PPI's Progress Report: Young Voters Are Consumed by Desperation—and Nihilism. Here's How Biden Can Reach Them

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News, events, and must-read analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute.

Young Voters Are Consumed by Desperation—and Nihilism. Here's How Biden Can Reach Them

By Tim Ryan
Senior Advisor to PPI's Campaign for Working Americans
for Newsweek

President Biden is touting the strength of America's post-pandemic economic recovery, and he's right: Wages are up, unemployment is down, and inflation is finally coming under control. But as pollsters perpetually point out, the president is not getting credit in the polls. Working-class voters—particularly young people in middle American communities like those I represented in northeast Ohio—are particularly despondent. The anger isn't new—its roots run to before even the Great Recession. But the $10,000 question is why President's Biden's success hasn't yet won over middle America's minds and hearts?

The problem stems primarily from the way we understand voter attitudes. The old question—"Are you better off than you were four years ago?"—simply doesn't apply anymore. That's because working class voters are more focused on the reality that they're so much worse off than their parents and grandparents were at the same age. Many young people have come to embrace "financial nihilism": The prospect of upward mobility is so remote and the chance of achieving the American Dream so far-fetched that the tools previous generations used to lever up their prospects appear nothing less than preposterous. To young people, it feels like it's better to invest in crypto or make parlay bets on FanDuel than try to take advantage of Pell Grants and 401ks that aren't sufficient to their financial challenges.

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Trade Fact of the Week

By Ed Gresser
PPI's Vice President and Director for Trade and Global Markets
Trade Fact of the Week

Fact: Tariff revenue in FY2023: $80 billion. Reps. Fletcher and Pettersen have some very good questions about who is paying this money.

The Numbers: Tax revenue by source, Fiscal Year 2023* –

Tariff system: $80.3 billion
Fuel tax for trust fund: $42.2 billion
Estate and gift tax: $33.7 billion
Tobacco excise tax: $10.3 billion
Alcohol excise tax: $9.5 billion

* Office of Management and Budget

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Staff Spotlight: Neel Brown

Neel Brown
Managing Director
Neel Brown is a Managing Director of the The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) in Washington, DC. Neel engages stakeholders and decision makers to facilitate policy discussions on federal, state, and local issues.

Before joining PPI, Neel was the President of Legis Media, an advocacy communications firm that he founded in 2004. He has extensive experience in advocacy advertising, grassroots organization, and coalition building. He spent over seven years working on Capitol Hill and political campaigns.

Neel lives in Arlington, VA with his wife and daughter and spends his spare time teaching music and performing in a local bluegrass band.

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