In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.Asked to comment on the rise of socialist politics, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) explained that “millennials and Gen Z combined, now for the first time, are eclipsing the number of baby boomers. Young people overall feel a tremendous amount of betrayal about the world we’ve been left.”It’s inarguable that younger generations feel this way. The notion that millennials and Generation Z are toiling in a uniquely grueling economic era, however, is utterly delusional.
Politicians forever exaggerate our misfortunes to gain power. But few have ever peddled this level of doomerism. Virtually the entire case of the American socialist is based on a myth. Historical context isn’t always relevant to the average contemporary voter. The fact that the country had 25% unemployment rate in the 1930s or 11% in the early 1980s doesn’t matter if you can’t find a job today. People live in the context of their own experiences. It’s a recession when your neighbor loses his job, but it’s a depression when you do, the saying goes.But convincing young people they’ve been handed a broken world only fostered an unprecedented sense of hopelessness. You are not victims of “oligarchs,” unfettered capitalism, or any other imaginary monsters. One of the most popular myths these days — you hear from both sides all the time — is that the American middle class is being gutted. It’s simply not true. In 1980, 36% of American families were middle-class. Only 31% of Americans are still in the middle class because the upper-middle class has grown from 10% of households to over 30%. The middle class is shrinking because the upper middle class is expanding.Real median income has not only grown across all classes over the past 40 years, but it has zoomed past the rest of the Western world. The average American family in Mississippi now has a higher per capita GDP than the average French, British, and German family. That’s a pretty remarkable economic inheritance. Just ask the soccer fans visiting for the World Cup.Another big grievance of younger people is that housing has become far too expensive. It’s a genuine concern. But ownership rates are no lower today than they were in the ’60s, ’70s, or ’90s, and most of the 1980s. The homeownership rate in 1980 was 65.5%. In 2025, it was 65.4%. Rates temporarily spiked through the 2000s when government policy incentivized millions to “buy” houses they couldn’t afford with no money down.Housing shortages are driven by the laws of physics. It’s no one’s fault that too many people want to live in and around major urban areas. We’re running out of space in those areas, but opposition to expanding the infrastructure needed to support civilization is often from young people who have bought into apocalyptic climate change messaging.Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during the first day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
