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J_J_

(1,213 posts)
Fri Oct 31, 2014, 11:12 AM Oct 2014

Young people want to spend money on jobs and schools. The old like war and Social Security [View all]


Three of these trends are intuitive. People over 65 are fans of a government program whose main purpose is giving money to people over 65. And you'd expect a population segment made up overwhelmingly of retirees not to be especially concerned about job creation. You'd also expect people under 35 — who may still be in college, or have student debt, or have kids starting to enter school — to care more about education.

The military spending trend is where this gets really interesting. You can think of reasons for why young people would be less inclined to spend a lot on defense. Older people are likelier to be veterans and to have friends who were veterans, for one. But all of the most plausible theories have nothing to do with life cycles. If knowing or being a veteran helps explain this, then one would expect younger people to put a lower priority on defense spending more or less indefinitely, as the all-volunteer military isn't going anywhere, and if anything should be expected to shrink relative to the population.

There's no obvious reason to think the share of adults under 35 who think military spending should be a major priority will grow over time. And if it doesn't, that implies a pretty significant political shift on that issue.

http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6zM13V7ithmq5Bo-BD8Vfshih9k=/800x0/filters:no_upscale%28%29/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/2404502/us-age-most-impt-gov-spending.0.png

http://www.vox.com/xpress/2014/10/30/7091339/government-spending-defense-education-jobs-social-security


How is it then, they expect us to believe that Millennials are turning out to support Republicans?

Because the media is a bunch of fucking liars!
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don't believe me? Read these comments from millennials at Reddit J_J_ Oct 2014 #1
I'm old. I don't like war and I do support spending on jobs and schools. The Velveteen Ocelot Oct 2014 #2
looks like young people already understand the uselessness of corporate wars J_J_ Oct 2014 #3
And yet the wars are fought by volunteers who volunteer young. It's not senior citizens piloting Bluenorthwest Oct 2014 #9
If you can't get a job, the military might look like a good deal. The Velveteen Ocelot Oct 2014 #10
What you said N/T Old Codger Oct 2014 #7
threads by younguns DustyJoe Oct 2014 #4
they are angry that the boomers enjoyed the best economy in the US to get theirs J_J_ Oct 2014 #5
Not the boomers fault at all. alarimer Oct 2014 #6
I agree we need to unite J_J_ Oct 2014 #15
What it says to me is that millenials have grown up in an environment... JHB Oct 2014 #12
but millennial values are more aligned with the values of the hippies according to this J_J_ Oct 2014 #19
I've never met even one of these people who allegedly exist who somehow favor their own current Bluenorthwest Oct 2014 #8
Never ever met any old people who are not highly focused on their own offspring and grandchildren J_J_ Oct 2014 #18
I'm 69 years old. When I was 21, I supported Social Security MineralMan Oct 2014 #11
of course it is wrong to stereotype J_J_ Oct 2014 #13
And yet you did stereotype. MineralMan Oct 2014 #14
I would like to see intelligent dialogue from the growing number of millennials turning Republican J_J_ Oct 2014 #16
I can't answer your question. For political discussion, DU MineralMan Oct 2014 #17
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