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My organization sponsors a quarterly poll in conjunction with our magazine. Meeting Street Insights conducts the poll for us. For our Summer issue, we thought it would be interesting to poll young people in Minnesota, which we defined as ages 18 through 34. To my knowledge, no one has done this before. We asked young Minnesotans not about their views on politics or policy, but about their lives and concerns.

The results were stunning. Young people in Minnesota are deeply pessimistic about their futures, and their country’s future. We asked respondents whether their generation is better off economically than their parents’ generation, worse off, or the same. Fully 90% said their generation is worse off than their parents’:

Our pollster was shocked at this finding: “You can’t get 90% of the people to agree on anything.”

Further, young people’s pessimism extends into the future. Asked whether the next generation will be economically better off, worse off, or the same as theirs, 68% said “worse off.”

In other words, the vast majority of young Minnesotans think they live in a country that is in a state of permanent decline. I have no reason to think the results would be much different in other states.

We asked our poll respondents whether they are concerned about a series of issues. Again, the results are striking. The concerns of young people are mostly economic, and fully rational. Eighty-three percent say they are worried about being able to buy a house. Sixty-four percent are concerned about public safety. Sixty percent are concerned about being able to pay off student loans, and 60% worry about being able to buy a car.

Poll respondents overwhelmingly say they will vote in November, and we asked them what issues will determine their votes. The cost of living and the economy predominate:

So, memo to Republican politicians: America’s young people are hurting, and their concerns are entirely rational. They have been devastated by Joe Biden’s inflation and economic doldrums. Don’t pander to them, and forget about global warming and abortion. Talk to them honestly about the economic challenges they face, and explain how conservative policies can make things better. Young people’s votes are up for grabs, and if conservative politicians are smart, they can do what Ronald Reagan did in 1980: make young voters their best demographic.