The Year The Youth Vote Arrives

A study released last week by the Rockefeller Foundation and Time magazine helps explain why the under-30s are so engaged and why their political views have more in common with those of the New Deal generation than of the Reagan generation.

Nearly half of the under-30s said that America was a better place to live during the 1990s, the study found, and they think the country will continue to decline. This is a more pessimistic view than that of the older groups. They are also the generation most worried about their own or their families' economic security, and half of them went without health insurance at some point in the past year, more than double the percentage of any other group.

In light of this, it's not surprising that the Rockefeller report found that 86 percent of the under-30s -- significantly more than any other generational group -- said that "more government programs should help those struggling under the current economic conditions."

Young Americans show all the signs of being interested enough and upset enough to flock to the polls this year. If they do, they could be the most politically consequential generation since the cohort of the Great Depression and World War II. Think of these newcomers as the Engaged Generation.

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