The Young Economic Populists Reshaping the Left

From Republican stronghold to progressive base

In the 1980s, college graduates voted Republican by double-digit margins and favored smaller government, but by the most recent election they supported Kamala Harris over Donald Trump by roughly 15 points, aligning with working-class economic positions.

Shattered class identity

Previously viewing themselves as 'management adjacent' destined for affluence, graduates now identify with exploited workers after decades of wage stagnation and precarious employment failed to deliver promised prosperity.

Mass expansion lowered degree value

As college enrollment tripled from 10% of Americans in 1970 to 30% by 2010, the market flooded with for-profit and non-competitive public universities that diluted the economic value of degrees while Congress repeatedly raised student loan limits.

Debt doubled without proportional returns

Average student debt roughly doubled between the early 1990s and 2020, with parents increasingly borrowing to cover gaps, yet graduates from open-admission public universities often found the costs outweighed the career benefits.

Bailouts exposed a 'two-tier' system

The 2008 financial crisis left recent graduates facing the highest unemployment in decades while watching the government rescue Wall Street banks, creating a perception that the ultra-wealthy received help while indebted graduates were left behind.

Occupy Wall Street as political catalyst

Approximately three-quarters of Occupy Wall Street protesters held college degrees, using the 2011 movement to elevate student debt forgiveness and transform their political identity from future elites to members of the exploited '99%.'

Mergers reduced worker agency

Post-recession consolidation across tech, healthcare, and retail reduced employment options and worker power, as acquisitions like Facebook buying Instagram created bureaucratic environments that left educated professionals feeling alienated.

Regulatory trade-offs hurt workers

While the Affordable Care Act expanded healthcare access, it accelerated hospital consolidation by shifting financial risk to providers, inadvertently making the industry worse for workers even as it helped patients.