President Barack Obama has a problem with millennials. We brought the votes and the noise in 2012, but the honeymoon may be officially over.
Young Americans were once the most enthusiastic supporters of the Affordable Care Act. Now, they’re the law’s most ardent foes. A recent poll shows 57 percent of people between 18 and 29 disapprove of this law; only 13 percent of my generation “definitely” plans on signing up.
What turned us against the law we once liked? Reality. When Obamacare finally came a-knockin’ in October, our government gave us a choice between having our pockets picked or opting out. Guess which one we chose?
At the end of the day, Obamacare hurts millennials more than it helps. Just look at what it does to our wallets. After the exchanges opened, we found that the average premium in Georgia for an average 27- year-old had increased dramatically.
In Georgia, they went up by 286 percent — an extra $123 every month. All told, we’re now paying just under $2,000 a year. Millennials saw rate hikes in 45 states.
We already struggle with an average of $35,200 in student loan debt. Our average income is much lower than that of our parents’ and grandparents’. Our unemployment rate, at nearly 16 percent, is more than twice the national average. We need every extra penny we can save.
Either the White House hasn’t noticed this inconvenient truth, or it’s unwilling to admit its existence. The administration is covering it up with a public relations campaign. The Department of Health and Human Services recently spent millions on a competition begging millennials to make positive videos and songs about Obamacare. The winning entry was a catchy song that urged millennials to “forget about the price tag” and just sign up.
Once that tactic failed, Obama reached out to us himself. The White House recently hosted a “Youth Summit” specifically targeted at 18-to-35 year-old activists (I’m still waiting for my invitation). He told us “stuff that’s worth it is always hard” and, “at the end of the day,” we’d “think it’s worth it.”
The sentiment is nice, but what’s more important is what the president left unsaid. The unspoken truth is that the exchanges won’t be able to make ends meet without our money. The onus is on us to subsidize the system, regardless of whether we can afford it.
The president didn’t tell us that. Instead, he looked into our eyes and told us that he knows better than us how we should spend our money and live our lives.
He must have forgotten he was talking to the “young invincibles.” Treating us like children won’t convince us to sign onto a bad deal. We’re also smart enough to know we have other options, like purchasing insurance from the private market that gives us the coverage we want at a price we can afford. As for Obamacare, we’re just not buying what the president’s selling.
Evan Feinberg is president of Generation Opportunity.
