Millennial's warming to Tax Cuts and the Politics of Resentment.

Sure, Democrats won a few special elections, came close in others, and Millennials formed a national movement to regulate firearms...but don't assume anything.

Millennials may be unhappy with the direction the country is going, but they're not necessarily blaming Republicans. They're starting to pick sides based on what they hear their parents say, social media, and relentless political messaging. And you may not like the results. Like one Millennial said: “They’re taking less taxes out of my paycheck. I notice that.”

Yes, "less" taxes for starving schools, infrastructure, healthcare, quality of life, environment...a whole new generation of freeloaders? Maybe. It's a tempting message:

The Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 16,000 registered voters ages 18 to 34 voters during the first three months of this year and the same period in 2016:

1. Support for Democrats over Republicans for Congress slipped by about 9 percentage points over the past two years, to 46 percent overall. 

2. They increasingly say the Republican Party is a better steward of the economy.

3. Two of three young voters polled said they do not like Republican President Donald Trump (but that) does not necessarily extend to all Republicans.

4. Only 28 percent of those polled expressed overt support for Republicans in the 2018 poll - about the same percentage as two years earlier. 

5. The shift away from Democrats was more pronounced among white millennials ... Two years ago, young white people favored Democrats over Republicans for Congress by a margin of 47 to 33 percent; that gap vanished by this year, with 39 percent supporting each party.

6. The shift was especially dramatic among young white men ... they favor Republicans over Democrats by a margin of 46 to 37 percent.

There's a lot to worry about since wages continue to stagnate despite the tax cut, job security has vanished, independent contractors continues to grow but get no benefits, automation is replacing workers, college debt...thanks to Baby Boomers lowering their taxes. And somehow Millennials will rebuild the nation with even lower taxes? 

The following Millennial comments were deeply unsettling. Social chaos, wage stagnation and continued support for corporate tax cuts...Millennials apparently now see this as the new normal:

Terry Hood, 34, an African-American who works at a Dollar General store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and took this year's poll, said he voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton ... but he will consider a Republican for Congress because he believes the party is making it easier to find jobs and he applauds the recent Republican-led tax cut. “It sounds strange to me to say this about the Republicans, but they’re helping with even the small things,” Hood said in a phone interview. “They’re taking less taxes out of my paycheck. I notice that.”

Ashley Reed, a white single mother of three in New Hampshire, said a teenage fascination with Democrat Barack Obama led her to support his presidency in 2008. But her politics evolved with her personal life. Reed, now 28, grew more supportive of gun rights, while married to her now ex-husband, a U.S. Navy technician. She lost faith in social welfare programs she came to believe were misused. She opposed abortion after having children. Reed plans to vote for a Republican for Congress this year. "As I got older, I felt that I could be my own voice."

For some who get older, they become wiser, not resentful. Oh well. Also, cheap junk insurance policies that don't cover anything, a GOP idea, makes sense?

In Manchester tattoo artist Ashley Matthias, 31, said she has not decided how she will vote but will support anyone who will make her health insurance more affordable. Matthias explained that it is cheaper to pay for her doctor's visits out-of-pocket than to buy insurance through the government-run Obamacare exchange. "You just hope nothing happens to you," she said.

Corporate-backed Republicans gave us stagnant wages, defunded schools, crumbling infrastructure, and crushing college debt, all for lower taxes. Big Republicans problem? Surprise, NOPE!

Nationally (Millenials) are increasingly looking to Republicans for economic leadership, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll ... evenly split, with 34 percent picking the Democrats and 32 percent choosing Republicans ... a shift from 2016, when they said Democrats had the better plan by a 12-point margin. Republican National Committee spokeswoman Cassie Smedile said the poll indicates that young voters "like what they've seen" from the party in power

Justice Dallet on MSNBC...and the Millennial Student Movement a takes off!

Even after being asked specifically about Democratic support over and over by Lawrence O'Donnell, Justice Rebecca Dallet remained incredibly neutral. It was impressive, and apparently a quality that even many conservatives voted for:



The voting maps are also changing, especially in the more politically independent parts of the state. WKOW:



And we can thank the energized Millennial movement:

Voter turnout exceeded expectations in Dane county on Tuesday with Madison recording 32.2 percent. Madison Mayor Paul Soglin also says the turnout is breaking records for millennial's casting their ballots.

Mayor Soglin believe a big reason behind it is more voters are invested in the issues around them like gun reform, student loan debt and affordable housing.

“We haven't seen anything like this since the period of elections between 1968 and mid 1970's,” said Soglin. “There's a new block of voters and they showed up and they showed up in significant numbers.”

Another factor for big turnout is the NextGen American campaign that spent millions to encourage the youth to register to vote and former attorney general Eric Holder’s group the National Democratic Redistricting Committee investing $165,000 in digital ads.

NOTE: WKOW's Emilee Fannon's reporting has been impressive, considering how rough her first few weeks looked. I was worried after Greg Neumann left, but not anymore, I'm impressed.

Republican Tax Cuts Focused on the "Great Again" fight, shortchanging the Internet Economy and Millennials.

I know I'm not the only one who thinks those damn greedy baby boomers are doing everything they can to freeload off the country, all the while sticking their kids with the skyrocketing bill. It sickens me to watch my generation shred every hard-fought value they stood for in the 60's; women's liberation; civil rights; sexual freedom, so they could screw Gen X'ers and Millennials...and beyond.

It's almost shocking to see Republicans cutting taxes for every well established major corporation, when the emerging new world economy is blooming on the internet.

Republicans are fighting the be "great again" fight, an unapologetic leap backward, at a time when everything in the economy has changed. Thanks to internet commerce, broadband connectivity, green energy...heck, everything, the big guys aren't the ones that need the cash. And the internet hasn't even expanded into every nook and cranny of our country. How will the world look in 10 to 20 years, the kind of jobs and businesses that we can't even imagine now? Republicans are stuck:

For example, Republican Gov. Scott Walker mindlessly turned down high-speed rail, that SURPRISE, now would have made commuting to tech giant Foxconn from Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago a breeze. Walker once focused on old manufacturing jobs like welding, purged scientists at the DNR over climate science witchcraft, and continues to defunded the great university system. Now that Foxconn is coming, we've got to teach tech, tech, tech all the way. 

Millennials should be Afraid: Before we get to how Republicans are screwing over Millennials, lets define who they are. Here's a generational video description from Esquire:



Check out the following screen captures from a great piece of writing from the Huffington Post:

Walker Sabotages Wisconsin's Economic Future, forcing our kids to pay the bill for Upgrades.

Scott Walker is like so many other Republicans; living for the moment. Their lack of vision is applauded by their rabid “small government” supporters (small liberal government, but BIG conservative government).

Ignoring Millennials desire for Mass Transit. Killing high speed rail and Milwaukee’s planned street cars were two huge mistakes that Wisconsin will be paying for many decades to come. Republicans incredibly put off creating a regional metroplex by connecting Chicago to Kenosha to Racine to Milwaukee with high speed rail. This delay only sticks the price of these projects onto the next generation, the very kids the GOP is supposedly so worried about. And high speed rail would have connected that regional hub to Madison and eventually Minneapolis. 

I know when I rode the "L" (Chicago Transit Authority) from Rosemont to and around Chicago, on the blue and red lines with my family, I suddenly realized how much easier and fun getting around could be. If you've never experienced it, than I can see why you might not be excited about the possibility. But it changed my perspective completely.

Which leads me to Urban Milwaukee's Bruce Murphy. His column hits on this growing trend in a way that should make a lot of voters think long and hard about who they have planning what looks like a stuck-in-time future.

As a recent New York Times story noted, … young people raised in the suburbs seem to find cities far more interesting places to live … the proportion of these households with money owed on an automobile dropped from 44 percent to 32 percent. And for technology-oriented young people, using their mobile phone to check when the next bus or streetcar or subway train is arriving, or to order a ride from an Uber driver, is a simple, convenient way to live.
An April 2014 survey of Millennials in 10 U.S. Cities by the Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation for America found that 60 percent of Millennials want access to better transit options and the ability to be less reliant on a car. About 54 percent said they would consider moving to another city if it had better transportation options, and 46 percent said they would seriously consider giving up their car if they have a range of transportation options available.

A WISPIRG study of Wisconsin’s Millennials found similar results: 84 percent said that it was either “very important” or “somewhat important” for them to have transportation options other than a car to get around and 60 percent said they would be “somewhat more likely” or “more likely” to stay in Wisconsin after graduation if they could live in a place where they could get around without driving. 

As the statistics suggest, this is about more than just economics ... It’s about a different way of viewing the world, seeking more urban, more connected and more green ways to live. Yet it’s not at all clear that our politicians and policymakers are taking note of this trend, and how it should shape our decisions on transportation and a host of other issues.