General Discussion

Forget that it's the Cato Institute for a sec. Forget the methodology. Instead, put yourself in Gen Z's shoes for a sec and try to see through their eyes.

These kids have grown up in a fundamentally different world than previous generations have. They don't have any trust at all in our institutions because by and large those institutions have failed them.

They grew up in a world where some crazy bastard might shoot up their school at any given moment. A world where damn near everything is too expensive to afford. A world where they're drowning in debt if they went to university. A world where finding a job is brutally hard, especially a good job that pays well. A world where keeping a roof over their head might take half their income, assuming they can afford a place of their own at all. A world where the dating game is a hellscape and there's a very real loneliness crisis. A world where climate change is out of control. A world where decent healthcare is next to impossible to find.

So yeah, I don't blame them for being a little nihilistic. I don't blame them for feeling some existential dread and despair. These kids have no reason to believe SS will be there for them by the time they retire, always assuming they can afford to retire rather than working until they keel over at their workplace.

They don't care about SS because they don't see a future for themselves. So rather than dismissing the methodology of this poll or dismissing these kids as whiny little punks it would behoove us as a society to try to address that dread and despair.