Bernie, Millennials and the “Gig” Economy

We Millennials love Bernie. It’s true. Iowa made it very clear that there is a split down the Democratic party, and it is defined by which you had first: an email address or the legal right to drink.

To hear some of the media tell it, you’d think it was because he’s more genuine, or that our 18 to 35 cohort was somehow simple or idealistic. We’re not either. We’re rooting for “socialism” because we’re tired of living in perpetual insecurity.

The US economy seems built on insecurity. Affording health care relies on employment. Getting a chance at a good job requires going deep into debt. At the same time, the shift toward “gigs” means more and more of us live from project to project.

The Millennials are having a grueling time in our young working lives. Many of us graduated directly into a recession. According to the Millennial Jobs Report, our employment rate has stayed between twice to three times that of the broader work force.

We have few of the risk sharing mechanisms that previous generations did. We’re largely single, meaning we don’t have a spouse who can provide an income and employment if we can’t. It’s a tricky balance. While this gig life encourages us to be entrepreneurial, we’re more of the modest group that is paying part of the rent through Etsy, Airbnb or Uber.

In some ways, we’re also choosing this. It’s is in part a quality of life thing. We value experiences and connections over things, and almost all of the social science out there tells us we’re right. While I haven’t had job security, I’ve managed to spend more time with my friends and family. I’ve travelled. I took a lay-off and volunteered for 5 months in Peru. It paid me $0.25 per hour and was one of the best times of my life. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I don’t need a million dollars. I just don’t want to live in fear that one terrible health problem for myself or my family could throw me into financial ruin.

Did you know that worker insecurity is actually a “feature” of the American economy? I have a Canadian friend who is a day trader who is always talking about how adaptable the American work force is.

“Oil prices go down in Texas? That family doesn’t wait.” he said. “They know they’re at risk every day they’re not working. They pack up and move to somewhere there are jobs. Rip the kids away from their grandparents and schools and take a job that pays half as much if they need to.”

“Isn’t that bad for families, and people?” I asked.

“Sure, it’s terrible. I invest in it, but I wouldn’t want to actually live there. But it sure is great for GDP.”

That’s a heavy price to pay, and more than most of us want to. We’d be happy with more peace of mind. No fear of medical bankruptcy. No stress about paying the rent. We need to care more about good schools, healthcare and a sense of security than our chances of owning a McMansions. If Bernie’s popularity is any indication, many of us already do.

In some ways, what we want is the kind of support rich families already give their kids: a little support getting on to entrepreneurial tight wire, and a soft landing enough landing that we can get back up if we fall.

I’m not totally sure what this new system looks like, but I have some sense of it. A single payer health care system would be one thing. Education funding and debt relief would be another. I think a minimum income should be a serious consideration. In a life where we’ll be asked to jump from job to job throughout, knowing we’ll never crash out would lift an sense of anxiety and threat that is so common now we hardly even notice it’s there, much less that we could create policy to stop it.

Despite all this, I’m not going to put my hopes on Bernie. The role of President was purposefully designed to be weak. He may want a revolution, but as long as the House and Senate and many state legislatures are in Republican hands, it’s going to be hard to get anything done.

Instead, let’s consider this the start of a longer battle for a saner, healthier world. This isn’t a flash in the pan candidacy. We’re at the edge of a tipping point. If we play it well, things can and will change a lot in the next 20 years. The older generations are feeling it as well. Plenty of them will join us.

Millennials are as big a group as the Baby Boomers. More and more people of all ages are experiencing the insecurity that was once only for the less privileged. We need to get leaders like Bernie who understand human needs and come up with better policies. Our group of gig economy workers is only growing, and the Boomers are exiting. With a long-term realistic sense of how the economy can deliver it and how we can use it to deliver for the economy, we can evolve the revolution we so desperately need.