- Economic challenges during the Biden administration may lead 18-24-year-olds to consider switching allegiance to former President Trump
- Economic difficulties, such as student loan payments, rising housing costs, and car payment delinquencies, are impacting this age group
- These challenges might make the Trump presidency seem more appealing to 18-24-year-olds, despite their previous reservations
If there’s one voting bloc that the Biden administration has vigorously pursued since Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy in 2019, it has been college students and recent graduates.
But talk is one thing; actions are another. The Biden economy has been so disastrous to 18-24-year-olds that they may switch their allegiance to former President Trump in 2024 if he clinches the GOP nomination. James Carville’s famous political axiom, “It’s the economy, stupid!” applies just as well today as it did in 1991 when Carville forced the Bill Clinton war room to focus on Bush 41’s handling of the economy and helped Clinton win the presidency. Coming out of the first Gulf War successfully, Bush was enjoying an approval rating of over 90% and was considered unbeatable.
It is time to dive into the nitty-gritty of how the economy’s been treating 18-24-year-olds during the Biden administration. The following charts tell the story.


18-24-year-olds are away from home, are independent thinkers, and are no longer under the influence of elders. Many get their worldviews developed on college campuses, which are vast enclaves of liberalism. Because colleges essentially prohibit conservative speakers’ access, having declared safe zones for students who feel they could become “victims of microaggressions,” few students are interested in understanding the other side of the argument or engaging in rigorous policy debates.
Until, of course, things hit their pocketbook.
The administration knows the pocketbook factor well, which is why it has tried numerous times to bribe students by offering to waive up to $10,000 in student debt. We argued in June 2022 that forgiving student loans was a terrible policy and unfair to youth who had never borrowed. The Supreme Court agreed a year later when it prohibited the Department of Education from implementing the Biden-Harris Administration’s one-time debt relief program.

Student loan payments resume. Using the pandemic as an excuse, the Biden administration had kept postponing student payments on education loans. But this concession ended when the first payments resumed in October. Millions of borrowers have begun seeing a bill with the payment amount and due date in their mailboxes, something they had not seen for years when the administration had paused debt repayments. Defaulting on the payment or paying just the minimum balance are not options, so borrowers must immediately budget about $500 extra each month.
Housing costs are through the roof, although they have moderated somewhat. For many 18-24-year-olds, housing costs often form the most prominent single element of their monthly budgets. The Washington Post reported in July that rents are stabilizing or calming down, but that is little relief to renters who experienced monthly asking price increases of up to 15% between 2020 and 2022, marking the fastest run-up in rents in nearly a century. Owning a home is almost impossible, with mortgage rates on a 30-year loan reaching a recent record of 8% and inventories low as homeowners stay put in their homes, locked into their lower rates.
Car payment delinquencies are rising. Many 18-24-year-olds, not having held jobs for long and not having built sound credit profiles, are grouped into the so-called subprime class of borrowers. The credit rating agency Experian defines subprime as consumers with FICO® scores of less than 670 —or those in the “poor” and “fair” range. Nearly 1 in 3 U.S. consumers had a credit score in the subprime range, according to Experian data from Q1 2021.
Experian says that for subprime borrowers, rates for new cars average 11.5% and 18.5% for used autos (14.08% and 21.32%, respectively, for deep subprime borrowers with FICO scores of 579 or below). A Yahoo! News story said that a record number of new car buyers took out loans with monthly payments of $1,000 or more in the three months to June. Car payments have become the highest expense for some Gen Zers and millennials, even exceeding their rent.
Entry-level jobs are scarce. We pointed out in late August how the Biden economy has been terrible for college seniors, juniors looking for internships, and recent graduates. Wired Magazine said two weeks ago that Tech companies have laid off more than 400,000 people in the past two years. Competition for the jobs that remain is getting more and more intense.
Trump suddenly looks attractive. The 18-24-year-olds may not have liked former President Trump’s mean tweets and boastful comments when he was in the White House. But this crucial demographic understands what a mess the Biden administration has been – inflation, never-ending wars, now a new conflict in the Middle East which could spread, a disastrous southern border, crime in the inner cities – and could switch its electoral support to the relative prosperity during Trump’s presidency. It is a terrifying prospect for the Biden campaign.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics And Geoeconomics
1. Israel Ground Forces Raid Hamas Sites In Gaza, Withdraw: Military Statement – Reuters
Israeli ground forces operated within the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, attacking multiple Hamas targets before withdrawing, the military said in a statement.

The online military statement said the incursion was “in preparation for the next stages of combat,” a possible reference to the large-scale invasion that Israeli leaders have threatened as part of the war to destroy Hamas.
2. Israel Agrees To Delay Gaza Invasion So U.S. Can Rush Missile Defenses To Region: WSJ – Reuters
U.S. officials have so far persuaded Israel to hold off until U.S. air-defense systems can be placed in the region, as early as later this week, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Israel is also considering in its planning the effort to supply humanitarian aid inside Gaza and diplomatic efforts to free hostages held by Hamas militants, the news report said. Threats to the U.S. troops were of paramount concern, it said.
3. UN: Gaza Blockade Could Sharply Cut Relief Missions – A.P.
The warning by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, over depleting fuel supplies raised the alarm that the humanitarian crisis could quickly worsen.

More than half of Gaza’s primary healthcare facilities and roughly a third of its hospitals have stopped functioning, the World Health Organization said.
4. North Korea Claims Israel Bombed Gaza Hospital Under U.S. ‘Patronage’ – RFA
North Korea’s foreign ministry accused Israel of bombing a hospital in the Gaza Strip, claiming it had openly committed a war crime “under the undisguised patronage of the United States.”

This is the second time in a week that Pyongyang has criticized the U.S. over the Israel conflict. A U.S. official stated that U.S. intelligence officials have “high confidence” that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket that broke up mid-flight and not by Israel.
5. Russia, China Veto U.S. Push For UN Action On Israel, Gaza – Reuters
Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution on the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

At the same time, a rival Russian-drafted text failed to win the minimum number of votes.
The U.S. draft aimed to address a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for pauses in the violence to allow aid access. The council then voted on a Russian-drafted resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire.
6. Russian Bill Revoking Nuke Test Ban Pact Gets 2nd OK – A.P.
The upper chamber of Russia’s parliament revoked the ratification of a global nuclear test ban in what Moscow has described as a move to establish parity with the United States.

The bill will now be sent to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. The lower chamber, formally called the State Duma, approved the measure last week.
Adopted in 1996, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, but the treaty was never fully implemented.
7. Russia Testing Nuclear Strike Capability – D.W.
Russia has said it is testing ballistic missiles and will practice a “massive” nuclear retaliatory strike as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu rarely visited the front lines in Ukraine.

Moscow has said it will study U.S. proposals to resume dialogue on nuclear arms control but won’t accept them unless Washington drops its “hostile” stance.
8. Russia Goes Back To Prisons To Feed Its War Machine – BBC
The Russian defense ministry has been recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, apparently taking over from the Wagner mercenary group, the first to adopt the practice last year.

Such army units, commonly known as Storm-Z detachments, are reportedly often treated as expendable force thrown into battle – with little consideration for the lives of their servicemen.
9. Russian MiG-31 Fighters With Kinzhal Hypersonic Missiles Ready To Patrol Black Sea – Al Arabiya
“In fulfillment of the political decision by the country’s leadership, MiG-31 aircraft with Kinzhal missiles are ready for patrolling in the airspace over the Black Sea and are just waiting for an order to come,” state news agency TASS reported.

The report added that the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles carried by MiG-31K fighter jets that will patrol Black Sea waters would have the capacity to change target acquisition during the flight.
10. U.S. And Allies Confirm North Korea-Russia ‘Deleterious’ Arms Deal – RFA
The United States and its allies have warned that the allies would respond against these “deleterious” actions.

The allies “stand together, resolute in our opposition to arms transfers and related military cooperation between the DPRK and Russia and the deleterious effect such actions have on global security and nonproliferation,” according to the joint statement by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea.
11. South China Sea: Biden Says U.S. Will Defend The Philippines If China Attacks – BBC
U.S. President Biden has warned China that the U.S. will defend the Philippines in case of any attack in the disputed South China Sea.

The comments come days after two collisions between Filipino and Chinese vessels in the contested waters. Manila has contested Chinese claims to the waters, cutting floating barriers and inviting media to film Beijing’s dangerous moves at sea.
12. China Launches New Mission To Space Station – AFP
China sent a fresh crew to its Tiangong space station in the latest mission for a growing space program that plans to send people to the Moon by 2030.

The world’s second-largest economy has pumped billions of dollars into its military-run space program to catch up with the United States and Russia.
13. Australia Returns Smuggled Historical Artefacts To China – BBC
A dinosaur fossil that is more than 100 million years old and two Tang Dynasty figurines were handed to Chinese officials in Canberra.

The handover comes shortly before Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visits Beijing next month.
14. Niger Suffers Under Coup-Related Sanctions, Junta Backers Call It Worthy Sacrifice – A.P.
After elite soldiers toppled Niger’s democratically elected President, Mohamed Bazoum, on July 26, the country faced economic sanctions from West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, and Western and European countries, including the U.S.

Rather than deter the soldiers, the sanctions have emboldened the junta. It has set up a transitional government that could remain in power for up to three years. Even as they feel the pinch of sanctions, many people on the streets of Niamey, the capital, say they support the coup.
15. Scientists Urge WHO To Declare Health Emergency For Planet – D.W.
On Wednesday, scientists from across the world collectively called for the UN, world leaders, and health authorities to address climate change and biodiversity loss as one global health emergency.

The report published by more than 200 health journals urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to declare the climate and nature crisis a singular crisis to be tackled together to avoid catastrophe.
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Republished with permission from TIPP Insights