Why do young people like Ron Paul? Every time Dr. Paul goes to a college campus on the campaign trail, he is greeted by hundreds of supporters, most of whom are “20-somethings.” A lot of political commentators will tell you that these young people support him simply because he wants to legalize drugs. I disagree.
Paul is arguably the only candidate on the stage that really wants to shrink the size of the federal government. He has a plan to slash five departments from the federal government and cut the deficit by $1 trillion his first year in office. This is particularly attractive to young people because they understand that eventually we will have to pay the money back that we are constantly borrowing from other countries. They also understand that the way we are spending money is unsustainable, and if we continue on this path we will end up like Greece or Italy. The national debt is already more than 100% of the United States GDP, in comparison Greece’s debt ratio is 144% of GDP. These young voters, are extremely concerned about politicians mortgaging their future by trying to spend their way to prosperity today.
In addition to being fiscally conservative, Paul also supports state’s rights under the 10th amendment, and the Constitution in general. He wants to turn much of what the federal government does back over to the states, including things like healthcare and Social Security. These young college students do not want to be bothered by the government, they want to live their lives with as little interaction with the government as possible. They also understand that they will pay into Social Security for all of their life and never see a penny of it when they retire. They want the country to return to the days of personal responsibly when the government didn’t tell them how to live their lives.
Finally, one of the biggest reasons Dr. Paul is striking a chord with young people is because he challenges the status quo. People are fed up with politics as usually in Washington, they want to see change, and Dr. Paul promises them that change. He also has a proven record of not changing his stance on important issues and he has impressive experience in the private sector by running his own medical practice.
While Dr. Paul supports legalizing drugs (which is favorable among younger voters), it is not the only reason they support him.