What the Millennials Are Thinking May Soon Change America

A majority of Millennials, people who are between the ages of 18 and 29, "believe that the government can be a force for good in the economy, and that increased investments in healthcare, education, and other areas are necessary to ensure strong and sustainable economic growth." That's a key finding from a just-published study by the Center for American Progress on the economic attitudes of this age group: "The Progressive Generation: How Young Adults Think About the Economy," by  David Madland and Amanda Logan.

The authors mainly relied on two long-running academic surveys that have been asking many of the same questions for decades, which makes it possible to compare the opinions of different age groups (and is music to the ears of this sociologist!). For example, Madland and Logan discovered that:

• Millennials are more likely to support universal health coverage than any age group in the 30 previous years the question has been asked. In fact, 87% of them think Uncle Sam should spend more on health care -- even if taxes have to be increased to pay for it

• A whopping 95% think education spending should be increased, even if taxes have to be raised. They're the most sup­portive age group ever to respond to this question.

• The Millennials overwhelming support increased government services, think the economy is the biggest issue in this year's election, and they're pro-labor union, too.

It's going to be quite an adjustment for me and the other baby boomers out there, but not only are the Millennials more progressive than we are (or were), but there are more of them than there are folks from our generation – and their percent of the population will only increase as we head off to the great bye and bye. Almost seven out of ten of them already think their generation is unique, while only half of the baby boomers feel that way.

What Makes the Millennials So Progressive?
You might think that their viewpoints are due to the hard time they're having with declining incomes, growing debts, and increasingly high costs for health care, housing, education, and especially child care. (For more about the current economic state of young Americans, see my last post, where I concluded "it's not so hot," based on findings from new Demos research.)

Perhaps you're thinking, maybe once they get a little older, their attitudes will moderate. That's not likely, according to David Madland and Amanda Logan, who have reviewed the academic literature and conclude that:

"political ideas and attachments that are developed in early adulthood tend to last. Research suggests that a social­ization process occurs that leads young adults to hold onto the party identifica­tion and opinions that they developed in their formative years. While people’s opinions certainly change throughout their life, they are more likely to hold onto existing views than to reverse them."

The authors also point to independent studies that show the same thing, and "contradict commonly held assumptions that aging leads to conserva­tism" and "cast significant doubts on the idea that the Millennials' economic pro­gressivism will moderate over time." If that's true, and the Millennials will maintain their viewpoints, it seems as though a lot is going to change in this country. This is a politically active generation that not only cares deeply about economic issues, but it's also voting in increasing numbers.

Are you a Millennial, or do you love any? Do these research findings jibe with your viewpoints? How do you think the Millennial's will impact your finances?

Nancy Castleman – Co-author of "Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life" and founder of Good Advice Press. Nancy has spent the last 23 years teaching people how to get out of debt, save money, and live better on less. She writes on all these subjects for CreditBloggers.com.

Comments

[BillyOceansEleven]

I swear my peers are a bunch of retards! I am on the older end of this group (29) and by views are just the opposite. Government isn't the solution to the problem, government is the problem! Where does this ill-conceived notion of the wonders of socialism come from?

[Jim]

I'm 26 and think this researched is very biased and polarizing. Government isn't going to fix your problems and you should never be running to it when you have one. Since when is it the government's responsibility to provide food, shelter, health care, just to name a few? Tax the people who work hard and are successful and reward people who won't take care of themselves. We are on the edge of socialism taking over America.

Everyone starts out on the bottom. Income is going to be low when you get your first job. It takes hard work and time to advance to a point you want to be. The arrogance of younger people expecting high income at an entry level job just because they have a degree is ludicrous. Producers and people eager to learn and grow get further. On top of that, start saving for retirement in your 20s reduces that low income. Social insecurity won't be there for this generation. Right now the top 50% of people in America pay 97% of taxes. Half of this country is carrying the other half on its back. The higher the taxes go the less likely people will strive for success if they can't even keep it.

[Pete]

I'm 27, and I think socialized healthcare in this country would be a catastrophe. So there!