Take 1: Carrying the Weight—How Political Gamesmanship Fuels America's Debt Crisis
With their spending unchecked, we’re left carrying the weight of the debt crisis.
The U.S. national debt has surged to $1.83 trillion, reaching 6.3% of GDP, and yet those in power seem more focused on playing political games than solving the crisis. Meanwhile, the rest of us are left wondering how long we can keep ignoring the inevitable fallout.
With the cost of living skyrocketing, wages struggling to keep up, and an uncertain job market, the idea of higher taxes feels like just another burden waiting to drop. Trump’s tax cuts offer little more than wishful thinking, while Harris’s push for social spending seems to sidestep the root problem. Instead of real solutions, we get temporary fixes that don’t address the growing financial disaster.
At some point, those in charge need to face reality and start making meaningful changes—before we’re left to clean up the mess and deal with the consequences for years to come.
-Ellie Bai
Take 2: The American Dream—Out of Stock or Just Backordered?
As the 2024 election approaches, Gen Z can’t help but wonder if a brighter economic future is just clever campaign rhetoric. While candidates debate who’s to blame, we’re staring down student loans, unaffordable housing, and an economy bloated by years of debt. A new administration might shift policies, but it can’t erase decades of reckless spending. For Gen Z, the American Dream feels like a hand-me-down we can’t afford to tailor. Are we supposed to believe a quick political pivot can solve these problems, or do we need to rewrite the whole playbook? After all, hope only gets you so far when inflation’s eating your paycheck faster than you can say “financial freedom.”
-Paulius Razukevicius
Take 3: Generation Z— The End of the American Dream?
For Generation Z, the American Dream will remain just that, a dream. No one election will change that.
Zoomers are on a course for intense pain and suffering.
Since the dawn of American suburbia, there has not been a housing crisis of this scale. In the 1950s, one income could buy a house, a car, feed a family, and save for the kids' college. Now it buys you a roommate and a PS5.
Speaking of college, loans weigh heavily on zoomers. This debt will only delay the already herculean process of starting a family and buying a home. Additionally, a report from the Fed said Gen Z is within the “tightest labor market since World War II.”
Furthermore, the largest wealth transfer ever happened in 2020 due to the lockdown’s impacts on the economy, America’s zoomers will be inheriting the consequences.
Finally, social security will be depleted assuming Gen Z makes it that far. They would be better off buying a tarot deck and some crystals.
Maybe the new American Dream will be nomadic masses of unemployed zoomer debtors wandering between states, all waiting in line to afford a house in their place of birth.
-Ryan Dulaney
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