Posted on 12/23/2025 5:14:40 AM PST by Red Badger
PHOENIX—All eyes were on Gen Z this weekend as more than 10,000 students gathered at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, where speakers and panels discussed the issues motivating Gen Z heading into a pivotal election year.
After making impressive inroads with young voters in the 2024 presidential election, the conservative movement is vigorously debating how to address young voters’ concerns heading into the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
From the main stage to The Daily Signal’s interviews with students in attendance, one issue rose above the rest: affordability.
Affordability Is Everything
“Probably the most important economic issue of our time today is affordable housing. Gen Z is going into a housing market that is practically unaffordable,” said Gabe Guidarini, a TPUSA Action field representative. “We have to pay rent just to get by, working multiple incomes. You shouldn’t have to work multiple incomes just to rent an apartment, let alone own a house.”
Guidarini was one of several Gen Z speakers featured at a breakout session called “The Gen Z Factor,” which discussed why young voters shifted to the right in 2024 and how conservatives could make further inroads.
Adam Pennings, director of Run Gen Z, an organization dedicated to electing Gen Z leaders to local public office, also focused on affordability in the breakout session.
“Affordability is on every young person’s mind,” Pennings said.
“If you see a young person in college, I guarantee you they’re worried about if they’re going to find a job. The job market is not a great place,” Pennings said. “The housing market is not a great place. The healthcare system is not a great place and they’re very worried about that.”
Guidarini warned of the consequences if Republicans ignore the issue, “If the GOP doesn’t address (the affordability crisis), then what’s to stop socialist demagogues like Zohran Mamdani and his people from selling us a rotten bag of goods. The GOP needs to take firm stances on that and fight for young people.”
The Gen Z Focus
In the 2024 election, Republicans saw a 14-point increase in support from voters aged 18 to 29 compared to 2012, according to The New York Times.
Turning Point USA and its slain founder Charlie Kirk have received a large amount of credit for laying the groundwork for this cultural and political shift among Gen Z voters.
In the wake of Kirk’s murder, Turning Point USA has redoubled its efforts to politically and spiritually activate young people.
And students have responded to these efforts. Since Kirk’s murder on Sept. 10, the organization has received over 140,000 student requests, bringing total involvement to more than 1 million students. Turning Point USA boasts over 3,000 active high school clubs and over 1,000 college chapters. At AmericaFest alone, Turning Point USA estimated 200 new clubs were formed.
There is an undeniable sense of urgency because Gen Z could prove to be the difference between victory and defeat in 2026 and 2028.
Students’ Affordability Concerns
Guidarini’s and Pennings’ concerns about affordability reflected the views of the Gen Z conference goers that spoke to The Daily Signal.
“Democrats have made my life worse because as a college student, I am already broke enough,” said Chris, a 22-year-old college senior. “They’re already taxing the heck out of us, and I don’t think I’ll be able to live in California any more with all these stupid tax policies.”
California has the highest income tax margins in the country, ranging from 1% to 13.3% based on income.
Matthew, a 19-year-old student, told The Daily Signal he believes “having Donald Trump as president or a Republican as a president is going to make [paying taxes] a lot easier.”
Earnings growth has outpaced inflation this year and the average American's weekly paycheck now buys 1.6% more than in Jan, after falling 4.0% under Biden - what a difference a president makes... pic.twitter.com/bVOJ0NhDag— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) December 18, 2025
The “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” the budget reconciliation package Trump signed into law in July, extended the 2017 Trump tax cuts and included provisions such as no tax on tips or overtime.
The president has recently claimed that 2026 will be the “largest tax refund season of all time.”
Beyond taxation, another major affordability concern is the price of housing, which has delayed or prevented many young Americans and their families from owning a home.
In the 1960’s roughly 35% of 30 year olds were married and owned a home. Today that number is 12%.
TRUST IN TRUMP: Prices are steady, and wages are outpacing inflation! 🇺🇸
President Trump's policies and bold deregulation are continuing to drive inflation down and put MORE MONEY in Americans' pockets.💰 pic.twitter.com/fQkq4HNOa6— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 18, 2025
The Trump administration has looked to encourage home building and lower housing costs through slashing regulations and lowering energy prices.
For weeks, however, the administration has teased a larger initiative to lower housing prices, and reports suggest Trump could announce this reform effort in the coming days or weeks.
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Can’t afford illegals anymore.
Never could................
Adam Pennings, of “Run Gen Z,” an organization
to elect Gen Z leaders, focused on affordability.
<><>“Affordability is on every young person’s mind,”
<><>“those in college are worried about finding a job.”
<><>”The job market is not a great place,”
<><>“The housing market is not a great place.
<><>”The healthcare system is not a great place “
<><>”Gen Z is very worried about that.”
From an “academic” point of view (studying the use of words) this whole “affordability” thing is interesting. This phrasing obviously came from some focus group consultant. If you go back a month or two, this phrase was never used. Now it’s being used by both sides—and its found its way into the lexicon by the “common man.”
This demonstrates the impact of social media and ages old propaganda tools to get the masses moving in one direction or another…like sheep. These people “feel” what they are told to feel…and they regurgitate it like drones.
*Targeting 2-3% inflation as a national goal means an actual 10% increase in real cost of living because the target is only specific things, not the things we actually use in terms of goods and services. That means actual buying power decreases by 50% every ten years in the terms of constant year zero dollars. I understand the government is targeting constant growth. But the flip side of the same coin is inflation which is the “affordability” crisis. This is just one of a long list of policies that affect affordability and addressing the affordability crisis means rethinking our entire economy and society. The most they are likely to do is wipe some lipstick on what they have now and call it a day.
“...Affordability Is Everything...”
Yeah, just like ObamaCare was supposed to make healthcare affordable. And Puppet Biden printing $10 trillion dollars out of thin air to support the 20 million illegal aliens he let flood into the USA.
What did these idiots think was going to happen. The fiat money supply machine has been printing paper non stop 24/7 since Nixon took us of the gold standard in 1971. It debases the currency, making everything cost more.
This is what happens when vote for Santa Claus.
Liberals never think of the long term consequences of their actions, only the instant gratification of the here and now.
That is why everything they do ultimately fails.
Can you think of ANY problem that liberal policies have actually solved in stead of making it worse?
They are not about ‘solving problems.’
Because if they were, there would be no need for people to vote for Democrats.........
The Federal Government is 39 TRILLION DOLLARS in debt.
That’s 39,000 BILLION dollars.
OR
39,000,000 MILLION dollars.
That will not be paid off in our lifetime.
UNLESS
They INFLATE the dollars to Zimbabwe level values...............
“Affordability” is a code word for many other issues best not discussed in polite company.
That is why the young people interviewed give that answer.
They are Fuentes supporters who are not comfortable discussing their real views with anyone in an interview.
They assume all journalists/pollsters are hostile enemies who can and will doxx them.
$6 Coffees, fast food, new car, student loans, and other things unnecessary.
Liberals never think of the long term consequences of their actions, only the instant gratification of the here and now.
That is why everything they do ultimately fails.
Can you think of ANY problem that liberal policies have actually solved in stead of making it worse?
“The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution.”
Leftist strategy is about breaking the system. Driving the USA into debt and hyperinflation is what Leftist strategists want to happen.
“They assume all journalists/pollsters are hostile enemies who can and will doxx them.”
That’s not a bad attitude to have these days...........
That is why it is impossible to get honest answers from young people these days.
They know they cannot trust anyone over thirty.
If I were asking the questions I would start ask if they were students in college. If they said “yes” I would ask this simple question.
“What percent of the students in your class are white males?”
If they say less than forty percent you just found a Fuentes supporter.
Oh, jeez…no jobs, no house, no apartment, no healthcare. The Chicken Little whiner generation complains it doesn’t have an iPhone 17 and may not even be able to get an 18. And have you seen the prices of a Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso At Starbucks lately? I’ll never have any savings at those prices.
And the cost of VIDEO GAMES is OUTRAGEOUS!...........
Communists only destroy and then blame capitalism on their destruction.
“This phrasing obviously came from some focus group consultant.”
Were that Rush was still around. He used to always hammer these poll-tested slogans.
Something about this one really bugs me. It implies that what Americans want— or should want — is a mere subsistence, where we aspire to just afford the basics, or afford to make the credit card payments.
The counter might be something like “Prosperity, not affordability.”
I remember when the first Trump tax cuts went into effect.
I was told - forcefully and clearly - by the lefties in my family and workplace that those tax cuts were ONLY for “Trump and his rich friends” - not people like me.
I asked my tax CPA if the Trump taxes affected me personally - he said they did - to the tune of saving me $2500.
Lefties didn’t believe this - b/c they do not believe in facts, hard data or rational thought, only their own feelings matter.
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