America This Week Wave 230

America This Week: An Immigration Fix? Gen X Stuck at The Kiddie Table? Hey, We’re Not Political Pawns and Retirement on The Ballot

The latest trends in society and culture from The Harris Poll

Good afternoon from New York. What a difference a week makes. 

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Our SEO challenges aside, we’ll have a detailed look at the new horse race when we release our Havard CAPS-Harris Poll on Monday. Meanwhile, as the candidates fine-tune their messaging for one another, they might consider safety and civility: In America This Week, fielded July 18th to 20th among 2,138 Americans, over seven in ten (75%) are concerned about global instability and (72%) about political divisiveness.

This week, we’ll delve into four new Harris polls that caught our interest:

• First, immigration is a highly important issue in this year’s election, yet quietly but steadily, Americans are helping many enter the country legally. Is it a new fix for a broken system?
• Second, as Americans live longer and leaders hold onto power, where does that leave Gen X?
• Then, Latino voters, aware of their growing force, advise politicians to stop pandering and start listening.
• Lastly, American workers, stung by inflation and worried about the future of social security, are voting with retirement in mind.

An Immigration Program That’s Working: Welcome.US-Harris Poll

In our polling, immigration is the most important issue facing the country after inflation. But quietly, communities across America spend their time and money to help newcomers enter the country legally, in a U.S. News essay by Welcome.US CEO Nazanin Ash, which features our research.

• The big picture: (58%) of Americans support expanding legal pathways for orderly immigration, and (65%) believe “the U.S. should make it easier for anyone seeking a better life to enter legally.”
• Immigration is fundamental to our values: Nearly three-quarters (73%) say, “The U.S. is and always should be a nation supportive of immigrants.”
• The sponsorship solution: Over 650,000 Americans in all fifty states and nearly 12,000 ZIP codes serve as sponsors for refugees through Welcome.US is a non-profit/non-partisan organization working with companies and citizens to foster legal pathways for refugees into America.
• The American spirit: Private citizens have leveraged over $7 billion in their own time and money to pay for travel, meet newcomers at the airport, help them find housing, employment, education, English classes, and more.

Takeaway: “Ground-up, citizen-driven solutions to a broken immigration system are vital. For decades, governments everywhere have been overwhelmed by the scale of the challenge and constrained by limited innovation capacity, resources, and politics,” writes Ash. “There is nothing unreasonable about Americans wanting our borders and immigration to be orderly, well-managed, and safe. But the desire for better border management and a more welcoming America are not mutually exclusive.”

Gen X Stuck At The Kiddie Table?: The Next Big Think!

Our colleagues and leaders of our Thought Leadership Practice, Libby Rodney and Abbey Lunney, have a terrific Substack called The Next Big Think! In it, they investigate what happens to a society when its people live longer, yet its elders have no roles, making the following generations stay stuck at the kiddie table. Make sure to subscribe here.

• There is a 42-year gap between our current president and the media population age—the second largest historical gap after Reagan’s second term.
• Americans believe older leaders cannot fully comprehend the needs of younger generations: (78%) of Americans agree many political leaders are too old to accurately represent the desires of younger Americans (Gen X: 78%).
• They’re blocking progress by sticking around: (67%) agree that older generations refuse to step out of the way for younger leaders (Gen Z: 71%, MLS: 74% v. Gen X: 68%, Boomer+: 56%).
• And we’re not just talking about passing the torch to the youngest Americans; we’re talking about hearing from Gen X: Historically, as Scott Galloway points out, presidents like Clinton, Bush, and Obama were in their 50s when they ran for office for a second term, which is the current age of Gen Xers (now 44-62).
• So what is happening? Contrary to popular belief, Boomers no longer hold the demographic advantage. Millennials are now the largest voting-eligible generation, with Gen Z coming on strong and Gen X slightly smaller but more affluent.

Takeaway: “Business leaders need to be aware of current societal trends and adjust their strategies to accommodate them. This means ensuring that older generations feel valued as they transition into different leadership roles or working conditions while empowering younger generations eager to make their mark now,” recommends Rodney and Lunney. “The shift towards younger leadership isn’t about sidelining older generations; rather, it’s about fostering a balanced ecosystem where the voices of all ages are heard and respected. This natural transition of power is crucial for maintaining a dynamic and effective democracy and business environment, ensuring that leadership continues to be relevant and responsive to the needs of the people it serves.”

Latinos Say They’re Used As Political Pawns: Axios Vibes By The Harris Poll

An overwhelming majority (80%) of Latino voters in our latest Axios Vibes By The Harris Poll say they feel used as pawns by politicians who don’t care about them. 

• This sentiment is equally shared by Democrats (81%), Republicans (78%), and Independents (78%).

• It plays out in the media, too: The same number (80%) of Latino voters agree that the media and politicians use undocumented immigrants to stereotype all Latinos unfairly.
• Additionally, (81%) of Latino voters agree, “The Latino community is diverse, and viewing us as a single group greatly misses the mark.”

Takeaway: Latino voters are a key and rapidly growing part of the electorate, yet both parties have faced criticism for poor engagement efforts and sidestepping issues that Hispanics say matter to them, including inflation and personal economics. The survey shows Latino voters know they have immense political power and that they have not only arrived; they want to be reckoned with and heard and understood.

A Vote For Retirement: Transamerica Institute-Harris Poll

While many issues dominate the upcoming election, our latest survey with the Transamerica Institute reveals that U.S. workers see a not-so-secure future for their retirement.

• The future isn’t bright: Just one in five U.S. workers (20%) are “very” confident they can fully retire with a comfortable lifestyle.
• No Social Security fallback: Almost three in four workers (73%) are concerned that Social Security will not be there for them when they retire.
• Securing retirement is on the ballot: Workers’ top priorities for the President and Congress to help people have financially secure retirement are addressing Social Security’s funding shortfalls (58%), Medicare’s funding shortfalls (46%), and ensuring all workers can save for retirement in the workplace (45%).

Takeaway: “Increasingly, today’s workers are expected to self-fund a greater portion of their retirement income than prior generations, but they are not fully equipped to take on the responsibility and associated risks. Many are on a collision course toward insufficient savings,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of Transamerica Institute.