Six-Chart Sunday (#11) – Millennials Writhing
6 Infographics from the week + 1 interview (the legendary David Gergen)
Millennials Writhing: For those turning 30 this year, the world has been a consistently scary place.
Millennials Passing on the Parties: More than half Millennial voters identify as Independents, a higher share than two decades ago as they’ve grown disillusioned with both the GOP and Democrats.
It’s the Economy, Boomer: Voters 18-29 are more than twice as likely to cite the economy as their top concern compared with older adults in recent Gallup data.
Indebted Inheritance: As Millennials entered school, the U.S. enjoyed a federal budget surplus and was tracking to fully pay off the national debt. But over the next two decades policy decisions (1/3 tax cuts, 2/3 spending) ballooned debt to today’s $34.6T with no end in sight. Most of this debt – 77% of GDP – can be attributed to bipartisan legislation. (CFRB)
Ballot Bummer: The youngest Millennials have only had the opportunity to vote for Trump, Biden or Hillary Clinton… among the least popular candidates in modern history. Trump has never been net favorable, though he is currently much less unpopular than he was 2016 and better than 2020. Biden was net popular in 2020 but is presently polling below where Hillary Clinton ended in 2016.
Every Election is a Change Election: Each of the past six elections changed the partisan leadership alignment in Washington, and 2024 looks very likely to see one or all of the three change control again. Those seeking to understand & impact public policy must be persistent, bipartisan and constantly-engaged.
VIDEO
The legendary David Gergen, WH advisor to 4 Presidents, on how great leaders are made.
Quite insightful, as expected. The problem is-- your degree of insight, expertise, and judgement sets a high bar for everyone else, with the concomitant expectation that you will continue to rise to this level! "Those seeking to understand & impact public policy must be persistent, bipartisan and constantly-engaged."--- with this statement I gained some insight as to your thought processes and why your firm is what it is. BRAVO!