"A dying empire led by bad people.” -- Young Voters Strike To The Heart Of Our National Collapse
The reality of the nation summarized in seven words.
Photo by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
Poll Finds Young Voters Despairing Over The Corrupt Irrelevance Of US Politics
“Young voters do not look at our politics and see any good guys. They see a dying empire led by bad people.”
By Shelby Talcott
Semafor (5/29/24)
Young voters overwhelmingly believe that almost all politicians are corrupt and that the country will end up worse off than when they were born, according to new polling from Democratic firm Blueprint obtained exclusively by Semafor.
The sour mood points to potential trouble for Joe Biden, who is struggling with Gen Z and younger Millennials in polls compared with 2020, and needs to convince them he can be relied on to improve their lives.
As part of the online poll of 943 18-30-year-old registered voters, Blueprint asked participants to respond to a series of questions about the American political system: 49% agreed to some extent that elections in the country don’t represent people like them; 51% agreed to some extent that the political system in the US “doesn’t work for people like me;” and 64% backed the statement that “America is in decline.” A whopping 65% agreed either strongly or somewhat that “nearly all politicians are corrupt, and make money from their political power” — only 7% disagreed.
“I think these statements blow me away, the scale of these numbers with young voters,” Evan Roth Smith, Blueprint’s lead pollster, told Semafor. “Young voters do not look at our politics and see any good guys. They see a dying empire led by bad people.”
Nation skidding downhill
While 45% of those polled said their own lives would be either a lot or a little bit better than their parents’, the same wasn’t true for how they felt America as a whole is doing: 54% — a number that included a solid mix of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — believed the country is going downhill.
The data also found the COVID-19 pandemic has left a lasting, bad taste in the mouths of young voters: 51% of those polled said they were happier before the COVID-19 pandemic, 77% said that the event changed the country for the worse, and 45% said they feel less connected to friends and acquaintances compared with five years ago.
“Step one is more fully admitting that people are hurting, concerning young voters and all voters, particularly around the economy [and] inflation,” Smith said. “And that we’re doing something about it. That it’s not all roses, and communicating that really, really strongly: That we don’t think everything is great.” …
Young People See The US For What It Is: "A DYING EMPIRE Led By Bad People"
Breaking Points (5/30/24)
Krystal and Emily discuss new data showing young people see the US as a dying empire run by corrupt and bad people.
23-minute video
Viewer Comment…
“Good segment - as a Gen Z person myself, I'm going abroad to university later this year and will remain in that country to obtain citizenship over time. Hard to stay in the U.S. with high inflation, poor infrastructure, expensive housing, unaffordable education and healthcare, while watching our tax dollars fund wars abroad. There are plenty of developed European countries with essential social safety net policies (e.g. public healthcare and better parental leave) with great infrastructure (e.g. high speed trains). Encourage everyone to get your passports and consider your options.”
—@damnstraight96
There is no sense at any level that our representatives ever consider us. With technology it would seem Americans could vote on more issues…”Americans, we are thinking of sending 60 billion to Ukraine. Here are both sides of the argument. Submit your vote by Friday’
When I was in my early 20’s, we believed our politicians were corrupt and in the pockets of large donors. We despaired over the Vietnam disaster, and believed the war was fought for the industrial complex that was hugely profiting from the blood of others.
Yup, the more things change….