President Joe Biden is 79 years old. The average age of US senators is 64. – There seems to be a not so small generational war going on, says US expert Sofie Høgestøl. Sofie Høgestøl is an expert on the USA, and says that young Americans do not feel represented. Photo: Robert Rønning / news The young do not recognize themselves in politics and have little ownership of their political system. – 50-something is young now, she says and continues: – The leaders of both parties are not only pushing 70, they are pushing 80. Then you suddenly seem very young as a 50-year-old. Joe Biden is the oldest president ever. Photo: KEN CEDENO / Reuters Høgestøl points out that voter turnout among young people is low. – Young people do not see anyone in the same generation as themselves, who is the standard bearer of the generation’s experiences. How did the US end up with an eldership? In 2020, two men in their 70s stood for election against each other. Photo: Alexander Slotten / news – To stand for election in the United States, one must have access to a lot of money, because success largely depends on people knowing your name. That’s what Deborah Lynn Kitchen-Døderlein says, associate professor of American history and culture at the University of Oslo. She cannot emphasize enough how great an advantage those running for re-election have. Because they have built up what Kitchen-Døderlein calls name recognition and have received a lot of attention through their position. Making sure voters know your name is the number one priority in American election campaigns. Photo: KEREM YUCEL / AFP – In the US, people believe that if you recognize someone’s name, it is because the famous person must be skilled. That was one of Trump’s great advantages. He was a reality TV celebrity before entering politics. The expert explains that incumbent politicians are happy to run for re-election again and again without being challenged by younger, more unknown names in their party. They also don’t give up until they get old and die or retire. Lack of time and money Since name recognition is so important, it is important to run an election campaign and buy political advertising, which costs a lot of time and a lot of money. There is little time and money for the generations who got corona and the financial crisis in their laps. Illustration: Alexander Slotten / news – Time and money are things that the vast majority of young people in the USA have little of, says Kitchen-Døderlein. – The Millennial generation finished school and got the financial crisis right in their lap. And when they finally got back on their feet, the coronavirus came, explains Kitchen-Døderlein. – At the same time, many of them struggle with huge student loans that have to be repaid. Much of the wealth in the United States is concentrated among the older generations. The millennial generation has less than seven percent of all wealth in the United States. When the baby boomers were the same age, they had 22 percent of the wealth, according to figures from the central bank in the United States. These are the generations Generation Z or zoomers: The generation born from the mid-1990s to the beginning of the 2010s. Millennials or the millennial generation: The generation born from the beginning of the 1980s to the mid-1990s. Gen X or the post-boomers: applied to the generation born in the early 1960s until the early 1980s. The baby boomers: The generation born in the years after the Second World War from and including 1946 to around 1964. – Corona destroyed the jobs of young adults in particular. Many people work in the nightlife industry or service professions and in the USA the state does not help you to the same extent as here in Norway. Many young people work in professions that were affected when society shut down during the pandemic. Photo: JASON REDMOND / AFP She explains that many young people had to move back in with their parents because they could not afford to live on their own, which makes them even less fit to run for office. – Why would you vote for someone who lives at home with mum and dad?, asks the US connoisseur rhetorically. Americans don’t recognize the name of young candidates, and young candidates don’t have the finances to do anything about it. Illustration: Alexander Slotten / news One third of all Americans in Generation Z live at home with their parents, and many of them expect to stay there for the foreseeable future. Høgestøl also agrees that the younger generations are in an economic situation that makes it more difficult to stand for election. – Young people have little money and they do not feel represented, and that their generation is not a priority, she says. – It is important that the politicians reflect where you are in terms of life and what you are concerned with. Makes it difficult to vote At the same time, Kitchen-Døderlein points out that the Republicans are doing everything they can to make it difficult for young people to vote. Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud are being used as reasons to make voting more difficult by Republican politicians. Photo: MARCO BELLO / Reuters – The Republicans are quite open that they are trying to make it more difficult for both young people and minorities to cast their vote. They use Trump’s big lie about electoral fraud as an excuse, she says. – Then it will be even more difficult for young people to win. Biden vs. Trump again? – I think there are many young people who hope that 2020 was “peak gamliss governance”, says Høgestøl. Then 78-year-old Joe Biden stood for election against 74-year-old Donald Trump. If it is Biden against Trump again, both candidates will be the oldest to ever be president. Photo: Seth Wenig / AP – The young people hope that they will get fresh candidates on both sides. Biden was the old, safe candidate who was a transition from the Trump era. But he is not made to continue this fight. Now he must pass the baton on to a young and energetic person. – But Biden has dreamed of becoming president since he was a teenager, and it is difficult to give up power once you have it. But Biden is now more unpopular than Trump was at his lowest. Joe Biden is doing very poorly in opinion polls, and there are whispers in the back room whether he should drop running in 2024. Photo: KEN CEDENO / Reuters – A number of issues about his age have come out in major liberal journals, says Høgestøl. – It is probably because they cannot have such an old presidential candidate. When he is so unpopular and so old, it is no wonder that forces in the party are beginning to gain ground that he is not the natural candidate. Both experts point to Pete Buttigieg as a possible candidate if Biden withdraws as a candidate after the mid-term elections. Photo: Matt Rourke / AP Thus, it is possible that Biden will feel the pressure and not stand for re-election, so that a younger person can get away. Høgestøl and Kitchen-Døderlein both point to 40-year-old Pete Buttigieg as a young alternative candidate with good opportunities in 2024 if Biden withdraws. Challenging times There are also several who speculate whether Donald Trump will not be able to run in 2024 as a result of his age. There are not a few challenges facing whoever wins the election in 2024. Illustration: Alexander Slotten / news – There are several people close to Trump who say that they do not believe that he has the capacity to run again, but that he needs the attention and will have the power. In addition, he wants to avoid prison, says Kitchen-Døderlein. She explains that the presidency is one of the world’s most demanding jobs, and that it has rarely been more demanding. – Inflation. War in Europe. Mass shootings. Potentially a new pandemic in addition to the fact that corona is still not over. There is an enormous amount that must be handled by the president, she explains.
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That is why the young people are not represented in the USA – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
