Millennials: First Modern Generation Doing Worse Economically Than Their Parents

Who are the Millennials? They tend to vote Democrat and are largely liberal, but they’re not attached to the Democratic Party. They’re the most diverse American generation: over 40% are nonwhite. Famously, they’re the most technologically savvy, obviously, thanks to being digital natives. And they’re dragging their feet when it comes to the institution of marriage. Why are they reluctant to walk down the aisle? The answer is disturbing.

Paul Taylor, the Executive Vice President of the Pew Research Institute and the author of The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown, talked to Big Think about the fabric of this generation.

“We don’t know how their story ends, but we know how the story of their economic lives have begun,” says Taylor. “Whether it’s income, whether it’s wealth, whether it’s poverty, whether it’s employment, unemployment – all the classic measures.  And you correct for inflation and you make it an apples to apples comparison, they’re doing less well [than their parents].” It’s the economic insecurity, says Taylor, that makes Millennials see marriage as out of reach.

For more insights from Taylor on how else Millennials are “a very distinctive generation,” watch this clip from Big Think’s interview: