The Millennial Legacy

The Millennial Values Survey is a joint venture by The Public Religion Research Institute and the Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs that provides an in-depth portrait of younger Millennials on faith, values, and the 2012 election. One thing I don’t like about it is that it only interviews 2,000 Millennials between the ages of 18 and 24 (or college-age, as they put it). Not the greatest sample of the Millennial generation, which actually includes all young people between the ages of 8 and 30. But the findings of this survey were on par with past surveys and studies on Millennials, and it is always interesting to see how and if the attitudes and views of Millennials have changed. If you are interested in this kind of stuff it is worth it to check it out. Below is the Executive Summary, and you can read the whole report at the source.

*College-age Millennials (age 18-24) are considerably more racially and ethnically diverse than the general population. Fewer than 6-in-10 (57%) Millennials self-identify as white, compared to 72% of the general population. Approximately 1-in-5 (21%) identify as Hispanic, 14% identify as black, 6% identify as some other race, and 3% identify with two or more racial categories.

*When asked to offer one or two words that describe how their generation is different from their parents’ generation, 4-in-10 (40%) younger Millennials describe themselves more negatively than their parents, compared to 19% who describe their own generation more positively, and 40% who give more neutral comments. The most frequently mentioned difference between the generations was a neutral assessment that Millennials are more “tech-savvy” than their parents (16%).

*Like Americans overall, college-age Millennials (age 18-24) are most likely to cite jobs and unemployment as a critical issue facing the country. More than three-quarters (76%) say that jobs and unemployment represent a critical issue. Majorities also report that the federal deficit (55%) and education (54%) are critical issues facing the nation. Only about 1-in-5 say that social issues like abortion (22%) or same-sex marriage (22%) are critical issues.

*About 6-in-10 (61%) college-age Millennials say they are registered to vote, but fewer than half (46%) say they are absolutely certain they will vote in the 2012 election.

*Younger Millennials generally identify as political Independents but lean toward the Democratic Party. A plurality (45%) of younger Millennials identify as Independent, compared to 33% who identify as Democrat and 23% who identify as Republican. Including “leaners,” nearly 6-in-10 (58%) Millennials identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, compared to 39% who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. Only 3% report that they do not lean toward either political party.

*Among college-age Millennial voters, Barack Obama holds a 7-point lead over a generic Republican candidate at this point in the 2012 presidential campaign. Nearly half (48%) of Millennial voters say they would prefer that Obama win the 2012 election, compared to 41% who say they would like to see a Republican candidate win. Eleven percent say they are not sure or say they would like to see a third-party candidate win the election. Among Millennial voters who favor a Republican candidate, most would prefer it if Mitt Romney or Ron Paul won the nomination (34% and 30% respectively).

*Obama holds a considerable advantage over Mitt Romney in terms of favorability and excitement about his candidacy. A majority (52%) of college-age Millennial voters say they have a favorable opinion of Barack Obama, compared to only 32% who have a favorable view of Romney. More than 7-in-10 (72%) Obama supporters say that they would be excited to cast a vote for him, compared to 54% of Romney supporters who say they would be excited to vote for him.

*Barack Obama holds overwhelming leads over a generic Republican opponent among black Millennial voters (92% vs. 2% respectively) and Hispanic Millennial voters (61% vs. 28% respectively). In contrast, a majority (55%) of white Millennial voters say they would prefer that a Republican candidate win the 2012 election, compared to one-third (33%) who say they would like to see Obama win re-election.

*Younger Millennials report significant levels of movement from the religious affiliation of their childhood, mostly toward identifying as religiously unaffiliated. While only 11% of Millennials were religiously unaffiliated in childhood, one-quarter (25%) currently identify as unaffiliated, a 14-point increase. Catholics and white mainline Protestants saw the largest net losses due to Millennials’ movement away from their childhood religious affiliation.

*Today, college-age Millennials are more likely than the general population to be religiously unaffiliated. They are less likely than the general population to identify as white evangelical Protestant or white mainline Protestant.

*Millennials also hold less traditional or orthodox religious beliefs. Fewer than one-quarter (23%) believe that the Bible is the word of God and should be taken literally, word for word. About 1-in-4 (26%) believe Bible is the word of God, but that not everything in the Bible should be taken literally. Roughly 4-in-10 (37%) say that the Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.

*Younger Millennials are divided on whether the American Dream – the idea that if you work hard you’ll get ahead – holds true today. They are moderately optimistic about their long-term financial prospects, when they use their parents’ financial situation as a point of comparison.

*A plurality (45%) of younger Millennials believe that the American Dream once held true, but not anymore, while 4-in-10 (40%) say the American Dream still holds true. One-in-ten (10%) younger Millennials say that the American Dream never held true.

*Approximately 4-in-10 (42%) of younger Millennials believe that, in their lifetime, they will be better off than their parents, compared to 18% who expect to be less well off than their parents, and 38% who predict that their financial situation will be about the same as their parents’.

*College-age Millennials see the need for economic reform to address the gap between the rich and the poor.

*Nearly three-quarters (73%) of college-age Millennials agree that the economic system in this country unfairly favors the wealthy, while (24%) disagree. Majorities of members of all political parties agree: 85% of Democratic Millennials, 71% of Independent Millennials, and 59% of Republican Millennials.

*A strong majority (63%) of younger Millennials agree that one of the big problems in this country is that we don’t give everyone an equal chance in life. Approximately 3-in-10 (28%) disagree, saying that it is not really that big a problem if some people have more of a chance in life than others.

*Nearly 7-in-10 (69%) Millennials believe that the government should do more to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, while 28% disagree.

*Younger Millennials strongly favor (72%) a policy sometimes called the “Buffett Rule,” which would increase the tax rate on Americans earning more than $1 million a year. Majorities of Republican, Independent and Democratic Millennials support the “Buffett Rule.”

*Despite holding some moral reservations about abortion, a majority of college-age Millennials support legal abortion, as well as community access to abortion services.

*A majority of college-age Millennials say that abortion should be legal in all (24%) or most cases (30%). More than 4-in-10 say that abortion should be illegal in most (28%) or all cases (16%). Roughly 6-in-10 (59%) Millennials believe that at least some health care professionals in their community should provide legal abortions.

*A slim majority (51%) of Millennials believe that having an abortion is morally wrong, compared to 37% who say it is morally acceptable.

*Although younger Millennials are divided on the morality of gay and lesbian sexual relationships, a solid majority support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally.

*Nearly 6-in-10 (59%) college-age Millennials favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, compared to 37% who are opposed.

*Millennials are nearly evenly divided over whether sex between two adults of the same gender is morally acceptable (48%) or morally wrong (44%).

*Younger Millennials strongly support the central components of the DREAM Act – allowing illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children to gain legal resident status if they join the military or go to college (61% favor, 35% oppose). Two-thirds (66%) of Democratic Millennials support the policy, compared to fewer than half (49%) of Republican Millennials.

*Despite the Millennial generation’s racial and ethnic diversity, there is evidence of considerable racial tensions among younger Millennials, which also run along party lines.

*College-age Millennials are divided on whether the government has paid too much attention to the problems of blacks and other minorities over the past few decades (49% disagree, 46% agree).

*When asked whether discrimination against whites has become as big a problem today as discrimination against blacks, younger Millennials are nearly evenly divided (48% agree, 47% disagree). Almost two-thirds (66%) of Republican Millennials agree that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities, compared to only 36% of Democratic Millennials.

*Millennials’ feelings toward present-day Christianity are fairly ambivalent. Approximately three-quarters (76%) of younger Millennials say that modern-day Christianity “has good values and principles,” and 63% agree that contemporary Christianity “consistently shows love for other people.” On the other hand, nearly two-thirds (64%) of Millennials say that “anti-gay” describes present-day Christianity somewhat or very well. And more than 6-in-10 (62%) Millennials also believe that present-day Christianity is “judgmental.”

Many young Millennials are becoming all too aware of the dangers of credit cards. Fortunately, the Federal Credit Card Debt Relief Act forces debt relief companies to abide by specific rules in order to protect consumers. Guest blogger Pablo Garcia has written a post outlining the new rules. This is excellent information to have. If you are a credit card user, you really should familiarize yourself with this law and others that are there to protect you from illegal practices by credit card and debt relief companies. Thanks, Pablo, for your contribution.

Federal Credit Card Debt Relief Act – Armour for the Consumers

Your ‘plastic’, i.e. your credit card is your worst enemy, if you want to control your expenses. The credit cards tempt you to fall into debt, each time you face a cash crunch. The high interest rates charged on your credit card will make the debt amount swell over time, making it even harder to get rid of the debt.

Credit card debt settlement will come to your rescue at this point. It is considered one of the best debt relief options, since it reduces your debt amount by a certain percentage through effective negotiation with the creditors. It is advisable to eliminate your debts in a legal way, so as to avoid further implications. Besides, several debt relief companies lay traps for the distressed borrowers, to extract money out of them without offering any actual respite. The federal government tries to protect you against such fraudulent companies.

The U.S. federal government cannot provide you financial assistance to eliminate your credit card debt. However, the Federal Credit Card Debt Relief Act makes the debt relief companies abide by certain rules as follows:

1. The companies offering credit card debt settlement services will not be able to collect any fees till it re-negotiates, settles or reduces the debt amount. The company must change at least one of the terms for the original debt, before it asks for payment from the consumers.

2. There has to be a written agreement for the debt management or settlement plan between the consumer and the creditor, with the consumer’s consent. The relief company won’t be able to ask for payment, unless the agreement has been signed by both the parties.

3. The consumers don’t need to pay the company, unless at least one payment has been forwarded to his/her creditor through the relief company.

4. The companies must make specific disclosures to the consumers, regarding the services offered by them. This is especially applicable when the enrollments are done through telemarketing.

5. The companies are forbidden to do any misrepresentations while offering their services to the consumers, like lying about the success rate or the non-profit status of the company.

6. The fees and savings for the final settlement payment to the creditors are to be deposited in a ‘dedicated account’ in the consumer’s name. The consumer will own the funds, and will have the power to withdraw the money anytime from the account. The provider will neither have any power in dealing with the accumulated funds, nor will he be able to withdraw any fees from the account.

The above mentioned regulations have reduced the chances of deceptions by the debt relief companies. You must be aware about these regulations, before enrolling into a credit card debt settlement program. The advance fee ban has especially been helpful for the consumers. It prevents you from paying the unnecessary upfront fees to the companies promising debt relief. The federal debt relief act has reinstated the trust of the consumers on the credit card debt settlement companies.

I came across this really great CNN story Millennials. It actually does a realistic job of explaining our generation–our unique working habits, our unique mindset, our unique learning capabilities, our confidence, our frustrations, our incredible optimism, and our desire to take charge. And I like that it is positive, and not negative like many stories about Millennials. If you want to view the video go here. It is only about 4 minutes, and definitely worth a look.