Amanda Logan on the Progressive Gap

How have young American's views on the economy changed in recent years?

Young adults' views on a wide range of economic issues from universal health care coverage, to their views of labor unions, to assistance for the needy, have become much more progressive in recent years. And while young minorities—our study particularly looked at young blacks and Hispanics—remain more progressive than young whites on a lot of issues, young whites are actually closing this gap in recent years. This is due in large part to the fact that young whites have seemed to largely reject the more conservative views of older whites, while young minorities are continuing to hold the more progressive views that elder minorities have held. And this is making is so that even thought the Millennial generation is the most diverse generation that we have seen, their views on a lot of economic policy issues are actually much more cohesive.

Why are the views of young blacks, Hispanics, and whites more similar now?

Well, one thing I think it's important to note is not only are the views of young blacks, whites, and Hispanics much more similar when it comes to economic policy issues; they're also much more similar when it comes to how to address these issues, and they again are holding much more progressive viewpoints on how to address these economic problems. While our study didn't really look too closely at the why behind what's happening, it's pretty reasonable to assume that today's young people—the Millennial generation—are facing a much harsher economic reality than have previous generations when they were younger. They've grown up in a time of declining health care coverage; they're facing a weak labor market; they're dealing with skyrocketing costs for higher education and debt levels; and so they seem to be perhaps rejecting the more conservative views and ways of dealing with economic issues and are embracing the more progressive alternatives.

Will this diverse group of Millennials affect the political landscape and upcoming election?

While it's hard to predict what will or won't happen on November 4th and beyond, I think it's important to remember that the Millennial generation is a large generation, and they're also more politically engaged than have been previous generations of young people. While young people today still remain less likely to vote than older groups, Millennials are actually closing this gap. We've seen record levels of voter turnout among young adults throughout the 2008 primary season, and the 2008 election is setting up to to be the third election in a row with record levels of turn out among young voters. It's also important to note that young adults have consistently cited the economy as the number one issue they think about during an election cycle—not just this year—and it seems safe to assume that they're going to vote with the economy at heart when they head to the voting booths this November. And since they were already saying this before we found ourselves in the current economic situation that we're in today, it should be reasonable to assume that they will bring those progressive views to the voting booths not only today, but in future elections to come.