What will the US look like in a generation?
Image: COSA
If the entire country was at a concert and the performer asked, “how we feeling America?” – the answer probably wouldn’t be “optimistic.”
According to the most-recent WSJ-NORC poll regarding the attitudes, behaviors, and attributes of the general public, more than three-quarters of Americans think people from Generation Alpha (aka anyone born after 2012) won’t have better lives than themselves – the highest percentage in history. The survey has been conducted every few years since 1972.
🏊 Let’s dive right in… The data, which included responses from 1,000+ adults, showed Americans’ dim hopes for the future were in large part due to widespread economic pessimism. Four in five US adults described the current state of the economy as “poor” or “not so good,” and nearly half said they expected it to get worse in the near future.
- Americans who held a negative outlook on the economy cited a wide range of major concerns, including inflation (65% of respondents), housing costs (43%), and the price of healthcare and prescription drugs (41%).
Though unlike a Snuggie, these economic concerns aren’t one-size-fits-all. Another possible explanation for pessimism towards future generations, per the WSJ, is that Americans are losing faith in the power of a college education to improve their financial prospects. Some 56% of US adults currently think a four-year college degree isn’t worth the cost to obtain, up from 46% when the question was last asked in 2017.
📉 Zoom out: Overall, the WSJ-NORC survey data shows that Americans are just feeling blue, da ba dee da ba da – and especially so over the past few years.
- Just 12% of US adults currently describe themselves as “very happy,” the lowest level dating back to 1972. Prior to 2021, that figure had never fallen below 27%.
- On the flip side, 30% of Americans said they are currently “not too happy,” representing the highest level on record. Before 2021, that number had never risen above 17%.
đź“Š Flash poll: Do you think that life for Generation Alpha (people born after 2012) will be better than it has been for you?
See a 360° view of what media pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that the current issue with politics is that decisions made by current and older generations can imperil the livelihoods of the generations to come without any consequences for those who set the rules.
- Others contend that something has changed in America over the past decade or so in regards to the current deep political divide between blue and red, and predict that these issues will continue to plague America during the next generations, too.
- “Want politics to be better? Focus on future generations.” –William MacAskill and Tyler John, WaPo
- Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid” –Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic
- “The scariest financial future of any generation since the Great Depression” –Michael Hobbes, Huffington Post
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that, based on recent events like the Covid pandemic and high political tensions, Gen Alpha will likely have grown up with more adverse childhood experiences than previous generations, which could have a wide-ranging negative impact on the future of America.
- Others contend that the history of American government has operated on the premise that we owe an obligation to both future and past generations to leave the world a better place than we found it.
- “Our youngest generation is looking to us for guidance through this fragile time” –Jerald McNair, Chicago Tribune
- “What Old and Young Americans Owe One Another” –Yuval Levin, American Enterprise Institute
- “Balancing the budget matters for future generations” –The Brunswick News Editorial Board
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