--- title: SOTU: Obama's Optimism Isn't Shared by All Millennials description: We need less government and more opportunity canonical: https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/ author: David Barnes article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-13T19:44:14.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:56:31.718Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Obama's Optimism Isn't Shared by All Millennials og:description: We need less government and more opportunity og:url: https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ee793ff2b97a26/698878fa3c163938c945b8ed/obama11.jpg?branch=production&width=700&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 700 og:image:height: 394 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama's Optimism Isn't Shared by All Millennials twitter:description: We need less government and more opportunity twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ee793ff2b97a26/698878fa3c163938c945b8ed/obama11.jpg?branch=production&width=700&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama's Optimism Isn't Shared by All Millennials > Sponsored content. 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Evan Vucci—Pool/Getty Images by [David Barnes](https://time.com/author/david-barnes/) ## David Barnes Jan 13, 2016 7:44 PM UTC President Barack Obama took an optimistic tone in Tuesday night’s [State of the Union address](http://time.com/4178279/state-union-transcript-2016/), concluding “the State of our Union is strong.” Millions of young Americans from the millennial generation may disagree: A recent Harvard poll found that nearly half of 18-29 year olds [believe the American dream is dead](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/12/10/48-percent-of-millennials-think-the-american-dream-is-dead-heres-why/). Although the president cited a falling unemployment rate last night, many young people are having a hard time finding work. The [unemployment rate](http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cpseea13.htm) for those aged 18-29 is 7.6%—about 50% higher than the general population. More than [30% of older millennials](http://www.fxstreet.com/education/fundamental/millennials-in-the-economy/2015/01/15/) are stuck in involuntary part-time work. And 1 in 5 young adults—about 13 million people—[lived in poverty](http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-219.html) as recently as 2013\. Our generation has been disappointed to learn that going to college is an increasingly costly proposition that doesn’t always pay off. Median weekly earnings for full-time workers who graduated 2007 through 2014 [have been stagnant, rising only 6%](http://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/publications/economic-letter/2014/july/wage-growth-gap-recent-college-graduates/). Tuition, by contrast, skyrocketed [more than 500% from 1985 to 2013](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-08-26/college-costs-surge-500-in-u-s-since-1985-chart-of-the-day). More than two-thirds of the class of 2014 graduated with debt, averaging nearly [$30,000](http://ticas.org/sites/default/files/pub%5Ffiles/classof2014.pdf) per borrower. Too many have also seen their progress halted by the harsh realities of American criminal justice. Obama’s speech addressed the need for reforming this flawed system, and with good reason. [Up to 30%](http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-12-19/youth-arrests-increase/52055700/1) of all young people will have been arrested by the time they turn 23, usually for non-violent and minor crimes. [Nearly 40% of federal inmates and more than half](http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p14.pdf) of those in state prisons are millennials. A criminal record leaves many unable to find quality jobs. To top if off, more than one quarter of our generation [lived with their parents](http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/07/29/boomerang-millennials-get-cozy-at-home/) last year. Young people shouldn’t accept this as the new normal. Policymakers must address the government’s growing control over the economy and our lives to improve opportunities for millennials. They should start by reining in what Obama called “outdated regulations that need to be changed” and “red tape that needs to be cut.” Regulation accounts for a hidden tax on our economy of [$1.88 trillion](http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2015/05/16/the-real-cost-of-regulation-is-keeping-america-down)_._ The federal register published an astounding [80,000](https://www.federalregister.gov/uploads/2014/04/OFR-STATISTICS-CHARTS-ALL1-1-1-2013.pdf) pages in 2013, and the tax code hit almost [74,000](http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/politicalcalculations/2014/04/13/2014-how-many-pages-in-the-us-tax-code-n1823832) pages that year. Occupational licensing is another barrier that must be rolled back. Today about [30%](http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2015/01/26-time-to-examine-occupational-licensing-practices-kearney-hershbein-boddy) of the workforce must acquire “licenses to work” before starting their careers, costing up to thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of training. Many occupational licenses serve no legitimate purpose yet cost [nearly 3 million jobs nationwide](http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2015/03/11-hamilton-project-expanding-jobs/thp%5Fkleinerdiscpaper%5Ffinal.pdf). Government can help achieve Obama’s goal of making higher education affordable by stepping away from it. [The Federal Reserve Branch of New York](https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff%5Freports/sr733.html) recently calculated that every dollar government spends on tuition subsidies actually passes through and inflates tuition by more than 50 cents. Government shouldn’t spend more, but rather encourage the innovation needed to make education worthwhile again and truly debt-free. That means letting states experiment with their higher-education [accreditation](https://www.help.senate.gov/imo/media/Accreditation.pdf) standards, which currently limit choice and competition under federal rules. Rather than promote “free” community college, as Obama did Tuesday night, lawmakers should look for ways to encourage an open marketplace in education. Students need more options for building foundations to their careers. Finally, crime deserves punishment, but human lives deserve redemption. Federal and state lawmakers should reform overly harsh sentencing laws like mandatory minimums and three-strike systems. The Obama administration has gotten involved in this fight, but with a justice system as complex and flawed as ours, there’s much work yet to be done. Millennials may have good reason to be disappointed, but we have no reason to be hopeless. We are the [largest, most diverse generation](https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials%5Freport.pdf) in American history, and our voices matter. It’s time to demand policies that create more opportunity rather than more government. Then the State of the Union—and the [State of the Millennial](https://generationopportunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/State%5Fof%5Fthe%5FMillennial%5F2016.pdf)—could finally be as strong as Obama believes it is. ## Transcript Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, My Fellow Americans. Tonight marks the eighth year that I've come here to report on the State of the Union. And for this final one, I'm gonna try to make it a little shorter. I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa. I've been there. [ LAUGH ] I'll be shaking hands afterwards if you want some tips. But for my final address to this chamber, I wanna focus on the next five years, the next ten years. And four big questions That I believe we as a country have to answer. First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? How do we make technology work for us and not against us? How do we keep America safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman? How can we make our politics reflect What's best in us and not what's worst. The United States of America right now has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. We're in the middle of the longest streak of private sector job creation in history. More than 14 million new jobs, the strongest two years of job growth since the 1990s, Our unemployment rate cut in half. Priority number one is protecting the American people and going after terrorist networks. [ APPLAUSE ] The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth. Period. [ APPLAUSE ] When you come after Americans, we go after you and it may take time but we have long memories and our reach has no limits Our foreign policies to be focussed on threat from ISIS and Al- Qaeda but it can't stop there. The world will look to us to help solve these problems and our answer needs to be more than tough talk. War calls to corporate bombs [ INAUDIBLE ]. We also can't Try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. But on issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us. And make sure other countries pull their weight. Leadership means a wise application of military power. And rallying the world behind causes that are right. The future we want. Opportunity and security for our families, a rising standard of living, a sustainable peaceful planet for our kids. But I can't do these things on my own. So my fellow Americans, whatever you may believe, Whether you prefer one party or no party, whether you supported my agenda or fought as hard as you could against it, our collected futures depends on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen. To vote. But I can promise that a little over a year from now, when I no longer hold this office, I will be right there with you as a citizen. Inspired by those voices of fairness and vision, of grit and good humor and kindness that helped America travel so far. That's the America I know. that's the country we love. Clear eyed, big hearted, undaunted by challenge. Optimistic, that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. [ APPLAUSE ] That's what makes me so hopeful about our future. I believe in change because I believe in you, the American people. And that's why I stand here as confident as I have ever been that the state of our union [ APPLAUSE ] Is strong. [ APPLAUSE ] Thank you. God bless. [ APPLAUSE ] God bless the United States of America. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/"},"headline":"Obama's Optimism Isn't Shared by All Millennials","datePublished":"2016-01-13T19:44:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:56:31.718Z","description":"We need less government and more opportunity","url":"https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/","keywords":["politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ee793ff2b97a26/698878fa3c163938c945b8ed/obama11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Barnes","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-barnes/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf0ee793ff2b97a26/698878fa3c163938c945b8ed/obama11.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12, 2016.","caption":"President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 12, 2016.","creditText":"Evan Vucci—Pool/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/","name":"Obama's Optimism Isn't Shared by All Millennials"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"State of the Union in Under 4 Minutes","description":"State of the Union in Under 4 Minutes","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IYWlSLur/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-13T04:30:51.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IYWlSLur.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/","duration":"PT3M59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4179108/state-of-the-union-millennials/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```