The first is the adverse effect of the Great Recession on jobs and wages. Even if this fades with time, there’s the second threat: the costs of an aging America. It’s not just Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — huge transfers from the young to the old — but also deferred maintenance on roads, bridges, water systems and power grids. Newsweek calls the young “generation screwed”; I prefer the milder “generation squeezed.”
Already, batteries of indicators depict the Great Recession’s damage. In a Pew survey last year, a quarter of 18-to-34-year-olds said they’d moved back with parents to save money. Getting a job has been time-consuming and often futile. In July, the unemployment rate among 18-to-29-year-olds was 12.7 percent. Counting people who dropped out of the labor market raises that to 16.7 percent, says Generation Opportunity, an advocacy group for the young.
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But the calculus will be selective. To aid the young, we could tighten Social Security and Medicare, raising eligibility ages and reducing payouts for wealthier retirees. Unlikely. Younger voters seem clueless about advancing their economic interests. In 2008, 18-to-29-year-olds supported Barack Obama by 34 percentage points. They love his pseudo-youthfulness. Or his positions on other issues (immigration, gay rights) trump economics. As president, Obama has done nothing to improve generational fairness.
If the young won’t help themselves, their parents and grandparents might. They might champion revising retirement programs. Dream on. Parents and grandparents may be worried about their offspring’s prospects, but they’re not so worried as to sacrifice their own. There are real conflicts between the young and old; so far, the young are losing.
The truth is my generation and the one after is being screwed. Yet too many Conservatives would rather bash us, then win our votes. They seem to forget they were young once also. Republicans if they push economic freedom, without attacking the culture can attract younger voters. The future of our nation is at stake and Conservatives need to get as many people possible to remove the regime of the god-king
Tags: Debt Crisis
Not only that, but
Obama’s polices are wrecker the future for America’s older generations. Anyone over 50 is really being screwed.
Those between 41 and 49 may be safe for a few months, but in the meanwhile, we’re going to throw you under the bus and let you squirm for a bit.
The young Folks just get to be screwed a lot longer than the older Folks before they are killed off by Obamacare. Enjoy.
The young are stronger, the old are weaker. The young will control the Obamacare death-panels. The young can beat up the old people and take all their stuff.
Yea I don’t see the distinction of age ranges. We be all screwed!
Fritz Katz wrote:
I’m in the generation that is “too young to retire, and too old to rehire.”
I used to be in IT but once you’ve been out of the field for awhile, in this type of economy, you can’t get back in, even if you update your skills.
The only job I have been offered in over 4 years is my current job as a cashier. The upshot is that we are eating into our already inadequate retirement savings and don’t have adequate insurance coverage.
Given that the auto industry seems to be reviving a bit, I already put together a resume for auto sales and I’m about to start looking for a job selling cars.
@ 1389AD:
IT is a very ageist industry.
The Osprey wrote:
Ageism is the “ism” that’ll plague Boomers until we’re dead and society’s reaction will be a collective yawn. If you’re 50+ you might as well have a swastika tattooed on your forehead. Not whining, just making the point that every age group has their own set of problems these days -- Boomers seem to be too old hire and too young (and broke) to retire.
Between 41 and 49 is not safe. I’ve been cleaning up after Baby-boomers my entire career for pennies on the dollar of what they make. It seems like I always have 5 years less experience than anyone is looking for no matter how much experience I get.
Having said that I think we’re all being screwed and fighting between generations is futile and feeds into the division of America Obama has worked so hard to create.