There’s a common refrain I always hear from people over 40: “Today’s youth, the next generation, will be forced to pay for the many mistakes and fiscal irresponsibility of the generations currently in charge. National debt, the failure of Social Security, Obamacare, you young’ins are the ones who will have to pay the price. So why don’t more of you care more about this?” On face, this is a perfectly reasonable question. Indeed, it is on point to recognize that the next generation, my generation, will bear the brunt of the damage from the economic maladies being pushed through Congress today and for the past 20 years.
However, I believe the reason that so few young people are taking to the streets over this issue is simple: idealism. Typically, people are most idealistic when they are young, meaning they are moved by and take action for certain romantic ideals such as freedom and justice. What’s more, when you are young, you have the opportunity to plan for a long life. The prospect of never receiving a Social Security check means little when you have decades to make your own money and focus on other issues. There is little worry about paying the piper when payment is so far down the road. For the sake of one’s ideals, the youth are able and willing to take risks and make sacrifices in the present for the potential rewards of idealism in the future.
Given this background of idealism, the rationale behind most students is understandable: “I know these programs are costly, and they may even be untenable. However, these programs are what we need to have a better country. For that ideal, I’m willing to work a little harder and pay a little more. I’m young and energetic and can easily deal with that cost to achieve the various programs’ goals.” Even if few young people won’t admit it, I have a strong suspicion that this is the underlying logic behind the fact that 75% of people under the age of 30 don’t think they will ever receive a Social Security check, but very few of those people are doing anything about it.
So what is the solution? Fiscal responsibility and limited government needs to stop being sold by older generations in terms of the numbers alone. The importance of restricting government spending and limiting the areas of life to which government intrudes needs to be sold for what it really is: an ideal. The massive numbers behind the government’s failures are illustrative of the problem and should be invoked. But the numbers alone are not enough. The problem of excessive government involvement in people’s lives is what will energize the youth to rally behind government restraint. Invoke the principles of liberty! Invoke Benjamin Franklin’s saying that “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Invoke the moral superiority of the government that governs least. So long as the moral high ground is given to big government, there will always be a dearth of youthful supporters. For those who want to bring young people to the cause of liberty, the solution is simple: invoke the moral imperative of liberty. The rest will follow.
