Courting the Youth Vote

Adam Doverspike

The AP is reporting that the President is courting the youth vote through his Social Security plan.

Bush wants Congress to let younger retirees begin to divert some of their payroll taxes into private investment accounts, but public opinion polls show little support for the idea. The president's also touting his approach to address the future solvency of the government retirement program. Bobby Kraft, 27, who is president of a local printing and mailing company, told Bush he urges his employees to take advantage of their 401(k) plans because "the way the Social Security system is set up, we cannot count on that to be there."... Before his remarks, Bush sat down across town with Kraft and other 20-somethings arrayed on a leather couch and a couple of easy chairs in the on Milwaukee.com headquarters, in a room that looked like the set for a reality show about recent college grads. The young people all support Bush's Social Security plans and joined him on stage later at the art museum.

Although it is generally underreported, many Independent young voters (which is the largest group of young voters) support PRAs and understand that Social Security will not be able to pay back what they put into it. The stress on an ownership society that includes a personally owned retirement account is quite appealing to the under-30 crowd. Despite being overshadowed by the judicial showdown in the near future, the Social Security debate will have far greater long term political repurcussions. If PRAs are passed, Republicans will benefit in the medium and long run. The increased security of personal accounts, the increased net wealth of low and middle income earners over their lifetime, and the increase in the number of investors would bring many young voters into the "investor class" which votes highly pro-Republican on economic issues. And unsurprisingly, this is why Democrats cannot allow any reform that makes citizens less dependent on the government promises for their wealth and especially any reform that will bring more people into the upper-middle "investor class." I hope the President makes youth more prevalent in his pitch to voters; they have the most to lose from the status quo and the most to gain from PRAs.
Posted by Adam Doverspike on May 23, 2005 5:18 PM to Social Security Choice