Millennial Alabama lawmakers launch bipartisan Future Caucus
Millennials officially became the America’s largest living generation last year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. As more of them get involved in politics and advocacy, a group of Alabama lawmakers want to make sure their voices are heard in the state Legislature. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of state legislators under the age of 40 came together to form the Alabama State Future Caucus. Together, these young and innovative legislators have committed to working on the issues facing millennials and future generations. Led by 36-year-old Republican Rep. Kyle South of Tuscaloosa and 40-year-old Democratic Chris England also of Tuscaloosa, the Future Caucus is part of a nationwide movement of millennial legislators who are seeking to find common ground in an era of hyper partisanship. Members of the caucus will work to break through partisan gridlock and reestablish political cooperation. An initiative of the Millennial Action Project, there are now 17 Future Caucuses in state legislatures across the country making it the largest nonpartisan organization of millennial elected officials in the United States. “Millennial Action Project is thrilled to expand its State Future Caucus network in the South, with Alabama today joining Florida and Georgia. It’s encouraging that Reps. England and South are committed to working together, across party lines, to make sure that our voices are heard at the state capitol,” said Steven Olikara, Co-Founder and President of Millennial Action Project. “Millennials have the power to shape the future of politics in our country, if today is any indication, we have a bright future ahead of us.” Defined as young adults ages 18 to 34, millennials make up 27.1% of the state’s population. According to Forbes, millennials will make up 46% of the workforce by 2020. Even now the millennial generation accounts for over 33% of the national workforce, making the new caucus’ work even more important to the future of Alabama. “I’m honored to serve as a Co-Chair of the Alabama Future Caucus and with my colleagues, support the work of the Millennial Action Project as we work to find new and innovative ways to tackle political issues that are important to younger generations,” said England. South noted, “I’m thrilled to lead the Alabama Future Caucus with Rep. England to ensure that the concerns of millennials are a priority when the Alabama House of Representatives sets its agenda each session.” Watch the announcement of the Alabama State Future Caucus below:
Divided America: Diverse millennials are no voting monolith
America’s oldest millennials – nearing 20 when airplanes slammed into the World Trade Center – can remember the economic prosperity of the 1990s, and when a different Clinton ran for president. The younger end of the generation – now nearing 20 – can’t recall a time without terrorism or economic worry. Now millennials have edged out baby boomers as the largest living generation in U.S. history, and more than 75 million have come of age. With less than three months to Election Day, the values of young Americans are an unpredictable grab bag. What they share is a palpable sense of disillusionment. As part of its Divided America series, The Associated Press interviewed seven millennial voters in five states where the generation could have an outsized influence this fall. They are a mosaic, from a black Nevada teen voting for the first time to a Florida-born son of Latino immigrants to a white Christian couple in Ohio. These voters illustrate how millennials are challenging pollsters’ expectations. “Millennials have been described as apathetic, but they’re absolutely not,” said Diana Downard, a 26-year-old voting for Hillary Clinton. “Millennials have a very nuanced understanding of the political world.” Just 5 percent of young adults say that America is “greater than it has ever been,” according to a recent GenForward poll. The first-of-its kind survey of young people between the ages of 18 and 30 was conducted by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Briana Lawrence, a 21-year-old videographer and eyelash artist from the South, wants America to return to what it was. A recent North Carolina Central University graduate, she’s voting for Clinton. She was just 7 on Sept. 11 and the aftermath of the attacks is the only time she remembers the nation feeling united. “My biggest hope for this country is for us to come back together as a community,” she said. That’s hard when people like her begin adulthood thousands of dollars in debt. Economic issues are huge with this group, since many are saddled with student loans and struggle to find jobs. Only 8 percent of millennials feel their household’s financial situation is “very good,” according to GenForward’s poll. Brien Tillett, who recently graduated from a Las Vegas high school, is 18. He was only 10 when the recession hit. His single mother was hospitalized for months after a car accident and, with no safety net, the family struggled. National debt is his top concern. As a black man, he’s turned off by some of Donald Trump‘s remarks, but likes the Republican’s aggressive economic stance. He also considered voting for Clinton, but is angry about her use of a private email server while Secretary of State. Unsure at first, he recently decided on Clinton. Anibal David Cabrera wouldn’t think of voting outside his party. The son of a Honduran mother and Dominican father, he graduated from college in 2008. He was a finance major, but the economic collapse dried up jobs. Now 31 and living in Tampa, Florida, he finally found an accounting position at a small firm. He feels he’s entering the prime of his life a few steps behind, through no fault of his own. He’s backing Trump and prays the candidate keeps promises and boosts the economy. “That is something my generation has kind of never seen,” he said. Shared pain doesn’t lead to shared views. Millennials’ disdain for traditional party affiliation means that half describe themselves as independents, according to a 2014 Pew Research report – a near-record level of political disaffiliation. They tend to be liberal on social questions such as gay marriage, abortion and marijuana legalization. Yet they skew slightly conservative on fiscal policy and are more in line with other generations on gun control and foreign affairs. Trip Nistico, a recent Colorado law school graduate, is a gun rights advocate who visits shooting ranges – but also supports in same-sex marriage. He backed President Barack Obama in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012. The 26-year-old is voting for Trump this year. Still, Trump remains unpopular among millennials and nearly two-thirds of Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 believe the Republican nominee is racist, according to GenForward’s poll. Views of Hillary Clinton also were unfavorable, though not to the same extent. Bill and Kristi Clay, parents of two young boys and devout Christians from rural Ohio, have struggled to pick a candidate who matches their values. Kristi Clay opposes same-sex marriage and abortion and names those as her top issues. Yet the 32-year-old school librarian reluctantly leans toward Clinton, because she feels Trump is materialistic and prefers the Democratic views on immigration and poverty. Though she and her 33-year-old husband are feeling “pessimistic” about this election, both say they will vote anyway. Whether their millennial brethren do the same is unknown. Some are disenchanted that progressive Bernie Sanders, who ran against Clinton in the Democratic primary, is out of the race. The millennial vote rose steadily beginning in 2002 and peaked in 2008. In 2012, however, just 45 percent of millennials cast ballots and participation has leveled off or dropped since, said John Della Volpe, director of polling at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics. “They have a somewhat different perspective in terms of politics,” he said. “It hasn’t really worked. They haven’t been part of a movement that’s been effective.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
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.
Angi Stalnaker: 10 facts of life millennials need to learn TODAY
Last month, tens of thousands of people shared a Linked-In posting from a 20-something woman who pontificated about all of the reasons that millennials are justified in being subpar employees. In case you missed the viral posting, it is all the fault of the employers of this country who do not challenge or appreciate young people enough. Today, legitimate news agencies are reporting that a roving band of millennials is demanding a free education and a host of other things that they believe they are entitled to because they are, well, millennials. Watching this generation of young people is confusing for me because, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. So, here is my small attempt to educate this generation of up and coming self-important future leaders about the facts of life: Life is not fair. Nobody owes you anything. If you have time to protest then you have time to go get a part-time job and help pay your own bills. Check the help wanted ads before you pick a major. I think you will find that there are no jobs for experts in half of the crap you are all majoring in. See #4 and then do not be shocked when you can’t get a job when you graduate. College is not jail. If you are not satisfied with the college that you CHOSE to attend, then drop out or transfer to another college. Nobody is holding you hostage. Nothing is free and if you ever grow up and get a job, you will pay taxes and you will quickly realize how ridiculous your current behavior is. When/if you do get a job, it is not your employer’s job to make you happy or to make you feel appreciated or validated. Your paycheck should be appreciation enough. Being bratty after the age of 5 is not cute and it is not acceptable. If you act like a 5 year old, expect to be treated like a 5 year old. There is real suffering in this world and very little of that suffering is experienced by upper middle class students at a major university. If you really need to be outraged, be outraged about the number of innocent babies who are being aborted each year or the number of children who are being beaten or neglected or the vast amount of elderly people who do not have heat in their homes this winter. Feel outraged about the innocent people who are being beheaded by terrorists. There is plenty of real stuff in the world to be outraged about so there is no need to fake it over something so ridiculous. I don’t expect a single subscriber to the millennial mentality to suddenly change their mindset due to the words I have written. I do, however, hope that a few millennial generation parents get fed up with the behavior of their bratty offspring soon and take whatever measure is necessary to put the kibosh on this craziness. I am not one to advocate violence but where is this mama right now because, we, as a nation, need her to straighten out a few thousand out of control kids. Angi Stalnaker is an Alabama native who, as a political consultant, has worked on numerous statewide, legislative and constitutional amendment races for conservative causes and candidates. For more information about her visit Virtus Solutions.
