More Millennials Would Give Up Voting Than Texting (nypost.com)

An anonymous reader quotes the New York Post: As the staggering national student loan debt tally sits at an all-time high of $1.33 trillion, according to the Department of Education, many millennials say they would go to extreme lengths to wipe their slate clean. According to a new survey from Credible, a personal finance website, 50 percent of all respondents (ages 18-34) said they would give up their right to vote during the next two presidential elections in order to never have to make another loan payment again.
Yet only 44% said they'd be willing to give up Uber and Lyft -- and only 13% said they'd be willing to give up texting.

Comments

Texting has a positive impact on their lives

[rsilvergun]

it's hard to think that way about voting. Our last election was Giant Douche vs a Turd Sandwich both of which were rammed down our throats.

Thing is, you need to get people to show up to primaries, but it's hard enough to get them to mid terms. Voter suppression doesn't help matter either. I don't know about the rest of you folks but I waited 3 hours in line to vote for Bernie in my primary. That wasn't an accident. Nor was it because of overwhelming turnout.

I'm surprised...

[aardvarkjoe]

I'm surprised that it's only 50%. Given that voter turnout in the average presidential election is only about 50-60% without extra incentives not to vote, it's hard to imagine that you couldn't come up with another 10% who would skip voting in exchange for a big pile of cash.

This points to one thing...

[Gravis Zero]

What's the point of voting when the electoral college makes your vote irrelevant?

Re:This points to one thing...

[Anonymous Coward]

The states elect the president. Your state elected your candidate. Your candidate couldn't convince enough states.

Your vote is only relevant in your state. How do you not understand this?

Re: This points to one thing...

[areusche]

The real and honest question here is why no one remembers the reasons for why we have an electoral system. This is an absolute failing of our education system and the thousands of teachers who teach civics. Seriously, our system of government isn't that complicated. You and every other citizen's vote goes towards telling a singular individual how to vote (the elector). The system was set up as a checks and balances system to keep the US policy from being dictated by people in large cities. A concern of the more rural colonists who signed up for this back in the 18th century. It's why America is a country that spans an entire continent and is a modern empire as opposed to Europe which is a has been in every sense of the phrase if not an outright vassal state.

Re:Finally we get to the crux of the matter

[JBMcB]

Seriously, a show of hands: in an age of gerrymandered, electoral colleged, voter suppressed, primary rigged, black box voting machine, foreign government influenced elections, where the guy who loses the vote gets to rule, who wouldn't give up their right to this meaningless exercise in exchange for the forgiveness of $100,000.00 in debt?

On the other hand, pretty much nobody in the establishment wanted Trump to win, he spent a fraction of what Hilary spent on her campaign, and he won. Not saying he's a good candidate, but there isn't a 1:1 relationship between who the establishment wants, and who actually gets in.

I'm a Californian

[Gavagai80]

My vote has never meant anything in presidential elections anyway, and never will. It only has half the theoretical electoral college weight of a voter in other states to begin with, and it's a single party state with a winner take all electoral vote system so there's never any doubt about the outcome. So I'll gladly give up that farce for $10, as long as I can continue voting on everything else.

Re: Poor thought process

[Octorian]

And most people who are unsympathetic towards this likely got their education at a time when it was actually possible to do so without crippling debt, then entered a job market that provided them with more opportunities.

Re: Poor thought process

[ConceptJunkie]

If the Democrats put up another deeply-flawed and wholly unlikeable candidate again, I can see Trump winning a second term. This election was the Democrats' to lose, and they lost it with great aplomb. I've noticed one huge difference between Donald Trump and popular Democrats like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. I think most people will agree that Trump is an ass, but unlike the Democrats (and a lot of Republicans for that matter, like John McCain), he doesn't regularly insult the voters. He will personally attack individuals, often in ways that are really tacky and immature, but I've never heard him say anything negative about the American people, not even subsets of Americans, like liberals. This is something the Democrats have clearly failed to learn, and a significant reason, I think, why people like Trump despite his flaws.

Re: Poor thought process

[ShanghaiBill]

If the Democrats put up another deeply-flawed and wholly unlikeable candidate again ...

Can you name any prominent likable Democrats without deep flaws?

Re: Poor thought process

[ShanghaiBill]

And most people who are unsympathetic towards this likely got their education at a time when it was actually possible to do so without crippling debt

It is still possible. Go to a cheap community college for the first two years while living at home. Then transfer to a four year college for the final two years and either work part time, get a TEACH grant, or a military scholarship.

Warning: May require work, commitment, and sacrifice.

Re:Poor thought process

[ChrisMaple]

Rights only exist as long as people protect them.

One characteristic of rights is that they still exist in the absence of other people. Your right to free speech cannot be violated if there is nobody to violate it.

In contrast, free medical care requires other people to provide it, therefor it is not a right.