Now if only they would actually turn out to vote in larger numbers....
Exactly, more than half of registered voters are over 50. So polling 50+ year olds would definitely be better data.
With all the new anti-voting laws, what percentage of young people can actually register to vote? Do they have valid ID? Can they get it? My grandmother died years ago, but she managed to make it 97 years without ever owning a photo ID. She didn't drive, but she had a voter card and the bank knew her by sight as well as signature. In today's world, I'm pretty sure she'd be disqualified from voting.
i wish i understood why people have such a large blind spot when it comes to gerrymandering and voter suppression.
both combined with extremely unpopular politicans and policies (ie gaza genocide) are the reason why people aren't voting; but somehow, people are still confused as to why voters aren't voting.
Neither are a problem in the European countries that I'm aware of yet young voter turnout is catastrophic there as well. Some parties definitely have a hard anti-Israel line. I'd be happy to see a counterexample but I think only bitter disappointment lays ahead.
Young people are increasingly disengaged from the "traditional" democratic process, globally. Less voter turnout, but also way less participation in traditional politics (which 25 year olds have a party membership card anymore?)
Interestingly though, Gen Z isn't necessarily politically inactive; they are still being activists, engaging in political discourse, and are donating a larger average percentage of their income than Gen X/Y IIRC.
That's not to excuse the extremely shortsighted decision not to vote, but the problem is a lot larger than some practical barriers. I truly think there are strong and multifaceted cultural elements to the youths increasingly not responding to the traditional representative democratic systems in the way that generations who grew up on TV did. Gerrymandering is bad, but don't expect a hypothetical fix to bring zoomers to the voting centers.
... but the problem is a lot larger than some practical barriers. ...
i think that voter suppression and gerrymandering are less of a problem for younger voters and that the problem is more likely shitty candidates and shitty policies driving down enthusiasm/desire to vote.
While gerrymandering and voter suppression aren't nothing, the system is just completely incapable of responding to signals it never receives. If you don't vote, the system is not incentivized or designed to promote people who have your political interests in mind. There's a lot of critical reforms that need to happen, none of them as urgent as ranked choice voting, but as little as your vote means for a federal election:
It means A LOT MORE for local elections, and these people have a shocking amount of power for how much people care about local races.
It's still at least some signal to the system that can be interpreted or responded to. It can't hurt. Throw your vote away on RFK or the Libertarian Party if you want. Hell, I voted for Jorgensen last election. But I'm telling you that not voting when you could is almost always going to lead to the worst possible outcome for people who share your political interests.
While gerrymandering and voter suppression aren’t nothing, the system is just completely incapable of responding to signals it never receives. If you don’t vote, the system is not incentivized or designed to promote people who have your political interests in mind. There’s a lot of critical reforms that need to happen, none of them as urgent as ranked choice voting, but as little as your vote means for a federal election
since you're not seeing the circular reasoning here; i'll try to make it more apparent: how do you vote when your vote is blocked?
It's not blocked as much as it's made more and more difficult, because they can't hard block it (yet). So, the best advice, if you actually want advice and not just to bitch on the internet (it's fine if that's all you want, btw), is to organize. Organization is the single most powerful tool in political efforts, full stop. Examine the problem that affects voters in a given area and organize with the explicit goal of helping voters overcome those barriers. I'm not just talking about getting people to the polls, I'm talking demanding local policy changes, getting after state legislators, yelling at anyone who will (and many who won't) listen, organize and run local campaigns for city council or county supervisor. Those races can actually be competitive in deep red/blue areas, especially if locals know a particular person on their team is a shithead. Those positions also hold a shocking amount of power, and open up political communication channels that would otherwise be inaccessible. Idk if you're a communist, and I don't care, the American communists of the 1800s didn't just sit back and wait for the US to collapse, they got out there and faced likely being murdered to try and organize slaves to break up an unjust system. Get outside and stomp some grass if you want to see something different, bitching on the internet won't change anything.
we agree on this; our signals got crossed somewhere.
People are tired of Dementia Don the racist rapist with 34 felonies that can't complete a coherent sentence. He's just too old. It's embarrassing. He needs to drop out.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
The Neofascist threat to America and democracy and the rule of law.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Nuclear Proliferation resulting from Treason Trump's New World Disorder. Every country and their brother is going to scramble for nuclear weapons now.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Climate Chaos. NASA says this causes increased hurricanes, droughts, floods, wildfires, heat waves, and rising sea levels. All of which cause economic hardships and death.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
The Corrupt Supreme Court enshitifying our country by inserting radical changes in the constitution.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Increased National Debt caused by gigantic GOP tax cuts for the wealthy
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Abortion bans. This has been killing women who didn't even want abortions by denying them appropriate medical care
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Income inequality. We are caught in a vicious circle where gigantic GOP tax cuts for the wealthy give them more money to enshitify the country which results is more gigantic GOP tax cuts for the wealthy. Rent seekers always pull up the ladder for those coming up behind them.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Trump's promise to billionaires to drive down wages by giving away unlimited green cards to foreign workers who graduate from American colleges.
Nuclear Proliferation resulting from Treason Trump’s New World Disorder. Every country and their brother is going to scramble for nuclear weapons now.
This point is very underappreciated in many political corners, including Lemmy. It's taken decades of deft maneuvering, including by otherwise foes, to keep nuclear weapon proliferation under anything close to control. Trump's pull out of the JCPOA was an unforgivable act of self-sabotage by a man with an uneducated, brutish understanding of foreign policy. Likewise with other policies that are meant to ensure that non-nuclear countries don't feel like they need nukes and nuclear countries don't feel like they're in an arms race.
This point is very underappreciated in many political corners, including Lemmy.
Yeah that's why I put it 2nd. It is not 2nd in people's minds. But it is the 2nd most serious thing in reality.
I'm not sure I agree with your last point. While skilled foreign labor (H1B or similar) certainly drives down wages, part of that is because of the restrictions on employment. If you need to be sponsored, it is very hard to get the prevailing local wage for your skills. Green cards open that up and allow proper competition.
The biggest argument is that foreign-born workers are willing to accept lower wages for the same work and the same conditions. This is exactly what happened during the days of "No Irish Need Apply". The big difference here is that it would only apply to college graduates. But is it actually wrong to do? It's similar to a bad union, where people feel entitled to the higher pay simply because they were here first.
While it would still be better to encourage and grow our own people to develop the skills needed, this is a much more complicated proposal. We have a distinct lack of skilled workers, and in a variety of types/areas. This could help with that need.
I fully agree on the rest though. Fuck Trump and everyone around him.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/donald-trump-immigration-expansionist/
We have a distinct lack of skilled workers, and in a variety of types/areas.
No we do not. That's propaganda from the wealthy elites to drive down American wages. There are tons of people even in STEM or computer fields who can not get jobs in their majors.
This is exactly what happened during the days of “No Irish Need Apply”. The big difference here is that it would only apply to college graduates.
It's totally different. The "No Irish" signs were about people who had already immigrated here. That stuff was both racist and completely pointless since they were all already here and obviously needed to work. Nothing to do with today. Trump's going to hand out green cards to the entire world to come here and work an American job. China alone has 1.2 billion people. India alone has 1.4 billion people. Basic law of supply and demand. Increase supply of workers and lower wages and working conditions and worker bargaining power. Also, good luck getting your kid into college ever again.
As someone in IT, I can tell you that it is incredibly hard to fill most of our common sysadmin roles. We don't even get applicants with the desired qualifications (SCCM, Azure, VMware, MS SQL, Power Shell, etc. Not in the same role, but these common skills). This is despite the fact that we're competitive on pay, allow fully remote, and are a household name (fortune 100). I sincerely doubt that we're alone on that.
As for your point about unemployed STEM grads, it's entirely possible that they are in an area that has a surplus. But it's also possible they are inexperienced (most employers want experience), or they don't know how to connect with the employers looking for their skill set.
I'm not saying that I'm sold on the idea. Just that it's not entirely clear what the impact would be, nor that it would be a net negative.
I don't think the problem is with the foreign people accepting lower wages and forcing more competition. I believe it is more of a symptom/mechanism of wage theft. Which has been going on for decades to bleed the workforce dry and enslave them through unrepayable debts.
Though I believe foreign graduates taking less pay for employment is not the problem or inherently bad, it's not helping workers as a whole.
I believe that in addition to your suggestions there would need to be stronger wage and worker protection laws to prevent companies from clearing out employees with longer tenure/higher rates of pay before enacting this specific type of policy.
I think that would allow for a more healthy competition where incumbent workers/natural citizens won't be replaced/undercut by foreign graduates who have to debase themselves by taking lesser pay for the same work.
In my opinion it's as if Trump would do this as a way to weaponize cheaper labor against the working class so corporations can improve their margin by slashing labor costs.
I could be totally wrong, and am open to other opinions but maybe that's where OP's line of thinking may be.
LETS GO...VOTE, or we're all going to be second class citizens...don't let the right seal out freedoms to impose their version of Sharia law (that's what Vance wants, the bootleg Christian version. ) it's Ironic that the folks pushing this shit would go to war of Sharia was forced on them