The Rising Tide

• College-age persons are less optimistic about the economy in light of COVID-19.
• They are generally happier with the responses made by the states but largely wish for a greater response by the federal government.
• Here’s what they have to say.

We all know how COVID-19 is taking our jobs, stealing our loved ones away, evaporating our previous goals, but this paper will ask the question; how are the younger among us feeling about this unprecedented disaster?

The younger generations, who are already frustrated by numerous issues such as; climate change, polarized politics, gun rights, low wages, rising debt, and much more, have just been dealt another blow. In a survey conducted by this site, 67 people in the age groups of 18-24 and younger than 18, responded from fourteen states. The first question asked; “how much has COVID-19 affected your job prospects?” Fifty-one percent said they were either affected “a lot” or “a great deal”. Twenty-one percent said they were affected “a moderate amount” and twenty-one percent said they were affected either “not at all” or “a little”. This data can be seen in more detail in the figure below.

When answering “how optimistic are you feeling about the U.S. economy for the next year?” a mere 7% of the respondents said they were “extremely optimistic” or “very optimistic” about the economy. On the other hand, 55% said they were either “not so optimistic” or “not at all optimistic” with the remaining 37% said they are “somewhat optimistic.” The figure below showing the details.

This survey also sought to gain a better understanding of how this, rising generation, sees the states and federal government’s responses to COVID-19. It can be seen in this survey that the respondents see the states should keep responding the way they have with 55% saying this. Forty-two percent said they want a greater response and only 3% of the respondents want the states to have a lesser response to the virus. On the other hand, this generation also shows they want the federal government to have a greater response with 76% expressing this opinion, 21% said the current response should be maintained and just 3% said they wish to see a lesser response. The results of these two questions are summed up in the figure below.

After learning their stances on the economic outlook and the responses made by state governments and the federal government, here are what some of the respondents had to say on COVID-19:

“I’m not scared or worried about the actual virus itself, but they secondary impacts, like economy and job market, can stress me out at times.”

“I just wish this was over! I lost my job to this. I’m a starving college student.”

“This situation has revealed how unprepared our government is.”

“I wish people would stop blaming China and using the virus as an excuse to be hostile and racist. Yes, the virus did originate there, but spreading hate isn’t going to make it go away. We’re all dealing with it now, and we have to support and uplift each other if we want to get through it. Also, there’s a ton of misinformation floating around, which is only making things worse. I wish the general public would get their information from a reputable source.”

In conclusion, these young, rising world leaders appear to be less optimistic about the American economy. They also feel the federal government should have had a greater response in comparison to the states. It is also important to end this article stating that, though this article focuses on just one group, all of us are being affected by this natural disaster. This underscores our responsibility to care, be patient, and to understand one another.

*DISCLAIMER*

This is a very small survey and could be pointing at a larger trend but more research should be done to paint a more clear picture. The Rising Tide hopes to do another larger survey later in the year asking the same questions. The raw results of the survey are attached below.