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[ Youth Issues ] The divide between youth and adults regarding issues is not as wide as one may assume. According to a March 2002 CIRCLE survey, the top three issues that young Americans are most concerned about are jobs and economy (17%), terrorism and national security (14%), and crime and violence (12%). Other relevant concerns to youth are education, health care, environment, and more. These are all issues that also concern adult citizens. However, although youth and adults share many of the same issues, there are often discrepancies regarding the prioritization of the issues. For example, according to a Gallup Poll given in September 2003, 18-29 year olds ranked education, protecting and creating American jobs, and the economy as the most important issues for the 2004 presidential election. Yet for 30-49 year olds, the most important concerns were the economy and terrorism followed by jobs, education, and healthcare. Therefore, similar issues concern both young citizens and adult citizens. Yet youth prioritization of these issues can be distinctive. From the Youth Vote Statistic Fact Sheet: [Post-9/11] What concerns youth voters? (5) 1. Terrorism 17% 2. Jobs/Economy 15% 3. Crime 13% CIRCLE National Youth Survey [Post-9/11] “March 4, 2002: CIRCLE, in collaboration with the Center for Democracy and Citizenship and the Partnership for Trust in Government at the Council for Excellence in Government, released a survey of 1,500 Americans between the ages of 15 and 25 and their views toward civic life and institutions.” [Excerpts]: Lessons for Candidates .... [ From the Circle National Youth Survey Topline Data ] 3. Thinking about the next few years, what is the number one problem facing the country that you would like to see addressed? (DO NOT READ RESPONSES, JUST RECORD) WRITE IN RESPONSE VERBATIM; USE PRE-CODED ANSWERS AFTER INTERVIEW IS COMPLETE _ crime and violence ............................................................................... 12 [%] _ drug use ............................................................................................... 8 _the quality of public schools .................................................................... 9 _having a clean environment ...................................................................... 5 _balancing the federal budget .................................................................... 3 _having secure health care ........................................................................ 5 _jobs and the economy ........................................................................... 17 _the cost of a college education................................................................. 6 _preserving Social Security and Medicare .................................................. 1 _paying too much in taxes......................................................................... 6 _terrorism and national security ............................................................... 14 (Don’t know) ............................................................................................ 4 (Other) ................................................................................................... 10 [ Back to Top ]
What Issues Do Young Adults Care About? (June 2, 2002) from GenerationVote [Excerpt]: Education According to a report published by the National Center For Education Statistics, 19.5% of Americans over the age of 18 enter college. For those who have the financial resources and discipline to finish their degrees, they must face the decreasing employment opportunities in many career fields. However, in order to reach the education level necessary to attend college, and therefore obtain employment in higher paying positions, children must have a firm educational foundation. With the decrease of qualified teachers entering the education field, and the higher costs of private school, this foundation is difficult to obtain. For many children in urban schools, the opportunity to attend college is just a far-fetched dream. One example of this is the unfortunate fact that 20% of American adults read at or below a fifth grade level. Some educational bills that many politicians are campaigning for include: Health One of the top health concerns for young adults is the increasing threat of sexually transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancy. Since the 60's, also known as the "sexual revolution," we have seen an increase of unexpected pregnancies and the introduction of AIDS into mainstream society. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control, approximately 118,000 young people between the ages of 13 and 29 are living with AIDS. This is not an issue to be ignored, since 2/3 of STD's occur in people 25 years old and younger, 1 in 10 teenage women become pregnant every year, and 1 in 4 teens are infected with an STD every year. Many politicians look to an increase of sex education in the schools to help solve this crisis, while others set their trust in abstinence till marriage education. Another health issue gaining a large amount of media attention, is mental illness left untreated among teenagers. One particular mental illness, eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia, binge eating), affects millions of young adults every year. With children younger and younger considering their weight and ability to attract the opposite sex, eating disorders are increasingly prevalent in America. Politics Not many of us will soon forget the many political scandals of the past five years - Clinton/Lewinsky, Kennedy, or Condit/Levy. In all the money, power, and fame, are there actually politicians paying attention to the needs of the country and our concerns? 46% of young adults never volunteer for a political campaign because they do not feel that the candidates running address their concerns, or are trustworthy. Only 53% feel that our country's leaders and institutions address their concerns. Crime Turn on the TV or radio and you'll here about murder, robberies, and the occasional hostage situation. Yes, crime is an issue on the minds of many young adults today. Some of us may not live in high crime areas, but many live in areas where drive-by shootings are a fact of life. According to the FBI, every 19 seconds a violent crime is committed. An Associated Press report comments that children in the United States are nine times more likely to be killed by gunfire than all of the next 25 top industrial nations. Why? Another increasing concern is the rise in hate crimes among young adults. One in three hate crimes are committed by people under the age of 18, with 75% under the age of 30. Another statistic by the FBI states: Of the hate crimes reported to the FBI in 1999, 1,411 incidents were attributed to prejudice against the victim's religion; 1,317, against his or her sexual orientation; 829 against ethnic or national origin; and 19 against disabilities. Economics With the bombardment of commercials, sales flyers, telemarketers, and Internet ads, more and more Americans are falling into the cavern of debt. Millions of families have thousands of dollars in credit card debt far exceeding what they can possibly afford. Though most of us start out with good intentions of living by a budget, getting good jobs, and saving money, statistics show that few of us carry out our plans. The point...start now with a budget, save a percentage of every paycheck, and live within your means. Environment/Overpopulation The stereotypical environmentalist, with the "tree-hugger" mentality is slowing giving way to a mainstream concern for protecting our natural resources. Recently, a woman in our area was diagnosed with cancer. The cause - a pesticide used on their farm. In fact, according to The Sierra Club, 80% of all cancer is caused by environmental contaminants. It appears that our very existence depends on cleaning the chemicals and toxins seeping into our communities. For example, take a look at the following statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency: Another concern that flows in and out of the media is overpopulation. The United Nations spends millions of dollars every year in providing birth control and abortions to women in third world countries. However, statistically, we are not in a situation of overpopulation but poor use of resources and land. "Human beings inhabit no more than 3 percent of the land surface of the earth. What's more, the amount of habitable land is not limited. Singapore was once marshland. Much of Holland was once under water.... "To put the matter in perspective, if the world's 5.4 billion people were put in Jacksonville, Florida, each person would have four square feet to stand in. In Texas each person would have at least fourteen hundred square feet, the area of a good-sized two-bedroom apartment." Sheldon L. Richman, "Much Ado About Nothing: Population Growth as Promise, Not Problem," The World & I, vol. 8, no. 6 (1993): 374-75. Social Security (See the article Just the Facts... About Social Security) [ Back to Top ]
MTV/The Kaiser Family Foundation survey (Sept. 2000) from Youth Vote Press Releases: [Excerpt]: The survey revealed a number of strongly held – and often surprising – opinions on many of the issues in the current campaign. The results make it difficult to categorize these newly eligible voters along traditional ideological lines. For example: Young people share all voters’ priority for education in the upcoming elections, but unlike older voters they are more interested in civil rights. The top five issues cited by 18-24 year-olds as "very important" in determining their vote for president are education (86%), jobs and the economy (79%), crime and violence (74%), health care (68%) and civil rights (67%). On the topic of how to best spend the surplus, the largest proportion (44%) of 18-24 year-olds want to see it used to provide funds to improve education. Only 13% favor using the surplus to protect Medicare and Social Security and 10% want it used for tax cuts. On health care, nearly nine out of ten (88%) support efforts to expand health insurance coverage. Fifty-one percent support a limited effort that wouldn’t involve a tax increase, while 37% favor a major effort that would require a tax increase. More than three out of four (76%) favor giving patients the right to sue their health plans. On other health issues, a majority of young people consider it "very important" to provide prescription drug coverage for seniors (64%), make Medicare financially sound (58%), and provide long term health care (56%). "Despite their youth, this generation clearly cares about issues like health care that we traditionally think of as appealing primarily to older voters," noted Vicky Rideout of the Kaiser Foundation. "They have enough perspective to see the importance of issues like Medicare, long term care, and prescription drug coverage for seniors." [ Back to Top ]
Attitudes Toward Politics and Public Service: A National Survey of College Undergraduates from Harvard University’s Institute of Politics [Pre-9/11] 12. Thinking about national issues for a moment, can you please tell me which issue concerns you most? Education . general ..................................................... 64 8.0% Education . student aid ................................................ 21 2.6% Education . school funding ........................................... 18 2.2% Education . school vouchers .......................................... 7 0.9% Education . teacher testing ............................................ 4 0.5% Education.national standards ......................................... 3 0.4% Education . total ...................................................................................... 14.6% Crime . youth violence/violence ..................................... 31 3.9% Crime . gun control ...................................................... 24 3.0% Crime . drugs .............................................................. 12 1.5% Crime . general ............................................................. 9 1.1% Crime . death penalty .................................................... 3 0.4% Crime . mandatory sentencing ........................................ 3 0.4% Crime . total ............................................................................................ 10.3% Economy .................................................................... 49 6.1% Abortion ...................................................................... 46 5.8% Environment ................................................................ 43 5.4% Health Care ................................................................. 43 5.4% Poverty/Welfare/Homelessness ..................................... 36 4.5% Foreign Affairs/Foreign Policy ........................................ 33 4.1% Civil Rights/Equal Rights ............................................... 29 3.6% Elian Gonzalez ............................................................ 28 3.5% Budget Deficit/Debt ...................................................... 21 2.6% Social Security/Medicare .............................................. 20 2.5% Elections/Campaigns ................................................... 19 2.4% Family Values ............................................................. 19 2.4% Gas Prices .................................................................. 15 1.9% Taxes .......................................................................... 14 1.8% Military Spending .......................................................... 11 1.4% Affirmative Action .......................................................... 10 1.2% Government Apathy ....................................................... 10 1.2% Restrictive Gun Legislation.............................................. 10 1.2% Gay Rights ..................................................................... 7 0.9% Campaign Finance Reform ............................................... 6 0.8% Nothing .......................................................................... 6 0.8% Technology/Internet ......................................................... 6 0.8% Religion/God in Pubic Schools ......................................... 5 0.6% Immigration ..................................................................... 4 0.5% Work Standards/Sweatshops ........................................... 4 0.5% Women's Issues ............................................................. 4 0.5% Supreme Court ................................................................ 3 0.4% Affordable Housing .......................................................... 1 0.1% Agriculture ...................................................................... 1 0.1% Elderly Issues ................................................................. 1 0.1% Other . specify ................................................................ 5 0.6% Don't know ................................................................... 92 11.5% [ Back to Top ] |