Young Americans are increasingly drawn to socialism amid economic frustrations, but two rabbis writing in The Daily Wire argue that the primary culprit is not capitalism but government redistribution programs. They contend that long‑standing policies such as federal student loans, Social Security, and rising government debt have shifted costs onto younger generations, and warn that failing to recognize this intergenerational burden could fuel deeper unrest.
In an opinion article published by The Daily Wire, Rabbis Elie Feder and Aaron Zimmer examine why more young Americans are embracing socialist ideas. They describe what they see as a generation that feels economically cheated, facing higher tuition, heavier debt, steeper housing costs and a stagnant job market. According to their piece, many young people believe they will not attain the stability their parents expected, with traditional milestones such as homeownership, marriage and starting a family pushed further out of reach.
The authors say this frustration is understandable and argue that socialism’s appeal stems in part from a widespread belief that the economic system is rigged. However, they maintain that capitalism — which they describe as having lifted more people out of poverty than any other system in history — is not the main cause of young people’s economic anxiety. Instead, they contend that "socialist‑style" policies woven into the U.S. economy over the past century have created an ongoing intergenerational transfer of wealth and obligations.
They highlight three major examples to support their argument.
First, they focus on federal student loans. Feder and Zimmer write that these loans were created to help lower‑income students attend college but, in their view, have allowed universities to raise tuition year after year, contributing to an ecosystem of mounting debt for graduates. "Universities prospered. Administrators prospered. Students did not," the piece states. They argue that many young adults now begin their working lives burdened by large student debts that can delay major life decisions.
Second, they point to Social Security, which they characterize as a program that began as a modest safety net but has become a "demographic time bomb." Citing declining birth rates and longer life expectancy, they assert that fewer workers are supporting more retirees and that younger contributors doubt they will receive comparable benefits in the future. They also argue that what is commonly referred to as the Social Security "trust fund" effectively consists of government IOUs because past contributions have already been spent, leaving younger workers, in their words, funding someone else’s retirement rather than their own.
Third, the rabbis criticize the growth of government debt. They argue that unlike personal borrowing, which must be repaid by the individual, public debt passes the cost to future taxpayers. Drawing on a warning attributed to Thomas Jefferson that one generation should not morally bind another with debt, they distinguish between borrowing for long‑term investments such as infrastructure or innovation — which they say can benefit future generations — and borrowing to fund consumption or entitlement spending, which they contend leaves only higher taxes, inflation and an elevated cost of living.
Taken together, they claim, these systems amount to what they call a "generational injustice": student loans that transfer prosperity upward, Social Security that shifts income upward, and government debt that pushes obligations downward. In their telling, this framework protects older generations from the full consequences of past decisions while constraining the economic prospects of the young.
Feder and Zimmer warn that unless policymakers and the broader public acknowledge and address this intergenerational burden, resentment among younger Americans will continue to grow and could intensify calls for a broader revolt against capitalism. They argue that reforms should focus on unwinding or restructuring the policies they describe as socialist‑style redistribution, rather than abandoning market capitalism, which they view as still offering the best chance for long‑term prosperity.
The article concludes that while young Americans are justified in feeling betrayed by current economic arrangements, they are, in the authors’ view, mistaken about the source of that betrayal. The piece also notes that Rabbi Elie Feder, Ph.D., and Rabbi Aaron Zimmer host the "Physics to God" podcast, and that the opinions expressed are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Daily Wire.
