The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have attracted growing support from young people who are frustrated about their economic future. Many believe the deck is stacked against them and that the American Dream is slipping beyond their reach.
Their frustration is understandable. Home prices have climbed so high that many young adults doubt they will ever be able to buy one. Even college graduates often find that their salaries are not sufficient to cover housing, transportation, healthcare and other necessities while also saving for the future.
Because the current system does not seem to be working for them, many young people have embraced the DSA. If they cannot earn enough to afford a comfortable life, they conclude that government should provide what the marketplace has put beyond their reach.
But socialism will not solve their problems. In every country where it has been tried, socialism has produced the same basic results: less individual freedom, less personal responsibility, higher taxes on productive citizens and an increasingly powerful government.
Eventually, government runs out of other people’s money. Economic growth slows, opportunity disappears and the standard of living declines. Young Americans deserve a better answer.
Government Dependency Creates Two Problems
Consider a fisherman who works all day and catches enough fish to feed his family, with perhaps a few left over. Nearby is a hungry person who has caught no fish.
The socialist solution is simple: Take some fish from the fisherman and give them to the hungry person. For that day, everyone has enough to eat. But this policy creates two serious long-term problems.
First, the fisherman must now catch enough fish to feed both his family and someone who, for whatever reason, has made no effort to provide for himself. Eventually, the fisherman will become resentful and perhaps work less.
Why should he continue producing extra fish if the government will simply take them away and give them to someone who has not earned them?
Second, the hungry person becomes permanently dependent on somebody else to eat. Rather than developing the ability to provide for himself, he waits each day for the government to redistribute the fisherman’s catch.
A much better solution is to give the hungry person a fishing rod and teach him how to fish. He gains independence, dignity and the ability to support himself. The fisherman keeps the reward for his labor, giving him an incentive to continue producing.
That is the difference between dependency and opportunity.
Young Americans Can Solve the Housing Crisis
Young people should apply that same principle to today’s affordability problems. If housing is too expensive, the answer is not simply demanding that government subsidize it. The better answer is to find innovative ways to build more homes at lower cost.
Traditional post-and-beam construction is labor-intensive and expensive. Young entrepreneurs should develop and expand building methods that require less labor and use more cost-effective materials to reduce construction time. Modular housing, manufactured homes, automated production and new construction technologies could dramatically lower costs.
Young Americans are especially well positioned to do this. They understand technology, adapt quickly and are less committed to doing things simply because that is how they have always been done.
Instead of asking government to give them a house, they should create new ways to make houses affordable.
Freedom and Responsibility Built America
Young Americans already have opportunities to learn how to “fish.” Their communities provide education through high school. Afterward, they can attend college, learn a trade, enter an apprenticeship or start a business.
Unfortunately, many students attend college without acquiring skills that employers value. They sometimes accumulate substantial debt for degrees that provide little earning power. Higher education deserves some blame for selling expensive programs with limited economic value. But students must also take responsibility for choosing an education that does not prepare them for the workplace.
Government cannot guarantee prosperity. In fact, government has no money of its own. Every dollar it spends must first be taxed from someone who earned it, borrowed and repaid by future taxpayers, or created in a way that can produce inflation.
America became the world’s largest and most prosperous economy because it emphasized individual freedom, personal responsibility, relatively low taxation and a limited role for government. Those principles encouraged people to work, save, invest, innovate and build.
Young Americans have legitimate concerns about housing, wages and opportunity. But socialism would replace those problems with dependency, stagnation and lost freedom.
The answer is not to wait for government to provide a comfortable life. It is to acquire valuable skills, embrace entrepreneurship and solve the problems standing in the way.
It is time for young Americans to step up.
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