Do The Political Views of Millennials Make Sense?

The Atlantic wrote a timely piece about how the political views held by Millennials don’t make any sense. The article goes on to explain that according to a recent poll conducted by the Reason Foundation, the political views held by young adults, 18 to 29 years of age, are contradictory and do not make sense.

For those of us immersed in politics and in the hope of a better future, this finding is scary - especially when you consider that Millennials (given the population size) could very likely determine who our next president will be.

In March, the Pew Institute conducted a similar survey showing that Millennial views and attitudes are an array of paradoxes. Here are some examples:

• While Millennials are the most technologically connected, they don’t trust people.
• Millennials hate the political parties but have the highest opinion of Congress.
• Millennials are the most likely to be single parents and the least likely to approve of single parenthood.
• Millennials voted overwhelmingly for Obama, want universal health care, and are fine with a bigger government … but they oppose Obamacare.
• 58% of Millennials want to cut taxes overall and 66% want to raise taxes on the wealthy.
• 66% of Millennials say: “when something is funded by the government, it is usually inefficient and wasteful, however, 2/3 of young adults think the government should guarantee food, shelter, and a living wage.”
• Millennials don’t know what socialism is, but they think it sounds nice. 49% of young adults think socialism is preferable to capitalism, but only 16% of Millennials could accurately define socialism in the survey.

With the 2016 presidential election less than a year away, it’s important for candidates to understand what’s really important to Millennial voters, and on the flip side, it’s imperative that the voters become educated before casting their vote. We can’t vote based on gender or race – we need to evaluate the whole package. Our future depends on it!

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