There’s no doubt that millennials have different opinions on politics from their parents and grandparents.
The last few years have seen a huge divide in the American political sphere. A big part of that is a generational divide.
While millennials are all old enough to vote (the youngest millennials clock in at 21) many of them aren’t yet old enough to run for office. American law stipulates that presidential candidates must be at least 35 years old. However, millennials now make up the largest voting demographic in the United States.
Although many of them don’t have their eye on the presidency, that doesn’t mean they don’t have ideas for what they would do if they were given the power.
Many people think that the millennial generation is still in its teens.
In reality, millennials are now between the ages of 21 and about 37. This means that they are in the workforce, getting married, having children, and getting politically active. Millennials are passionate about voting, with a huge generational push to stand up for their beliefs in the political sphere — especially since many people in that age bracket don’t see their values being represented.
Millennials also have a lot of ideas about where the country should be headed.
So, what would millennials do if they had the chance to be president for a day?
The answers are pretty detailed.
“I’d get started ramping up efforts in fighting the opioid crisis, primarily by addressing the stigma around those that suffer from opioid dependency,” said Jordan Lollis from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “It’s a problem that affects the rich and the poor and isn’t limited to any one community. Doctors have been overprescribing opioid medication and pharmaceutical companies have been less than forthcoming about the addictive nature of the class of drug. Comprehensive User Engagement Sites (CUES), like they’re starting in Philly, could be a real game changer if developed on a national scale.”
“As a doctor, I would have to say healthcare would be my first issue to tackle,” said Greg from Washington, D.C. “On day one I would un-repeal Obamacare and try to push for more government subsidized programs to help those most vulnerable such as pregnant mothers and those struggling with addiction. Then I would declare a war on obesity.”
Others are worried about renewable energy sources.
“I’d save taxpayers money and slash the Department of Defense budget to 1/10 of its current size and redistribute 4/10 to education, 1/10 to giving the Federal Drug Administration actual teeth and power to protect consumers and 2/10 to boosting funding to National Science Foundation and the National Park Service,” said Natalia Martinez from Burlington, North Carolina. “The Department of Energy would be directed to push solar and wind ASAP while facilitating a national termination of extractive operations for energy by 2030 (importation of fossil fuels would also be phased out).”
The answers show that millennials have a number of priorities and concerns that they feel aren’t getting addressed in the current political climate. The top concerns include health care, the opioid crisis, war and defense, immigration, climate change, mental health care resources, education, and equality.
Many people said they would immediately withdraw American troops from the Middle East. Others said they would revisit DACA and the Paris Agreement.
Many also expressed a need to leave behind highly partisan politics and reach across the aisle to both political parties.
“I would make a promise to the American people—live, both televised and streamed—to do my best to listen and communicate across the political spectrum,” said Sangeeta, 28, a Democrat from Kansas.
They’re also concerned about ending bigotry once and for all.
Many answers called for a renewed commitment in American politics to respect, equality, and outreach to all people regardless of race, gender, or background.
Many American millennials have been frustrated by politics in recent years. Growing contentions and slowed results have caused young people to lose faith in the two-party system, with more and more millennials moving to the center of the political aisle. Many of them feel like the real concerns like the ones cited in their answers are falling by the wayside in favor of squabbling over partisan politics.
Others have become seriously disturbed by the renewed outpouring of racial tensions in the United States. Many answers cited the need for respect and equal treatment of all people throughout the country.
What makes millennials the way they are?
There is no doubt that millennials have a unique outlook on life and culture. Their generation has many challenges that their parents and grandparents did not experience. They are on track to be one of the poorest and most underemployed generations in many years.
With older millennials coming of age in time for the dot com bubble to burst and younger millennials reaching adulthood at the time of the housing market crash, they are used to the prospect of poverty, poor healthcare, financial difficulty, and overwork. In fact, experts compare the millennial attitude toward money and work to that of the generation that lived through the Great Depression.
Millennials also have a heavy tendency to be workaholics. Where their parents and grandparents dreamed of fast cars and mansions, millennials fantasize about affordable rent, having enough to eat, and paying off their student loans.
They are also the first generation in the world that grew up in an almost constant connection with technology. They came of age with the internet and tend to be well-traveled and more charitable than their parents and grandparents. This may be in part to their own experiences of hard work and financial difficulties.
Their coming-of-age story has given them a unique approach to society, politics, and how to reach out to the underprivileged.
Yet millennials are continually vilified by older generations. According to popular lore, millennials are just the worst.
It’s become an internet joke to list all the things that millennials have supposedly “killed,” according to their parents and grandparents. Media outlets have accused them of sounding the death knell for every industry from cruises to napkins. They also eat too much avocado toast and don’t like mayonnaise enough to satisfy previous generations.
But they’re growing up and finding a voice.
None of that changes the fact that millennials aren’t children anymore. They’re adults who have an active political voice and are determined to use it.
What is more, more millennials are now stepping into political office. The election of 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Congress was a stark reminder of that. With young people stepping into the political sphere, perhaps their goals are not so far off after all.
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