There is a growing trend of young adults delaying major life decisions including getting married, finding a job and purchasing a home. Saturday afternoon, CPAC panelists answered the question, “Why am I still living in my parents basement?” with the answer, “Obama’s failed economic policies.”
The Obama administration’s programs have been particularly patronizing to young people, tying them to their student loan debt and their parent’s health care plan.
The government reaches out to young people with a menu of public programs to make them feel the government cares. Students are offered loan assistance, job training, healthcare and more. They lie to students about their ability to get a job, while simultaneously creating an environment where jobs cannot be created.
Abigail Alger of the Leadership Institute said this results in young people willing to hand decisions to the government about their education, healthcare and housing they wouldn’t have allowed their parents to make. Alger claims, “they are moving out of their parents’ basement, and into the government’s basement.”
The government is telling young adults to “hurry up and wait,” in the words of Paul Conway, President of Generation Opportunity. Why would they start a business, start a family, buy a home, etc, when liberal government policies punish those activities and reward laziness, singleness, and joblessness?
But how do conservatives reach out to young people? The panel, including Alger, Conway, the Chairwoman of the Young Republicans National Federation, Lisa Stickan, and the Chairman of the College Republican National Committee, Alex Schriver, advocated using examples they can understand. Explaining how wealth redistribution is just as wrong as GPA distribution is a useful tactic, as well as letting them know obtaining a gender studies degree will never pay off. And, of course, reassuring them the government’s basement is exactly like your parents’ basement.
