Not a day goes by when we are not treated to some old fifty year old host making a snarky comment on Fox News about how lazy, pathetic, and left leaning the millennial generation is. However, far too little examination is spent on answering the question, why do millennials vote Democrat? Although the audience may be tragically few, for those Republicans who care to have an answer to this question, keep reading.
The most elemental lesson in politics is, voters vote for those who speak to their needs and desires. How many Republican politicians speak to the millennial generation? As a millennial I’ll answer the question for you. NONE!
One of the largest concerns for the millennial generation is the unreasonable and unconscionable cost of college. The problem is so bad, student loan debt has increased 150% in the last decade. Outstanding student loan debt is now the second largest source of household debt; being eclipse only by mortgages. Sadly mortgages are not something many millennials have to worry about, since due to their enormous student loans, many do not stand a chance to qualify. I know multimillionaires hosting Fox News shows argue millennials live at home with their parents out of a lack of ambition. But as people who claim to reveal capitalism, the real reason should be clear. It is instead due to a lack of credit.
So, which Republican 2016 candidate talked about the unbelievable rise in student loan debt? To save you time reviewing speech transcripts I will tell you the answer. Other than a few comments by then candidate Trump, the answer is again, none!
Sadly, in the pending tax bill, President Trump has allowed congressional Republicans to abandoned the millennial generation’s biggest issue by allowing them to remove interest charges on student loans from the list of available tax deductions. Now millennials paying at times ten percent interest on thirty thousand dollar loans can enjoy the pleasure of no longer being able to deduct interest charges from their taxes. I am sure that will go far in encouraging millennials to vote Republican.
The fact is 32% of children in our society grow up in families living in poverty. The fact is corporate earnings are the highest in history. The fact is wages for the youngest Americans have not increased in thirty years while congressional Republicans continue to support increasing visas for high skilled workers.
It is a sad fact that the case for growing the party of Lincoln to appeal to younger generation is only being made by a blind radio host. It is sad that the biggest advocate for issues that matter to millennials is a 150 year old self-proclaimed socialist. But Bernie Sanders was the only candidate who made millennial issues the focus of his campaign.
This is not a defense of Sanders. This is not a defense of freakish social justice warriors who believe anything that offends their feeble minds can be removed from society. Instead, it is an explanation of why the now largest percentage of our society, the millennial generation, votes the way they do.
Millennials are NOT lazy or ignorant. Millennials are not socialists. Millennials are like every other generation of Americans who came before them. We have issues that matter to us. Candidates who speak to those needs will get our votes. For candidates who do not, stop complaining.