Quote:Opposite Of Radical: Today's Youth Trust Uncle Sam Listen
May 11, 2010
A generation ago, young people vowed never to trust anyone over 30. But as it turns out, those under 30 today are actually more trusting of the government of all age groups, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center.

"As of now, I trust the government," says Brittany Tucker, a poli-sci major at Northeastern University in Boston. "I feel like they are trying to do what's best for us and their constituents."

Tucker believes the government helps more than it hurts. The percentage of young people who agree with her is significantly higher than is the percentage of older people who agree, though it's worth noting that it's still only about a third of the younger set who say they trust the government all or most of the time -- and it's often with caveats.

As another poli-sci major, Jennifer Kral, puts it, everything is relative.

"I definitely think that politicians are given a really bad rap. There are certainly plenty of CEOs and executives who are just as bad, and we certainly shouldn't be pointing fingers just because they're politicians. There are plenty of people in the public spotlight who are just as bad," Kral says.

Both Kral and Tucker made their first foray last week into what they still see as the noble pursuit of politics. They're running for office in their College Democrats' club. (Both won their bids -- Tucker for president, Kral for vice president.)

'Obama-Love' Or 'Blissful Ignorance'?

Like so many of her peers, Tucker was inspired to get into politics by the campaign of President Obama.

"It gives you hope, and that hope turns into trust in the government, because you believe that things can change -- or like good things can happen," Tucker says.

Analysts say that "Obama-love" may be what's propping up young people's trust. Most under-30s supported Obama in 2008 and still do today. But it doesn't explain everything. Even young Republicans who believe the best government is less government are also more trusting than their elders.

Jay Altschuler, a member of Northeastern's College Republicans, says it's basically "blissful ignorance."

"We haven't had a lot of experience with government for the most part," Altschuler says. "I think the most we had to deal with is the [Registry of Motor Vehicles] is what it comes down to."

Attitudes will change when government starts to mean more than just the registry of motor vehicles -- or as one expert put it, when the young people grow up and get "mugged by reality."

Altschuler and fellow Northeastern student and College Republican Michael Sabo agree -- "the second they get a paycheck and they see what comes out of it," Sabo says.

"I think we are all about to learn the hard way," Altschuler says.

The Opposite Of Alienated

If history is any guide, they may be right. Polls going back to 1958 show that trust always begins to head south sometime after age 30. But there are some clues that this generation may be different.

"The millennials are quite positive toward other big institutions -- like corporations and the military and faith -- so it does give you the feeling that it's a different generation," says Tufts University researcher Peter Levine.

Levine says young people today are not angry or alienated like previous generations were.

"They don't define in terms of opposition or trying to smash everything. They don't have a generation gap, really. They really cite parents as role models or political guides. The current thing is you call your mom on your cell phone to ask what she thinks, which I really don't think was a '60s attitude," Levine says.

Indeed, it may be why young people today are largely not swayed by the Tea Party movement, according to the Pew Research Center poll. The Pew survey says more than half of young people didn't know what the Tea Party was. Back at Northeastern, the mere mention of the Tea Party leaves students perplexed.

"What do you mean about the Tea Party?" replies Northeastern senior Will DuComb to a question about the movement.

"The Boston Tea Party?" asks fellow senior Jen Trost.

Like DuComb and Trost, nearly half of young people say they don't follow politics.

"I figure I'll work on that as I get older. I really don't follow it at all. I've just been studying," says Trost.

"Yeah, I just care about my finals," says DuComb.

It's a pretty good bet that these young people will begin to care more as they start looking for work in coming years. And ultimately, it may be the economy more than anything else that determines whether or not they continue to trust the government. If the recession ends sooner, young people may give the government the credit -- and their eternal trust.

But if the economic downturn persists, their positive attitude most likely will not.

(05-12-2010 06:52 AM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I don't trust anyone or anything with power, and the more power they have, the less I trust them. I'm a strong believer that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I tend to trust corporations more than government because:
1. Corporations have inherently less power. Exxon can't put me in jail; even a small municipality can if they want to.
2. Corporate employees are subject to more scrutiny than government bureaucrats. Compare what happened to the Enron executives with what happened to the Freddie/Fannie executives, or to Dodd/Franks if you want to argue that Freddie/Fannie are private organizations (they aren't, not really).

What I don't buy, not one iota, is the standard assumption on the left that corporations are run by greedy b@st@rds out to screw you but government agencies are staffed by altruistic people who have your best interests at heart. Government agencies are staffed by the same human beings as corporations, and they are subject to exactly the same pressures--in short, greedy b@st@rds out to screw you. Since pretty much all big-government thinking rests on this assumption, I'm a small-government guy. If that means corporations have more power, I'm willing to accept that trade-off.

(05-11-2010 09:19 AM)emmiesix Wrote:  Saw an interesting little snippet on NPR this morning: The youngest generation trusts the government (and other big organizations like churches, corporations) more than previous...

But I'm not sure why this generation would be so trusting...

Quote:Like so many of her peers, Tucker was inspired to get into politics by the campaign of President Obama.

(05-12-2010 04:39 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  

(05-11-2010 09:19 AM)emmiesix Wrote:  Saw an interesting little snippet on NPR this morning: The youngest generation trusts the government (and other big organizations like churches, corporations) more than previous...
But I'm not sure why this generation would be so trusting...

The article you cite, emmie, provides the most compelling answer:

Quote:Like so many of her peers, Tucker was inspired to get into politics by the campaign of President Obama.

It is quite fashionable on this board to diss Obama. (After all, he's incredibly unpopular, right? Everybody hates him! Wait -- What did you say? More people approve than disapprove of the job he's doing? Liar!...)
My conservative friends ignore the long-term effects of the 2008 election at their peril, however. As the Pew Report shows, Millennials voted overwhelmingly Democratic at historically high levels. The gap between the votes of younger and older voters was the largest in four decades. While cohorts certainly tend to become more conservative over time, as many here have observed, political views formed when coming of age tend to persist. Witness Gen X-ers who matured around 1994, or our friends who grew up idolizing Ronald Reagan.
Obama advocated for pragmatic liberalism and the good that government can do in a way America hasn't heard in some time. His slogan, after all, was "Yes, we can." Sounds like a message endorsing trust in government and institutions to me.
Cranky conservatives can roll their eyes at the gullibility of the young'uns and holler "Get off my lawn!" all they want, but the Pew study you reference, emmie, documents in great detail important developments that could shape politics and society for decades to come. It is an exciting time. The times, they certainly are a-changin'.

(05-12-2010 04:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I simply don't see how this can possibly work. If we stay on the course Obama is charting, I see us being Greece within 10 years.

(05-12-2010 04:57 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  

(05-12-2010 04:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I simply don't see how this can possibly work. If we stay on the course Obama is charting, I see us being Greece within 10 years.

You mean, "If we stay on the course Bush and the GOP charted..." Obama and the Democrats are reducing the deficit. But you knew that.

(05-12-2010 04:57 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  

(05-12-2010 04:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I simply don't see how this can possibly work. If we stay on the course Obama is charting, I see us being Greece within 10 years.

You mean, "If we stay on the course Bush and the GOP charted..." Obama and the Democrats are reducing the deficit. But you knew that.

(05-12-2010 05:03 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Help me out here.
On my computer screen, I see a line that shows a rising trend, on a scale where rising seems to indicate bigger deficits.
So how is Obama reducing the deficits?

(05-12-2010 05:13 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  Heh. I think you know the answer and maybe are pulling my leg. But anyway, it's the gap between the blue (baseline/status quo) and red (Obama) lines. The red line is lower than the blue line. Thus, compared to what would have happened, Obama reduces the deficit.
It would be fair to say that Obama and the Democrats should do more to reduce the deficit. It would even be fair to say that Obama and the Democrats (and the Republicans) should do what is necessary to turn the red line downward. But that must come with the acknowledgment that the issue is a pre-existing deficit that Democrats have already begun to reduce, not one that Barry somehow magically created. That's all.

(05-12-2010 04:39 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  

(05-11-2010 09:19 AM)emmiesix Wrote:  Saw an interesting little snippet on NPR this morning: The youngest generation trusts the government (and other big organizations like churches, corporations) more than previous...

But I'm not sure why this generation would be so trusting...

The article you cite, emmie, provides the most compelling answer:

Quote:Like so many of her peers, Tucker was inspired to get into politics by the campaign of President Obama.

It is quite fashionable on this board to diss Obama. (After all, he's incredibly unpopular, right? Everybody hates him! Wait -- What did you say? More people approve than disapprove of the job he's doing? Liar!...)

My conservative friends ignore the long-term effects of the 2008 election at their peril, however. As the Pew Report shows, Millennials voted overwhelmingly Democratic at historically high levels. The gap between the votes of younger and older voters was the largest in four decades. While cohorts certainly tend to become more conservative over time, as many here have observed, political views formed when coming of age tend to persist. Witness Gen X-ers who matured around 1994, or our friends who grew up idolizing Ronald Reagan.

Obama advocated for pragmatic liberalism and the good that government can do in a way America hasn't heard in some time. His slogan, after all, was "Yes, we can." Sounds like a message endorsing trust in government and institutions to me.

Cranky conservatives can roll their eyes at the gullibility of the young'uns and holler "Get off my lawn!" all they want, but the Pew study you reference, emmie, documents in great detail important developments that could shape politics and society for decades to come. It is an exciting time. The times, they certainly are a-changin'.

(05-12-2010 04:57 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  

(05-12-2010 04:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  I simply don't see how this can possibly work. If we stay on the course Obama is charting, I see us being Greece within 10 years.

You mean, "If we stay on the course Bush and the GOP charted..." Obama and the Democrats are reducing the deficit. But you knew that.

(05-12-2010 05:13 PM)Boston Owl Wrote:  

(05-12-2010 05:03 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Help me out here.
On my computer screen, I see a line that shows a rising trend, on a scale where rising seems to indicate bigger deficits.
So how is Obama reducing the deficits?

Heh. I think you know the answer and maybe are pulling my leg. But anyway, it's the gap between the blue (baseline/status quo) and red (Obama) lines. The red line is lower than the blue line. Thus, compared to what would have happened, Obama reduces the deficit.

It would be fair to say that Obama and the Democrats should do more to reduce the deficit. It would even be fair to say that Obama and the Democrats (and the Republicans) should do what is necessary to turn the red line downward. But that must come with the acknowledgment that the issue is a pre-existing deficit that Democrats have already begun to reduce, not one that Barry somehow magically created. That's all.