Reason-Rupe has a new survey and report
out on millennials—find the report
here.
Reason-Rupe’s latest study of millennials finds that
whilemillennials support government action; however, they also
believe government comes with its own problems. They have come to
view government as wasteful and inefficient, recognize the
potential for regulatory
capture and also agency corruption.
66 Percent of Millennials Think Government Is Wasteful
The perception that government is wasteful and inefficient has
surged among millennials in the past five years.
In 2009, the Pew Research Center found that only
42 percent of millennials thought government was “usually
inefficient and wasteful,” compared to six in 10 among Americans
over 30. This number hascrept
up in recent polls. By 2014, using the exact same wording
as the question Pew asked in 2009, we found the share of
millennials who agree the government is wasteful and inefficient
has shot up to 66 percent, while 32 percent disagree.
Even millennials who favor a broader role for government view it
as wasteful. Fully 57 percent of millennial Democrats say
government is wasteful, as do 69 percent of independents and 81
percent of Republicans.
63 Percent Say Regulators Favor Special Interests Over the
Public
Millennials generally favor government regulation of business to
protect the public interest. However, nearly two-thirds (63%) say
that when government regulators write and implement regulations,
they generally act on behalf of narrow special interests, not the
public. Only 18 percent think regulators generally have the public
interest in mind when deciding how to regulate businesses, and
another 19 percent aren’t sure. While liberal and moderate
millennials are more trusting of regulators, majorities of liberals
(56%) and moderates (59%) still expect special interests to benefit
more than the public from regulations. Conservatives (82%) and
libertarians (85%) are the most likely to say special interests
benefit the most.
58 Percent Say Government Agencies Generally Abuse Their
Power
In the aftermath of government contractor Edward Snowden’s
revelations about the federal government’s surveillance programs,
the American people have been essentially asked to trust government
officials to do what is right. However, Reason-Rupe data reveal
that millennials don’t believe government agencies generally do the
right thing.
The Pew Research Center found that
young people were more supportive than older cohorts of Edward
Snowden’s choice to release classified information about the
existence of government surveillance: 60 percent said it served the
public interest and 34 percent said it harmed it. Moreover, they
were the only age group to disapprove (55%) of the data collection
program.
The Reason-Rupe millennial poll finds one driver of support for
Edward Snowden is that 58 percent of millennials think “government
agencies generally abuse their power” while only 25 percent think
they “generally do the right thing.”
Concern extends beyond partisanship. Majorities of Democrats
(53%), independents (53%), and Republicans (73%) worry government
agencies abuse their power. Nevertheless, Democrats (33%) are
nearly twice as likely as Republicans (16%) to believe these
agencies do the right thing. There are only small differences
across race/ethnicity, although African-American millennials (66%)
are slightly more likely than their peers (56%) to believe
government agencies abuse their power.
To learn more about millennials, check
out Reason-Rupe’s new report.
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