Bi- Weekly Opinion Roundup: The Progressive Millennials and Inter- Generational Conflict

Talking about my generation, a recent survey set out to track the opinions, values, and habits of the millennial generation. Born between 1980 and 1998, this generation is more diverse, educated, progressive and less religious than the generations preceding it. Racial minorities make up 39% of Millennials, aged 18-29 (more, but similar to Generation X). Millennials are the largest generation, not due to largely high fertility rates, but rather due to population growth from the addition of immigrant women of child-bearing age.

There are various forces that contribute to the differences between generations. Period events and trends that impact each generation differently depending on their age and what phase of life they are in at the moment.

Tolerance for Diversity

Members of the millennial generation are almost two and a half times as likely to be viewed as more tolerant than older members of our society. For example, Millennials are overall more tolerant than older generations on issues of non-traditional marriage and parenting. 

Millennials are the first generation to be in favor of legalizing gay marriage, 50% to 36% who opposed it. Amongst Millennials, women (56%), Democrats (63%), and those who are religiously unaffiliated (67%) where more likely to support the legalization of gay marriage. Support for gay marriage wanes with age: 43% of generation X, 32% of Baby Boomers, and 24% of the Silent Generation.

Source: Pew Research Center

In general, Millennials are the least likely, compared to older generations, to think that gay couples raising children, working mothers, unwed couples living together, and interracial marriage where bad for society. However, the millennial generation was in-line with other generations in expressing majority disapproval for more single-women having children.

Additionally, recent surveys by Pew Research have found that younger generations are more accepting of immigrants than older Americans. In surveys in 2007 and 2009, older voters were more likely to think that immigrants have a negative influence on American values and culture. In 2009, Millennials reported much lower levels of support for increasing immigration restrictions than other generations, although a majority (59%), still supported additional U.S. control over immigrants.  

Today's Economy and Outlook on the Future

When asked their priorities in life, Millennials placed greater importance on being monetarily successful than they do on leading a religious lifestyle. However, only two-thirds of Millennials are employed, which is much fewer than reported in 2006. Millennials reported more commonly (10%) than older Americans (6%) that they had lost a job recently.

Although the economic situation for Millenials has worsened due to job loss, 41% of the millennial generation remains satisfied with the way things are going in the country. This is the highest positive outlook amongst all generations and it is consistent with the trend found by the Pew Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes Survey (2009). Young people tend to express less cynicism towards the government than older generations. Notably, today the gap in overall satisfaction is now the widest it has been since 1990 because older generations are largely dissatisfied with condition of the country and younger Americans are more positive and unified in their views. Among Millennials, there is little difference on the level of satisfaction with the state of the country based on race. Almost sixty percent of Americans under the age of thirty think that the government is run for the benefit of all Americans.

View on Government and Party Affiliations

In a 2009 nationwide poll, 37% of Millenials self-identified as Democrats and 22% as Republicans, with 38% affiliated as independents. The share of Millennials that lean Democrat is not significantly larger than the how Baby Boomers or members of the Silent Generation were at similar ages. Currently, 40% of likely voters in the millennial generation identify almost evenly as liberal (29%) and conservative (28%). Members of the Baby Boomer and Silent generation were much more likely to consider themselves conservative (43% and 45% respectively).

Source: Pew Research Center

In Addition to being more liberal, Millennials are more welcoming of a more active government than older generations. A majority of Millenials (53%) think that the government should play a more active role in solving the nation's issues, as opposed to 45% of Generation X, 43% of Baby Boomers, and 39% of Silent Generation, who prefer that government leave more of the problem solving to individuals and businesses. 

Source: Pew Research Center

Whereas, a majority of 30 to 59 year olds (65%) and those 60 years or older (70%) favored cutting government spending as a means to help improve the economy, Millennials rejected the idea that cuts on governement spending would be beneficial. Along with other generations, Millennials have become more critical of the Obama administration and its major policies, but he is still personally popular amongst Millennials.

Within the millennial generation, women, minorities, the younger cohort (18-24), and those with out college degrees were much more likely to be more pro-government than their counterparts. Although they are more supportive of an active government, people under 30 were found to be no more likely than Baby Boomers to support an expanded role for government to help the poor. However, on the issue of health care, Millennials are more likely to support universal health care than their older counterparts, and the most likely age group to be without health care, according to research by Demos, 2007.  

Younger people were also more likely to be less critical of the government. In another poll by Pew (2009),62% of the Silent Generation,66% of Baby Boomers, and 55% of Generation X thought that the government was wasteful and inefficient, compared to 42% of Millennials. The same survey shows that this generational divide between older and younger has not been below 18 points since surveying on this question began in 1987.

Conflict Between Generations

An earlier survey by Pew, showed that only 26% of Americans thought that there were strong conflicts between older and younger people. Americans tend to perceive more conflicts across race, ethnicity or class. A majority (55%) thought that there were strong conflicts between immigrants and native-born Americans, followed by conflict between the rich and the poor (47%), and Blacks and Whites (39%). Americans were divided on how generational conflict today compares to the 60s and 70s, although slightly more thought that there was less tension now (38% v 31%). When asked what generation possessed better values, a majority (over 70%) said that older people have better moral values, respect for others, and work ethic. However, young people were considered to have a greater racial tolerance.