Schism Opens Among Millennials: Younger Voters More Fiscally Conservative

[Frodo]

Apparently we're not as ideologically monolithic as generally assumed:

‘Schism’ among millennials: Recession sways some of the newest voters to fiscal conservatism

By Associated Press, Updated: Saturday, October 27, 3:29 PM

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[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

Sounds about right. I don't necessarily identify as a liberal, but I'm socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

[afleitch]

Not unexpected; they found the same for my generation about ten years ago in the UK but now we're older we've trended the other way. That happens when you start to work and not getting everything you thought you'd get. Of course the fact the GOP seems happy splashing about in a culture war means they are safely Democratic for a few cycles yet.

[5280]

This is probably right. I don't identify as a liberal, but I'm socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

-.90 on your score is not fiscally conservative

[Likely Voter]

The problem is that Millenials are also peaceniks, ethnically diverse and pro-gay rights. The GOP could be the party of the future if they left the Pat Buchannan/John Bolton/Mike Huckabee wings behind. But they cant do that or at least not yet.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

This is probably right. I don't identify as a liberal, but I'm socially liberal and fiscally conservative.

-.90 on your score is not fiscally conservative

Well my support for a balanced budget through reduced spending, closure of loopholes, and a return to Clinton Era Tax Rates seems to disagree with you.

[bgwah]

This is to be expected. It tends to go in cycles.

People currently in their 20s are going to be liberal for the rest of their lives. The following generation will probably be more conservative, even if they still lean D in their youth. Maybe current 20-somethings will be 70-30 D in their youth and 55-45 D later on, while current teens will be 60-40 D in their youth and 55-45 R later on. If that makes any sense.

[Phony Moderate]

18-19 is the Randian age for many, no?

[Torie]

I guess the punks might not be as dumb as I suspected, as to what is in their own self interest at least.  There's hope!

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I guess the punks might not be as dumb as I suspected, as to what is in their own self interest at least.  There's hope!

Not dumb in that sense. Still dumb, arguably, in the sense of caring an excessively great deal about such self-interest to the exclusion of many other concerns.

[Torie]

I guess the punks might not be as dumb as I suspected, as to what is in their own self interest at least.  There's hope!

Not dumb in that sense. Still dumb, arguably, in the sense of caring an excessively great deal about such self-interest to the exclusion of many other concerns.

You don't think this debt run up and 10 trillion underfunded pubic employee pension bomb, not to mention the runaway geezer medical entitlement bomb no matter how costly, old and rich a geezer you are as,  is doing anything other than  just screwing the heck out of the punks (and that is before we even get to what the teachers' unions have wrought on the quality of their education)? Please help me with some of this, fiscally speaking.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

'Conservative' is a relative term... people like Magnetic say "grrr, you're not a real conservative" etc etc... but for example you have to consider the term MORE fiscally conservative, as opposed to being fiscally conservative.

HOWEVER, the biggest problem, is that they, overall, are very supportive of action on climate change, same sex marriage and abortion rights and those things do effect their votes, unlike the Tories (the poster), who are financially secure enough to vote their whims sometimes, but overall are wealthy enough to not have to worry those perky equal rights and will vote purely on economic self-interest.

The other thing I've noticed among Millennials is that while there is more interest in economic restraint at the same time as being very socially liberal, they ARE more altruistic overall.

[Devils30]

If the economy recovers the next 4 years, the Dems will have no problems with the 18,19 years olds of today.

[RogueBeaver]

Probably closer to the Warner rather than Ryan end of the spectrum, but yeah, believable.

[RI]

Millenials tend to either be liberal or libertarian.

[Devils30]

What's pretty much inevitable is pot legalization. Plenty of support from liberals all around and younger conservatives.

[Adam Griffin]

This is to be expected. It tends to go in cycles.

People currently in their 20s are going to be liberal for the rest of their lives. The following generation will probably be more conservative, even if they still lean D in their youth. Maybe current 20-somethings will be 70-30 D in their youth and 55-45 D later on, while current teens will be 60-40 D in their youth and 55-45 R later on. If that makes any sense.

I agree. The 20-somethings are liberal because they are old enough to remember - and were shaped very much by - the blatant failures of policy resulting after 9/11. The ones just becoming old enough to vote, by comparison, do not remember the failures that led to this horrible current climate but only know the results of it and probably associate the current leadership with it.

[RI]

What's pretty much inevitable is pot legalization. Plenty of support from liberals all around and younger conservatives.

Nothing is inevitable, especially in politics.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Maybe it's because schools brainwash kids with all this conservative crap.

[DemPGH]

If the economy recovers the next 4 years, the Dems will have no problems with the 18,19 years olds of today.

That's it right there. Re-electing O is only the first problem. If the GOP obstructs him in the event that he gets re-elected, he can point that out, but if the economy rebounds well he gets all the credit. The GOP knows that.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I guess the punks might not be as dumb as I suspected, as to what is in their own self interest at least.  There's hope!

Not dumb in that sense. Still dumb, arguably, in the sense of caring an excessively great deal about such self-interest to the exclusion of many other concerns.

You don't think this debt run up and 10 trillion underfunded pubic employee pension bomb, not to mention the runaway geezer medical entitlement bomb no matter how costly, old and rich a geezer you are as,  is doing anything other than  just screwing the heck out of the punks (and that is before we even get to what the teachers' unions have wrought on the quality of their education)? Please help me with some of this, fiscally speaking.

Relax, Torie, I was just pulling your leg.

Speaking seriously, of course there are all sorts of legitimate reasons to be a fiscal conservative, I'd go so far as to say almost certainly more than there are to be a fiscal 'liberal' (the operative word here being not any word at all but the scare quotes) assuming you accept the basics of how the present system operates. The problem for me is, I don't accept those basics and I have a fairly good idea of what I would accept (it's not the opebo solution, I promise you) but I have no idea how to get there without massive amounts of collateral damage, so I'm left muddling along splitting the difference and supporting those policies that are marginally less far from my admittedly over-idealistic beliefs, hoping all the while that we'll be able to muddle through the nonsensical contradictions therein well enough that we keep our dignity intact and don't die in a heap, or at least still have our dignity intact when we do die in a heap.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Nonsense. No young person defines themselves as 'fiscal conservative' apart from a group of 20-year old nerdy undergraduate economics students.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

What the poll doesn't show is that these millennials have a very different view of what constitutes "fiscal conservatism" than older voters.

[memphis]

What the poll doesn't show is that these millennials have a very different view of what constitutes "fiscal conservatism" than older voters.

You mean young voters don't consider enormous tax cuts with greatly increased military spending to be "fiscally conservative"?

[Cliffy]

this is what I was saying the other day about I've run into quite a few libertarians in the younger generation.