Focus at Four: Poll shows younger generation has less trust in US institutions

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The 47th Harvard Youth Poll asked 18 to 29-year-olds nationwide about several topics, including who they intend to vote for in November, their confidence in US institutions and what has them concerned about the future here.

The group of people polled said they would vote for President Joe Biden over former President Trump in the upcoming election. The result was the same for both registered and likely voters under the age of 30. Kirby Goidel, a political scientist and professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M, said that isn’t surprising.

“If we look back to 2020, what we know is that Joe Biden won the election in part because he did really well among younger voters. We expect him to do really well among younger voters going forward,” Goidel said.

But, that doesn’t mean Biden is a shoo-in for younger votes.

“There has been some polling throughout the early election period so far that says Trump’s doing better among those younger voters, not so much that he’s necessarily winning them,” Goidel said. ”There have been a few polls that might have suggested that, but that he’s doing better enough that it looks like maybe younger voters aren’t necessarily going to Biden.”

Only 9% of the people who responded to this believe the country is headed in the right direction. Many of them are concerned about the economy, immigration as well as foreign policy. Goidel says this harkens back to the younger generations in the 60s and 70s.

“We’ve seen the patterns before. But what we’re seeing is trust declining across all institutions Congress, the media, police, the military, everything,” said Goidel. “Young people have often been more distrustful of institutions, but we’re at really low lows right now.”

The trust in public institutions is down pretty significantly from the results in 2015. Trust in the president is down 60%. Trust in the Supreme Court is down 55%. Trust in Wall Street is down 43%, and trust in the US military and the federal government is down 30. 8% and those results can’t easily rebound.

“Essentially people feel like their institutions aren’t working for them. They feel like their government isn’t working for them. It’s not delivering on the promises of democracy. It’s not helping them make their lives better,” Goidel said. “And until you see really significant improvements in the quality of life, especially for young people who are pressed in terms of job market and income and trying to buy a house. Until you see an improvement in the quality of life. I don’t expect to see improvement in these.”