My own fear is that we are now a war state and the draft will be reinvoked. My son is eleven - which makes him the right age, by my guesstimation - for that. I'd hate for him to be forced into a war that is actually just the death rattle of our fallen empire.
It's nice that Democrats, by and large, remain hopeful for our future. Even now, they don't understand what harm their spending policy has wrought.
May 2, 2011
In U.S., Optimism About Future for Youth Reaches All-Time Low
The highest-income Americans are among the least optimistic about the futureby Elizabeth Mendes
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Forty-four percent of Americans believe it is likely that today's youth will have a better life than their parents, even fewer than said so amid the 2008-2009 recession, and the lowest on record for a trend dating to 1983.
The large majority of Americans expressed optimism about the future for U.S. youth when Gallup first asked this question in January 2008, as the recession began to take hold. They continued to do so even as the economic crisis unfolded and unemployment ballooned. Hopes for U.S. youth declined to the 50% level in October 2010, however, before dropping to a new low in the April 20-23, 2011, USA Today/Gallup poll.
Gallup uses the same question other survey organizations have asked intermittently over a longer period of time. Selected trends from CBS News, New York Times, and Roper Organization polls reveal that Americans currently express greater pessimism about what the future holds for today's youth than any of these organizations found in surveys from 1983 to 2003. The most positive result occurred in a December 2001 CBS News/New York Times poll in which 71% said American youth would have a better life than their parents.
Hope for the Future of U.S. Youth Lower Among Oldest Age Groups
While the majority of young adults believe that today's youth will be better off than their parents, optimism declines substantially among older Americans. Less than half of 30- to 49-year-olds say the same, and even fewer 50- to 64-year-olds (36%) and seniors (37%) do.
Younger Americans are typically more optimistic than older Americans across numerous outlook metrics, including standard of living and economic confidence.
High-Income Americans Least Optimistic About the Future
Thirty-seven percent of the highest-income Americans say today's youth will have a better life than their parents, making them least likely of the income groups to share this view. The majority of the lowest-income Americans agree.
In contrast, the January 2008 results found high-income Americans more hopeful than low-income Americans.
Democrats Hopeful for Future, Republicans Not
A large majority of Democrats (60%) hold out hope that today's youth are headed for a better life than their parents. This optimism most likely reflects their party's control of the presidency, and thus their more positive views of the country's direction. Fewer than one in three Republicans feel the same. Independents are slightly more optimistic than Republicans, but less than half agree.
| 
