Why Young People Don’t Want to Run For Office

[yallerdawg]

by Katy Steinmetz, Time Article

TIME speaks with Jennifer Lawless, whose research on young Americans' political ambition is revealed in a new book.

Will American politics face a brain drain? If current trends continue, it could soon.

Political science professors Jennifer Lawless and Richard Fox asked more than 4,000 high school and college students if they would be interested in running for political office in America someday: 89% of them said “no.”

That finding is the crux of a new book based on their original research, Running From Office. In it, the authors argue that the dysfunction of Washington has turned the next generation off politics in historic fashion. Unless behaviors change, American University’s Lawless says, the country’s brightest stars are going to pursue just about anything but one of the 500,000 elected offices America needs filled each year.

We’re not necessarily blaming young people. It’s that they live in an environment where they’re not particularly interested in politics because they find it argumentative and dysfunctional. But their parents agree. And their teachers agree. And the news media agree. So they get these constant reinforcing messages that this is not something that is fun or interesting or important or noble … The [other] set of players are the politicians themselves. They behave increasingly in unappealing ways and in ways that suggest that they’re not effective at their jobs.

[HassleCat]

1. Examples

They see the large number of religious freaks, ambulance chasers, used car salesmen, and other shyster who inhabit public office these days, and they think, "Why would I want to be one of those?"

[Stargazer09]

2. Not only that

But they know that every single Facebook post or tweet they ever made, even as a teenager, will be drudged up and used against them.

Who would want that sort of stress?

[Thinkingabout]

3. When a person, young or old, listens day after day to the attacks against candidates and many are

not true it stands to reason one does not want to subject themselves or their family to the abuse.

[treestar]

4. well that's effective

just give up. lol.

[yallerdawg]

5. This is what we get.

What kind of people will still be attracted to political races, if not the best candidates?

The kind of people who are currently in office. People that actually do not think that government is a way to bring about positive change, people who are more interested in their own power than public policy, people that are antagonistic and confrontational and value partisanship over output.

[libdem4life]

6. Who would want to enter a system similar to the Coliseum of old? Like Bernie says, it's a contact

sport and more get "eaten up" than make it. And, you drag your family in, as well. And you have to be able to support yourself with no job or get the Big Money. Currently many are in debt with college expenses and a difficult job market for more than $10-15 an hour, depending on where you live.

Milennials don't typically have those connections or greed either...which it takes. I think the system will change, hopefully with Sanders, who is going to have to prove, if possible, that one need not fawn over the Bankers/large Donors to accept their largesse then have the same people telling/advising aka ALEC on how to participate and govern.