With all the new anti-voting laws, what percentage of young people can actually register to vote? Do they have valid ID? Can they get it? My grandmother died years ago, but she managed to make it 97 years without ever owning a photo ID. She didn't drive, but she had a voter card and the bank knew her by sight as well as signature. In today's world, I'm pretty sure she'd be disqualified from voting.
i wish i understood why people have such a large blind spot when it comes to gerrymandering and voter suppression.
both combined with extremely unpopular politicans and policies (ie gaza genocide) are the reason why people aren't voting; but somehow, people are still confused as to why voters aren't voting.
Neither are a problem in the European countries that I'm aware of yet young voter turnout is catastrophic there as well. Some parties definitely have a hard anti-Israel line. I'd be happy to see a counterexample but I think only bitter disappointment lays ahead.
Young people are increasingly disengaged from the "traditional" democratic process, globally. Less voter turnout, but also way less participation in traditional politics (which 25 year olds have a party membership card anymore?)
Interestingly though, Gen Z isn't necessarily politically inactive; they are still being activists, engaging in political discourse, and are donating a larger average percentage of their income than Gen X/Y IIRC.
That's not to excuse the extremely shortsighted decision not to vote, but the problem is a lot larger than some practical barriers. I truly think there are strong and multifaceted cultural elements to the youths increasingly not responding to the traditional representative democratic systems in the way that generations who grew up on TV did. Gerrymandering is bad, but don't expect a hypothetical fix to bring zoomers to the voting centers.
While gerrymandering and voter suppression aren't nothing, the system is just completely incapable of responding to signals it never receives. If you don't vote, the system is not incentivized or designed to promote people who have your political interests in mind. There's a lot of critical reforms that need to happen, none of them as urgent as ranked choice voting, but as little as your vote means for a federal election:
It means A LOT MORE for local elections, and these people have a shocking amount of power for how much people care about local races.
It's still at least some signal to the system that can be interpreted or responded to. It can't hurt. Throw your vote away on RFK or the Libertarian Party if you want. Hell, I voted for Jorgensen last election. But I'm telling you that not voting when you could is almost always going to lead to the worst possible outcome for people who share your political interests.
Real problems are often used as convenient excuses to justify laziness. At the end of the day it's your job as a citizen to do whatever it takes to vote. If you want it to be easier then jump through the hoops that currently exist to vote for the only party offering a way to remove some of them. If you don't vote at all then your opinion is irrelevant. That's the reality of the world we live in.
People are tired of Dementia Don the racist rapist with 34 felonies that can't complete a coherent sentence. He's just too old. It's embarrassing. He needs to drop out.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
The Neofascist threat to America and democracy and the rule of law.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Nuclear Proliferation resulting from Treason Trump's New World Disorder. Every country and their brother is going to scramble for nuclear weapons now.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Climate Chaos. NASA says this causes increased hurricanes, droughts, floods, wildfires, heat waves, and rising sea levels. All of which cause economic hardships and death.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
The Corrupt Supreme Court enshitifying our country by inserting radical changes in the constitution.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Increased National Debt caused by gigantic GOP tax cuts for the wealthy
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Abortion bans. This has been killing women who didn't even want abortions by denying them appropriate medical care
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Income inequality. We are caught in a vicious circle where gigantic GOP tax cuts for the wealthy give them more money to enshitify the country which results is more gigantic GOP tax cuts for the wealthy. Rent seekers always pull up the ladder for those coming up behind them.
The younger you are, the more likely you will be screwed by Traitorapist Trump on:
Trump's promise to billionaires to drive down wages by giving away unlimited green cards to foreign workers who graduate from American colleges.
I'm not sure I agree with your last point. While skilled foreign labor (H1B or similar) certainly drives down wages, part of that is because of the restrictions on employment. If you need to be sponsored, it is very hard to get the prevailing local wage for your skills. Green cards open that up and allow proper competition.
The biggest argument is that foreign-born workers are willing to accept lower wages for the same work and the same conditions. This is exactly what happened during the days of "No Irish Need Apply". The big difference here is that it would only apply to college graduates. But is it actually wrong to do? It's similar to a bad union, where people feel entitled to the higher pay simply because they were here first.
While it would still be better to encourage and grow our own people to develop the skills needed, this is a much more complicated proposal. We have a distinct lack of skilled workers, and in a variety of types/areas. This could help with that need.
I fully agree on the rest though. Fuck Trump and everyone around him.
We have a distinct lack of skilled workers, and in a variety of types/areas.
No we do not. That's propaganda from the wealthy elites to drive down American wages. There are tons of people even in STEM or computer fields who can not get jobs in their majors.
This is exactly what happened during the days of “No Irish Need Apply”. The big difference here is that it would only apply to college graduates.
It's totally different. The "No Irish" signs were about people who had already immigrated here. That stuff was both racist and completely pointless since they were all already here and obviously needed to work. Nothing to do with today. Trump's going to hand out green cards to the entire world to come here and work an American job. China alone has 1.2 billion people. India alone has 1.4 billion people. Basic law of supply and demand. Increase supply of workers and lower wages and working conditions and worker bargaining power. Also, good luck getting your kid into college ever again.
I don't think the problem is with the foreign people accepting lower wages and forcing more competition. I believe it is more of a symptom/mechanism of wage theft. Which has been going on for decades to bleed the workforce dry and enslave them through unrepayable debts.
Though I believe foreign graduates taking less pay for employment is not the problem or inherently bad, it's not helping workers as a whole.
I believe that in addition to your suggestions there would need to be stronger wage and worker protection laws to prevent companies from clearing out employees with longer tenure/higher rates of pay before enacting this specific type of policy.
I think that would allow for a more healthy competition where incumbent workers/natural citizens won't be replaced/undercut by foreign graduates who have to debase themselves by taking lesser pay for the same work.
In my opinion it's as if Trump would do this as a way to weaponize cheaper labor against the working class so corporations can improve their margin by slashing labor costs.
I could be totally wrong, and am open to other opinions but maybe that's where OP's line of thinking may be.
Nuclear Proliferation resulting from Treason Trump’s New World Disorder. Every country and their brother is going to scramble for nuclear weapons now.
This point is very underappreciated in many political corners, including Lemmy. It's taken decades of deft maneuvering, including by otherwise foes, to keep nuclear weapon proliferation under anything close to control. Trump's pull out of the JCPOA was an unforgivable act of self-sabotage by a man with an uneducated, brutish understanding of foreign policy. Likewise with other policies that are meant to ensure that non-nuclear countries don't feel like they need nukes and nuclear countries don't feel like they're in an arms race.
LETS GO...VOTE, or we're all going to be second class citizens...don't let the right seal out freedoms to impose their version of Sharia law (that's what Vance wants, the bootleg Christian version. ) it's Ironic that the folks pushing this shit would go to war of Sharia was forced on them
Ahhh, shitting on the most disenfranchised age segment on our country. Surely, shitting on them will make them vote and feel good about doing it.
Maybe celebrate the fact that they're even willing to still try to participate, before talking shit regarding an election that hasn't even happened yet?
It simply shows how disillusioned the new generations are about a false dilemma and that they seek a change these two clown parties can't offer. Hard to do so when both are funded by the same interests. So I'd say that with pride if I were you
I'm more upset about her being mad about burning flags. Not so upset that I wouldn't vote for her, but I've got a right to burn a flag because I don't like what it represents and as a prosecutor she should know that.
They will be lightly affected by her denouncing some of the protestors (which is separate from supporting Israel and its genocide), yes. Remember that the Jewish voting bloc is also primarily democratic. If your concern is politics in this situation, it's a very fine line that Dem politicians have to walk here.
Edit: I'm just gonna back out of this thread. I'm not supportive of the genocide, but yall also don't want to have an actual conversation.
Its not just that denounced some of the protestors. It's that this is the only thing she found worthy of mentioning in an official statement about the protests.
She's right though, the Palestinian people deserve better than Hamas. Ironically, in the exact same way the Haitian people deserved better than Dessalines, and the exact same way Lemmy deserves better than someone who would larp as either from the comfort of his computer chair, lmao.