Pew Research: Here come Asian immigrants, Millennials and unaffiliated voters
Huge immigration over the past 40 years have made Hispanics America’s largest minority group but the next wave is Asian immigrants, and they will overtake Hispanic immigration in coming decades, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. What’s more, Millennials might already be the nation’s largest generation, surpassing Baby Boomers. Women breadwinners continue to be a rapidly-growing group in America. And whites, blacks, Christians and the middle class all will continue to lose share of the American population over the next few decades, the new Pew report, ten demographic trends that are shaping the U.S. and the world, states. The trends, all clearly evidenced in Florida, which in most ways is ahead of the national curves on demographic trends, lay out new economic, social and political policy challenges, and also, help explain many of the immediate conflicts in American society and politics. “At its core, demography is the act of counting people. But it’s also important to study the forces that are driving population change, and measure how these changes have an impact on people’s lives,” Pew authors D’Vera Cohn and Andrea Caumont state in the report released Thursday morning. “For example, how does immigration affect U.S. population growth? Do Americans feel that children are better off with a parent at home, in an era when most women work? How is the rise of the young-adult Millennial generation contributing to the rise of Americans with no stated religion?” Among the trends Pew highlights are: The U.S. population is projected to become even more diverse in coming decades. Within 50 years, Hispanic, Asian and black Americans will become a majority — 51 percent — while whites slip to 46 percent of the population. Hispanic immigration is declining, and Asian immigration is increasing, so that within three or four decades Asian immigration will surpass Hispanic immigration to the United States. Already, whites are likely to represent less than 70 percent of the American electorate in 2016, making it the most diverse electorate in history. Wide generational gaps are opening on political views, particularly on social issues. “Young adult Millennials are much more likely than their elders to hold liberal views on many political and social issues though they are also less liable to identify with either political party: 50 percent call themselves political independents,” Cohn and Caumont write. And Millennials are the most diverse generation ever, with 43 percent nonwhite. Yet, many Millennials struggle with student debt, and, faced with the weak labor market of recent years, many still live at home. Despite these troubles, Millennials are the most upbeat about their financial future. The share of U.S. adults living in middle-income households fell to 50 percent in 2015, after more than four decades in which those homes served as the nation’s economic majority. Christians are declining as a percentage of the American population while people identifying themselves with no particular religious institution is growing rapidly.
Hillary Clinton now faces struggle to win back younger voters
Standing in a line of thousands outside an arena at Colorado State University, Aleksandr Cronk contemplated the grim possibility that the man he was waiting to see, Bernie Sanders, may not make it to the November ballot and he’d have to decide whether to vote for Hillary Clinton. Like millions of young voters nationwide, Cronk has been electrified by Sanders’ longshot bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Even as Clinton has racked up a commanding lead in the contest, she’s overwhelmingly losing voters between ages 18 and 29 in early-voting states. Her lukewarm reception among people like Cronk points to a challenge for her in November, should she win the nomination. Overwhelming support from young voters twice helped secure the White House for Barack Obama. “I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of change” if Clinton wins, said Cronk, 21. Like many younger voters, he’s especially alarmed by income inequality, the issue that Sanders has made a centerpiece of his campaign. “The Clintons don’t really stand in that position very well. Clinton’s weakness with younger voters has stood out consistently this year — she lost Democratic primary voters who are aged 18 to 29 by 70 points in Iowa, 68 points in New Hampshire and 25 points on Super Tuesday, when she won seven of the 11 states in play for Democrats. “Hillary’s weakness with millennials has to be very worrisome for the Democratic Party,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network, a center-left advocacy group. “What you’re seeing is the millennial generation has essentially seceded from the Democratic establishment.” Obama’s presidential campaigns showed the power of voters under 30, who gave him 2-1 support in both 2008 and 2012. In 2016, even more millennials than Baby Boomers are eligible to vote, and they make up a large share of potential voters in battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Iowa, demographers say. For months, Clinton tried to connect with younger voters through famous supporters such as singer Katy Perry and actor Lena Dunham. She embraced the anti-police-brutality movement Black Lives Matter, spearheaded by young African-Americans, and vowed to expand President Obama’s deportation relief for young people in the country illegally and their families. She promised debt-free college for all, only to be one-upped by Sanders’ pledge of free college for all. Clinton has acknowledged she’s fallen short, saying she has to work harder to convince young people she will help them. When an Iowa college student asked her in January why so many other youths found her dishonest, Clinton blamed decades of Republican attacks. “I have been around a long time and people have thrown all kinds of things at me and I can’t keep up with it,” replied Clinton. “If you are new to politics and it’s the first time you’ve really paid attention, you go, ‘Oh my gosh, look at all of this.’” Joelle Gamble of the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal New York think-tank, said young voters are increasingly distrustful of institutions like political parties. She noted that, on the Republican side, many have rallied around Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who boasts of how hated he is by Washington Republicans. “I don’t think there’s any one candidate that can fix this,” she said. Sanders, a socialist senator who was an independent until launching his quixotic Democratic primary run last year, has come the closest. His call for a political revolution has reached people like Daniel Harty, a 21-year-old computer science student in Las Vegas who once saw himself as a libertarian but registered as a Democrat to support Sanders. Should Clinton be the nominee, Harty said, he’d never back her. “Hillary Clinton doesn’t seem like a genuine person,” Harty said. “She changes her opinions based on what’s politically expedient.” Jay Morris, 24, of Oklahoma City, has $72,000 in student debt and no job. A Sanders supporter, he said he’d never back Clinton. “I think she’s completely entrenched in the political machine,” he said. “I just wouldn’t vote.” Michelle Williams, 20, a natural resources student, didn’t pay attention to politics until the hashtag #FeeltheBern began popping up in her social media feeds. She was excited to see Sanders speak in Fort Collins. “He keeps it real about how America truly is,” she said. But she would drop out of politics if the nominee were Clinton. “She’s weird,” Williams said. Cronk has a running debate with his parents about his support of Sanders. They’re Clinton voters, fearful of what Republicans could do to Sanders in a general election. Cronk, on the other hand, was in elementary school when a Republican last won a presidential election and believes the increasing divide between the wealthy and everyone else demands dramatic action. He worries whether he’ll be able to have the same life as his parents, a librarian and part-time teacher who own a house in a nice San Diego, California, neighborhood. “To see how quickly the gap is increasing is kind of scary,” he said. Cronk said that, if it came down to it, he’d vote for Clinton in a general election. She’d be better than whoever emerges from the Republican primary, he said. “You feel kind of forced.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Donna Marietta: The Forgotten Generation
Seniors are often the forgotten generation. As we go about our daily lives, we forget there are many seniors who live alone and are lonely and isolated. Many of them are also hungry. As we drive through our neighborhoods on our way to work, school, church or to go shopping, we drive past homes where seniors live behind closed doors and closed blinds. Senior hunger is a hidden national crisis that will only become more serious. In 2030, more than 20 percent of Americans are expected to be older than 65. There is an army of baby boomers who have not saved enough given how long they are going to live, marching towards retirement. It’s going to be a hungry retirement! Many have not recovered from the recession poorly timed for people nearing or already in their retirement years. The number of seniors facing the threat of hunger is alarmingly high. More than 1 in 6 seniors in America – a total of 8.8 million — may not know when they will have their next meal or where it will come from. In 2050 that number – 8.8 million – is predicted to double. There are many reasons for the rapid increase in life expectancy, including improved medical care and healthier life styles. Since people are living longer, we also are seeing more frail elderly. The frail elderly segment of our population is growing faster than any other category. Frail is defined as a state of decreased physical functioning and/or bad complications of aging such as poor balance that increased the risk of falls, fractures or disability. No one grows up dreaming of becoming isolated, hungry, and alone. Sometimes it is beyond their control, such as outliving a more mobile spouse and are now vulnerable or outlasting a pension or their retirement funds. Women make up 60 percent of the seniors facing the threat of hunger. Many seniors who can afford the cost of food, lack the mobility to get the food and prepare their own meals nor have anyone to help them. They may have no family nearby or their friends aren’t able to help because they may be in the same situation. Some seniors are too proud to let others know they are hungry. They are humiliated and don’t want to be a bother. They want so much to stay in their home that they’ll go hungry without a fuss. They are afraid they’ll be forced into assisted living or a nursing facility. They are getting by on cold cereal, or the wrong kind of food but that is not adequate. It is vital that they receive the proper nutrients to stay healthy. Half of all health concerns affecting older Americans are directly connected to poor diet. A recent study showed that food insecure seniors are at higher risk of experiencing negative nutrition and health consequences. Specifically, seniors at risk of hunger are: 50 percent more likely to be diabetic; Twice as likely to report fair or poor general health; Three times more likely to suffer depression; Nearly 60 percent more likely to have congestive heart failure or experience a heart attack; and Twice as likely to report having gum disease or asthma. These are some of the reasons for the Montgomery Area Council On Aging and the Meals On Wheels program. Through donations and volunteers, we are able to deliver hot, nutritious meals Monday through Friday to home-bound seniors. At this time we have the funds and volunteers to be able to deliver 350 meals daily. There is a waiting list that averages about 400. Enabling seniors to stay in their own homes means they remain happier, extend their independence, and can stay connected to the community and surroundings that provide them comfort. Meals On Wheels is more than a meal. It is a friendly smile and conversation, and it provides peace of mind. The smile and daily check is a critical part of our mission because many times our volunteer may be the only person that the senior sees each day. The compassion delivered with the meal allows Meals On Wheels to show our home-bound seniors they are not forgotten and that we care. Donna Marietta is executive director of the Montgomery Area Council on Aging, a nonprofit that provides senior services to five counties in central Alabama.
