I am more optimistic.
Kids almost always are more lib and rebellious. Until they grow up and get kids of their own and HAVE TO become more responsible. Some never do, of course.
I see 2 trends in different directions.
One is that taxation moves in direction of more than 50% of population paying NO federal income tax (they still pay FICA, sale taxes, gas, etc). Its dangerous because creates a situation when you can vote somebody else “for dinner”.
An opposite trend is that Internet generation get used to more choices. Tyranny limits choices. The Internet generation is conservatives’ ally in fight for liberty.
Also, its not mentioned enough, but in personal life, raising kids, etc lots of people who vote habitually Dem are more conservative than they themselves realize. A Reagan-type communication is needed to win them over. We badly losing info-war, but Reagan did not have help of Internet freedom, and he was able to win over so many people!
People like the idea in theory that people who have more money than they should pay more taxes. It sounds nice.
But it ignores two things. First, the rich don't really pay any taxes; the tax is built into the price of the product and you pay it when you by the gallon of milk whether you realize it or not. And the tax is paid in lost opportunities, which are hard to quantify but real.
So raise the tax on some rich guy, and watch the prices go up on everything you do, and watch the investment dry up and marvel as you find yourself unemployed, standing on the pavement as marginal businesses are pushed over the edge into failure.
And the other problem is, as you say, if a majority of the people don't pay tax (or at least they don't see the tax that they really do pay) then they have no qualms about voting to increase the tax. They aren't going to pay it (they think) someone else will.
I've always favored some kind of flat tax, but flat starting right from the bottom up. If you're a citizen, you owe the same percentage as anyone else. Rich or poor, you're a citizen. Pick a percentage, I don't care what you pick but everyone pays the same. If you want to raise the tax, fine, but you raise it on yourself too.
And I tend to favor the idea that only people who are net taxpayers should have the vote on anything to do with tax issues. If you get a welfare check, a government subsidy, a government paycheck of any kind, you don't vote on tax issues. Its a conflict of interest.