Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton may have some clues as to why they can’t attract young voters: the word “millennial” wasn’t used once in last night’s debate. Millennials are now the largest generation alive, but politicians have yet to acknowledge our demographic weight, simply because we don’t yet vote in large numbers.
Inevitably, last night’s debate mostly covered issues that are near and dear to older folks’ hearts. In case you were dizzied by the back and forth, or changed the channel waiting for something relevant, we’ve prepared a short summary of the issues that might be of interest to young voters: student debt, free trade and criminal justice.
Student Debt
The soul-crushing amount of student debt many of us owe has permanently altered our life plans. We’ve put off marriage, home ownership, and other meaningful watershed moments because many of us simply cannot afford it. Last night, of the two presidential candidates, only Clinton weighed in on the matter.
Beyond wanting future generations to be able to graduate from college debt free, she proposed “helping people refinance their debt from college at a lower rate.” This is a huge issue because interest rates on student loans range from approximately four-to-seven percent. Especially for those who are paying over six percent, the opportunity to refinance loans at a much lower interest rate could be a game changer.
While outright student loan forgiveness was not mentioned, lowering the often-high interest rates attached to this type of loan would be a huge windfall to millennials.
Free Trade
There was a spirited debate over the effects of free trade, and not surprisingly, some of Donald Trump’s liveliest moments involved explaining the negative effects of free trade agreements. Both candidates referred to jobs several times, but Trump drove home the idea that we’ve lost several million jobs due to our free trade agreements with other countries, especially NAFTA with Canada and Mexico.
Trump is correct when he points to America’s massive trade imbalances with other countries, and some say that is a huge problem for our economy. The truth about free trade is a bit nuanced, and it’s hard to figure out exactly what our country would be like without the import bonanza that fills our shelves with cheap goods from abroad.
On the other side, Clinton tried to re-spin NAFTA, an agreement put in place by her husband, as an agreement that was very positive for the American economy — creating jobs, lowering consumer costs and increasing economic cooperation. The truth is likely somewhere in between.
Perhaps most interestingly, considering a certain candidate’s platform, is that some studies suggest that NAFTA improved the Mexican economy and has dramatically reduced immigration to America.
In reality, free trade reinvents the rules of the economy, creating new winners and losers. Not surprisingly, many of the people who have lost their livelihood because of free trade agreements are rallying around Trump.
Criminal Justice
One of the hottest button issues debated last night was that of criminal justice. Inherent in this conversation are policing and race relations, two items that have constantly been in the news in the past year.
While Clinton wants to rectify what she calls “systemic racism in our criminal justice system,” Trump instead is focused on restoring “law and order,” and re-introducing controversial crime fighting policies like “stop-and-frisk. ”
That practice, which amounts to racial profiling in many people’s minds, was declared unconstitutional by a federal district judge. Trump believes “everyone should be respected by the law, and everyone should respect the law.” He believes that would address the “hell” that many minority communities face on a daily basis.
Clinton would like to see many longstanding policies, including mandatory minimum sentencing, end. Furthermore, the federal government recently decided to end of the use of private prisons, and Clinton would like to see that policy brought to the state level.
Takeaway
The first debate was pretty meaty in terms of what issues were covered. From a young person’s point of view, a lot of the issues that occupy our minds weren’t meaningfully addressed by either candidate.
Politics is still very much dominated by older generations, who are much more reliable voters. Until the majority of millennials start casting their ballots, politicians will continue to pander to our elders, who will turn out en masse on election day.
Have something to add to this story? Comment below or join the discussion on Facebook.
Header image: Getty Images