Opinion

Here’s why my fellow millennials are seduced by socialism

Socialism is taking my generation by storm. But just like a hurricane, socialism didn’t gain traction overnight.

It’s important to look at the typical millennial trajectory, and why unprecedented government intervention into our daily lives is now widely seen as the only solution to the problems that bedevil us as a generation.

Millennials grew up in an age of college-prep academics, where the only choice was to go to a college or university. We took this journey on the faith that a college education would give us the necessary skills to kick-start our careers.

After graduation, we quickly found out that our alma maters did little to prepare us to be job-ready. Millions of young Americans are now trapped in underemployment or unemployment in their industry of choice.





Just as we get our first student-loan bill, we find ourselves navigating unpaid and low-paid internships that are often a dead end professionally.

Moving to a large metro area becomes a necessity; most of the jobs created since the Great Recession are in a handful of urban areas. Trouble is, these areas are wildly unaffordable.

The next predictable step is working a service-industry job that doesn’t require a degree while trying to get set up in a city with job openings in our fields. Yet a booming job market often also means a housing horror show. Misguided housing policies in places like New York, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco have created such a tight market that it is often financially impossible for a young person to move there.





Still, we persist, often with parental help and significant struggle. Eventually, we get a job that previous generations probably wouldn’t envy. We pay through the nose for health insurance, have zero job security and pray we advance as soon as possible. Most of us, contrary to popular belief, try to fight our latte-obsessed, avocado-toast-addled, entitled-youngster image.

Many of us are eternally disappointed with the unjust system that blocked us from doing things past generations did, like get married, have kids and have a lovely oak-shaded, picket-fence life.

Our system, it seems, is skewed in favor of older people, and we see it every day: We long for something more.

Then we turn on our streaming services and find politicians who seem to understand us, who are tapping into the spirit of a generation that’s reacting to the post-Great Recession era.





The new crop of self-proclaimed socialist candidates is promising a smorgasbord of programs that are intended to get us out of our “struggle-bus” reality.

Given such a journey, it is easy to see why socialism seduces young Americans. We desperately need change if we are ever going to progress as a generation. The problem is, what the socialists are proposing — more government — is exactly the opposite of what we need. In fact, many of the most prominent obstacles we have faced are the result, at least in part, of heavy-handed government interference.

Tuition hikes, for instance, can be traced to the feds’ involvement in student loans. Housing costs are in the stratosphere because of restrictive policies, such as overly zealous zoning or out-of-date rent control. Health care is out of reach because it’s essentially a regulatory boondoggle that created an uncompetitive market.





I understand why millennials are seduced by populist politicians who promise a better life, but they shouldn’t fall for it.

Growing government is expensive and inefficient, and the government machinery already in place is frequently dysfunctional and prone to be hijacked by special interests.

In the end, our generation will be liable for the staggering bill for these programs. Nothing is free, and working millennials will stand to lose trillions of dollars of wealth if we sleepwalk our way into socialism.

Truth is, young people need exactly the opposite of socialism — pro-growth policies and restrained, common-sense regulation. This will create more economic opportunities and more avenues into the middle class. Socialist policies will only choke economic opportunity and make our tough existence far worse.

David Grasso is editor of GenBiz.org, a nonprofit that promotes financial literacy and entrepreneurship for young Americans.





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