Opinion

Out of the mouths of babes

What’s the best way to teach young people how dumb government can be?

The answer seems to be this: Forget readings from Milton Friedman. Give them a taste of so-called “smart ­government” and let them figure it out for themselves.

That’s the gist of a new national poll out from Harvard’s Institute of Politics. The survey polled Millennials about their attitudes toward government. The institute’s director says the poll “shows 18- to 29-year-olds’ trust in public institutions at a five-year low — and their cynicism toward the political process has never been higher.”

While the differences across party lines have grown sharper (especially when rating President Obama’s job performance), the young share a general disdain for almost all institutions of American government. When asked to rate specific institutions by whether they trust them to do the right thing, only the military enjoyed majority support (54 ­percent).

The Supreme Court came in at 40 percent, the president at 39 percent, the federal government at 22 percent and Congress at 18 percent. Almost half agree with the statement that “politics today are no longer able to meet the challenges our country is facing.”

Whatever else this is, it sure isn’t what was supposed to happen when the young helped send Barack Obama to the Oval Office. “I know that a lot of young people have grown up cynical and skeptical about the political process and don’t believe that change is possible,” he told a crowd of Clemson students in his 2008 campaign. “I hope to persuade you that anything is possible if you’re ready for change.”

Six years into hope and change, it looks as though fewer are buying it.