#SaveYourSavings Shows That Democrats Are Clueless on Millennials, Too
You may have missed it this morning, but #SaveYourSavings was trending on Twitter. It was coordinated by the Department of Labor, and various Democratic leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker helped promote the cause.
Glad to be here w/ @LaborSec & @CoryBooker to talk about @USDOL’s new conflict of interest rule! #SaveYourSavings pic.twitter.com/2vkIzKYk6Y
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) April 6, 2016
According to NPR, the hashtag was created to celebrate the Labor Department’s unveiling of a new rule “imposing limits on how financial advisers and brokers may offer advice to people saving for retirement.”
That’s a worthy cause. In fact, the hashtag would be worthwhile even if it just called attention to the dismal level of savings in our country. If you can believe it, most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings right now. That’s truly awful for our citizens and our economy.
However, while promoting this noble cause via Twitter, Booker and Warren displayed some real tone-deafness when it comes to my generation’s economic plight. First off, Warren provided an eye-opening reminder to millennials:
Remember: Paying off your student loans & getting out of debt is an investment in your future too. #SaveYourSavings
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) April 6, 2016
That’s her fix?! And this is supposed to be our nation’s revolutionary progressive?!
But it gets worse. See this exchange between Cory Booker and a millennial:
What steps should millennials take now in order to prepare for a better future? #SaveYourSavings
— Corrina (@Tailoring_Ri) April 6, 2016
Start saving now. Just a few $$$ a day (skip the coffee). Over decades it'll add up to thousands #SaveYourSavings https://t.co/ZYikX8MTJM
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) April 6, 2016
What a condescending “solution,” for a couple of reasons. 1) Urging millennials to spend less unfortunately takes money out of the economy — something which is desperately needed when consumption accounts for 70% of GDP and 2) it’s not even really a solution.
These statements are akin to Jeb’s widely panned statement that Americans who aren’t earning enough “need to work longer hours.” Ultimately, these condescending remarks all share one thing in common: they put the onus on the individual to make up for systemic shortcomings.
Booker and Warren’s tweets also don’t adequately address the insane $1.2 trillion student loan problem which holds back millennials from saving their hard-earned cash. On an anecdotal note, I can tell you that I’d be able to save, oh about $500 more a month if I didn’t have student loans which the US government is currently profiting off of. So it’s not good enough to simply post this:
YES, young ppl are getting crushed w/ debt, making it really tough to save for retirement. #SaveYourSavings https://t.co/tscRF2vZUC
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) April 6, 2016
Merely championing the lowering interest rates to 3.86 percent isn’t going to cut it, either. Progressive politicians (from Warren to Clinton) continue to frame this policy proposal as a drastic way to help millennials save more, but it is ameliorative at best and disingenuous at worst. If Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren want to be the standard bearers for progressivism in the near future, they’re going to have to do a lot better on the issue of savings and student debt. I have faith that they will become bolder and braver — mostly because our generation’s civic presence is only going to increase and, ultimately, force their hands.
For right now, however, Booker and Warren still have a lot to learn on how they address my generation’s economic insecurity. And that’s a tough pill to swallow, considering they’re supposed to be among the most liberal politicians we have fighting for us.
