NEW YORK– The vast majority of recent college graduates believe that the current presidential candidates are not talking about the issues that matter most to them, according to a new survey of millennials by GenFKD, a non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting economic understanding and financial literacy to college students and recent graduates.
Millennials account for 36 percent of eligible voters, the largest demographic in the 2016 election, according to ThinkProgress. Despite their voting power, 86 percent of those 18 to 34 say this year’s presidential candidates are not addressing them or their key issues they care most about.
– Jobs and economic growth (19%)
– Climate change (14%)
– Health Care (11%)
– Student Debt (10%)
“It is very disappointing that the presidential candidates are ignoring a vital demographic group and the issues that matter most to millennials,” said Justin Dent, president and co-founder of GenFKD. “With an uncertain economy and international instability, millennials are more engaged than ever in the upcoming election, yet they are left out of the discussion.”
GenFKD polled 752 millennials through Survey Monkey to determine which issues most concern them and if they felt their concerns were being adequately acknowledged in the national debate.
“Millennials are clearly concerned about the economy they will inherit, and the opportunities available to them,” said Christopher Koopman of the Mercatus Institute at George Mason University. “Unfortunately, political candidates have a strong incentive to support special interests over the causes that matter most to young people. There is a danger in doing that because millennials are concerned, active, and engaged.”
“Until now, there have been less than a handful of millennial issues addressed in hours and hours of debates and interviews,” said Dent, a student at the University of Maryland. “We’re worried about jobs and graduating into a nation of the underemployed.”
