The Problem With Politics: Single People 'Don't Care About the Next Generation'

That's one analyst's take on the trouble with America's fiscal future

"For argument's sake, let's assume that single people on average tend to be more self-absorbed than married people."

That's the opening line and working theory from Ed Yardeni, an investment strategist who complains at Business Insider of an entire generation of single, mostly young people who "don't care about the next generation." Yardeni speculates that growing numbers of unencumbered singles relative to those with families helps explain President Obama's re-election, not to mention a general disregard for the problem of the federal debt. Indeed, the young and single - or at least single women - did help the current occupant of the White House achieve a second term, according to most analysts.

"There is no political will in Washington to reduce the federal deficit," warns Yardeni. "Adults who have never been married and have no kids aren't likely to be all that concerned about leaving the next generation with more debt than has ever been passed on by one generation to the next."

Via Business Insider.

Do singles care enough about the next generation to make good political decisions?

[MadAmerican]

Wow, now that was a ignorant statement. I am single, and I care. I have also aways voted, yet I know married couples with kids that are too busy to watch the news or vote. This is really just a filler article that has no merit. I think he's basically looking at an unemployed 18 year old skateboarder and making an assumption. And we all know how assumptions work.

[PayThatCEO]

You're absolutely right.

First of all, most young people ARE self-centered. That's just how is. Always has been.

Second, I'm 55 years old. For what it's worth, the next generation will have to make it on their own like I had to when I was young. I don't remember any red carpet being rolled out for me. I don't remember my parents ever worrying about my future. It was just assumed I'd march on into life and do what I needed to do to live.

And lastly, if the article is assuming that young people are too uninformed or apathetic about voting, I'll throw out some food for thought. My 79 year old father is dating a woman who recently was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Sometimes she can't tell you the day of the week or what she ate for breakfast that day, but she voted. That made me wonder exactly how many people in this country, not of sound mind, can determine who are elected officials are.

[Waynestew]

Wow, now that was a ignorant statement.

I agree. Here's the problem I have. Many on the right looking for the "reasons" why people support Obama. Newsflash: People have listened to the arguments of both candidates and made their decisions accordingly. It is not because we don't care about America, it is not because people wanted gifts.

[jessejaymes]

@Waynestew I disagree to this point. People in the majority do NOT listen to the arguments of both candidates and make decision accordingly. In non presidential elections it's not unusual for there to be a less than 30% turn out. In presidential elections it's lucky if we have 50%. The seniors vote stronger as a percentage than anyone else. The young the least. When I owned business locations I commonly asked minorities in their late teens or early twenties who was the vice president. I would guess that about 1 in 20 knew. About 1 in 7 knew who was the president. This may be true among whites, I don't know. I asked who was in front of me.

But what I do know is I could sell them the latest Snoop Doog or LIL Rob CD but I couldn't convince them to register to vote. They had ZERO interest. So I think you're wrong in that America as a whole makes informed decisions as to who they vote for. Statistically they don't vote. And as for for free stuff? All those phones are money down the toilet. I bet they didn't buy 30 votes. Those people DON'T VOTE. They are too busy chasing down free stuff and handouts. They simply don't vote.

[Waynestew]

@jessejaymes Actually it sounds like you agree with me.

"But what I do know is I could sell them the latest Snoop Doog or LIL Rob CD but I couldn't convince them to register to vote. They had ZERO interest. So I think you're wrong in that America as a whole makes informed decisions as to who they vote for. Statistically they don't vote. And as for for free stuff? All those phones are money down the toilet. I bet they didn't buy 30 votes."

If you read the context of my post I am ONLY talking about those who voted. I NEVER said all of America votes. Furthermore I was not just talking about the African-American community. Your post actually defends my point. It was not "free phones" that won Obama the election.

[jessejaymes]

@Waynestew Yes we agree on that. Those phones had nothing to do with obama winning.

[Ashstop]

Need more options to vote! At least half the country obviously don't care about the next generation but they aren't all single

[Cheenoguy]

Everyone who read this lost 2 IQ points.

[woodtick57]

gotta agree with that....assumptions piled onto suppositions topped with guesses...

[thejimbo]

@woodtick57 What a way to start the morning! ;)

[texas_cutie75]

Wow, I am a single, childless woman; so this automatically negates all the community service I do? That helps out others less fortunate than I? Being that I am these 3 things, I don't care about future generations?? Thanks, thanks a lot!!!

[Chromalord]

I'm still scratching my head over the question. What constitutes a good political decision? Isn't that by basic terminology an oxymoron? Its like the message from the film War Games, " strange game, the only winning move is not to play"

[Knightkore]

I think you have the best post here....

[Realthinker]

This is too sweeping a generalization. Some singles do understand and care about the debt our grandkids face, some don't. Some marrieds do, and some don't. It is a fact that too many people do not understand the gravity of our situation; it is a fact they could, and should, do more to become better informed. Marital status has nothing to do with willful ignorance.

[UScentral]

I think the real problem is that old eople don't care about the next generation. They say they do, but they really don't. That's we have such an entitlement issue. The greatest generation thinks everyone owes them. Meanwhile they see 6 different doctors for minor ailments and expect to live for ever.

[Mogal]

Oh puleeze.

[stepped_in_it]

A little, tiny hole in your thoughts...In order for someone to be considered a member of the Greatest Generation, he or she must have been born between roughly 1900 and 1920. HMMM.....that would make them between the ages of 92-112 years old. Now, how many 92+ yo people do you think there are left? Think....real hard!

[VVP]

Exactly, its not the greatest generation whos doing this, its the first ME generation. The filthy vile hippies. So selfish they dont even have the common decency to die after all they have screwed up.

[stepped_in_it]

@VVP First "ME" generation is the "X" generation......about mid 30's. Hope you don't call yourself a Christian with all that "wishing" for someone to die? Ed-a-ma-cation.... please!

[VVP]

@stepped_in_it

Try again. 1940-1960, The baby boomers, those who were young and aware during the hippy infested end of the 1960s

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_generation

So you have been "Ed a ma cated" to something you were ignorant of. Request granted, Your welcome!

As for Christian, I never made such a claim here, but I will tell you a lil secret... About 4-5 billion people on this planet right now need to go away and are completely useless and unneeded wasted existences. We are a species with no natural predators that defends against every natural mechanism that might keep our population in a sustainable balance.

Apparently its more than just single people who do not care about future generations because we willingly keep allowing this insane population growth to continue unabated.

To willingly make future generations suffer slow crippling demise through our ineptitude and complacency, You might as well just kill them outright. It would at least be humane by comparison.

[Malitia_Man]

I hit 'NO', but that's along with all of the other sheep out there that have been so dumbed down to the point where they don't know how to care!!! Thank you MTV, BET, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News!!! How bout TV in general!!!

[thejimbo]

Even in the old days without TV/Internet, most Americans still didn't give a fig about who their mayor, congressman, or their governor was... apathy runs in generations...smh

[Malitia_Man]

@jamesmitchell

True, but TV/Internet has contributed to the increase in the amount of dumbed down incompetent sheep couldn't you say?

[thejimbo]

@Malitia_Man You're giving these sheep too much credit...The kardashians and honey boo boo have turned more brains into mush than probably any other TV show out there. ;)

[thejimbo]

@jamesmitchell forgot to include Buckwild in that list...lol

[jessejaymes]

@jamesmitchell Trash TV, video games, the internet and the rap culture. You can "have hot women", win wars, bully people and brag on yourself without ever leaving home. Is this a great country or what?

[stepped_in_it]

HMM...maybe we need to look at this from another angle!
Single or married parents, with way more children then they personally can care for financially, don't care about anyone but themselves! They produce children with no care for that child, just to increase their "entitlement"! They vote for the candidate that would most likely keep them in their free squalor and not force them to have to punch a clock everyday! They encourage their mid teen child to also produce children so that child will also contribute to the household income though those same "entitlements", thus increasing and prolonging their free squalor.
See how that same cock-a-mammy idea can be turned!

[AceLuby]

So few people fall into this category that I would ever consider it a national 'problem' contributing to not thinking about future generations. Does it happen? Yes. Are there enough of them that actually vote to help any one candidate in any significant way? Absolutely not.

[Mogal]

Jeez, what a stereotypical view.

[woodtick57]

So is it now hte Hipster thing to carry empty satchels upside down on your back? Is that part of the irony movement?

[awbaldridge]

Our society is, for some reason, horribly prejudiced and discriminatory against people who choose to be single.

[Zazziness]

Having political conversations, I'm much more concerned about the attitude of the Young Randians, as I think of them. They've read Atlas Shrugged and perhaps The Fountainhead. They have never been severely injured. They have never been sick with anything worse than chickenpox. They are too young to have nursed elderly relatives to the grave. They may or may not have children. They have not invested much yet in the stock market but they have been reasonably successful when they do.
I find them to be scary because they seem incapable of visualizing trouble. Illness? Not gonna happen to them. Disabling injury? Naw, that's for other folks. Natural disaster? That goes on elsewhere. Savings wiped out because of fraud or sweeping economic disasters? Nope, they're too smart.
And that's why they don't want a social safety net and why everyone who does is "a lazy slacker." They don't credit the community that helped them succeed and they certainly don't imagine that luck and youth are playing a large part in their current success. They cannot imagine that the day may come when the social safety net will be there to help them, not someone else. At least older conservatives know that disaster can happen to anyone and it tempers their view a bit.

[DARSB]

This just in: Investment Strategists Don't Understand Unmarried People Are Not Necessarily "Single."

[jessejaymes]

Best point so far of this subject.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

This is the problem with our politics nowadays, is over-generalization. Maybe we should stop with the generalizations and look at the individual. Some single people care, some don't. Some married people care, some married people don't. What is for sure is 100% of patriotic Constitution loving people care. Anyone though, is allowed to love the Constitution. It's time for all of us to come together as one group, Americans, and cut the federal deficit, slash spending, lower taxes and regulations, and get this country back on the right track. We're not a divided people, we all have the exact same goals and we can all accomplish those goals together!

[stepped_in_it]

That, Neo, is a truly bi-partisan statement that I can go with. And Woodtick, shame on you. Neo may be trying to turn over a new leaf and we need to encourage/nurture him all that we can. Democrats are evil....Republicans are evil. Time for "patriotic Constitution loving people" to think for themselves and not allow some party to dictate their "marching orders" to U.S.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

@stepped_in_it - I was with you up until this part "Republicans are evil."

[woodtick57]

@stepped_in_it

That was funny! Thanx for the laugh...

[Zazziness]

"This is the problem with our politics nowadays, is over-generalization."
Er...Neo, you do realize that is an over-generalization, right? I can never tell if you're serious or tongue-in-cheek.

[VVP]

I would want to agree as a deserved stab at the MEs, but the fact is this is beyond wrong. Even more than that, if it were somehow true, So what? Considering single people pay an obscene amount in taxes compared to married people, who really has more right to determine what gets passed on where?

So this is wrong, and even if it were right, it would still be wrong.

[Sharpshooter]

@PolitixDain Another poorly written and conceived poll. In order to answer one must agree with the base concept that all or a majority of singles are like thinking.

Why would that be? An Unmarried Soldier serving her country in Afghanistan isn't likely to see the world through the same eyes as a single guy hanging out "in the hood."

[BelinKS]

I may have thought differently. But my long lost cousin showed back up in our lives. She has no children and neither do any of her friends. After hearing her and her friends views on politics, I now know there is a very big difference. You cannot change her mind because she will not shut up long enough about her own views to listen to any body else's views. They are very self-centered. What ever helps them right now is the jist of their views. They could care less about our children. Referring to my seven year old daughter(her own little cousin that she refers to as her niece) my own cousin said let them deal with it. I'm not going to

[Fishbone345]

The problem with politics is the politicians. Nice try, shuffling blame though.
If people were given quality candidates, they might actually think their vote mattered and thus they would care more. The rest would fall in line.
I blame the crooks, liars and thieves in DC for the apathy their constituents have. Being consistently let down takes a toll on anyone, even the most stalwart.

[woodtick57]

people can choose whatever candidates they wish. all they have to do is participate in the process at the grass roots level. (and/or above that...) the fact that the candidate who runs the most TV commercials usually wins shows your where the blame should lie...in the apathy and complacency of the US electorate.

[Keyjo]

LOL..... This coming from an investment strategist! A Wall Street demon has only oneconcern for the country: making the rich richer and enslaving the honest hard working, under compensated worker bees.
I am young and single and you'd better believe I care about the future.