Generation Z is a unique force in United States politics. In the 2024 election, Gen Z comprised 41 million eligible voters and voted at higher rates than previous generations. Despite significant rightward shifts in this electoral cycle, the Gen Z age range overwhelmingly disapproves of the new Department of Government Efficiency. With fewer than one-third of Gen Z members trusting the government, this stance matches their broader skepticism of government institutions.
That skepticism is understandable. These institutions plainly do not represent Gen Z in their composition: The median age of the current voting members of the House of Representatives is 57.5, and 64.7 in the Senate, which make up the third oldest Congress in U.S. history. The last two presidents — Joe Biden and Donald Trump — have been the two oldest in U.S. history. Meanwhile, Gen Z is underrepresented in the federal workforce, comprising just 7% of the full-time civil service despite being 20% of the total U.S. labor force.
At present, the U.S. government is an entrenched gerontocracy, defined by both septuagenarians and octogenarians clinging to power and deliberately passing over younger generations.
But DOGE is working to remedy these problems. Its creation marks the arrival of long-awaited change, putting Gen Z in the position to fundamentally reshape their government and alleviate their impending financial burdens. If DOGE were to successfully streamline the government, Gen Z would reap huge benefits.
As Gen Z ages into adulthood and the workforce, they are met at the door with the burden of decades of wasteful government spending and inefficiency. Since 2000, the U.S. government has increased the national debt by $25.91 trillion to a total of $36.22 trillion— a rate that will soon surpass historic World War II debt levels and outpace economic growth. This soaring number prompted Warren Buffett, CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, to predict tax hikes and Ray Dalio, chief information officer of Bridgewater Associates, to warn of an “economic heart attack.”
Gen Zs are the ones paying higher taxes and losing jobs due to economic woes. Even now, they are feeling the effects of the debt crisis: It has eroded their buying power, raised borrowing costs and increased inflation, affecting them more than any other generation because they are new to the workforce and have lower incomes.
With an alleged $115 billion saved so far and ambitions of $1 trillion on the horizon, DOGE’s efforts are our best hope to save Gen Z from widespread economic and governmental collapse.
It is important to acknowledge that even DOGE’s most optimistic goals wouldn’t overcome our $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit. However, stopping the senseless waste of taxpayer dollars wherever possible — such as the $4.5 million promised to fight disinformation in Khazakstan or the $20 million spent funding a television program for children in Iraq — are incremental steps toward a higher standard of fiscal responsibility.
To the extent that we can reduce the deficit and curb the debt rate, we should. Even small reductions in spending will mitigate the dangers of our financial situation, and putting a meaningful dent in reckless spending today could lead to more impactful change down the road. These are outcomes worth rooting for.
However, if their current financial burdens persist or worsen, Gen Z will, in turn, increase their reliance on government services, which are already struggling to deliver. The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to respond to nearly half of all Hurricane Helene assistance calls due to mismanagement. The Pentagon has failed seven consecutive audits and its bureaucracy-ridden recruiting process has inaccurately rendered 77% of young people ineligible to serve, worsening our recruiting crisis.
This widespread institutional failure, combined with the $233 and $521 billion of federal funding lost to fraud annually, paints a concerning picture of the U.S. government and its ability to deliver for its citizens.
Luckily, one of DOGE’s founding missions is to replace the U.S. government’s outdated information technology systems with more modernized, cost-effective alternatives. If successful, this IT reform will supercharge faltering federal services and guarantee our tax dollars are secured and spent responsibly.
Government overregulation also wounds Gen Z’s economic prospects. Nearly one-third of Gen Zs live with their parents due to rising housing costs, for instance. Government housing regulations account for $93,870 of the average cost of a single-family home.
Many of these regulations are inefficient and unnecessary, so much so that slashing regulations in Austin, Texas, caused rent costs to fall 22%. DOGE’s aggressive approach to deregulation, if done tactfully, could rapidly expand housing access for countless members of Gen Z, which would increase birth rates, improve health outcomes and boost economic mobility.
These big aspirations have yet to be accomplished, and eradicating inefficiency in our massive government will be a Herculean effort. But DOGE is maximizing their chances of success by putting some of Gen Z’s brightest minds on the job, including Ethan Shaotran, a Harvard University student with four patents, and Luke Farritor, a former University of Nebraska student who used artificial intelligence to decipher a charred ancient scroll.
Notably, this 100-person team marks a substantial Gen Z debut in government. While DOGE’s hiring process has rightfully invited criticism and controversy, it has also placed competent young visionaries in the spotlight and put them to work steering our government away from disaster and toward a technologically-optimized future.
DOGE’s aggressive slashing, led in large part by Gen Z for Gen Z, is the best hope we have. Government dysfunction and economic hardship can no longer be tolerated. Decades of reckless decision-making have left America teetering on the edge of economic disaster. Every hope we might have for our futures — be they low health care costs, student debt relief, home ownership or stable retirement — is dependent upon DOGE’s success.
Hunter Ryerson is an Opinion columnist who writes about human health and innovation. He can be reached at hryerson@umich.edu.
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