Gen Z is drowning and socialism is the anchor, not the life raft

By E. J. Antoni and Annie Heim | Commentary, New York Post

Young voters are financially drowning — and the life raft the Democratic Socialists of America is throwing them is an anchor in disguise.

If Americans don’t see past this facade, they’ll be sinking even faster.

Consider a typical 22-year-old, fresh out of college with a business degree and a decent entry-level job in a booming city like Austin, Texas.

Rent eats a third of his paycheck, while nearly one-fifth of it goes to commuting costs.

He’s paying down tens (if not hundreds) of thousands in student loans.

Without help from Mom and Dad, a down payment on a home is decades away, as is marriage.

Little wonder that only 9% of voters under 30 have a “very positive” view of capitalism, or that nearly 60% of voters aged 18 to 24 want a Democratic Socialist to win the White House in 2028, according to a recent Heartland/Rasmussen poll.

Young voters are right that the system is failing them.

They’re wrong, though, about which system it is.

What they’ve experienced isn’t free-market capitalism at all — it’s a quasi-socialist economy that’s let government displace the market in precisely the spending categories that have become least affordable.

Turning further toward socialism means embracing the anchor that’s already weighing them down.

Just look at where their pain is already concentrated: education, housing and health care.

These are among the most regulated, subsidized and government-directed sectors of the American economy, and therefore the least like capitalism.

It’s no coincidence they’re also the least affordable.

Meanwhile consumer items like televisions, cellphones and software — all sold in comparatively competitive markets — keep getting cheaper and better.

Start with college, where Washington is the dominant student lender.

The federal government hands out money with little regard for a student’s major, cost of attendance or odds of repayment.

When government floods a market with subsidized loans, sellers inevitably raise prices.

So tuition soared, administrative bloat followed — and 22-year-olds are graduating with the equivalent of a mortgage but no home to show for it.

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT NEW YORK POST

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