The Return of Young America

"To meet these and other needs, liberals ought to do more than just propose a grab bag of policies aimed at young people; they ought to crystallize their concerns about America’s future by developing a “Young America” program as a central theme. It may be objected that young voters don’t turn out to vote. But the young are not a special interest. For one thing, parents also worry about how their kids will be able to make a living and a life. Besides, a politics that addressed the young might get them to turn out. The idea of a Young America program also ought to suggest something more: a return to an earlier conception of America as a young nation, capable of great things. Liberals cannot leave that kind of national vision to the right; they ought to argue that an increasingly unequal America that exposes so many of its young to poverty and insecurity cannot be the strong and prosperous nation all Americans want it to be."

In The American Prospect, co-editor Paul Starr stakes a claim.