In 2008, young people came out in droves to vote for Senator Barack Obama because we thought he would make our lives better. Now, more than five years later, 15.5 percent of us are unemployed and we have largely changed our minds about Mr. Obama and politicians in general. After all the calls for change and promises of hope we ended up with something much uglier. Simply put, my generation has lost faith in the federal government and has come to see most of our elected officials for what they are: self-involved and unaware of their constituents’ needs.
It’s not just the president that we’re fed up with. We’re sick of strict partisanship and gridlock. As the most technologically savvy generation in our nation’s history we can’t stand the sprawling inefficiency and ineptitude that is our government’s bureaucracy. Twice as many young Americans think that, generally speaking, things in the nation are off on the wrong track (45%) rather than going in the right direction (21%).
This feeling of discontent with the government should serve as a huge motivating factor for young people this November, though a new poll from Harvard’s Institute of Politics suggests otherwise. Only 23 percent of Millennials say they expect to vote in the 2014 midterm elections. This should make vulnerable Democrats in swing states especially nervous, as many of them owe their jobs to the robust youth turnout that overwhelming favored their party in 2008. Further, self-identified conservatives are 10 percent more likely to head to the polls than their liberal counterparts. President Obama’s approval rating today is actually lower among 18-29 year olds than President Bush’s was before the 2006 midterms. We all remember how that worked out: Nancy Pelosi became House Speaker and Harry Reid became Senate Majority Leader.
Young people want to hold our elected officials responsible for their actions. False promises mean very little when we are faced with unemployment numbers in the double digits and crippling student debt. We don’t want slogans, we want jobs. Only 37 percent of young people approve of the president’s handling of the economy. 31 percent approve of his handling of the federal budget deficit. We recognize that our unsustainable deficits and skyrocketing national debt hurt our ability to grow the economy and create opportunity.
The most creative and entrepreneurial generation in American history is being stifled by a government that has grown out of control. We’re not getting the chance to apply our skills and share our talents, a staple of the American dream since the country’s founding. Instead we’re living in our parents’ basements.
The strict partisanship and gridlock that now represent the status quo are preventing economic growth and hindering my generation’s chances of success. Those of us who will vote in the midterm elections this fall, and I hope we are not few in number, will do so in the hope that the status quo can be modernized to better serve young Americans. We owe ourselves that much.
